John Gormley
Ceist:149 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the role his Department can play during Ireland's upcoming Presidency of the European Union. [24026/03]
Written Answers. - EU Presidency.
The areas in which my Department could play a role during Ireland's Presidency of the European Union in 2004 are as follows: islands – conference in Galway, 19 to 21 May 2004; rural development – conference in Mayo, 30 and 31 May and 1 June 2004; and drugs strategy – meeting of national drugs strategy co-ordinators in Dublin, 15 and 16 June 2004. All three events are high-level meetings at official level. They have been included in the calendar of such meetings for the forthcoming Irish Presidency, which was deposited very recently in the Oireachtas Library by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I plan to open the two conferences and the Minister of State at my Department, Deputy Noel Ahern, will open the national co-ordinators' meeting.
The timing of the events for May and June 2004 means that they will take place after the formal enlargement of the EU on 1 May 2004. Therefore, in addition to their overall objective of making a contribution to furthering strategic consideration by the EU in three important policy areas, they should provide occasions to welcome and celebrate with ten new members to the European family.