Madam, - The EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights has been addressed extensively in The Irish Times in recent days. At the recent European Council, the Government would have been happy to have the charter retained in the Reform Treaty. Unfortunately, it was not possible to secure a consensus on this. The charter will, however, be given legally binding status in the new treaty.
As regards the protocol relating to the United Kingdom attached to the mandate for the Intergovernmental Conference to open shortly, the Taoiseach made clear in the Dáil on Wednesday that Ireland did not and does not seek a derogation or opt-out from the charter or its provisions.
The Government is satisfied that the text of the charter and the wording to be included in the treaty define adequately the scope and application of the charter. It is entirely appropriate, however, for us and for other member states to have the opportunity to consider closely the full impact of the protocol.
Our position remains that the charter is an important explicit statement of the rights of EU citizens and of the values common to all member states as currently guaranteed in Community law. - Yours, etc,
DICK ROCHE TD, Minister of State for European Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Dublin 2.