End of beginning in sight - Andrews

The new "institutional architecture" being negotiated in the Northern talks would call for a willingness on all sides to offer change in the interests of agreement, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has said.

In a speech in Dublin to EU ambassadors noting "the real engagement now under way" in the run-up to the plenary session of the Stormont negotiations, Mr Andrews said that, after lengthy preliminaries, they were now approaching the heart of the matter. "The crucial issues on which agreement must be reached are emerging into sharp focus. Next week's plenary must mark the end of the beginning. We must build institutions and create a civic ethic, which reflect the equal realities of both allegiances and identities."

The Minister said agreement must be based on key principles: consent in all its aspects and absolute rejection of the use of violence for any political purpose, systematic equality and parity of esteem, the protection and reinforcement of individual and collective rights.

"This new institutional architecture will inevitably represent a careful and intricate balance between interests and aspirations and will have to be grounded in realities. Its negotiation will call for a willingness on all sides to offer change in the interests of agreement."