Charlie O'Connor
Question:138 Mr. O’Connor asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his Department’s endeavours in respect of Ireland’s EU Presidency; and his plans for the remainder of the term. [15754/04]
View answerWednesday, 26 May 2004
Questions (125, 126)
Written answers
The Department of Foreign Affairs has been centrally involved in the preparation for and conduct of Ireland's EU Presidency. It has worked closely with other Departments in developing the Presidency calendar and programme. It has also been actively involved in planning and logistical arrangements for meetings in Ireland and elsewhere. It has developed and managed the Presidency website, which provides a wide range of information on the activities of the Presidency and which registered some 16.5 million page views up to mid-May.
During the Presidency my Department has responsibility to carry forward the work of the Intergovernmental Conference and of the Union more generally, notably through the General Affairs and External Relations Council. We have a particular responsibility to manage effectively the overall external relations agenda of the European Union and to carry out the Union's external obligations, including on development issues. I have chaired five meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council and will chair a further meeting on 14/15 June which will prepare for the European Council meeting later that week. I have also chaired meetings of the Intergovernmental Conference at ministerial level and will do so again in June.
The Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, is responsible for carrying out our Presidency responsibilities in the development area and the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, has, amongst other responsibilities, represented the Council in the European Parliament. He also organised an inaugural ministerial meeting on communicating Europe, the results of which will be taken forward by future Presidencies. Departmental officials at headquarters, in the permanent representation in Brussels and in other missions abroad chair and participate in a wide range of meetings with a view to managing and advancing the Union's agenda.
Foreign Ministers have a key role in assisting heads of state and government in the Intergovernmental Conference, IGC. Since the decision was taken at the spring European Council to resume the formal negotiations in the IGC, I have chaired two meetings of the IGC at ministerial level where we have succeeded in making considerable progress in narrowing outstanding differences between member states. We hope to build on this at a further meeting of the IGC at ministerial level in Brussels on 14 June which will prepare for what we hope will be a successful conclusion of the IGC chaired by the Taoiseach later that week. Officials of my Department have been centrally involved throughout the Presidency in advancing work in the IGC and in formulating proposals for consideration by partners.
In the field of external relations, an extensive programme of political dialogue with third countries has been a key element of our work as Presidency over the past five months. Ministerial meetings have taken place with a substantial range of third country partners, including the US, Russia, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, Albania, Ukraine, South Africa, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the African Union. The Taoiseach has represented the Union at very successful summits between the EU and Russia and the EU and Canada. Three further summits with Latin America and the Caribbean, Japan and the US are due to take place before the end of the Presidency.
I have hosted a number of successful meetings in Ireland, including the informal meeting of Foreign Ministers and the ASEM meeting of EU and Asian Foreign Ministers, ASEM, in April and the Euromed Foreign Ministers meetings in Dublin in early May. A large number of meetings with the European Union's partners have also taken place in the margins of General Affairs and External Relations Councils and further meetings with Bulgaria, Romania and Egypt are scheduled for 14/15 June.
In addition, we have focused on taking forward work in key areas of the Union's foreign policy agenda. We have strengthened EU support for an effective multilateral system by working closely with the UN on developing our co-operation in crisis management and peacekeeping tasks, by submitting an EU input to Secretary General Annan's high level panel on threats, challenges and change and by mainstreaming support for effective multilateralism in our dialogue with third countries.
We have pushed Africa up the Union's agenda by establishing the African peace facility, a fund of €250 million for the strengthening of African peace-keeping and conflict prevention capabilities. The Irish Presidency has also secured endorsement of an EU action plan for enhancing EU co-operation with commodity and cotton dependent developing countries. Agreement was also reached on the establishment of a €500 million water facility. Africa will feature as a major item on the agenda of an informal meeting of EU development Ministers to be chaired by the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, in Dublin Castle on 1 June.
We have worked with partners in the Middle East and beyond on reaffirming the importance of the road map as central to the Middle East peace process and on developing a strategic partnership with the region.
The EU's relationship with Russia has been an important focus, evidenced by Russian agreement to extend the partnership and co-operation agreement to take account of enlargement and the successful EU-Russia summit in Moscow last week which agreed the terms of Russia's accession to the WTO. We have also worked to develop the European neighbourhood initiative to extend the zone of peace, prosperity and security to our new neighbours post-enlargement.
The transatlantic relationship has been strengthened, with ongoing and close co-operation with the US and Canada on trade and international political issues. We have also worked hard to deepen our ties with Asian partners, not least with China, and to encourage positive developments in the India/Pakistan relationship. The development of the Union's human rights policies has been an important aim and we plan to adopt new EU guidelines on support for human rights defenders at the European Council in June.
Substantial work has taken place in further developing the Union's European security and defence policy, including in relation to conflict prevention and the development of a rapid reaction capability to allow the Union to respond effectively to crisis situations outside its borders. Finally, we have made substantial progress in strengthening the development of the Union's response to international terrorism, including the adoption of a declaration on terrorism by the European Council in March.
