 Well thank you so much. Excellencies, Director General, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I am very pleased and honored to be here today at the Institute of International and European Affairs. And having seen the pictures on the wall of all the people who have been here before me, it is quite a challenge to meet you, the audience here. Therefore it is a great honor and tremendous pleasure to have the opportunity today to address you on the future of the European Union, the economic crisis and what to do about it. That basically is what is on everybody's lips right now. It receives front page coverage day after day. And it seems that there is an endless stream of politicians and business leaders and commentators who are ready to provide us with the take on the issue round around the clock. Ladies and gentlemen, there exists an old proverb saying that a calm sea does not make a skilled sailor. And Ireland and Denmark are both proud seafaring nations with many skilled and experienced sailors. And it is no secret that we right now have pretty rocky waters engulfing Europe in the shape of too much public debt, stagnating economy, economic growth and rising unemployment. And that requires extraordinary seamanship. And in contrast to a lot of the opinion makers and doomsday's profits in the media, I believe that it is possible to see light at the end of the tunnel. But there's a lot of work to be done before we are there. I believe that we witnessed an example of extraordinary European seamanship a little more than a week ago at the informal meeting of the European Council. At this meeting, 25 sovereign European countries managed to agree on a legally binding agreement with significant implications for the kind of fiscal policy that they will be able to conduct in the future. And they managed to do so in less than two months. That is by any standard a quite remarkable achievement. It would have been unimaginable before the global financial crisis in 2008. And it would probably have seemed a bit unrealistic at the end of last year when the idea of fiscal compact first began to circulate. Measured against Europe's extremely bloody and turbulent history in the 20th century with two world wars, endless national conflicts, and the iron curtain dividing our continent, it defies belief that most of Europe would be able to come together so quickly in such an important agreement. During his appearance before parliament following the European Council, your Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Gilmour rightly stressed that the fiscal compact is not an end in itself. It a means to end, to an end. I fully agree with that assessment. The fiscal compact is, however, a necessary instrument to have in our common toolbox. It should be seen as an important part of the EU's wider effort to combat the debt crisis. Because like Ireland, Denmark is a small country with an open economy. We sell almost 70 percent of our exports on the European markets. And roughly half a million Danish jobs depend on our export to EU member states. And the Euro countries alone accounted in 2010 for 38 percent of all foreign direct investments in Denmark. In other words, like the Irish economy, the Danish economy is very much dependent on having a stable and well-functioning Eurozone. That is the reality. And that is also why the Danish government attaches immense importance to the ongoing efforts in the Eurozone to stabilize the situation by ensuring more budget discipline and paving the way for more structural reform. With regard to Denmark's national position towards the fiscal compact, I would like to say the following. We will join the agreement to the widest extent possible for a non-Europe country and in full compliance with our own up-doubt from the Euro. Our national Euro up-doubt will continue to stand until we decide to change it in Denmark. And nothing has changed in relation to our up-doubt, but our fiscal policy will from now on adhere to the requirements contained in the agreement. Therefore, it is a very clear message from Denmark that we want to join the fiscal compact. That is, I believe, a strong commitment to undertake, but it's also a necessary commitment to undertake. As to the requirements spelled out in the agreement not to run annual public deficits of more than 0.5 percent of GDP, this is in line with the Danish government's commitment to a strong fiscal policy that we declared when we assumed office back in October of last year. So in that sense, it was not such a monumental step for us as it otherwise have been to agree to a balanced budget rule in the fiscal compact. But as I said, the fiscal compact should be considered as an important step in the right direction and a necessary instrument in our toolbox, not as the all-embracing answer to the crisis. That would be unfair, as well as naive. We must acknowledge that the challenges facing Europe today go well beyond the burning issue of unsustainable levels of public debt in several member states, as well as a special situation and negotiations surrounding Greece. The Euro country's conditions to Greece are clear, and we now expect Greece to deliver and keep her promises. The challenges are complex and multi-dimensional. There will be no quick fix and there will be no shortcuts. As a consequence, ladies and gentlemen, the Danish government has put forward a program for the Danish EU presidency that contains a long list of measures and pieces of legislation that we hope to get adopted within numerous policy areas. We have chosen to bundle all these