Three weeks ago I attended the Cyberspace Conference in London at the invitation of William Hague. While this is a function which falls largely within the domain of the Department of Energy, Communications and Natural Resources in Dublin, it is also an area of responsibility for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Conference was the first in what is likely to become a series of such meetings aimed at fostering an international consensus on cyber regulation and cyber security. This is a growing issue. National security is threatened in today’s world by hackers and cyber warriors in much the same way as it might have been by spies and armed forces in the past. It is being taken extremely seriously in all countries and Ireland is currently developing a cyber security strategy. So the conference in London allowed for a good exchange of experience and best practice. It was attended by political figures from Korea, India, Indonesia, the EU, US amongst others. Interesting figures in the world of online technology also participated, including Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia and the head of Facebook in Europe. It was a most interesting opportunity to talk to some of these major investors in Ireland.

From there travelled to Cyprus where I had extensive discussions with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and my opposite number the newly appointed Minister for European Affairs, Andreas Mavroyiannis. The purpose of this visit was twofold. Firstly to continue the Government’s work of fostering better relations with likeminded EU Member States. Second, to discuss preparations for Ireland’s forthcoming Presidency of the EU in 2013. As Cyprus precedes us in the Presidency rotation, taking over the Presidency in the second half of 2012, it is essential that we foster a good working relationship with them. Cyprus has experienced some domestic challenges over the past few months, after a tragic explosion claimed a number of lives in a naval base containing confiscated munitions. This was a major blow to the Cypriots and naturally there have been political consequences which have played out in the past few months. However, the Cypriots are moving forward with their Presidency plans. They see it as a great opportunity to promote Cyprus in the EU. We are keen to cooperate and support them in this. We had valuable talks and identified some ways in which we can work together and ensure a smooth transition from Cyprus to Ireland in 2013. While I was there I also met with academics in the University of Nicosia, where we had wide-ranging discussions on the future of Europe and the state of the Irish economy. I also participated in a number of TV and newspaper interviews, which was a great opportunity to talk about Ireland and raise awareness about Ireland amongst the Cypriot people.

When I left Cyprus I travelled back to the UK to participate in a weekend roundtable seminar at Wilton Park in Surrey, which was hosted by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, a German think tank based in the UK. The roundtable involved parliamentarians from the Conservative Party in the UK, the CDU Party in Germany and me from Ireland! There were also a number of academic participants from Sweden, UK, Spain and Germany. This was a really interesting seminar which allowed us to discuss the state of the Eurozone and the EU, transatlantic relations, the common foreign and security policy and the challenges that lie ahead in terms of growth and jobs. I was the after dinner speaker on the first evening, which allowed me to set out Ireland’s position in relation to the Eurozone crisis. I stressed our view that the ECB should become the lender of last resort and that while Ireland’s emergence from recession and our return to positive growth this year is welcome, our position is still fragile. I emphasised that we continually look for improved terms to our bailout package and that support in making our debt burden more sustainable is necessary. The German Government Chief Whip was a participant in the roundtable, so we had some time to discuss these issues further bilaterally. There was a receptive and open response which will be positive for Ireland in the long run I believe.

Last week I embarked on a busy schedule of travel. At short notice I was called upon to take the Tanaiste’s place at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. This meant going out on Sunday. First thing Monday morning I attended a meeting of the Friends of Moldova. I was delighted to participate .. While progress in building democracy, transparency and rule of law in these former Soviet countries can be challenging and frustrating at times, Moldova is currently a shining light. The Moldovan Government is making huge strides and this is being facilitated and encouraged by the EU. I was honoured to meet with the Moldovan Foreign Minister at the breakfast and express Ireland’s support for their efforts. We take up the Chairmanship of the OSCE in January, so we will have a lot of engagement with the Moldovan authorities in the year ahead.

