A ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement is organised during the plenary session in the European Parliament, in Brussels. The GFA, also known as the Belfast Agreement, was signed on 10 April 1998 by the British and Irish governments, and confirmed by referendums in Ireland and Northern Ireland in May the same year. The agreement established devolved political power-sharing structures for the nationalist and unionist communities in Northern Ireland, and brought the 30-year period of violent conflict in Northern Ireland, known as The Troubles, to an end.

Brussels

statement

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Ireland (T)

peace process in Northern Ireland (T)

president's agenda

Ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement: opening of the ceremony by Roberta METSOLA, EP President, and Video clip on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Good afternoon. Nice to see you all. The session adjourned on the 16th of March 2023 is reopened. Can I please ask you to take your seats? We have an important anniversary to Mark. Dear colleagues, we have with us the President of the European Council. The President of the European Commission for this momentous occasion. We will begin today's plenary session by marking the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, So today we highlight the continued significance of an agreement that is grounded in peace and reconciliation, an agreement that is helping to instil harmony between people. I invite you first to view a short video to mark this important moment.

Video clip on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement