mr president let me begin by saying that it is correct to say that the lisbon treaty cannot enter into force until all twenty-seven member states approve it but that does not mean that europe cannot move ahead and i for one do not want to see europe moving ahead without ireland
as the director of elections for fine gael in the recent referendum campaign i want to make it absolutely clear that the irish position is and should be that we want to be at the centre of europe
we no longer want to be an island behind an island dominated by british interests
we respect britain for having its interests it is entitled to have them
our interests lie elsewhere and i do not want any british member of parliament standing up here and speaking for my constituents or for irish interests
i wish to say that the fine gael meps in the ppe-de group support the general thrust of the report on the european council meeting but do not accept that parliament should consider that it is possible to meet the concerns that have been expressed by the irish people in order to secure a solution acceptable to all before the european elections as this is a matter for the irish people to consider at their discretion and timing
that is the point we need to put on the record
