Press release
Minister Burke will attend the Informal EU General Affairs Council 27-28 Sep 2023 in Murcia, Spain
From Department of Foreign Affairs
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Foreign Affairs
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister of State for European Affairs, Peter Burke, will represent Ireland at the Informal EU General Affairs Council (GAC) meeting 27-28 September 2023 in Murcia, Spain. This will be one of 22 informal Ministerial meetings that will be held in Spain during their six month Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The Spanish Presidency has organised the Informal GAC in Murcia around discussions on the effects of future EU Enlargement on EU Policies and Budget, and on EU Institutions. These discussions are intended to gather views from Member States in advance of related discussions on Enlargement, the Future of Europe and the next EU Strategic Agenda scheduled to take place at the Informal European Council in Granada on 6 October 2023. Ministers in Murcia will also discuss the issue of Strategic Autonomy which represents one of the major themes of the Spanish Presidency and is also due to be considered at the Informal European Council in Granada.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Minister Burke said:
"I am looking forward to visiting Murcia and continuing discussions with my colleagues on the implications of future Enlargement for our Union and how we can best prepare for the admission of new Member States in the years to come. Ireland strongly supports Enlargement of our Union, particularly in the changed strategic context arising from Russia’s unjust invasion of Ukraine, and recognises that we as a Union have to start preparing for that eventuality. We have had good discussions of this issue at the Informal GAC in Stockholm in June and at last week’s General Affairs Council where we heard from two members of an independent Franco-German expert group established to come forward with some suggestions for how the EU’s institutions and policies might need to be adapted.
"Ireland recognises the implications of future Enlargement will be wide-ranging, not just for decision-making but also for the EU budget and existing EU Policies. We will need to consider what changes may be necessary to prepare for this. In that regard, we welcome the Commission’s plan to carry out a series of pre-Enlargement policy reviews so that we can begin to consider both the scale of the challenge (and opportunity) that Enlargement presents and what reforms or changes need to be prioritised. It remains the case that considerable scope already exists within the existing Treaty and legal framework for reforming and adapting our existing policies, institutions and decision-making process."