There are approximately 16 Council formations at present, some of which meet as often as 12 times per year. Ministers and Ministers of State attend the various Council meetings according to their areas of functional responsibility. Following each Council meeting, a comprehensive Council press release is issued which gives a list of those attending from each member state and full details of the agenda. These press releases are available in the public domain. Each one issued since 1 January 1995 can be accessed on the EUROPA website.
Once every six months, the presidency in office invites the Ministers attending individual Council formations to an informal gathering. These meetings are known as Gymnich Meetings and take place in the country holding the presidency at the time. These serve the useful function of allowing EU Ministers to confer informally, often about longer-term and strategic issues, without the pressure of more immediate work which can often dominate Council agendas. There are no agendas for informal meetings. No formal business is transacted. No conclusions are adopted.
I have attended informal meetings of Foreign Ministers on two occasions since taking up appointment. At the first such meeting, held at the Azores during Portugal's EU Presidency on 6-7 May 2000, Ministers discussed the future of Europe, the Western Balkans, expenditure on the EU's foreign policy priorities, European security and defence policy, Austria, the situation in Zimbabwe, the next EuroMed ministerial meeting, developments in Sierra Leone, EU-Turkey relations and Russia.
At the most recent Gymnich Meeting, held at Evian Les Bains, France on 2-3 September 2000, Ministers discussed the future of Europe, the Middle East Peace Process, the EU's external relations and the Western Balkans.
With regard to informal gatherings attended by other Ministers, invitations are normally issued directly by the chairman in office of each such Council formation to the relevant Irish Minister. By their nature, such meetings are conducted through informal procedures, without the direct involvement of my Department. Should the Deputy require information about the attendance of Ministers other than those for Foreign Affairs, he might direct his question to each of the Ministers concerned.