Arrival at Shannon: The Taoiseach formally welcomed the US President, Mr George W. Bush and the First Lady, Mrs Laura Bush, at Dromoland Castle, Co Clare, last night, as they arrived with the rest of their delegation for today's EU-US summit.
Air Force One, carrying the presidential party, touched down at Shannon Airport at 8.05 p.m. The President waved and smiled as he emerged from the blue-and-white aircraft with Mrs Bush, who was wearing a light green trouser suit. They were accompanied by the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, and the National Security Adviser, Ms Condoleezza Rice.
Among the welcoming party at Shannon were the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen; the US Ambassador to Ireland, Mr James Kenny; the US Deputy Chief of Mission, Ms Jane Benton Fort; the Chief of Protocol at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr Brian Nason; and the chairman of Aer Rianta, Mr Noel Hanlon.
The President travelled from Shannon in a black limousine as part of a cavalcade to Dromoland Castle, arriving at 8.30 p.m. He hailed the Taoiseach, who was waiting to greet him, as "Bertie". The Taoiseach in turn greeted the couple warmly with handshakes and a hug for the First Lady. The Bushes and Mr Ahern waved from the top of the steps and posed for photographs before entering the hotel.
Later the President and the Taoiseach took a walk through the grounds of Dromoland Castle. There was heavy security throughout the area and protesters were kept well back from the scene.
At 9.45 this morning, Mr Bush will have a courtesy meeting with the President, Mrs McAleese, at Dromoland Castle. This will be followed at 10.10 a.m. by a bilateral meeting with the Taoiseach. The EU-US summit will then begin with a plenary session, shortly before 11 a.m.
The issues for discussion at the plenary session will include Iraq, the Middle East and counter-terrorism. This will be followed by a discussion on trade and economic issues over lunch. Others due to be dealt with during the morning include: Afghanistan; the emerging humanitarian crisis in Darfur, western Sudan; halting the spread of weapons of mass destruction; combating HIV/ AIDS and other communicable diseases.
The EU delegation will be jointly led by the Taoiseach as President of the European Council, and by the President of the European Commission, Mr Romano Prodi. They will be accompanied by the Tánaiste, Ms Harney; the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen; EU High Representative Mr Javier Solana; the EU High Representative on Foreign Policy, Prof Javier Solana; the Commission's Vice-President, Ms Loyola de Palacio; and three other Commissioners, Mr Chris Patten, Mr Pascal Lamy and Mr Jan Figel.
A press conference is scheduled for 1.40 p.m. Mr Ahern will say goodbye to President Bush at 2.15 p.m. with Air Force One being scheduled to take off from Shannon at 2.30 p.m. on route to the NATO summit in Istanbul.
