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Minister for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton TD, has today been elected co-chair of a newly formed EPP group of Europe ministers. The group which consists of ministers from the European People’s Party met for the first time in Brussels this morning. Minister Creighton will co-chair with Jacek Saryusz-Wolski MEP.

Minister Creighton said: “I am delighted to have been elected co-chair of this new EPP group of Europe ministers. This presents a great opportunity for Europe ministers from the EPP to meet ahead of the General Affairs Council and give detailed consideration to the issues we have in common, particularly the preparation of the agenda for European Council meetings. There are 17 ministers with responsibility for European Affairs in the EPP family and therefore this opportunity to engage regularly will ensure that we can effectively discuss and co-ordinate how we deal with the important issues we deal with on a monthly basis. I am honoured to have been elected co-chair by my colleagues.”

The EPP has been successfully organising EPP ministerial meetings for various Council configurations (e.g. Foreign Affairs Council, ECOFIN), as well as the EPP Heads of State and Government. This is the first time the EPP has held ministerial meetings in advance of the General Affairs Council (GAC) which is responsible for preparing for, and following up on, European Council meetings. Michael Spindelegger, Minister of European and International Affairs, Austria and Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden and Jean Leonetti, Minister for European Affairs, France were among the ministers present.