Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 119: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his recent meeting in Dublin with the Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39579/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I met with my Estonian colleague Urmas Paet in Dublin on 31 October. We had a very useful and open discussion on a number of important international and EU topics. The subjects covered in the course of our discussion included Irish-Estonian bilateral relations, the European Constitutional Treaty, European Neighbourhood Policy, EU Enlargement, EU-Russia relations, Common Agricultural Policy and Review of Financial Perspectives, Energy Policy, EU Battlegroups, Development Cooperation, and Afghanistan.

In an enlarged European Union, it is vitally important that we maintain good bilateral relations with our EU partners. There is a particular need to develop close ties with those countries, like Estonia, that acceded to the Union in 2004. The visit by Minister Paet served both of these purposes very well.