Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 65: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the April 2005 meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13684/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The General Affairs and External Relations Council met in Luxembourg on 25 April. In the general affairs part of the meeting, we discussed the future financial perspectives for the period from 2007 to 2013. We have entered an intensive phase of this very important negotiation. Ministerial conclaves have been scheduled for the eve of the May and June General Affairs and External Relations Councils. The Luxembourg Presidency is organising work with a view to the reaching of a successful conclusion to the negotiations at the European Council in June.

However, it is not yet clear whether there will be sufficient political will to make agreement possible within that timeframe. At the Council on 25 April there was a particular focus on cohesion policy. I emphasised our continued support for generous cohesion arrangements for the poorest member states, including in particular for our new partners. At the same time, I argued that our own regions should continue to receive appropriate assistance. I also used the occasion to stress once again that the October 2002 agreement on the financing of the Common Agricultural Policy must be respected.

Under the external relations agenda, the Council discussed a wide range of issues and adopted conclusions on the European neighbourhood policy, the Great Lakes, Iraq, Lebanon, the Middle East peace process and the westernBalkans. Following the Council, the accession treaty to allow Bulgaria and Romania to become members of the European Union was signed by all EU member states and by Bulgaria andRomania. I and the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs signed on behalf of Ireland. Before attending the Council, the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs attended a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs for a detailed exchange of views on the agenda items, and my Department subsequently sent to the committee a copy of the Council's conclusions. These are also available on the Internet at www.consilium.eu.int.