I then participated in the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) where we had a detailed discussion on the ‘Arab Spring’ countries, with particular emphasis on Libya. Since then the situation in Egypt has deteriorated significantly and no doubt we will discuss this at next week’s FAC, again taking place in Brussels. We also discussed stepping up sanctions against Iran in light of that country’s ongoing nuclear programme. That evening I attended a dinner organised by the Polish Presidency to discuss the Commission’s report on enlargement. The recommendations were presented in a comprehensive and impressive fashion by Commissioner Stefan Fule. A number of member States were not represented by Ministers, but rather by officials. I consider this to be disappointing. Enlargement is one of the most important objectives of the EU and we should use such opportunities to have frank discussions. The Irish Government is largely supportive of the Commission’s recommendations, particularly in relation to granting candidate status to Serbia and opening negotiations with Montenegro. Croatia’s forthcoming accession on July 1st 2013 is a very positive step for the Western Balkans region and the momentum which it brings should be built upon by the EU. This is a crucial region for us. We are likewise extremely enthusiastic about Iceland’s membership negotiations (more of that anon!). I also spoke in favour of keeping our door open to future membership from the Caucuses. This is a volatise region, where Russian influence is great. However, these countries see their future in Europe and we should be encouraged by this. The economic might of Europe and the prospects of a prosperous future for all our citizens will be greatly enhanced by enlarging and expanding our economic union.

The following day I attended the General Affairs Council. This is the Council attended by Europe Ministers, which prepares the agenda for the European Council (Heads of State and Government) and reviews implementation of decisions of the European Council. We also have responsibility for negotiating the EU’s Budget from 2013 – 2020, otherwise known at the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Our discussion focused primarily on the Cohesion Funding and the Common Agricultural Policy aspects of the MFF.It is early days in these negotiations and Member States are at this stage mostly just setting out their stall. Needless to say, I spoke in favour of maintaining a robust CAP budget line and I also addressed the need to focus on simplification and the reduction of red tape. The one thing the EU is perennially criticised for is an excessive amount of red tape. The MFF presents a great opportunity to eliminate much of this.

On the margins of GAC I had a fruitful meeting with my Hungarian counterpart Eniko Gyorgi. We are two of just 4 female Ministers around the table at GAC. The gender balance needs to improve! As Hungary recently held the Presidency of the Council, we had a detailed discussion about her experiences. She is widely regarded to have done an excellent job in her dealings with the European Parliament during their six month Presidency. It was a timely meeting as I was shortly boarding a train to Strasbourg. I had lunch with the Irish media to brief them on the GAC meeting and also on EU matters more generally – Tony Connolly and Paul Cunningham from RTE, Arthur Beasley from the Irish Times and Ann Cahill from the Examiner. They were most interested in what would come of the Taoiseach’s meeting in Berlin the following day. I outlined the agenda and the Taoiseach’s message for the Chancellor. I did a clip for RTE news in the Irish Permanent Representation. Then I high-tailed it to catch the train to Strasbourg. I got in about 6 hours later!

In Strasbourg I spent a full day in the European Parliament meeting with members of the Budget Committee and the Constitutional Committee, including two Vice Presidents of the Parliament. I met with the Leaders of the Socialist Group, Martin Schulz (incoming President of the Parliament) and the EPP Leader Joseph Daul. The purpose was mainly to establish links in advance of our Presidency. The European Parliament is vital to the success of any Presidency and it is important that the Irish Government has good and deep relations. It was also an opportunity to discuss the MFF and gauge the Parliament’s views on it. The Parliament has the power to reject the Budget and therefore it is a key player in the process. It is in our interest to cooperate with them. I also wished to flag the matter of the Irish Protocols on neutrality etc as they require a positive approval of the constitutional committee. We do not expect any problems, but at the same time it is important to cross all the “t”s and dot all the “i”s! I had a great meeting with the Irish MEPs. We had a great meeting covering a range of issues, most particularly preparations for the Irish Presidency. It is useful to glean an insight into the machinations in the Parliament from our own MEPs. I also met Commissioner Maire Geoghegan Quinn. She is full of ideas and suggestions, which is hugely welcome. She’s a dynamic force, who is doing Ireland very proud in her execution of her duties in the Commission.

