MEETING BETWEEN THE TAOISEACH, MR ALBERT REYNOLDS TD AND THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, THE RT HON JOHN MAJOR MP
1 The Taoiseach and Prime Minister met in Admiralty House, London, on Friday, 25 September 1992 . The Taoiseach was accompanied by the Minister for Justice, Mr Padraig Flynn TD, while the Prime Minister was accompanied by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Sir Patrick Mayhew MP, and by the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with special responsibility for European Community Affairs, Mr Tristan Garel-Jones MP. They discussed a range of issues including European Community matters, particularly preparation for the special meeting of the European Council to be held on 16 October, progress in the three-stranded Talks on Northern Ireland, the Anglo-Irish Agreement and other matters of bilateral interest . The meeting lasted about 2 1/2 hours.
2 There was a full discussion on the prospects for ratification of the Treaty on European Union and the wider agenda of continuing Community business to be taken forward under the British Presidency. The Prime Minister and the Taoiseach agreed that the Community should also press ahead with other vital business, including the completion of the Single Market and of the negotiations on the future financing of the Community and preparations for enlargement.
3 The Prime Minister and Taoiseach reviewed progress in the current political talks in relation to Northern Ireland. The two Heads of Governments re-affirmed their commitment to achieve progress. They recalled that the Northern Ireland parties were committed to participate actively and directly in the North-South discussions.
4 They confirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, including the principle of regular and frequent Ministerial meetings in the Anglo-Irish Inter-Governmental Conference. They also re-affirmed their readiness to consider a new and more broadly-based agreement or structure if such an agreement can be arrived at through direct discussion and negotiation between all the parties concerned.
5 They agreed to a second and final extension of the interval between Inter-Governmental Conferences. The next meeting of the Inter-Governmental Conference will take place on Monday, 16 November.
6 The Taoiseach and Prime Minister reviewed other matters of mutual concern and noted that a wide range of contacts continued between the two Governments at all levels.
