02 March 2015
The Minister for External Relations, Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, will visit Brussels on 3 March 2015 for a series of meetings arranged by the Channel Islands Brussels Office (CIBO).
During his visit, Senator Bailhache is scheduled to meet a number of diplomatic representatives (including the new French Permanent Representative to the EU and the Norwegian Ambassador to the EU) and the Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS, a leading think tank that will shortly be publishing a paper on the UK / EU relationship).
The visit is part of the ongoing political engagement by Guernsey and Jersey with EU institutions and with European countries to promote the Channel Islands’ interests in Europe and to improve awareness and understanding of the Islands.
In the past year, this political engagement has included a joint visit by the Chief Ministers of Guernsey and Jersey to Brussels (January 2014) and a visit by Guernsey’s Commerce and Employment Minister (November 2014).
Senator Bailhache said “I look forward to productive meetings in Brussels. We are well represented by the Channel Islands Brussels Office, which has been a good example of joint working with Guernsey. Although the Channel Islands are outside the EU, developments in the EU impact directly or indirectly on the Channel Islands in a wide range of important areas. CIBO’s work, underpinned by political and official level engagement from both Islands, is essential to the protection of our interests.
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