• Homepage
• Overview of the Work of the Committee
• Membership
• Oireachtas Oversight of EU Decisions
• Cooperation with the EU Institutions
• Committee Debates
• Publications
• Press Releases
• Events
• Previous Meetings
• Contacts
• Links
• Previous Committee
• Live Webcasts of the Sub-Committee

• 
  
  

  On 1 July Belgium assumed the presidency of the EU, taking over from Spain. For six months, the main task of the country which holds the presidency is to organise and manage the work of the Council of the European Union where the member states are represented.
  The Spanish Presidency coincided with the beginning of a new phase for the EU, with a renewed Parliament and Commission and a new treaty in effect since 1 December. With this outlook, Spain, Belgium and Hungary have drawn up a work programme for the 18-month period (January 2010 to July 2011) during which they will hold the Presidency in succession, according to the new regulations which apply in Europe.
  It will be the first ‘trio’ of presidencies to be formalised and perform its functions in accordance with the Treaty of Lisbon. The aim of this new procedure is to provide the work and initiatives of the EU with more continuity.

News

Treaty of Rome 50th Anniversary celebrations in Florence and Rome 22-23 March 2007

Background
On 25th March 2007 the European Union celebrated its 50th anniversary. On 25th March 1957 the signing of the Treaty of Rome created what is now the European Union. On that historical date six nations, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, signed the Treaty which launched Europe’s common market.

The European Union’s most important achievements since its creation have been freedom, rule of law and lasting peace and stability throughout the continent of Europe. Fifty years later the Berlin Declaration, adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the European Union on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, recalls the broad goals and values of the European Union and the challenges it faces in the future.

Commemorative Events organised by the Italian Parliament
To mark the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome the President of the Italian Senate, Mr Franco Marini, and the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Mr Fausto Bertinotti, invited Speakers of Parliament and EU-Affairs Committee chairpersons from the other Parliaments of the European Union member states, from the European Parliament and from the Parliaments of the candidate countries, to take part in a series of commerative events to be held in Florence and Rome on 22nd and 23rd March 2007.

The commemorative events were attended by the Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann, Dr. Rory O’Hanlon T.D., the Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann, Senator Rory Kiely and the Chairman of the Joint Committee on European Affairs, Mr John Deasy T.D.

The aim of this initiative was to involve EU parliaments in an exchange of views and ideas and collective reflection on the possible ways of bringing forward the European integration process. The events consisted of:

• a seminar, What is Europe lacking?, held in cooperation with the European University Institute in Florence which took place at the University headquarters in Fiesole on 22 March, and
• a ceremonial ceremony, A Political Europe and Her Role in the World, which took take place in Rome in the Plenary Hall of the Senate on 23 March.

The ceremonial ceremony, chaired jointly by the President of the Italian Senate, Mr. Franco Marini, and the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Mr Fausto Bertinotti, took place in the Italian Senate on 23 March. The ceremony was attended by a number of distinguished visitors including Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, European Commission President Josè Manuel Barroso, President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Poettering, former French President Valéry Giscard D’Estaing, together with Speakers of Parliaments and EU-Affairs Committee chairpersons from the other Parliaments of the European Union member states, from the European Parliament and from the Parliaments of the candidate countries.
Contributions from Speakers of Parliaments concentrated on Europe’s achievements and future direction and looked forward, in particular, to the full involvement of national parliaments in the tasks ahead.

In his contribution to the ceremony, the Ceann Comhairle, Dr. Rory O’Hanlon T.D. welcomed the achievements of European integration over the last fifty years and underlined the importance of bringing the European Union and its valuable work as close as possible to the citizens it serves in meeting the challenges of the next fifty years of European cooperation.

At the end of the ceremony participants were received by the Italian President, Mr. Giorgio Napolitano, at the Quirinale, where they visited an exhibition of masterpieces from all EU member states (featuring the Irish masterpiece The Singing Horseman painting by Jack B Yeats ). The Italian President hosted a lunch in honour of the Speakers of Parliament and EU-Affairs Committee chairpersons. Lunch was followed by a visit to the Orazi and Curiazi Hall, in the Campidoglio, the room where the Rome Treaties were signed in 1957.

The occasion provided an opportunity to reflect on developments and achievements over the last 50 years and to look forward to the next 50 years to the European Union in 2057 and the challenges and priorities in taking forward the European Project in a new era.