Flanagan says he can’t detail approach to UK’s EU vote

The Government is not in a position to outline its precise approach to the three "pivotal" issues in the UK's debate on its future in the EU until its government presents a formal plan, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has said.

Mr Flanagan said the key issues for the UK as it prepares for a referendum on continued EU membership were immigration, workers’ rights and labour law, the role of national parliaments and what Westminster “describes as over-regulation”.

Mr Flanagan said: “No formal plans have been presented and therefore we are not in a position to outline the precise approach we will take.”

However, he said the Government “must intensify” its focus on the debate in the UK following the general election there and prime minister David Cameron’s pledge to hold a referendum on EU membership by the end of 2017.

The Minister said that a key priority "will be ensuring that our UK partners remain fully aware of the potential consequences for Ireland of any fundamental change in the nature of their membership of the EU".

Mr Flanagan told Fianna Fáil foreign affairs spokesman Brendan Smith that Government departments were identifying Irish policy areas that could be affected if the UK withdrew from the EU.

He said that he had already spoken on Monday to the UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond in Brussels and he met Northern secretary Theresa Villiers.

The Minister said that Taoiseach Enda Kenny had made clear the Government’s view on the issue when he spoke to Mr Cameron by telephone following his general election victory.

Parliamentary bill

Mr Smith said the latest indications from Westminster were that the parliamentary bill that will pave the way for the vote would be published next week.

“We are all conscious that each sovereign country makes its own decisions,” he said.

“At the same time, however, we have a major selfish and strategic interest in Britain continuing its membership of the EU.”

Mr Smith also noted that there was more than €1 billion in bilateral trade between the two nations every week.

Mr Flanagan said that the Government had been “clear in voicing our view that joint British-Irish membership has been very beneficial to our country and our relationship with the UK”.

He said that “we also value the contribution the UK has made to the EU during the four decades we have been members together. We share a similar approach in many key policy areas”.