The President of the European Parliament said at the end of a two-day visit to Dublin that the future of Aer Lingus had been raised with her by almost everyone she met. Ms Nicole Fontaine said the Parliament would be taking up the issue but there were no miraculous solutions.
The issue of aid to airlines in difficulty was in good hands with Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, she said. The Parliament would also be looking into it in the near future. "I am not saying that we have miraculous solutions of any sort but we shall certainly be looking at it to ensure that something can be done."
Commenting on the aftermath of the September 11th atrocities and the campaign against terrorism, Ms Fontaine said people should not talk of terrorism and Islam in the same breath.
She also said she had discussed the follow-up to the Nice referendum with the Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and others during her visit.
"The people I spoke to didn't actually reveal anything as to their plans. At the moment they are listening to citizens, particularly they will be doing that in the forum that will be launched this week and that will enable citizens to make their viewpoints felt," she said.
"As far as we are concerned in the European institutions, we are listening to what the Irish have to say and obviously it is up to the Irish Government after listening to its citizens to inform us of the proposals they have been making so that we can find a positive solution to the situation."
Asked what she thought of the idea that MEPs should have speaking rights in national parliaments, proposed by the Fine Gael MEP, Ms Mary Banotti, Ms Fontaine said: "I think it is a very good idea and I support it strongly. There are one or two national parliaments where the European members can speak."