RELATIONS with the European Parliament loom large among our presidency responsibilities. It has grown in stature since I was last involved in a presidency in the mid 1980s. Its power of co decision brings it into continual contact with the presidency.
October 22nd: To Strasbourg to report to the European Parliament on the Special Dublin Summit.
We have worked hard to maintain a co operative relationship with parliament. Ministers have made many appearances before its plenary and specialist committees. Gay Mitchell is here today also answering questions on a range of EU issues. As an institution, parliament has secured an enhanced role at the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) negotiations. Its President, Klaus Hansch meets the foreign ministers once a month to exchange views on the negotiations.
October 23rd: The debate on the Dublin Summit is lively and positive. Some MEPs express worries that the outcome of the treaty revision negotiations might not be far reaching enough.
Our strategy is to produce a good outline of the proposed treaty changes before the Dublin Summit in December. This will tee up the negotiations for a successful conclusion under the Dutch presidency.
The European Parliament runs its debates with a discipline unknown in national parliaments.
Twenty six speakers contribute to this two hour session. Time is allotted to the political groups in proportion to their parliamentary strengths. Each group shares its time among its members.
Individual parliamentarians can have as little as a few minutes speaking time, which makes for tightly worded contributions.
Today's visit coincides with the shaping of the 1997 EU budget, where parliament's influence is considerable. It is unfortunate that the funding for the Northern Ireland peace programme has become entangled in the budgetary maelstrom. I am assured that parliament will not compromise the programme's funding. Nonetheless, it behoves us to remain watchful as the budgetary process unfolds.
October 26th: In Budapest for a Conference of European Socialist Parties, attended by a range of prime ministers, foreign ministers and former office holders.
We debate the key issues on the European agenda. There is a keen interest in the progress of the Inter Governmental Conference, especially amongst those leaders whose countries hope to join an enlarged Union.
Before departing for Luxembourg, I have a two hour meeting with the Hungarian Prime Minister, Lazlo Kovacs, whose country is keen to be part of the first wave of new entrants.
October 27th: In accordance with a long standing arrangement, the General Affairs Council (the name by which the monthly meetings of foreign ministers is known) meets in Luxembourg instead of Brussels in April, June and October. This month's meeting is dominated by the Middle East, the crisis in eastern Zaire and EU-US relations.
There are two eve of council briefings, the first with Irish officials, the second with the Council Secretariat, whose officials provide an essential element of continuity from presidency to presidency.
Tomorrow is predicted to be a difficult day. It is being widely reported in the media that the Danes have a political problem with the EU's planned response to the US Helms Burton act. This legislation, known by the names of its congressional sponsors, is designed to penalise economic contact with Cuba, Iran and Libya.
While we fully share the US desire to promote democracy and human rights in these three countries, EU countries dislike the type of legislative instrument chosen. All member states agree we must protect EU economic interests, but the legal base is in dispute. This has the potential to block the whole exercise and become an embarrassment for the Union.
October 28th: The morning begins with a meeting with Commission President Santer to discuss the shape of the day ahead. In the meeting room, I am flanked on one side by our Ambassador to the EU, Denis O'Leary, and the head of the EU division in Dublin, Noel Fahey. The Council's secretary general, Jurgen Trumpl, and his officials are on my left. Business starts with a debate on Helms Burton. We work through the text, agreeing changes favoured by a number of delegations until we are left with the legal problem raised by the Danes - does the EU have the competence to adopt this measure?
There is a determination to sort out this problem even if we have to stay at it into the night. We send the lawyers away to thrash out a remedy and come back to us with recommendations. By late afternoon we have a solution and the new EU legislation goes through.
We move on to debate the worsening crisis in Zaire, where a major humanitarian disaster threatens and the EU, as the world's largest aid donor, is called upon to play its part in relieving yet another reservoir of human suffering. We hear a graphic report from Commissioner Emma Bonino on the impending plight of the refugees.
The Commission undertakes to come up with urgent proposals for additional EU aid. Our special envoy to the Great Lakes region Aldo Ajello, is to go there right away in an attempt to pool our efforts with those of the UN and the Organisation for African Unity. We must try to bring the warring parties around a negotiating table before the situation gets completely out of hand.
Over a working lunch, we consider the appointment of a new Middle East envoy. The first task is to define the parameters of the job, then select the best qualified candidate. We opt for a broad mandate. The envoy will observe and monitor the negotiations and be ready to offer advice and good offices to both sides. Spain's ambassador to Israel, Miguel Moratinos, emerges as the preferred choice. He faces a challenging task but is well equipped with experience of the ins and outs of Middle East politics. His mission will provide a new focus for the EU's contribution to the search for permanent peace there.
Three late afternoon hours are devoted to the Intergovernmental Conference negotiations.
Today's topic is one of the key themes of the negotiations - how to improve the conduct of the union's external relations. A paper has been circulated highlighting the key questions and delegations take the floor in turn to give their views. It's a time consuming business, but this constant exploration of the issues with a view to finding common ground between delegations is the only way forward. I remain confident that we are on target to fulfil our ambitions for the treaty negotiations.
October 29th: Day two of the Council is devoted to preparations for December's first ministerial meeting of the World Treaty Organisation and to EU enlargement. The 10 central and east European countries who aspire join the Union are here for what is called a "structured dialogue" with us. This is aimed at aiding their preparations for membership.
This gathering underlines how far Europe has come in a few years. Some of the countries around the table (the three Baltic nations, plus the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia) did not even exist as independent states before this decade's transformation of the politics of central and eastern Europe. EU enlargement is likely to be an extremely complex undertaking, but it must be accomplished if the most ambitious goals of European integration are to be realised.
Back to Dublin for the visit of Yasser Arafat and further immersion in Middle Eastern affairs.
We assure him of the EU's continued engagement in support of the peace process and listen with understanding to his account of the economic plight of the Palestinians. We discuss the work of the special envoy and the EU troika's mission to the Middle East.