Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 25, inclusive, together.

I make contact on an ongoing basis at European Council and other summit meetings with EU Heads of State or Government. On 30 June, I travelled to Helsinki where I met with the Finnish Prime Minister, Mr. Vanhanen, and discussed the agenda for the Finnish EU Presidency. I travelled to Berlin on 9 October and had a successful meeting with the German Chancellor, Ms Merkel. The meeting came at an important time, in advance of Germany assuming the EU Presidency on 1 January 2007. At the meeting, the Chancellor and I had thorough discussions on EU developments, most notably Germany's preparations for its EU Presidency term, the European constitution and EU enlargement.

I will address the College of EU Commissioners in Brussels on 8 November and meet with the EU Commission President, Mr. José Manuel Durão Barroso. I will also address the European Parliament in Brussels on 29 November. In addition, I will attend the informal meeting of Heads of State or Government in Lahti, Finland on Friday, 20 October, and the regular European Council on 14 and 15 December in my role as Head of Government.

As well as attending the regular European Council meetings scheduled in March and June, I also intend to travel to some Gulf States in early January to promote Irish trade interests in the region and to visit Washington for St. Patrick's Day. I have not yet received a formal agenda for the informal meeting of Heads of State or Government in Lahti. However, the Finnish EU Presidency has indicated that the one-day summit will discuss innovation policy in the EU and its external relations with regard to energy policy. There will also be a working dinner with Russian President, Mr. Putin. I, along with others, will be emphasising the importance to the EU of secure and reliable energy supply.

On 10 September, I travelled to Helsinki for ASEM, the Asia-Europe Summit, hosted by the Finnish EU Presidency. ASEM plays an important role in fostering greater contact and understanding between Asia and Europe. There is practical value in bringing together Asian and European leaders to meet and exchange views on issues of concern to both regions. Key themes of the summit were strengthening multilateralism, addressing security threats and dialogue among cultures and civilisations. While human rights issues were not formally on the wide-ranging agenda for the summit, I raised concerns about the human rights situation in Burma at the discussion on regional and international issues at the working dinner on the first evening of the summit.

I had a short bilateral meeting with the Polish Prime Minister during the course of the summit. We discussed several issues, particularly the large number of Poles resident and working in Ireland. I also met the Malaysian Prime Minister on the margins of the summit.

On 18 September, I had the pleasure of welcoming Their Majesties, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway, and their delegation to Government Buildings during their first official visit to Ireland. We discussed the good bilateral and trade relations that exist between our two countries. Matters of common interest including our respective commitment to the United Nations and its peacekeeping efforts, and energy security were also discussed.

The National Forum on Europe is an independent body. As I have no function in its day-to-day operations, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on its planned work programme for the coming year. The forum is proactive in disseminating such information including via its website. I am confident that it will continue its effective work in stimulating and facilitating debate on matters of importance on the European agenda.

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