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Wed 12 Dec 2009No embassy overlap, committee told
THE DEVELOPMENT of an EU diplomatic service will not have a negative impact on Ireland’s own diplomatic network, the secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs told an Oireachtas committee yesterday.
David Cooney said the work of the European External Action Service (EEAS) envisaged under the Lisbon Treaty will, in several respects, be different to that of the State’s embassies and consulates, which focus largely on trade and liaising with Irish communities, and, in the case of Irish Aid programme countries, development issues. “My personal view is that I wouldn’t expect it to have a huge impact on our operations,” he told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on EU scrutiny.
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