Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Europeann Council, ETA Ceasefire, Budget, Police Inquiry, Duchy of Lancaster and Next Foreign Policy Speech
European Council
Asked what the Prime Minister wanted from the European Council, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that the Spring Council was now almost always an economic council. As such we would like to see this council take forward the agenda set out at Hampton Court, which was on energy and energy co-operation in Europe as well as further economic reform. Precisely where we got to would be down to the Austrian presidency, but those were the priorities we had identified going into the council.
ETA Ceasefire
Asked for a reaction to the ETA ceasefire and whether we supported the Spanish government opening talks with ETA, the PMOS said that we welcomed the ETA statement and we now hoped to see the commitments made in their statement delivered in practice. Any internal decisions that may need to be made about talks were entirely a matter for the Spanish government. One thing we had learnt in Northern Ireland was that it could be useful to have external support but the detail had to be sorted out between the parties on the ground. This would guide our approach.
Budget
Asked for the Prime Minister’s reaction to the budget, the PMOS said the budget delivered on the government’s agenda and priorities.
Police Inquiry
Asked, again, if there had been any contact between the Metropolitan Police and Downing Street, the PMOS said that he was not aware of any at this stage.
Duchy of Lancaster
Asked if a new Duchy of Lancaster could be expected before tomorrow evening, the PMOS said that his focus would be on the European Council and the trip after that. In response to the suggestion that we did not really need one now, the PMOS said that that reshuffle question had such a thin veneer on it that the journalist was in danger of being hauled up on the trade descriptions act.
Next Foreign Policy Speech
Asked about the second speech, the PMOS said that it would primarily focus on the importance of global alliances and clearly Australia was part of that given their role in Iraq.
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