19.02.2007
The German Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Wolfgang Ischinger, will answer questions from the public during an event at Holyrood on Thursday 1 March.
Wolfgang Ischinger will discuss the priorities of the current German Presidency of the European Union with a wide-ranging audience including MSPs, academics, and private and public sector organisations including the Chairman of the German-British Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Scotland.
The Ambassador’s presentation will be based on the German Presidency’s priorities published in the document entitled Europe – Succeeding Together. It will take place at 1:45pm in Committee Room 1. Tickets are available to members of the public and can be obtained by emailing europe@scottish.parliament.uk.
Linda Fabiani, Convener of the European and External Relations Committee, which is hosting the event, said:
"I am delighted that the Scottish Parliament, and members of the public, will have the opportunity to hear, and ask questions on, how the German Presidency will impact on Scotland.
"We look forward to welcoming His Excellency Wolfgang Ischinger to Holyrood, especially as so many important issues will be addressed during Germany’s six month presidency including a common EU energy policy and post 2012 targets for combating climate change.
"I hope that members of the public also take the opportunity to engage in this open debate.”
Background
The German Presidency has a number of high profile goals. The most prominent of these is to obtain a consensus on the future of the European Union’s constitutional treaty by the end of June 2007 and the adoption of a common EU energy policy at the European Council summit on 8-9 March 2007. Germany also hopes to gain an EU consensus on post-2012 targets for combating climate change, to take steps towards securing Europe’s future energy supply, and to promote the Commission’s Better Regulation Agenda which aims to reduce the administrative burden on companies by 25%.