Press release
Minister of State for European Affairs visits London
From Department of Foreign Affairs
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Foreign Affairs
Published on
Last updated on
On 27 February 2022, Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, will undertake a three day visit to London for a series of engagements, which will include participation in the 61st British Irish Parliamentary Assembly Plenary.
Speaking ahead of the BIPA Plenary, Minister Byrne said:
"I welcome the opportunity to meet and engage in person with members of the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly. As Minister for European Affairs, I am committed to strengthening our relations with all our partners across Europe. BIPA is an important forum for building relationships between British and Irish parliamentarians. The main theme of the 61st plenary will be relations across our islands. I look forward to setting out Ireland’s perspective in a post-Brexit context, of the continuing importance of British Irish relations, particularly in relation to our joint commitments under the Good Friday Agreement, as well as our ambitions to develop them further as well as the current key issues in EU-UK relations."
Minister Byrne will also meet UK ministerial colleagues, MPs and other interlocutors. On Monday afternoon, he will give a keynote address to the London School of Economics Law School setting out his perspective on EU-UK relations post Brexit:
"I look forward to engaging with staff, students and guests of the LSE. We are now more than one year on from the end of the transition period and the beginning of this new phase in EU-UK relations. It is an opportune time to take stock of what has been achieved, as well as to examine the questions that persist."
Ministerial engagement will include bilateral meetings with Minister for Europe and North America, James Cleverly MP, Minister for Safe and Legal Migration, Kevin Foster MP and Tom Tugendhat MP, Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee.
The British Irish Parliamentary Assembly seeks to promote co-operation and build relationships between political representatives in Britain and Ireland, providing a forum for discussion and a means to improve mutual understanding.
The plenary proceedings will be broadcast live on YouTube from 9.30am on Monday, 28 February from its website http://www.britishirish.org/