A group of European regional politicians visiting the North has expressed optimism that the peace process will succeed.
Dr Karl Heinz Klar and Mr Anton Rombouts, members of the EU Committee of the Regions (COR), were conducting a fact-finding mission for the committee, which provides a forum for representatives of local and regional governments.
Dr Klar, the State Secretary for the Rhineland Palatinate in Germany, said they had chosen the North because "if you are looking at cross-border and inter-regional co-operation, there is no other place to be".
In Europe such matters were "boring", he said, "but here there is a certain enthusiasm" from which those on the Continent could learn.
Comparing the experience in the North with that of reconciliation between Germans and others after the second World War, Dr Klar said it should be possible to bring the people of the North together.
"There were troubles and a lot of deaths but it was no war," he said.
Mr Denis Haughey, a junior minister in the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, said the COR visit highlighted the benefits of co-operation for the North.
"Real co-operation, in terms of consultation and action, is essential if we are to succeed in our task of building a thriving society for everyone in Northern Ireland," he said.
"We will not create a successful society by working in isolation. The importance and value of partnership cannot and should not be underestimated."