Taoiseach attending EU Lisbon conference

The Taoiseach travels to Lisbon today for a two-day meeting of EU heads of state.

The Informal EU Council will discuss the EU response to globalisation, the recent instability in the financial markets and the international response to climate change

A separate inter-governmental Conference will aim to broker agreement on the Reform Treaty, paving the way for its signature in December.

The Government has already decided to opt out of new structures in the pact relating to judicial cooperation, criminal matters and police cooperation.

However the Taoiseach has vowed to cooperate to the maximum possible extent with the rest of the EU on these issues.

The Taoiseach will be joined in Lisbon by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern and Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche.