Minister for European Affairs, Mr. Dick Roche T.D., attends first official meeting of the Czech Presidency in Prague
The Minister for European Affairs, Mr. Dick Roche T.D., attended
the official opening ceremony of the Czech Presidency in Prague
yesterday evening. Today he attended the informal General
Affairs Council meeting, at which institutional issues, energy
security and transatlantic relations were discussed.
Speaking after the meeting, Minister Roche said:
“I was delighted to attend the official opening ceremony of the
Czech Presidency and I wish the Czech Government every success in
its first term as Presidency of the EU. It is a fitting way to mark
the twentieth anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet
system.
As we look ahead to the coming year, I had a fruitful meeting with
my colleagues from around the Union. We discussed a number of
important issues, including energy security, the Russia/Ukraine gas
dispute and transatlantic relations. I also briefed colleagues on
the follow up work necessary on the guarantees which were offered
to Ireland at the December European Council. Once they are
finalised, these guarantees will represent a substantive response
to the concerns about the Lisbon Treaty that emerged during our
referendum.
A concerted effort will be required to finalise the content of
these guarantees. The Government looks forward to working with
partners and the Czech Presidency over the coming months to achieve
this. Only when we are fully satisfied with these guarantees will
we be in a position to proceed with the ratification of the
Treaty. The conclusions of the December European
Council set out what needs to be done and the timeframe for this
work.
The position regarding the composition of the next European
Commission is completely clear. If Lisbon is ratified this
year, future Commissions will contain nominees from every EU
country. If the Lisbon Treaty is not ratified, then the Nice
Treaty provisions, which we ratified in 2002, will apply.
This would mean that the Commission to be appointed in November
will have fewer than 27 members. This means that some EU
countries will lose the right to nominate a Commission
member. This is one reason why it is so important that the
Treaty be ratified by all Member States this year. All 27
countries are committed to that goal. We all want to avoid having
to reduce the size of the next Commission as required under the
Nice Treaty.
Throughout 2008, we saw example after example of the benefits that
Ireland derives from our full participation in the European Union,
in particular during the global financial crisis. The December
Conclusions offer us a framework for maintaining our position at
the centre of the EU. This is where Ireland belongs and it is
where our interests can best be served in the years ahead.
Ratification of the Lisbon Treaty is essential if we are to
continue our tradition of positive, highly productive engagement in
Europe.”
Ends+++
8th January 2009
Press Office
