British-Irish Council
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The British–Irish Council (also known unofficially as the Council of the Isles and the British Isles Council) is a body created by the Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement). Its membership includes representatives from the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies. Its stated aim is to "promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands". Its participants are the:
- Government of the United Kingdom
- Government of Ireland
- Northern Ireland Executive
- Scottish Executive
- Welsh Assembly Government
- Bailiwick of Guernsey
- Bailiwick of Jersey
- Isle of Man
The council meets in two formats. Heads of government meet in two British–Irish Council summits per year. Additionally, there are regular meetings that deal with specific sectors of discussion and are attended by the appropriate ministers. Among other topics of mutual interest, members focus on:
- Misuse of Drugs
- Environment
- Knowledge Economy
- Social Inclusion
- Telemedicine
- Tourism
- Transport
- Minority and Lesser-Used Languages
[edit] See also
- North-South Ministerial Council
- Politics of the Republic of Ireland
- Languages in the United Kingdom
- Irish language in Northern Ireland
- Regional language
- UK topics
