NI peace heralded by EC president

Jose Manuel Barroso visited Northern Ireland last year

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said Northern Ireland should be an example of what peace can do for a country.

He was speaking after meeting First and Deputy First Ministers Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness in Brussels.

The Stormont pair are in the Belgian capital on a two-day visit, aimed at building up relationships.

They will also meet Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hubner and EU commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.

Mr Paisley told reporters he had been an MEP for 25 years, and during that time he had to "knock on doors and bow and scrape".

However, he said now things were different and Northern Ireland had a "voice in high places".

Mr Barroso, who visited Northern Ireland last April, said that he would contribute to the investment conference due to be held in Belfast in May.

The first and deputy first ministers are holding a series of talks

Stormont's Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew and junior ministers Ian Paisley Junior and Gerry Kelly are also taking part in the trip.

The delegation attended a reception at the Northern Ireland Executive's Brussels office on Wednesday evening.

Mr Paisley told invited guests that he and Mr McGuinness were keen to build relationships in Europe to help underpin Northern Ireland's economy.

Northern Ireland has received about 2.5bn euro in regional support from Europe over the past 20 years.

However, Northern Ireland no longer has Objective One status - the term given to regions of the EU which qualify for the most support from Brussels.