During the debate on the Nice treaty I always explained to friends from eastern European countries that Ireland was not being unsupportive or unhelpful. This legislation underlines that fact. The similarities, in many senses, have been mentioned. We appear to have a similar focus on quality of life. We have many of the same traditions which we had to keep intact against all the difficulties. Because we are far removed from each other and because of the political situation it has not always been possible to develop the relationships we would have liked during the years. I visited many eastern bloc countries before the fall of communism and it was obvious, even though the people had to conform, that they never accepted the situation in which they found themselves.