07 February 2012
Assistant Chief Minister, Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, will make his first official visit to Brussels on 8 and 9 February 2012. During his 2-day visit, Senator Bailhache will meet senior European Union officials and politicians to discuss a wide range of issues relating to Jersey’s engagement with the EU.
Meetings at the European Commission have been scheduled with senior political advisers President José Manuel Barroso, Vice President Baroness Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Michel Barnier. Further meetings have also been arranged with the Permanent Representations of the UK and France to the EU, with the Mission of Andorra to the EU, with the European Parliament and with the EFTA Surveillance Authority.
Senator Bailhache commented: “I look forward to a productive 2 days of meetings in Brussels. Developments in the EU are of great significance to the Channel Islands in a wide range of areas – supervision and regulation of financial markets, tax information exchange, aviation, shipping, data protection, trade in fisheries and agricultural products, environmental standards, e-commerce and others. It is therefore important that Jersey and Guernsey are independently represented at European level, which is why we established our joint Brussels office. During my visit I will be discussing many of these issues. I will also take the opportunity to emphasise that, despite the tough global challenges faced by us all, Jersey will continue to contribute to the wider European economy and to be a responsible and cooperative neighbour and partner.”
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