The British-Irish Council ( BIC ) is an intergovernmental organization that aims to improve collaboration between its members in a number of areas including transportation, the environment, and energy. [1] Its membership includes Ireland , the United Kingdom , the devolved governments of Northern Ireland , Scotland and Wales , and the governments of the Crown Dependencies of the UK: Guernsey , Jersey and the Isle of Man . England does not have a devolvedadministration, and as a result is not individually represented on the Council. [2]
The British and Irish governments, and political parties in Northern Ireland, agreed to form a Council under the British-Irish Agreement, part of the Good Friday Agreement reached in 1998. The Council was formally established on 2 December 1999, when the Agreement came into effect. The Council is committed to promoting the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands. The BIC has a standing secretariat, located in Edinburgh , Scotland , and meets in semi-annual and ministerial meetings. [3]
Membership and operation
Membership of the Council consists of the following administrations as of January 2018:
Member Administration | Representative (s) | title | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Guernsey | Deputy Gavin St Pier | Chief Minister | ||
Isle of Man | Howard Quayle , MHK | Chief Minister | ||
ireland | Leo Varadkar , TD | Taoiseach | ||
Jersey | Senator Ian Gorst | Chief Minister | ||
Northern Ireland [4] | vacant, MLA | Executive Office | ||
vacant, MLA | Executive Office | |||
Scotland | Nicola Sturgeon , MSP | First Minister | ||
United Kingdom | Theresa May , MP | Prime Minister | ||
Wales | Carwyn Jones , AM | First Minister |
The nine heads of government meet at summits twice per year. In addition, there are regular meetings that deal with specific sectors and are attended by the corresponding ministers. Representatives of the United States of America in the United States of America.
England, unlike the other countries of the United Kingdom, is not represented separately, as it does not have its own devolved administration. It is also represented on the Council of the United Kingdom.
The work of the Council is financed by mutual agreement as required. [5] At the meeting of the Council, [ when? ] It was Decided That with devolved government returned to Northern Ireland timely That year Existed time „to undertake a strategic review of the Council’s work program, working methods and media arrangements.“ This decision included the potential for a permanent standing secretariat, which was established in Edinburgh , Scotland , on January 4, 2012.
At its June 2010 summit, the Council decided to move forward on recommendations to enhance the relationship between it and the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA). The British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly is made up of members of the parliaments and assemblies of the same states and regions of the British-Irish Council. The Council is working with BIPA’s secretariat.
In addition to The Above members Cornwall has-been a full member since 2010 observed due to the Cornish language falling under the Council’s areas of work. [6]
Work areas
The Council agrees to specific work areas. The Belfast Agreement suggests transport links, agriculture, environmental issues, culture, health, education and approaches to the European Union . However, these work areas can be expanded or reduced to the Council decides. It is also open to the Council to make agreements on common policies. These agreements are made through consensus, although individual members may opt out of any of these.
The current list of work areas and the responsible member are:
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The meeting was adopted at the 2006 meeting of the Council. It was proposed by the Scottish Executive , who also took responsibility for it. During the 2007 meeting of the Council the Scottish Government further Top That Proposed Energy Become a work area of the Council. Past work sector areas included knowledge economy, e-health / telemedicine and tourism.
Name of the Council
Initial suggestions for the council included in the names of the Council of the British Isles [7] or Council of the Isles , [8] and the council has been known by the latter name. However, owing to sensibilities around the term British Isles , particularly in Ireland, the name British-Irish Council was agreed.
