Adams to address MEPs about IRA disarmament

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams must state whether the IRA will end all criminal activity when he faces MEPs in the European Parliament…

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams must state whether the IRA will end all criminal activity when he faces MEPs in the European Parliament on the peace process today, Unionist MEPs have demanded.

The West Belfast MP will face questions on last week's announcement that the IRA has completed its disarmament programme when he attends an event hosted in the parliament by Francis Wurtz, the president of the United European Left/Nordic Green Left.

The United European Left/Nordic Green Left is the fifth largest group in the parliament and includes Sinn Fein's two MEPs, Bairbre de Brun from Northern Ireland and Mary Lou McDonald from Dublin.

Speaking to reporters before the meetings today, Mr Adams said he would be seeking support the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement, "and to raise the key democratic goal of an end to partition".

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Mr Adams will also meet European Regional Development Commissioner Danuta Hubner and this morning called for renewed EU funding for peace and reconcilliation projects.

"Such a fund, which could run from 2007 to 2013, could greatly assist the bedding down of the peace process [and] assist in dealing with the legacy of conflict in terms of tackling social and economic exclusion, and discrimination and building local and national reconciliation," he said.

But the DUP's Jim Allister said Mr Adams is not entitled to a warm reception in Brussels. In a reference to the failure of the decommissioning body and the IRA to produce a detailed inventory of all the Provisionals' decommissioned weapons, Mr Allister said: "Perhaps they [Sinn Féin] hope in a culture which thrives on lack of transparency, their non-transparent decommissioning will impress."

The UUP's Jim Nicholson said MEPs attending the question-and-answer session needed to be aware of the Sinn Féin leader's unwillingness to answer questions about IRA activity.

"Before Mr Adams seeks to cover himself in glory, we should wait for genuine confirmation that all the weapons have been destroyed," he said.

"We also need to know whether or not the IRA is going to end all its other activities and dismantle its vast criminal empire?"