Powers Says Lisbon Treaty Needed To Fight Poverty!

Minister Power was speaking on Monday at a conference to mark Africa Day, organised by Trinity College Dublin and African Embassies in Ireland.

In his address, Minister Power said: "The Lisbon Treaty puts poverty at the heart of the development goals of the European Union. The Treaty provides that the Union will take account of development cooperation in all its policies.  It also recognises a more complex set of development issues, including climate change, energy, free and fair trade, humanitarian action and civil dialogue. Failure to implement the Treaty would have negative consequences not just for Africa, but for the entire developing world."

Speaking following the lecture, Minister Power said: "The European Union already has a broad range of instruments at its disposal.  But the Lisbon Treaty will bring greater coherence to them.  This will ensure the Union has better analysis and better expertise available when tackling poverty and humanitarian issues."

He also said that it is through Ireland's membership of the European Union that the country shape policies that have an impact on the lives of the citizens of the continent of Africa.