Taoiseach departs for Council of Europe summit in Warsaw

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, is due to travel to the Polish capital, Warsaw, today for a meeting of the 46-nation Council of Europe.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern is also due to give a speech to the summit in his role as a special envoy for the United Nations.

The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 to promote European democracy and is made up of EU and non-EU states deemed to be respecting the rule of law and fundamental human rights.

Its meeting over the next two days is designed to define the council's role in modern Europe.