The invasion by Russia of Ukraine will actually speed up the enlargement of the European Union, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.
Mr Varadkar said that the war has had an ongoing impact on what he described as “neighbourhood policy” in the region.
“It is actually going to speed up enlargement,” he said. “There hasn’t been a new member of the European Union now for quite some time. We are very much of the view that we need to make sure that countries like Ukraine, like Moldova, the countries of the western Balkans, have that European perspective.”
Mr Varadkar was speaking at Farmleigh House in Dublin where he hosted Croatian prime minister Andre Plenković, who is visiting Ireland. In an hour-long discussion on issues of mutual interest and concern, Ukraine was one of the dominant topics.
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Mr Varadkar said of aspirant countries who want to join the EU: “They know that if they meet the criteria we’ve set out, that they will be allowed to join without further delay, and that’s something that Ireland and Croatia have been working on together at a European Council level.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Mr Plenković, Mr Varadkar said if Europe wants to secure democracy, security, human rights and freedom, allowing more countries to join the EU was the path to doing it.
“Sometimes enlargement gets delayed because of concerns around how many MEPs there are, how do you run qualified majority voting, or the number of Commissioners. But what’s happened to Ukraine puts those kinds of problems into perspective. “These are serious issues that need to be dealt with. But there’s a bigger picture at play here,” he said.
Asked if he was surprised at the negative reaction of Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to his comments about a united Ireland, Mr Varadkar said his only response was that the Irish Government had been “extraordinarily helpful” to the UK government over the past two years.
“We helped to secure EU agreement for changes to the [Northern Ireland] Protocol to secure the Windsor framework which we’re now very keen to see implemented.
“We have always been available to assist the UK government in their efforts to reestablish the Executive and the Assembly and that offers stands.”
Asked about the case in Bordeaux where an Irish rugby supporter said she was raped at the weekend, Mr Varakdar said that they were “shocking events” and he felt heartfelt sympathy for the victim.
“First of all I want to send out my heartfelt solidarity to the woman who was attacked. She is an Irish citizen overseas.
“We are providing assistance through our Embassy but also through the gardaí. We have gardaí stationed on the ground in France in anticipation of the Rugby World Cup.
“We are fully confident that the French authorities will investigate this fully.”
