The State cannot deal with threats such as terrorism, extremism and cyber attacks without cooperating with its closest partners and friends, including other European Union member states, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said.
Mr Coveney and Minister of State for European Affairs, Helen McEntee, hosted a National Citizens’ Dialogue on the Future of Europe in Dublin on Wednesday, which also marked Europe Day, the anniversary of the 1950 Schuman Declaration.
The event at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham was the culmination of a series of public and sectoral engagements which have taken place across the State since the Government launched its Future of Europe initiative last November.
In a wide-ranging speech covering peace and security as well as Europe’s relations with Africa, Mr Coveney said we should never forget the peace the European Union had brought “to all of us”.
“The European Union is, like much of the world, facing a rise in populism and strident political voices both from inside and outside, that challenge the values that have shaped our European Union,” he said.
Mr Coveney said Europe had much to offer in terms of rights and advantages,
“But the union’s ability to deliver on its commitments is dependent on creating safe and secure space for us all to live in.”
Focusing on some international and security challenges facing the union, he said a key question posed at each of the regional sessions in the consultation process was how we could work best with our European partners to maintain peace, security and stability, something he said many Irish people took for granted.
“We are still working through the responses but the general feedback was one of attachment to our traditional policy of military neutrality on the one hand, and a recognition on the other that there are new asymmetric threats that we simply can’t cope with alone,” Mr Coveney said.
“We cannot face asymmetric threats such as terrorism, extremism and cyber attacks without cooperating with our closest partners and friends. The sad reality is that boundaries between internal and external security are becoming blurred,” Mr Coveney said.
“Cyber crime and terrorist use of the internet are growing and, in facts, these issues were raised repeatedly at our regional sessions. Climate change, demographics and fragility are also driving conflicts and creating instability, particularly outside the European Union in our neighbourhood.’
He said cooperation with our EU partners would “make us safer in the face of asymmetric threats, such as terrorism, extremism and cyber attacks”.
Mr Coveney said he shared the disappointment of his EU colleagues at the US announcement that it was withdrawing from the nuclear agreement with Iran.
“We share many of the concerns which the US has expressed about other aspects of Iranian policy, but the way to address these is not to move away from the one area where significant progress has been made. That remains our view and I hope that the United States will reconsider its decision over time,” he said.
European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly told the event that a crucial debate had just begun on the €1 trillion-plus budget of the European Union for the next seven years.
“Where the money goes will not just reflect political choices resulting from contemporary pressures, but also ideological preferences as to the future direction of the EU. What’s important for this assembly is the extent to which citizens can engage in this debate and be informed of what’s at stake.”
She said every part of Europe would frame that debate differently. In this State, it was being framed around the future of farming subsidies and the possibility of having to pay more into the EU budget. The future of our corporate tax system might also come into play.
“How the numbers are crunched, how the various policy options are negotiated and traded between the member states, and with the MEPs, will determine a lot and informed engagement is crucial.”