Vol. 519 No. 3
113 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Defence if he has been involved in discussions with other EU Defence Ministers with regard to the changing role of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13707/00]
I have not been involved in any such discussions. The role of the Western European Union assembly is in the first instant a matter for the assembly itself and for the Western European Union. Ireland is an observer at the Western European Union. While representatives of Western European Union observer states, including Ireland, sit in the assembly and on its committees, they are not entitled to vote. I understand that the assembly, meeting at Lisbon in March, decided to invite the five Western European Union observer nations to participate in the assembly's debates, with delegations composed in the same way as those of Western European Union full members. My understanding is that invitations have been extended directly to the parliaments of the five Western European Union observer nations, including Ireland.
