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Minister of State urges focus on jobs and growth
The Minister of State for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton TD, met in Brussels this morning with EU counterparts and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy to discuss on-going efforts to deal with the eurocrisis.
Speaking after the meeting, the Minister said "I encouraged President Van Rompuy to focus discussion at next Monday’s summit not just on fiscal discipline but also on how we can create jobs and growth in Europe."
"Ireland is very clear that the priority at EU level is to work on reducing the regulatory burden on SMEs, creating jobs, especially for young people, and accelerating progress on bilateral free trade agreements."
The Minister also discussed the draft intergovernmental treaty on the fiscal compact with EU counterparts.
"We’ve made good progress in turning our political commitments to budget discipline into a legal treaty."
"I believe that next Monday we will make a significant step forward in dealing with the eurozone crisis."