A number of these key issues will be the subject of reports to the European Council in June, including a report on the implementation of the Union's work on conflict prevention, a progress report on the development of the European security and defence policy, the adoption of a strategic partnership with the Mediterranean and the Middle East and follow-up to the declaration on terrorism.
Apart from Africa, the development priorities for the Irish Presidency are poverty reduction and HIV/AIDS. Presidency efforts have been directed towards enhancing the effectiveness of the European Union's contributions to reaching the millennium development goals.
The General Affairs and External Relations Council in January reached important conclusions promoting the need to strengthen the Union's voice in multilateral institutions to help focus efforts on helping the poor, improve coherence in EU policies to better meet the concerns of developing countries and maximise the effectiveness of EU aid. In April, the Council agreed concrete measures for monitoring EU progress in meeting Monterey commitments on harmonisation and increasing aid flows and agreed that the EU must be well placed to report on its efforts towards the attainment of the millennium development goals at the UN stocktaking exercise in 2005.
HIV/AIDS is becoming the largest stumbling block to long-term development. Recognising the role the EU can play in combating this problem, the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, hosted a major international conference on HIV/AIDS in February, bringing together representatives from 55 countries and a number of UN agencies to agree collective action in the fight against the explosive growth in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The conference agreed the Dublin Declaration, a detailed plan of action with specific targets and timeframes, for fighting HIV/AIDS in the region in the coming years.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is also responsible during the Presidency for managing the Council's relations with the European Parliament. The Minister of State, Deputy Roche, represented the Council at the monthly plenary sessions of the Parliament in Strasbourg and the mini plenary sessions in Brussels. In that time the Minister of State made a total of 26 statements to the Parliament and answered a wide range of questions tabled by the European Parliament to the Council. I also participated in the plenary debate in the Parliament on the occasion of the presentation of the Sakharov prize to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in January. The Ministers of State, Deputies Roche and Kitt, and I have appeared before committees of the European Parliament dealing with foreign affairs, human rights and common security and defence policy, development issues and constitutional affairs.
Charlie O'Connor
Question:139 Mr. O’Connor asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will report on his Department’s endeavours in respect of Ireland’s EU Presidency; and his plans for the remainder of the term. [15755/04]
View answer
As part of the national preparations for the Irish Presidency, I arranged to have measures put in place to help raise awareness amongst students about the significance of the Irish Presidency in 2004. Classroom resources were produced and made available through the Scoilnet website, www.scoilnet.ie/eupresidency. These resources provided up to date information and materials for schools on the European Union with a particular focus on the Irish EU Presidency. All primary and post-primary school pupils were also involved in the selection of Ireland’s EU presidency logo, by registering their preferred option for the logo online.
In January, I presided, along with the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, over the European launch of the European Year of Education through Sport 2004. The first Education Council of Ministers under the Irish Presidency, which I chaired, was held in Brussels on 26 February. The main agenda item for this Council was the adoption of the joint interim report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the detailed work programme on the follow up of the objectives of education and training systems in Europe. There was also an initial exchange of views by Ministers on the EUROPASS proposal for a single framework for the transparency of qualifications and competences.
At the next education, youth and culture Council, which will be held on 27/28 May, the principal agenda items in the education sector will be the adoption of a Council resolution on strengthening policies, systems and practices in the field of guidance throughout life in Europe. In addition, I will propose that Council conclusions on quality assurance in vocational education and training and on common European principles for the validation of non-formal and informal learning be adopted.
I will also chair a Council discussion on the new generation of EU education and training programmes due to commence in 2007. It is also my intention that political agreement will be achieved on the EUROPASS proposal at the May Education Council. Political agreement has already been reached on another Irish Presidency priority — the proposal for the consolidated directive on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications at the Competitiveness Council on 18 May last.
In the youth part of the May Council, which will be chaired by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, it is envisaged that a resolution on social integration with regard to young people and a declaration on racism and intolerance with regard to young people will both be adopted. The Youth Ministers will also consider a communication from the EU Commission entitled "Making Citizenship Work".
In addition to the two formal EU Councils, as part of the Presidency programme I held an informal EU ministerial conference on guidance and counselling and a meeting of OECD Ministers for Education in Dublin, while the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, presided over a ministerial conference on youth policy, which was held in County Clare.
My Department has organised a wide range of educational conferences and seminars in Ireland covering issues such as ICT in education, special needs education, the relevance of the EU to young people, vocational training and higher education, as part of the EU Presidency programme. Between now and the end of the Irish Presidency, several more meetings at senior official/expert level will be arranged by my Department at locations in Ireland, including the education committee of the Council, the directors general for youth, the EU youth working party, EU network of education policy advisers and the EU working group on indicators in the education sector. A brochure containing information on the education and youth Presidency programme has been lodged in the Oireachtas Library.