items around four key priorities. Firstly, a responsible Europe. Secondly, a dynamic Europe. Thirdly, a green Europe and, fourthly, a safe Europe. With regard to the first priority, a responsible Europe, it is clear that we need to re-establish order and stability in the European economies. Despite Denmark being outside the Eurozone, we will work hard on this agenda everywhere we can, in the ecofin and the councils dealing with the growth agenda. We need to create results in order to rebuild trust in the EU, and we also want to be a bridge between the Eurozone and member states outside. We want a European Union of 27, not a European Union divided into clubs of 17 or 10 or other numbers. The EU needs to respond effectively and convincingly to the immediate threat posed by unsustainable debt levels in some European economies. This requires political willingness to implement and comply with the new rules on economic governance that are part of the European semester, rules that will be implemented for the first time during the Danish presidency. Another priority will be to ensure effective implementation of reforms or financial regulations, to ensure a sound banking system, and to minimize the risk of future crisis. We will work on the commission's proposed revision of capital and liquidity requirements for credit institutions, where we hope to reach an agreement with both the council and the parliament. We will also give priority to take forward work on the revised regulation on credit rating agencies and on crisis management in the financial sector. Finally, work will be carried forward on the rules regarding markets in financial investments and the rules governing markets abuse. The multi-financial framework, that is the EU budget for the period 2014-20, will be high on our agenda. It is crucial that the new budget will channel more funds to growth enhancing areas like research, education, and green technologies. During the first months of our presidency, we will work very hard on clarifying a number of technical budget aspects. As we move along, we will gradually move into a more political phase, where we hope to narrow the gap between the different positions in the member states. Ladies and gentlemen, it is not realistic to complete the negotiations during the Danish presidency, but hopefully we will be able to provide the European Council with a good basis to finalize negotiations, including on the numbers before the end of this year. I believe that will also have the strong support of the Irish government. Currently, governments all around Europe struggle to make ends meet in their national budgets. Our European budget will also need to reflect that we live in a time where financial responsibility is and needs to be at the top of the agenda. But putting together a multi-annual budget for Europe should not and cannot only be a question of cutting cost. We need to create growth and jobs in Europe, and that aspirations need to be fully reflected in our future EU budget. Financial responsibility and creating growth and jobs must go hand in hand. The second priority for the Danish presidency, to return Europe to an economic growth path, is very much about promoting the further development and reforms of the single market. This year marks the 20-year anniversary of the single market, and it has proved to be one of the greatest achievements in the history of the EU. But there is still a large unused potential in the single market, and the goal of the Danish presidency is to contribute to further developing and modernizing it through the 12 concrete initiatives aimed at improving the business climate in Europe. This will include focus on modernizing European accounting rules and better access for companies to venture capital, as well as more simple and flexible rules regarding public procurement. It also includes better online security for consumers and lower roaming charges when people use their cell phones abroad. Another key part of a modernized single market will be an efficient and user-friendly EU patent system. Such a system will allow businesses across Europe to avoid having to submit application with 27 different national patent authorities in order to acquire an EU-wide patent protection. Hopefully, European companies will soon be able to submit just one application to a European patent office. As our third priority, we want Europe to adopt a much more ambitious approach to greener, sustainable growth. We will engage in an urgent crisis management. The European economies must be sustainable in the long run. And in recent years, the EU has taken the lead globally on the green agenda by developing a comprehensive energy and climate policy. Now, the time has come to speed up Europe's transition to a greener and more sustainable economy. And the way to do that is by creating economic growth without increasing our consumption of natural resources and fossil fuels. Another way is to put these issues at the agenda when negotiating the reforms of the common agricultural policy and fishery policy, and in all respects of our budget. But we must also be realistic, and we are well aware that this will not happen by itself. We need to work hard and agree on new initiatives if we are to maintain our comparative advantage to other regions in the world. Otherwise, we run the risk that knowledge-intensive jobs and high-tech research capabilities begin moving to other countries that possesses a clear understanding of how to invest in the transition to a green economy. Ladies and gentlemen, as in business or in sports, there