Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I propose to answer Questions Nos. 1 to 10, inclusive, together. I participated in the informal meeting of the European Council on Thursday 11 February. As I will be making a statement to the House later today, I will give a summary account of the proceedings now.

As the House is aware, the Council agreed a statement in relation to the challenges facing the Greek Government in order to meet the targets set in the stability programme for and beyond 2010. That statement, I believe, contained two core messages. First, there is immense solidarity among the member states. Second, member states recognise that they have commitments and responsibilities which they must fulfil, particularly in regard to the stability and growth pact, and there are various agreed mechanisms to support member states in doing that.

The other main topic of discussion was economic policy. It is intended to agree a successor to the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs at the June Council. The successor strategy will cover the period to 2020. The matter will be considered again in depth at the Spring European Council on 25-26 March. The Commission has suggested that the core elements of a new strategy should be based on knowledge and innovation, an inclusive high employment society, and greener growth. There was broad support for these elements, which resonate very well with our national efforts and priorities.

Discussion on the successor to the Lisbon strategy will continue and we expect to see a significant contribution from the new Barroso Commission in early March. We briefly considered the situation in Haiti following the tragic earthquake there, and agreed on the need for work to proceed in all relevant fora to ensure rapid progress on relief and reconstruction. In view of time constraints, the Council did not get into a detailed discussion of climate change and the Copenhagen conference as originally foreseen. That discussion will now take place at the March meeting of the European Council.

I received a draft annotated agenda for the March European Council last week. The main items on the agenda include the new European strategy for growth and jobs and the follow up to the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. With regard to my travel plans for 2010, I expect to be in the United States for St Patrick's Day. I intend to go to the British-Irish Council Summit in Guernsey in June. I will also, of course, attend the meetings of the European Council during 2010. I hope to attend the EU Latin America and Caribbean Summit which will be held in Madrid on 18 May, and the Asia -Europe Summit on 4-5 October in Brussels.

With regard to future bilateral meetings with EU leaders or the President of the European Commission, I have no specific meetings planned in the short term but I saw President Barroso and my European Council counterparts in Brussels on 11 February and will see them again at the European Council in March.

I hope to welcome Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen to Dublin in the autumn.

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