asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the subjects discussed and the decisions taken at the meeting of EC Foreign Ministers in Dublin on 11 September 1979.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - EC Foreign Ministers Meeting.
22.
The meeting to which the Deputy refers is that of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the European Communities Member States, meeting in the framework of European Political Co-operation. There are normally four of these meetings each year, two in each Presidency.
The first such meeting in the Irish Presidency took place in Dublin on Tuesday, 11 September 1979. A second meeting took place yesterday in Brussels and that was not entered in the record of this State. Among the issues discussed by the Nine Foreign Minister were: Indochina, the Middle East, the Euro-Arab Dialogue and Southern Africa. I am, of course, speaking of the first meeting.
Two public statements were issued by the Ministers following the meeting, one relating to the situation in the Lebanon and the other on Rhodesia. The full texts of these statements were released to the press.
As regards Indochina, the discussions touched upon the continuing plight of the refugees, the current political situation in Cambodia and the prospect of devastating famine now facing the people there. On the refugee issue, Ministers were agreed that follow-up action to the Geneva conference, in particular the work of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and of the UN Secretary General, should be followed closely. On Cambodia, Ministers acknowledged that a solution to the political situation in Cambodia can only be found within the context of the wider political situation in the area as a whole, while stressing that a solution should be based on an independent Cambodia with a genuinely representative government. The Ministers underlined their commitment to providing effective humanitarian aid as a matter of urgency to the people of Cambodia who face famine on a wide scale.
As regards the Euro-Arab Dialogue, the Ministers emphasised that the Nine consider the Dialogue to be of the greatest importance, based as it is upon the affinities and common interests between the two regional groups and feel that it should be developed with the group of the Arab countries as a whole.
That question related to the meeting of the Foreign Ministers in Dublin. There was a meeting of Foreign Ministers yesterday in Brussels at which further developments in many of these areas took place.
Could the Minister outline what further developments have taken place?
That is a separate question.
I would be quite happy to do so, but they are far too detailed to give by way of an answer to a supplementary question.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.