can be times when playing defense is not really an option. If you want to safeguard your position and achieve a positive outcome. Therefore, we have in Europe to be in front of this transition. I have no doubt that green jobs will be created by the millions in the years to come. The question we have to ask ourselves is, do we want those jobs to be created in China, South Korea, in the United States, in the Greek countries in general, or here in Europe? My answer is clear. We want them to be created in Europe. That is what we want to do. Europe therefore needs to dramatically upscale its research and investments in green technologies, renewable energy and energy efficiency. This is not just about achieving some favorable strategic goal 30 years from now. It is just as much about creating a new knowledge-based jobs based in Europe in the short term. New jobs that will appear as spin-off and as short-term economic gains from embarking on a green growth path. European leaders, those in politics, academia and business, must make it highly likely that tomorrow's technological advances within solar power or nanotechnology or wind are fostered by Europeans. We should make it highly likely that the next generation of windmills is conceived by European engineers and that the forced generations of biofuels is developed by European scientists. The Danish presidency will work hard to promote the green agenda, but it will do so in a consensus-seeking, result-orientated and inclusive way. Needless to say, we will also put a lot of effort into the negotiations on the energy efficiency directive and on the follow-up to the EU climate roadmap. And finally, we will work for a strong European voice at the Rio Plus 20 UN conference on sustainable development. On our fourth priority, the safer Europe, I believe we all remember the first months of the Arab Spring that caused a large number of North African people to head towards Europe in search for shelter and protection. The refugee pressure and our ongoing problems with illegal immigration in Europe underlined the need to finalize the EU common European asylum system in order to ensure an appropriate reception and treatment of people turning up our doorstep. The Danish presidency will do its best to promote a well-functioning European asylum system and a stronger Schengen cooperation. Ladies and gentlemen, if some of you might be wondering why I spend so much time on various EU measures that we hope to get adopted during the Danish EU presidency, instead of having spent a lot of time focusing on the current crisis in Greece. My reasons for this are twofold. First of all, I believe that the crisis facing us today is not just an economic crisis. It is also a crisis of confidence in the European project as such. A crisis of confidence in which an increasing number of Europeans cannot see the link between that daily life and the business that goes on in Brussels. In the newspapers and in the evening news programs, they watch the elected leaders go in and out of black limousines in front of the entrance to the EU council building. And with the austerity programs now underway, many member states are hit by severe hardship. Millions of Europeans are losing their jobs, getting their monthly paycheck reduced, or seeing their welfare benefits disappear while the politicians keep on talking and at seemingly endless streams of EU meetings. Unfortunately, that is a widespread perception of the EU in many member states today. And needless to say, such a perception has a negative bearing on people's general view of the European project. It is my firm belief that the best way to counter this public perception is for the European Union to achieve concrete results. We can make as many speeches as we like. We can have as many slogans as we wish. We can have as many advertisements as we can afford. But it won't change a thing if we can't deliver concrete results. I fully understand why a lot of people in Europe are skeptic right now. And this puts upon the shoulders of the EU, upon the shoulders of all of us, a pressure to achieve concrete results and doing so fast. That is also why the Danish presidency has made it very clear that we cannot perform miracles. But we can perform a role where we want to bring together all 27. And where we are also sending a very clear message that this is not the time for institutional infighting. This is not the time where almost 24 million Europeans out of job for the European institutions not to do their job. We need a close cooperation between the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission. And that is what we must achieve in the years ahead of us. Because if we don't, then the citizens of Europe can with very good, for very good reason, can say why did you not do your job at such a crucial time in European history. But it's also at the same time a moment where we must not forget that Europe is not only about the money. Europe is also about democracy. Europe is about peace. And therefore we want to bring forward the enlargement process and the measures taken to ensure that democracy will prevail and we can do that with our neighborhood programs both to the east and to the south. Therefore these are challenging times. These are the times where we must show that we are up to the job. The Danish presidency welcomes the challenge but we cannot do this alone. It will take the support of Ireland and all other member states and it will take a clear direction with a common purpose. That is what we will try to achieve in the months ahead. Thank you very much.