I attended the European Council meeting in Cardiff on 15 and 16 June accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Andrews, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy. The Conclusions from the Council have been laid before the House.
It would be useful to outline the areas I identified as the priorities for Ireland in advance of the Council. Clearly, the topics for discussion at Cardiff were set by the UK Presidency in the light, inter alia, of the current EU agenda. However, I took advantage of Prime Minister Blair's visit to Dublin on 1 June to highlight Irish interests in the content and handling of the discussions at Cardiff, and I am pleased to record that the Conclusions reflect the strategic outcomes I sought on employment, Agenda 2000 and institutional reform.
The introduction of the euro on 1 January next year will make the closer co-ordination of the economic policy of member states essential. Much of the summit, therefore, was taken up with the discussion of economic and employment guidelines. The period leading to the introduction of the euro on 1 January and the historic decisions taken at the last meeting of the Heads of State or Government in May provided the backdrop to a broad-ranging discussion at Council on economic issues with a particular focus on the promotion of employment, growth and prosperity.
The Heads of State or Government agreed the recommendations on the Broad Economic Guidelines in the member states and in the Community and commended them to Council for formal adoption. The economic guidelines do not present Ireland with any difficulties because the Government is determined to continue with the sound economic policies which have led to the current healthy state of the economy. This commitment to good economic management reflects the earlier commitment in the Declaration produced by ECOFIN at the Special Council in May, when EMU members and conversion rates were announced.
I am pleased to welcome the decision by Council that the preparation of the Broad Economic Guidelines should in future draw on short yearend reports drawn up by the member states and the Commission within their respective areas of competence. Such reports will be a useful complement to information on national employment plans and they will be drawn up on the basis of a light procedure, avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.
The annual guidelines will help to further the process of economic integration and to foster the stable low inflation climate required for sustainable job creation. Equally, the guidelines should, to the greatest possible extent, reflect the competency of national governments in the area of economic management.
The Council also considered progress on the implementation of the employment guidelines adopted following the Extraordinary European Council on Employment held in Luxembourg last year and which are now reflected in the national employment action plans drawn up by the member states. The Council urged the member states to proceed with the practical implementation of the action plans as speedily as possible, allowing for continued evaluation and updating. It is worth mentioning that the plan submitted by Ireland is well regarded. Ireland's plan contains an account of much of the best employment practice across the Union. We will take up the employment issue in greater detail in Vienna in December when we consider new employment guidelines for 1999.
A number of key factors, however, are already identifiable as essential in fostering employment growth. These include the active involvement of the social partners at European and national level in labour market policy development and implementation; the need for targeted investment in education and training to provide opportunities for those who are long-term unemployed or who experience disadvantage or marginalisation; and the need to promote an enterprise culture which favours risk-taking and minimises the burden of regulation falling on SMEs.
There was a general consensus, which under-scored much of the discussions at the Council on a variety of subjects, that national discretion for action should be maximised. Accordingly, as regards employment, while sharing information on best practice and completing the Single Market through the more rapid transposition of directives are certainly necessary, the need for innovation and the opportunity for competition between member states should not be stifled. The issue here centres on achieving the right balance and it is worth mentioning that our discussions on promoting entrepreneurship crystallised many of the wider subsidiarity related issues.
At Cardiff, leaders looked at ways to make the Union more relevant to its people through greater transparency in the workings of the Union and its institutions and through continuing to tackle the real concerns of the citizen, for instance, in relation to crime and drugs.
Specifically in relation to crime and drugs we examined the implementation of the action plan to combat organised crime; we noted progress in the preparations for the establishment of Europol — Ireland lodged its instrument of adoption of the Europol Convention in March of this year — and it is hoped that the three remaining partners who have yet to complete the adoption process will do so shortly; and the UK Presidency reported on work in the drugs area, especially as regards identifying the key elements of the Union's anti-drug strategy for the post-1999 period. The plans for the European Drug Prevention Week in November of this year were also noted.
I mentioned earlier that I had raised particular interests of Ireland with Prime Minister Blair on his visit to Dublin. One of these was the British-Irish Agreement and the ways in which EU support might be secured for the future, that is, beyond next year. I am happy to be able to point to the very positive section on the British-Irish Agreement in the Conclusions. I took the opportunity at the Council to express Ireland's gratitude for the substantial support from our partners, the Commission and the European Parliament. The Cardiff Conclusions note the Commission's commitment "to go on finding new, creative ways to support the fresh opportunities which the Peace Agreement will bring, and invite the Commission to make proposals accordingly". We will follow up this commitment with the Commission, in consultation with the UK authorities.
A key strategic interest for Ireland at European level over the next year is the negotiation of a successful outcome to the Agenda 2000 negotiations. While no substantive decisions were taken at Cardiff, I put down clear markers as to Ireland's expectations from the negotiations and sought to avoid a situation which adversely prejudiced the outcome from an Irish perspective. This was one of my key priorities for the Council and it was achieved. The most significant result from the Cardiff Council under this heading was a political commitment to conclude negotiations on Agenda 2000 no later than March 1999.
In the course of our consideration of the topic, I emphasised again our primary concerns in relation to Structural Funds, namely, the need for adequate full transitional arrangements.
