7 Nov 2016, 14:47
7 November 2016
The Joint Committee on European Union Affairs will tomorrow meet with His Excellency Mr. Dušan Matulay, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Ireland and His Excellency Mr. Paul Schellekens, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ireland, to discuss the priorities and position of Member States on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union.
The meeting will commence public session at 5.30pm in Committee Room 3 tomorrow, Tuesday, 8 November 2016.
Committee Chairman, Michael Healy-Rae TD, said “This Committee believes it is very important to understand the priorities and positions of all of our European partners in relation to the UK's withdrawal from the EU. We are beginning that process by meeting the Ambassadors of the current Trio of Presidencies of the Council of the European Union: the Netherlands and Slovak Republic today and Malta in early December.”
“As a Committee, we enjoyed excellent engagement with Ambassador Matulay recently on the priorities of the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Tomorrow, however, we turn our attention to how the decision of the UK people to withdraw from the European Union will impact on Member states and what their particular priorities are, in light of possible negotiations.”
“We will also have the benefit of meeting with Ambassador Schellekens for the first time to hear how the Netherlands, a country which has strong political and economic relations with the UK, have planned for the withdrawal. The Netherlands held the Presidency of the EU Council for the first half of this year and so we welcome this timely discussion.”
Committee proceedings can be viewed live here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
Ends