The Irish Presidency of the European Union starts its most challenging month on Monday as foreign ministers meet to thrash out the text of a constitution for the bloc, ahead of a summit of EU leaders on June 17
Published:
17 May 2004 y., Monday
Irish Premier Bertie Ahern has been touring EU capitals since early May to try to reach consensus on outstanding wrangles in the charter, seen as vital for the smooth running of the bloc which expanded on May 1 to 25 members from 15.
His trips appear to be paying off, with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain - with Poland one of two countries blamed for the collapse of talks on the charter last December - saying on Friday the bloc was close to agreement.
"We are close to what may be an understanding and global consensus in the whole Union," he said after meeting Ahern in Madrid.
The charter, drafted by a 105-member convention of lawmakers from across the bloc, failed to gain acceptance last year mainly because of disagreement over how voting powers should be divided between member states.
Šaltinis:
scandinavianews.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
On 28 July at the square in front of the Ministry of National Defence the solemn initiation ceremony of the assigning of the Chief of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania was held.
more »
On 28 July, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sven Alkalaj, who was paying an official visit to Lithuania.
more »
Lithuanian Minister of National Defence and Estonian Defence Minister by phone discussed readiness of Baltic Battalion to be on duty in NATO Response Force after the information that due to extremely difficult economic situation Latvia will decrease its input into the battalion.
more »
In the evening of 27 July in Brussels at the end of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting and before the EU-Belarus consultations, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs V. Ušackas met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus S. Martynov.
more »
On 27 July in Brussels, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas and EU Foreign Ministers discussed the situation in Georgia and its neighbourhood.
more »
Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas met with Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphedinsson, Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security Árni Páll Árnason and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs Árni Thór Sigurdsson.
more »
President Dalia Grybauskaitė received the Apostolic Nuncio to Lithuania, Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi.
more »
On 23 July in Stockholm, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Asta Skaisgirytė Liauškienė and Swedish Minister for European Affairs Cecilia Malmström discussed priorities of Sweden’s EU Presidency.
more »
Lithuania’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs V. Ušackas had a telephone conversation with Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphedinsson, during which the Ministers discussed Iceland’s decision to apply for the European Union membership.
more »
Acting in conformity the Constitution of Lithuania and based on the proposal submitted by Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, President D. Grybauskaitė has approved the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
more »