Thomas P. Broughan
Ceist:26 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason Tibet was deleted from the EU-China summit meeting that took place in Beijing on 30 October 2003. [26698/03]
Written Answers. - International Agreements.
On 5 November 2003, I gave a comprehensive response in relation to the sixth EU-China summit meeting and related matters. The summit was hosted by the Chinese Premier, Mr. Wen Jiabao, in Beijing on 30 October 2003. The EU was represented by Prime Minister Berlusconi of Italy, in his capacity as President of the European Council and by the President of the European Commission, Mr. Romano Prodi, and the High Representative for EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, Mr. Javier Solana. In line with EU convention in these matters, individual member states were represented by the Presidency at the summit.
Ongoing EU concerns regarding the situation in Tibet were addressed, as well as the general human rights situation in China, both bilaterally, within the framework of the EU-China human rights dialogue and through appropriate action at the UN, including at the commission on human rights. While Tibet was not agreed upon as a separate agenda item for the summit, the EU-China human rights dialogue, international human rights standards and UN human rights mechanisms were all the subject of discussion. As these are the frameworks through which the EU continues to address the Tibet question, the discussions at the EU-China Summit on these issues were of particular relevance and interest with regard to the situation in that region.
At the summit, the parties welcomed the achievements of the EU-China human rights dialogue, and reconfirmed their commitment to work towards achieving more meaningful and positive results on the ground. The joint expression of commitment to further enhance co-operation in the field of human rights is welcome in this regard. I would like to assure the Deputy that, within the existing frameworks, Ireland will continue to call on the Chinese authorities to respect fully the rights of the Tibetan people.