Taoiseach to meet French President, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris
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The Taoiseach will travel to Paris today (Thursday, 21 May) to meet French President, Emmanuel Macron, at the Élysée Palace. The visit is part of his programme of meetings with EU leaders ahead of Ireland’s Presidency of the EU Council, which begins on 1 July.
The leaders will discuss preparations for Ireland’s Presidency as well as international issues and bilateral relations.
The Taoiseach will also undertake a series of other engagements while in Paris, including a visit to the Irish Cultural Centre/Centre Culturel Irlandais (CCI). While at the CCI, he will announce the launch of a new archival project to improve access to historic documents related to Ireland in French archives. Together with the Paris branch of Conradh na Gaeilge, the Taoiseach will present a copy of the first English-Irish dictionary (An Foclóir Béarla-Gaoidheilge, or Begly’s Dictionary), which was first published in Paris in 1732, to the CCI. He will also deliver the keynote address at the conference, Tearmann thar Toinn: The Irish Language in Europe, being hosted by the CCI.
Speaking ahead of the visit, the Taoiseach said:
“In just over a month, Ireland will take on the Presidency of the EU Council. We are doing so at a time of great challenge and uncertainty, both for Europe and for the wider world.
“I look forward to discussing with President Macron his priorities for our term-in-office and how we can work together to improve the lives of Europe’s citizens and enterprises.
“I will brief the President on our plans to focus on improving EU competitiveness, negotiating the Union’s next budget, and security. We will also seek to make progress on EU enlargement.
“I also look forward to discussing global challenges, including conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine.
“Bilateral relations between France and Ireland are excellent at all levels – political, economic, cultural and people-to-people – underpinned by our historical friendship and shared EU membership.
“While in Paris, I am also looking forward to marking the deep cultural ties and shared heritage with France through a number of events at the Centre Culturel Irlandais, the home of Irish culture in France.
“I will launch the Journey to Europe: Archives of the Irish in France project, which will identify and digitise material of significant Irish interest housed in French archives. This project will improve our understanding of our deep historical relationship. In my keynote address, I will also reflect on the Irish language in Europe, both past and present, as we continue to promote our native language as a vibrant part of our cultural identity.”