25 March Intergovernmental Conference and anniversary celebrations, Rome

EU foreign ministers who travelled to Rome for the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome held a four-hour meeting to examine the Dutch presidency's latest proposals for EU reform, focusing on its ideas for improving the Union's handling of judicial and interior policies. Also on the table were Franco-German plans to strengthen the EU's overall foreign policy and defence capabilities. Confirming his government's determination to speed up the talks, Dutch Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo announced that he would be summoning his colleagues to a series of extra IGC negotiating sessions, beginning in the Netherlands on 6 and 7 April.