Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In addition to the new Parliament and Commission, the new President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, the former Polish Prime Minister, took office yesterday. I believe President Tusk will provide excellent leadership for the Council. His appointment is recognition not only of his own wide experience and knowledge, but also of how far EU integration has progressed since 2004.

Although I have not recently held formal meetings with President Tusk or with the High Representative, I have spoken with both of them at the recent European Council meetings which I and they attended. I also wrote to Mr. Tusk at the time of his appointment to congratulate him and reiterate our commitment to a strong working relationship. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has also written to Ms Mogherini in similar terms and he met her in her new capacity at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 17 November.

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