Vol. 519 No. 1
27 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his recent meeting in Dublin with Mr. Javier Solana, Secretary General of the EU Council of Ministers and High Rep resentative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Issues. [12837/00]
Mr. Javier Solana, the Secretary General of the EU Council of Ministers and High Representative, paid a brief visit to Dublin on 30 and 31 March during which he gave the Brian Lenihan memorial lecture at the Institute for European Affairs. I hosted a working dinner for Mr. Solana following this lecture.
Over dinner, Mr. Solana and I had an exchange of views on the situation in Russia in the wake of the election of President Putin a few days earlier. Mr. Solana had met Mr. Putin on a number of occasions and was favourably impressed by his well prepared approach. There was a long discussion on the Chechnya problem and the EU approach to it.
The situation in Serbia and Kosovo also arose, specifically the effectiveness of sanctions against Serbia and the issue of future elections in Kosovo.
The prospects for progress in the Middle East peace process were also raised. In particular, I raised the question of the expected Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon and expressed the Government's concern over the possible risks to the safety of UNIFIL which could arise in the event of a unilateral withdrawal.
There was also a discussion of the possibilities for improved relations between Iran and the United States, as the reform process under Iranian President Khatami progresses.
The High Representative and I reviewed developments to date in the Intergovernmental Conference. I stressed that the eventual outcome must maintain the institutional balances which underpin the Union, including those between large and small member states. In this regard, I emphasised the importance of each state retaining the right to nominate a commissioner.
Our working dinner also covered the ongoing discussions within the EU on European security and defence policy which has been dealt with in some detail in response to an earlier question. Mr. Solana in delivering the Brian Lenihan memorial lecture to the Institute for European Affairs, gave an in-depth account of these continuing discussions.
