Bertie Ahern
Ceist:5 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meetings with the Greek and Italian Prime Ministers in preparation for the Dublin Summit. [22474/96]
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Preparations for Dublin Summit.
Bertie Ahern
Ceist:6 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the results of his pre-Summit tour of EU capitals. [23222/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 6 together.
To date, I have had meetings with the Heads of State or Government of the following countries as part of the preparation for the European Council to be held in Dublin on December 13 and 14: Greece, in Athens; the Netherlands, in Dublin; Finland, in Helsinki; Austria, in Vienna; Portugal, in Lisbon; Spain, in Madrid; Sweden, in Stockholm; Denmark, in Copenhagen; Luxembourg, in Luxembourg; and with the Italian Prime Minister most recently in Rome.
I will be having discussions with the Heads of State or Government of Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom and France as well as with the President of the European Commission prior to the European Council.
In all my meetings to date I have stressed the following key objectives for the outcome of the European Council:
—completion of the current phase of preparations for the commencement of Economic and Monetary Union on 1 January 1999 in line with the provisions set out in the Maastricht Treaty;
—reiteration of the commitment of the EU to the fight against European unemployment, in particular by reference to an agreed framework within which member states can devise policies to generate employment growth;
—endorsement of the general outline for a draft revision of the Treaties which will be submitted to the European Council by the Irish Presidency with a view to the completion of the Intergovernmental Conference at the European Council in Amsterdam next June as planned;
— endorsement of specific measures to counter at European level the problem of drug trafficking and abuse and of an intensification of the EU-wide fight against organised crime and trafficking in persons, including the sexual abuse of children; and
—discussion on the key external issues facing the Union; in this regard I look forward to welcoming the Heads of State or Government of the Associated Countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Cyprus to a meeting and working lunch with the members of the European Council on Saturday, 14 December.
In my meetings to date I have been encouraged by the support from my colleagues on the European Council for the achievement of these broad objectives. Therefore, I am confident the Dublin European Council will be successful and will give the required impetus to the work of the European Union at this important time.