The Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council Councillor Hubert Keaney welcomed a group of visitors from Estonia and Lithuania to Sligo City Hall.
Estonia and Lithuania Group Visit
Group from Estonia and Lithuania visit Sligo
Arrangements for the visit were coordinated by the Europe Direct Information Centre based in Sligo Central Library.
In his welcome address, the Cathaoirleach said
‘Given our remote location on the western periphery of Europe, we greatly value the opportunity to welcome friends from other countries. In recent years Sligo has been enriched by its diverse cultures and ethnic groups, and by exploring new traditions, we gain a deeper appreciation of our own.
The context of your visit is the establishment and mechanisms of the Europe Direct Information Centres. The EU Commission decided to set up a network of information centres and documentation centres in every EU country. In Ireland the decision was made to use the existing Library network that was already established and simply integrate the EDIC centres into the chosen locations.
Ireland’s commitment to the EU ideal has been a consistently endorsed by successive governments and by leading business and farming organisations. As a country we have gained a lot from our EU membership, but the record will show that have also contributed much to European affairs.
As part of their remit, EDIC undertake various events and activities throughout the year - as long as they tie in with European Objectives and Aims. In terms of management, they are administered by the library services in each county’s local authority.’
The Cathaoirleach finished by wishing the group a very pleasant stay in the ‘Yeats Country’ hoping that they could take in as many delights as the county had to offer during their brief visit before flying home to their respective Countries at the weekend.
Europe Direct Information centres – Background information
The main purpose in establishing these facilities for the general public to easily contact one of the ten centres in any official EU language for:
- Answers to questions on your EU rights, funding, etc.
- invitations to local EU information/networking events
- EU documents and publications
- references to other information sources
- contact details for relevant organisations
The Public could also contact the nearest European documentation Centre (5 in total – 2 based in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Cork) for:
- access to official EU publications and documents (online and print)
- help finding detailed information on European law, integration, policies and institutions
- training for students on EU-related fact-finding and research