What will sprout from meetings in Brussels?

Tuesday 03 March 2015

Jersey’s Foreign Minister is off to Brussels today to help put the Channel Islands on the business map.

Senator Sir Philip Bailhache's visit is part of Jersey and Guernsey's ongoing political engagement with EU institutions and with European countries to promote the Channel Islands’ interests and to improve awareness and understanding of the Islands.

The Channel Islands Brussels Office has arranged for Senator Bailhache to meet a number of diplomatic representatives including the new French Permanent Representative to the EU and the Norwegian Ambassador to the EU. He'll also meet with the Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies - a leading think-tank that will shortly be publishing a paper on the UK's relationship with the EU.

Senator Bailhache said: “I look forward to productive meetings in Brussels. We are well represented by the Channel Islands Brussels Office, which has been a good example of joint working with Guernsey. Although the Channel Islands are outside the EU, developments in the EU impact directly or indirectly on the Channel Islands in a wide range of important areas. CIBO’s work, underpinned by political and official level engagement from both Islands, is essential to the protection of our interests.”

Last January, Jersey and Guernsey's Chief Ministers went on a joint visit to Brussels and last November it was the turn of Guernsey’s Commerce and Employment Minister.

This time last year, Senator Bailhache and his Belgium counterpart Didier Reynards formally agreed to exchange tax information.