Date of release : 25-01-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

Event : Visit by the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament

The Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union will meet with the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament on 26 January 2005 at the Maison du Luxembourg in Brussels.

The Presidency will be represented by the Prime Minister and current President of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, and by Luxembourg’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean Asselborn.

The Conference of Presidents will be led by Josep Borrell Fontelles, President of the European Parliament. The delegation will also include Hans-Gert Poettering (PPE-DE), Martin Schulz (PSE), Graham Watson (ALDE), Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE), Francis Wurtz (GUE/NGL), Johannes Bonde (IND/DEM) and Brian Crowley (UEN).

During this discussion, Jean-Claude Juncker and Jean Asselborn will outline the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency to the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament. The priorities are: the mid-term review of the Lisbon Process, the EU financial perspectives for the period 2007-2013, and the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact.

The Presidency’s meeting with the Conference of Presidents, on the occasion of the opening of the Luxembourg Presidency, was initially scheduled for 6 January 2005 in Luxembourg, but had to be postponed due to President Jean-Claude Juncker’s attendance at the ASEAN Special Summit in Jakarta following the natural disaster in South-East Asia.