The Austrian Presidency has been mandated to make progress on Agenda 2000 in advance of the December Summit in Vienna. I am confident, on the basis of my recent meeting with Chancellor Klima in Vienna, that significant progress can be made during the Austrian Presidency. This, in turn, will hopefully allow for political agreement on the future financial framework, treating Structural, Cohesion and agriculture funding as a whole package at a Special European Council in March under the German Presidency.
As regards the CAP in particular, I made it clear that the current proposals from the Commission will need to be substantially amended to meet the needs of Irish agriculture. At my request the European Council took note of the conclusions of the Agriculture Council of 25 and 26 May 1998, which recognised the importance of particular sectors to individual member states. I stressed the need for a balanced outcome and for an equitable impact on all member states. It is fair to say that Ireland is not alone in rejecting the proposals as they now stand.
Some member states pressed their case at Cardiff to develop mechanisms to limit their EU budget contributions. In contrast, other member states expressed opposition to such arrangements and some opposed acceptance of the 1.27 per cent ceiling on the basis that they believe it is inadequate to fund enlargement.
For the moment, we will carry on with the 1.27 per cent ceiling as a working assumption. This is acceptable to Ireland on the basis that it will be necessary to ensure the Union is adequately resourced to meet both the costs of maintaining and developing Community policies in existing member states and of enlargement. In this context, I look forward to the Commission's Report on Own Resources in the autumn which, as indicated by the Cardiff Council, will deal with the question of relative budgetary positions in the light of policy reforms and the issues raised under this heading at Cardiff.
Together with other leaders, I expressed my satisfaction at the good progress being made in the screening process, particularly with regard to the so-called "pre-ins"— Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia — in terms of beginning the analytical screening of their adoption of the Community acquis, i.e. the entire body of legislation, obligations and objectives that have been agreed or developed within the Union.
The Conclusions regarding the development of improved relations with Turkey are welcome and reflect accurately the concerns of the Union to develop and deepen those relations. Unfortunately, we could not progress the issue of unblocking financial assistance for Turkey. The conclusions welcome the Commission's confirmation that it will submit, at end-1998, its first regular reports on each candidate's progress toward accession. The conclusions also state that in the case of Turkey, reports will be based on Article 28 of the Accession Agreement and the conclusions of the Luxembourg Council. The Government's recent decision to establish an embassy in Ankara will make a significant contribution towards the deepening of bilateral relations and improved EU-Turkish relations.
I am pleased with the outcome of the wide-ranging discussions in relation to the future development of Europe. The joint letter to the Presidency by Chancellor Kohl and President Chirac, as to possible outcomes, contributed to our discussions.
As regards further institutional reform, the general view which is reflected in the conclusions was that the first priority is the ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty. It is only at that stage a decision will be required on how and when to tackle the implementation of the Protocol in the Amsterdam Treaty, which involves, in the first instance, the changing of the number of Commissioners and voting weights. There was considerable support for the view that we should leave the consideration of more fundamental and wider institutional reform for a later date, closer to the date of the first enlargement.
I look forward to the autumn meeting under the Austrian Presidency — the planned informal meeting of Heads of State and Government — on how to bring the EU closer to its people and to focus on the issues which matter most to citizens. This theme and that of subsidiarity ran through almost all the discussions on the Union's future development and the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of its institutions. Our preparatory meeting, likely to take place in October, should allow for discussions on this issue to be taken further in Vienna.
I do not intend to report on the wide range of foreign policy items considered at Cardiff as this will be done in the concluding statement, other than first to recall the real concern which I and other leaders expressed about the position in Kosovo and to reaffirm my commitment to the separate declaration which the Council adopted on 15 June. In terms which I fully support, the declaration firmly points to the responsibility which President Milosovic bears for the use of military repression against the citizens of Kosovo.
Second, the current status of the Middle East peace process was reviewed by the Council. Together with other leaders, I expressed concern at the lack of visible progress in the peace process and the threat this poses to stability in the region. The Council welcomed the Union's positive role in the process and reaffirmed it would continue to do all in its power to support and strengthen both the peace process and those working for peace.
President Mandela met with me and the other leaders over lunch where a variety of issues were discussed, including South Africa's economy and its efforts to modernise under its Growth, Employment and Redistribution Programme, its relations with neighbouring African States and EU-South African trade co-operation. On this last item, the lunch-time discussion was important in securing a more positive approach across all member states towards the finalisation of the outstanding trade and co-operation agreement between the Union and South Africa. I am hopeful that the next negotiating round which will take place in July will see the conclusion of this matter.
In a subsequent separate bilateral meeting, I discussed the Northern Ireland peace agreement with the President and thanked him for South African-ANC support for the negotiation process. I also briefed him on the challenges ahead in relation to implementation of the agreement. Finally, I extended an invitation to him to visit Ireland.
I would like to record my congratulations and thanks to the UK Presidency, particularly to Prime Minister Blair, for a successful Presidency of the Union. The EU conference which took place in March in London with applicant states, the ASEM II conference which also took place in London during April with Asian leaders, the launch of economic and monetary union in May in Brussels and the Cardiff summit can be regarded as significant achievements of the UK Presidency.