Blair and Ahern to hold talks

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and his British counterpart Tony Blair are to have bilateral talks on the Northern Ireland peace process and other mutual interest issues during this week’s European summit in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The get-together was fixed during telephone contact between the two premiers today and will be the first since Mr Blair’s General Election success.

The face-to-face meeting will be staged on Thursday or Friday and examine the consequences of the election returns from Northern Ireland and related points, as well as the shock referendum rejection of the European Union’s Treaty of Nice last week.