Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 22, inclusive, together.

The June European Council will consider a wide range of issues. In particular, it will examine how Europe listens and works for its citizens and how the future of Europe debate and the period of reflection on the European constitution are to be carried forward. I expect to receive the finalised agenda following discussions on the draft conclusions for the Council by the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 12-13 June 2006.

I met the President of Croatia, Mr. Stjepan Mesic, on 12 April. We focused our discussions on the growing bilateral relations between our countries and Croatia's negotiations for accession to the EU and the current situation in the Balkan states. I reassured the President of Ireland's continued support for Croatia's accession to the EU.

I attended the fourth EU-Latin America-Caribbean summit in Vienna on 11 and 12 May. The summit was co-chaired by Chancellor Schüssel of Austria, as President of the European Council, and by the President of Mexico, Vicente Fox. The 58 countries from both regions were represented at the summit.

In preparation for the fourth summit, the EU and Latin American-Caribbean, LAC, sides compiled a joint report outlining progress on the commitments made at the last summit in Mexico, which I co-chaired in 2004. The report confirmed that there has been significant progress across the broad agenda of EU-LAC relations, including progress in the areas of democracy and human rights, trade and development co-operation, promoting education and research, energy and environmental protection.

The summit opened with a plenary session that included a key-note address by United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan. The work of the summit was then conducted in working groups. I was invited to make an opening statement at the morning working group session on democracy and human rights. In my address, I stressed that the Vienna summit presented a valuable opportunity to assess how best to enhance co-operation between the two regions on key international challenges. Central to the strategic relationship between the EU and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean is our promotion and protection of democracy and human rights and our mutual commitment to multilateralism in international affairs. I met the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, on the margins of the summit. At that meeting, we discussed the imminent return of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 15 May and our hopes for the restoration of the executive. I had no other bilateral meeting at the summit.

On Monday, 22 May 2006, I was delighted to welcome the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, on his official visit to Ireland. This was an ideal opportunity to further strengthen the close political and cultural links between our two countries. In the course of our discussions, Mr. Howard and I noted our excellent bilateral relations, which are positively influenced by historical and family ties. We discussed the strength of our bilateral economic relations. In 2005, two-way trade between our two countries was valued at almost €1 billion. We were also pleased to note that our people to people contacts continue to grow. I mentioned the working holiday visa scheme, which continues to be very successful with more than 10,000 Irish young people visiting Australia every year. We agreed that greater potential exists to further develop our trade, economic and tourism links. I briefed the Prime Minister on the current situation in Northern Ireland and I thanked him for Australia's support. I told him that we are also grateful for Australia's support for the International Fund for Ireland over the years.

The Prime Minister and I also discussed the ongoing WTO negotiations, which are now at a critical stage. I stressed in this context that there was a need now for significant advances on the non-agricultural aspects of the negotiations. On the international front, we noted the development of both our countries' relations with India and China. Other international issues including the Middle East, Iraq, UN reform and regional issues in south-east Asia, including East Timor, were discussed in more detail at the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs later that day. For our part, the Prime Minister and I strongly welcomed the formation of the Iraqi Government of national unity and expressed the hope that it would help bring stability and unity to Iraq and its people.

I will travel to New York tomorrow to attend the UN high level special summit on Aids, and will attend a meeting of the European Council on 15-16 June in Brussels. I will travel to Helsinki on 30 June for a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Finland, Matti Vanhanen, who will assume the EU Presidency. I will also attend the ASEM VI summit in Helsinki on 11 September.

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