THE Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister had an hour long meeting on EU matters before they left Belfast on Monday evening.
In advance of the Florence Council and the Irish presidency, they discussed the beef issue. Mr Bruton expressed his wish to assist the Italian presidency in resolving the BSE situation before next week's EU Council meeting. He also indicated he would discuss the issue in bilateral meetings with other EU leaders.
Mr Major and Mr Bruton also discussed the agenda for the Irish presidency, beginning in July, including the Inter Governmental Conference.
The Taoiseach said one of the priorities of the Irish presidency would be to tackle illegal drugs. Mr Major said fighting drugs was very important to the UK.
The two leaders also discussed the Russian presidential election this weekend and former Yugoslavia.