The official name of the council is represented in the minority and used by the council as
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Summits
Dated | Host | Host leader (s) | Location held | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | December 17, 1999 | England | Tony Blair | London | [1] |
2nd | November 30, 2001 | ireland | Bertie Ahern | Dublin | [2] |
3rd | 14 June 2002 | Jersey | Pierre Horsfall | Saint Helier | [3] |
4th | 22 November 2002 | Scotland | Jack McConnell | New Lanark | [4] |
5th | November 28, 2003 | Wales | Rhodri Morgan | St. Fagans National History Museum , Cardiff | [5] |
6th | 28 November 2004 | Guernsey | Laurie Morgan | Castle Cornet | [6] |
7th | May 20, 2005 | Isle of Man | Donald Gelling | Villa Marina, Douglas | [7] |
8th | 2 June 2006 | England | John Prescott | ExCeL Conference Center , London | [8] |
9th | July 16, 2007 | Northern Ireland | Ian Paisley Martin McGuinness |
Parliament Buildings , Belfast | [9] |
10th | February 14, 2008 | ireland | Bertie Ahern | Royal Hospital Kilmainham , Dublin | [10] |
11th | 26 September 2008 | Scotland | Alex Salmond | Hopetoun House , South Queensferry | [11] |
12th | February 20, 2009 | Wales | Rhodri Morgan | SWALEC Stadium , Cardiff | [12] |
13th | November 13, 2009 | Jersey | Terry Sweat | Radisson Hotel , Saint Helier | [13] |
14th | 25 June 2010 | Guernsey | Lyndon Trott | Fermain Valley Hotel, St. Peter Port | [14] |
15th | December 13, 2010 | Isle of Man | Tony Brown | Sefton Hotel, Douglas | [15] |
16th | 20 June 2011 | England | Nick Clegg | Lancaster House , London | [16] |
17th | 13 January 2012 | ireland | Enda Kenny | Dublin Castle , Dublin | [17] |
18th | 22 June 2012 | Scotland | Alex Salmond | Stirling Castle , Stirling | [18] |
19th | 26 November 2012 | Wales | Carwyn Jones | Cardiff Castle , Cardiff | [19] |
20th | 21 June 2013 | Northern Ireland | Peter Robinson Martin McGuinness |
Magee College , Derry ~ Londonderry | [20] |
21st | November 15, 2013 | Jersey | Ian Gorst | The Horizon Hotel, Saint Brelade | [21] |
22nd | 13 June 2014 | Guernsey | Jonathan Le Tocq | St. Peter Park Hotel, St. Peter Port | [22] |
23rd | 28 November 2014 | Isle of Man | Allan Bell | Villa Marina Complex, Douglas | [23] |
24th | 19 June 2015 | ireland | Enda Kenny | Dublin Castle , Dublin | [24] |
25th | 27 November 2015 | England | Theresa Villiers | Lancaster House , London | [25] |
26th | 17 June 2016 | Scotland | Nicola Sturgeon | Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow | [26] |
27th Extraordinary | 22 July 2016 | Wales | Carwyn Jones | Cathays Park , Cardiff | [27] |
28th | November 25, 2016 | Wales | Carwyn Jones | Cathays Park , Cardiff | [28] |
29th | November 10, 2017 | Jersey | Ian Gorst | The Horizon Hotel, St. Brelade | [29] |
See also
- Council of Ireland
- North / South Ministerial Council
- British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference
- British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly
References
- Jump up^ Jesse, Neal G., Williams, Kristen P .: Identity and institutions: conflict reduction in divided societies .Publisher SUNY Press, 2005, page 107.ISBN 0-7914-6451-2
- Jump up^ See Vernon Bogdanor, ‚The British-Irish Council and Devolution‘, in Government and Opposition: An International Journal of Comparative Politics, Volume 34, Issue 3, July 1999, pp.291-295.
- Jump up^ „Scottish government website“
- Jump up^ TheFirst Minister and deputy First Ministerof Northern Ireland is adiarchy. Northern Ireland is represented by the First Minister and the Deputy Minister of Northern Ireland. TheScottishandWelshDeputy First Minister’s meetings in the past.
- Jump up^ Belfast Agreement- Strand Three, Articles 8 and 9.
British-Irish Council website,Frequently Asked Questions: Who Pays for the British-Irish Council? Archived30 June 2007 at theWayback Machine. - Jump up^ Read, David (2014). Cornish National Minority Advisory Report . Truro: Cornwall Council. p. 22.
- Jump up^ UDP Proposed Creation of British Isles Council, Irish Times , May 30, 1996
- Jump up^ The British-Irish Council: Nordic Lessons for the Council of the Isles, Mads Qvortrup and Robert Hazell,The Constitution Unit, October 1998
- Jump up^ „Menystrans hembronk rag yethow teythyek, minoryta ha le-usys yw an Governans Kembrek“ . British-Irish Council . Retrieved 22 July 2014 .
- Jump up^ 1/1999: AN UM TACHT CHOMHAONTÚ NA BREATAINE-NA HEIREANN, 1999
- Jump up^ „Work of the British-Irish Council“ . British-Irish Council. Archived fromthe original on 29 January 2004 . Retrieved 11 April 2017 .