Stormont committee visits Spain

Danny Kennedy is one of the committee members travelling to Spain

Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are travelling to Catalonia to learn how they operate within the EU.

Four members of the committee of the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister visit Barcelona on Wednesday.

Danny Kennedy, Barry McElduff, Naomi Long, and Francie Molloy are meeting with their Catalonian counterparts.

UUP MLA, Mr Kennedy, said the group were hoping to learn from the way the devolved Catalan regional government cooperates with the EU.

"Our research tells us the Catalonian region and its assembly work very well so we want to explore their experience and see how we can learn from that," Mr Kennedy said.

"We are meeting with our Catalan government counterparts as part of an inquiry into EU issues and how best NI can work with the EU."

"Obviously we are travelling on a low cost airline, not business class," he added.

"We're mindful of the cost to the public purse especially in the current financial climate."

The committee members are due to return from Barcelona on Friday.