Address by Mr Dermot Ahern T.D. at a Reception to Celebrate the Accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU

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Address by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dermot Ahern T.D. at a Reception to Celebrate the

Accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU

Iveagh House, 10 January 2007

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, thank you all very much for joining me here, with Ambassador Benisheva of Bulgaria and Ambassador Stancu-Davidoiu of Romania, to celebrate the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union. I would particularly like to welcome the members of the Bulgarian and Romanian communities. This is your celebration.

I am moved by the sight of many of you wearing ribbons in solidarity with the Bulgarian nurses and their Palestinian colleague imprisoned in Libya. Ireland has been an active supporter internationally of their cause for many years. We keep in close touch with the Ambassador here in Dublin and with your Government about their case. Their conviction and sentence for allegedly deliberately infecting children is grotesque and unjust. We will continue to support Bulgaria in the Council to seek their release.

I would like to welcome also the Diplomatic representatives of our European partners. Your presence here today reflects the universal welcome for our newest partners.

I want also like to take this opportunity to wish the German Presidency all the best in the months ahead and to thank the Finns for their determined efforts on our behalf in the last six months.

With the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, the Union’s historic 5^th Enlargement is now complete. I know that this is a defining moment for both countries. It is also a great landmark for Europe as a whole. It reminds us of the enormous political transformation that has taken place. A continent, once broken by war, economically ruined and ideologically divided, has been made whole again in peace and prosperity.

The celebrations, in Bucharest on New Year’s Eve and in Sofia the following day, received widespread and well-deserved media coverage. The enthusiasm for EU membership displayed in both countries was impressive. 

My colleague Minister Dick Roche, who was Minister of State for European Affairs during the Irish Presidency, had the very good fortune to attend both celebrations in person.  It was fitting that Ireland, as a staunch supporter of the process that produced the 5^th enlargement, should have been represented at these accession celebrations at a senior level.   

Making a success of enlargement was a key priority for the Irish Presidency in 2004. The accession of 10 New Members that year has proved to be one of Europe’s greatest achievements. At that time also, the negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania made important strides.  We were pleased to have played our part in helping the accession process move forward.

I have always believed that Ireland, as a beneficiary of the first enlargement, has a special insight into the possibilities and potential of EU membership. The economic opportunities created by membership have been a vital factor in our development.

Constant EU support for the peace process has been a valuable catalyst for political change and an end to violence in Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State for NI, Peter Hain and I have recently completed a study on what globalization means for the economy of this island. It is clear that the way ahead for Ireland, as for Europe as a whole, requires institutional innovation and new approaches to cross border co-operation.

Of course, we know that membership is no cure-all, nor does it guarantee success. For Ireland, it took some time for the advantages of membership to be fully felt.  The EU does, however, provide a framework within which a country can prosper through its own hard work and also benefit from the collective solidarity that characterises European integration.  

The accession of Bulgaria and Romania has coincided with two other important events.  I refer to the adoption of the Euro by Slovenia, and the recognition of Irish as an official EU language.

Slovenia’s achievement in joining the euro less than three years after its EU accession illustrates the positive economic impact of the 5^th enlargement. It provides an inspiration to other Member States in their efforts to fulfil the requirements of euro membership. 

This month three languages, Irish, Bulgarian and Romanian, have joined the family of official EU languages, adding significantly to the Union’s impressive linguistic diversity as well as introducing a third EU alphabet, Cyrillic. This wholehearted respect for diversity is a quintessential EU quality. As committed Europeans, we cherish our cultural differences while, at the same time, working together diligently to deepen our integration and further our common interests.  While I am on the subject of cultural diversity, may I say that I look forward to the traditional musical performances we are about to hear. 

Bulgaria and Romania have joined the EU at the beginning of a year of great promise. We have every reason to be optimistic. There are signs of an economic revival in the EU. The OECD reported GDP growth within the Union of 2.6% last year, up from 1.7% the previous year.

In 2007, we will mark the 50^th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. This gives us a great opportunity to renew the momentum of European integration. On this occasion, we have reason to recall the achievements of the past, such as:

• the establishment of peace and prosperity in Europe
• the creation of a vast single market
• the success of the Euro
• the positive impact of EU policies such as economic and social cohesion and the Common Agricultural Policy.

There is much to be happy about, but there are absolutely no grounds for complacency. There is an enormous amount to be done and we cannot take the future of Europe for granted. We ought to use this anniversary as a stimulus to encourage us to create the kind of Union capable of serving our people’s interests in the years ahead.

There is a need to renew our commitment to institutional reform as provided for in the Constitutional Treaty.  Ireland will strongly support the German Presidency in its efforts to put the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty back on track. 

We must work to secure our continent’s future prosperity by shaping a more competitive Europe in the face of a rapidly changing global economy. The EU has a duty also to contribute to stability in other parts of Europe and develop our relations with our neighbours.  The Union needs to develop its international role so that we can have a constructive impact in areas of conflict such as the Middle East and Darfur.  

In the coming years, it will not be enough to engage European governments and political elites. We must also involve our people in this work so that the Union of tomorrow can be as relevant and as positive a force as it has been in the past.  All 27 of us must work together to meet these challenges. By joining the EU, Bulgaria and Romania will bring their particular experience to bear on the life of the Union. 

It remains clear that European nations can achieve so much more by working in unison than we can when we pursue our separate courses. The Irish language logo for the 50^th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome features the words “le chéile” – together.  There is a well-known Irish proverb: “Ní neart go chur le chéile” – it is only by working together that we will be strong.  This is an apt description of the essential strength of our Union.  Now that we are 27, that principle remains as valid as ever. 

Thank you for your attention.  Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.