Minister Donohoe travels to Strasbourg to advance Ireland’s priorities within the European Parliament

Minister for European Affairs, Paschal Donohoe TD, is this morning (Tuesday) travelling to Strasbourg for a series of meetings with key members of the European Parliament, including Irish and Northern Irish MEPs and the Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Fule.

This is part of a strategic approach by the Government to ensure regular Ministerial presence at European Parliament plenary sessions. This approach was adopted late last year and aims to further enhance Ireland’s influence at European level.

“The decision to ensure a Ministerial presence on the ground in Strasbourg provides a valuable opportunity to advance Ireland’s strategic priorities within the European Parliament and to help further promote our interests.

“This is the fifth Ministerial visit to Strasbourg since the strategic approach was agreed by Government and the engagement has been very well received by MEPs.

“Ministerial engagement of this nature is vital to ensuring that Irish national interests are well represented when MEPs from other Member States are voting on issues that matter to Ireland.

“This is a pro-active communication exercise and a real example of how the Govt is engaging directly with MEPs and the European Parliament. It provides an opportunity to highlight the Government’s commitment to the Parliament, ensures that Irish MEPs are well briefed on Government priorities and that the Irish Government in turn, hears from our European representatives on political developments within the Parliament and relevant Committees.”