Cowen defends closing EU forum

THE DECISION to close down the National Forum on Europe has been made because of current financial difficulties and the “necessity to review all areas of expenditure”, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has told the Dáil.

The forum was established in 2001 after the first Nice Treaty referendum to encourage discussion on Europe, and its costs to May 31st this year totalled €401,817.

Mr Cowen said the “Government is fully committed to ensuring the continuation of broad debate on the nature and importance of the European Union”.

However, they had to “reassess” how this was best done in light of budgetary conditions.

He pointed out that a public awareness programme to improve understanding of the EU was being developed in advance of the referendum in the autumn on the Lisbon Treaty.

He added that Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin would oversee this project, in parallel with initiatives by the European Commission and parliament offices in Dublin.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore questioned whether it was a “wise decision” to close down the forum when research after the Lisbon Treaty referendum last year showed “a low level of knowledge among the public about the European Union, its institutions” and how they worked.

Mr Cowen said there was a “wider issue at stake” which one could not expect a structure like the forum to deal with.

“The question is how we incorporate EU issues into the daily and weekly debates of the House so that people can understand how the European Union and its policies interact with their day-to-day lives.”

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the Seanad could be used for presentations by MEPs and organisations that deal with Europe, and he suggested a further role for the sub-committee on Lisbon.

Mr Cowen said working through an Oireachtas committee could be the basis for work because of the “fine job” that sub-committee did in recent months.