merrion street

Lucinda Creighton T.D. Minister for European Affairs, is visiting Lisbon today (Tuesday). The Minister will meet her counterpart Miguel Morais Leitão, Secretary of State for European Affairs, to discuss the latest European developments, particularly the jobs and growth agenda discussed at the last informal European Council. The Ministers will also discuss the economic relations between Ireland and Portugal and Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency.

This morning Minister Creighton met the Portuguese Prime Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho.

Speaking in Lisbon the Minister said: "I am delighted to have an opportunity to have discussions with my Portuguese colleagues today. Like Ireland, Portugal also finds itself in difficult circumstances and I think we can learn a lot from each other – we have very similar ideas about how we can refocus the energies of the EU on jobs and growth. Portugal, like Ireland, supports re-invigorating the Single Market and we both see the great urgency in tackling unemployment, especially among young people. I very much look forward to working with my Portuguese colleagues on these issues over the coming months."

Minister Creighton also addressed a conference on fostering growth and consolidating public finances: "The debt crisis has arguably brought these issues to a head. The reality is that the public spending commitments associated with the European social model will become unsustainable in the absence of renewed confidence underlying our economic performance. That is why an emphasis on the growth agenda is not at the expense of the European social model. It is an emphasis that is fundamental to the future of the European social model. "

"Successful economies will be characterised first and foremost by successful firms. This means a cohort of firms that are competing successfully on international markets: participating in increasingly sophisticated global production and supply networks; or responding directly to changing patterns of consumer demand, including in emerging markets.

There is little doubt that such firms will remain the crucial building blocks of any sustainable growth strategy in the twenty-first century."

The Minister briefed the Portuguese media on the latest economic developments in Ireland.