Edited version pf Taoiseach Brian Cowen's speech to EU leaders last night
This is my first appearance at the European Council as Taoiseach of Ireland. But it is by no means my first European Council.
I was foreign minister in the aftermath of Nice, during the Convention on Europe, and throughout the intergovernmental conference that led to the Constitutional Treaty...
I am a committed European and have been been all my political life. It is not some abstract commitment for me. It is because I have seen the powerful force for good our membership of the Union has been...
Clearly, I would not have chosen as my first task here to have to advise you, that the Irish people have rejected the proposal to amend our constitution to allow us ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
For all of us, the will of the people is sovereign. They have spoken at the ballot box, the ultimate democratic forum, and the Government accepts their verdict...
In our parliament yesterday, I gave my initial thoughts on how that decision came about, and my initial assessment of its implications. I will now share that with you:
The turnout in our referendum was significant by Irish standards, and the margin of defeat was clear...
Let me stress up front that there was no strong suggestion emerging from the campaign that Irish people are any less committed to their European identity and membership of the Union than in the past...
Against that positive background, it is clear that the debate reflected anxieties about potential future developments and the potential future direction of the Union...
In some instances, these arose in specific sectors. For example, our farming community was and remains deeply concerned by the direction of the world trade talks. Large segments of our trade union sector were anxious about a perceived imbalance between the protection of workers' rights and market forces.
Suggestions that the Lisbon Treaty would lead to European taxes, or harmonised taxes being imposed on us, were effective despite robust efforts to get the facts across...
It is very early in our period of analysis.
But less explicit and less direct influences may also have been factors. Economic uncertainty, higher food prices, the credit crunch, the increases in fuel prices, on top of more expensive mortgage payments, particularly after such a long period of strong economic performance, may have contributed to frustration among the electorate...
Ireland has undergone rapid social and demographic change. Opening our labour market in 2004, and strong economic performance, saw a rapid increase in migration to Ireland...
This change has, by and large, been positive. But it is not without some tensions, given that our society, traditionally, has been accustomed to emigration, not immigration...
Europe may appear to be a place of treaties and protocols, directives and regulations, instead of something that makes a meaningful and beneficial impact on people's lives . . .
In conclusion, I know that the situation regarding the referendum which I have just reported to the council is a difficult one.
I believe that it is our responsibility to work together, in the spirit of solidarity which has served the Union so well for decades, to find a viable way forward.
The Union has found itself in similar situations before. Each time, working calmly, constructively and collectively, we have found an acceptable path.
I am personally determined to see this resolved and I am counting on your support and co-operation.