Ireland believes that the Social Summit to be organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union in May in Porto will serve to send a “strong signal of cooperation, hope and change” to the people of Europe.
“I am very impressed by the Portuguese Presidency’s commitment to a social Europe, and we see ourselves reflected in those values, which we, indeed, all share. I think of the people of Europe, and treating people as they should be treated,” said the Irish Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, in an interview on the sidelines of a visit to Lisbon.