Dublin / Lisbon, 10/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - In his talks with Jose Maria Aznar, last Friday in view of the Seville Summit, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said that he would ask the European Council to approve a declaration guaranteeing Ireland's military neutrality. The Taoiseach confirmed that a new referendum on the Nice Treaty was scheduled for by the end of the year. Mr. Aznar, for his part, said that the Seville Summit would take decisions enabling the Council to work more efficiently and take greater account of the "citizens' desire for transparency".
In Lisbon, the Portuguese Prime Minister, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said, after his meeting with the President of the European Council, that he would be going to Seville to "support the proposals of Jose Maria Aznar", notably regarding illegal immigration which, he remarked, "is in the process of endangering the stability of certain political systems in Europe". As for Aznar, he announced a four-point operational plan: common policy on immigration and asylum, combating networks organising illegal immigration, improving border controls, co-operation with countries of origin.