Enda Kenny hints at staying on until May
At a meeting of MEPs in Brussels on Thursday, Mr Kenny told members of Fine Gael’s European group, the European People’s Party (EPP), he intends attending a gathering in Wicklow on the week of May 11 and 12.
The meeting is to be hosted by MEP Sean Kelly.
The meeting will include prominent members of the EPP Group’s bureau and presidency which is responsible for the group’s political and strategic decisions and high-profile guest speakers from Europe as well as those from Fine Gael.
Mr Kenny last week said he would deal definitively and conclusively with his leadership on his return from Washington DC, but almost immediately he dropped signals of staying on longer than many within Fine Gael want. He has since gone on to say he wants to attend at least two Brexit- related EU summits as well as a major EPP meeting in Malta which would bring him through to mid-April.
However, his commitment to attend Mr Kelly’s event in May will surely test the patience of the main contenders to succeed him, ministers Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar.
“He is likely to hang around a bit and play with Leo and Simon. But he committed to attending this gathering in Wicklow,” said one party source.
According to the notice, Mr Kelly will host “a major meeting of Europe’s biggest political group, the Group of the European People’s Party, in Wicklow in May 2017”.
The event will see leading EU politicians and members of the EPP, to which Fine Gael is aligned in Europe, gather in the Newtownmountkennedy area of Co Wicklow for two days of discussions and policy development with several key speakers.
“Mr Kenny is invited to address the event and Mr Kelly further confirmed that he has invited the EU Commission’s chief negotiator on Brexit, Michel Barnier, to speak to attendees in Wicklow,” the notice read.
Mr Kelly said: “I am delighted to confirm that the EPP group has accepted my invitation and I will be honoured to host a meeting of the EPP group in Wicklow on May 11-12. The implications of Brexit will be a major issue on the agenda as well as other key EU policies.
“Given Ireland’s specific and unique situation concerning the UK’s departure from the EU, it is fitting that the issue will be debated in Ireland.
“Ireland’s Brexit concerns are fully understood at EU level and we continue to engage with our EU partners on those issues as the UK prepares to trigger Article 50 and launch negotiations. The remaining 27 EU member states will negotiate with the UK as one bloc, with the EU Commission’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier leading.
“I have met Mr Barnier on Brexit on several occasions and he is working closely with the Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Irish MEPs and government ministers. I have also invited Mr Barnier to come to address this meeting in Wicklow in May.”