From there I went to Italy, where again I met my new Counterpart Enzo Milanesi. He is a former Chef de Cabinet to Mario Monti and judge in the ECJ. Suffice it to say that he knows his brief and understands the challenges in the Eurozone very well. The new Italian Government will be a crucial ally for Ireland in pursuing our goals of ECB intervention and ultimately in the introduction of Eurobonds. Our Ambassador in Rome arranged an excellent programme with academics, political commentators, businessmen and politicians. Again it was an opportunity to sell a positive message about Ireland and the opportunities for investment. I was also invited to speak at a high level seminar hosted by the Aspen Institute in Florence. This was a particular honour as ours was the only Government invited to attend, other than the Italian Government. I also met with academics in the European University Institute in Florence, where we had an interesting roundtable. There are a number of Irish academics at the institute and I was particularly delighted to meet Prof. Brigid Laffan, who is on sabbatical from UCD. We had a good chance to catch up and exchange views on the Euro crisis. Finally I was thrilled to meet Padraig Sweeney, the acclaimed Irish handbag designer who has been based in Florence for a number of years. He is an impressive example of a talented creative Irish man, who also has an entrepreneurial spirit. He opens his first store in Mayfair in London on December 1st and I hope it is a resounding success.

I returned home on Sunday evening, walked the dog, repacked my bad and flew to Helsinki, Finland on Monday morning. In Helsinki I met with an impressive array of Irish people working and living there. They are in a variety of jobs, but the majority are with Nokia, the European Chemicals Agency or the University of Helsinki. They all act as unofficial ambassadors abroad, promoting Ireland in every way they can. I was most impressed to learn about a major Irish cultural festival some are involved in, which attracts 5000 people each year!

I met with Jyrkie Kaitainan, the Finnish Prime Minister on Tuesday morning. He is an old friend of mine from our days in the Youth of the European People’s Party. We were both young and idealistic then. It was nice to see that while neither of us is so young any more, we are both still idealistic! We discussed a number of issues of mutual concern, especially the Euro crisis. The Finns have a slightly divergent view to us on the possible solutions to the crisis, so it was helpful to outline the Irish position. They are impressed with the Irish recovery effort and the attitude of the Irish people.

I then had a long meeting with the Minister for European Affairs and Trade, Alex Stubb. He is an energetic and bright guy, with lots of ideas about how we can design a better Europe. Finland and Ireland have lots in common – similar size, focus on high tech industry, and an emphasis on export trade. Alex and I focused particularly on ideas that can lead to growth and job creation. We agreed to collaborate on some proposals to develop the digital single market. I hope that we can advance this early in the New Year.

The final leg of my journey was a two day visit to Iceland. This was my first official visit to a non EU country. As a candidate country Iceland has its eyes firmly fixed on recent developments in the EU. Ireland has a deep interest in seeing them join, as they are like minded, and would potentially be a valuable partner around the table. Our historical links go back centuries. Irish settlers in Iceland were known as “Westmen”. Recent genetic studies have proven that the majority of Icelanders descend from Irish women! We have more in common than we might have thought.

I had an extensive range of meetings in Reykjavik, including the head of the EU Mission to Iceland, the Icelandic Government’s Chief negotiator with the EU, the members of the Icelandic Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I also spoke at a meeting of academics and students at the University of Reykjavik and addressed a Forum of women entrepreneurs. All of this was fascinating. What struck me most was that everywhere I went, the view was that Iceland’s recovery is very fragile. Not being part of a currency union means that Iceland is not an attractive destination for inwards investment. Their domestic economy is doing well, particularly tourism and fisheries. A major economic conference was held a few weeks ago at which a number of well known economists condemned the euro and praised Iceland for its recovery effort, encouraging Icelanders to forgo the option of joining the EU. The view of the majority of people I spoke to was that this is a simplistic analysis, does not take into account Iceland’s long term interest and that in fact many of these economists did not know a whole lot about Iceland! I found this most interesting. In any event, there is a long road ahead for both Iceland and Ireland. I hope that the path of positive growth, which both countries find themselves on, will be sustainable and rewarding.