Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

Was the issue of Tibet raised at the GAERC meeting, because as far as I recall it was not on the official agenda, which is somewhat strange? Without trying to undermine the potential influence of the Government, I do not see discussions at member state level as particularly useful. However, discussions at EU level could be very useful in terms of extending and exerting political influence on China.

While I have major concerns about abuses of human rights, democracy, freedom of expression, freedom of religious practice etc., there are two sides to the issue. It is very easy to jump on a particular bandwagon which may be populist or popular or follow a media-driven agenda. I would not like to see that happen and would certainly not like to see it impact on a sporting event. I have a strong view that sports and politics should be kept separate. In fairness to the athletes who have been preparing for the Olympics and who will travel to Beijing, they should have their rights respected so that their hard work over the past number of years is not undermined by this controversy. At the same time, we must try to ensure that we can exercise some political influence over China.

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