European peace money discussed at Brussels conference 31 January 2013 Last updated at 06:21 By Mark Devenport Political editor, Northern Ireland The first minister and deputy first ministers are in Brussels attending a conference on the impact of European Union peace money in Northern Ireland. Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness will hear from local recipients of EU peace funding at the Bringing Divided Communities Together event. It will explore whether the lessons of peace programmes in Northern Ireland could be relevant to other regions. The European Union has provided more than £1bn of peace funding since 1995. The money has funded scores of community groups as well as high profile projects like the Peace Bridge across the River Foyle and the planned Conflict Resolution Centre at the site of the former Maze prison. In a video prepared by the European Commission, the coordinator of the Maze Peace Building project, Mary McKee, explained the importance of the £18m European grant towards the former jail's redevelopment. "This site here at the Maze/Long Kesh is possibly one of the most sensitive and emotional sites in Northern Ireland, if not, Europe, so the ability to get consensus to develop a conflict resolution centre on the site has been a huge achievement," she said. The conference is also due to be addressed by the European regional commissioner, Johannes Hahn, and Irish government minister Brendan Howlin. Among the issues that will be discussed will be if there are any lessons from Northern Ireland's experiences of peace money could be relevant to other regions. Given the recent violence on the streets in Northern Ireland, Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness may have to explain why the divisions between the communities remain so serious, 18 years after the European Union approved its special financial support.