Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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144. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence to detail his EU counterparts he has spoken with formally to date in 2023, in tabular form. [46465/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Since my appointment as Minister for Defence, I have been in contact by correspondence with a number of my EU colleagues. I have also engaged with my EU counterparts in-person in the format of formal and informal meetings of EU Defence Ministers, which also provide the opportunity for short bilateral discussions.

I attended the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Defence configuration, which took place in Brussels, in May and the informal Defence Ministerial meeting, which took place in Toledo, Spain at the end of August.

I look forward to engaging with EU colleagues further at the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Defence configuration, which is scheduled to take place in Brussels in November.

Earlier this year, I also attended the 59th Munich Security Conference, which was attended by a large number of Defence Ministers from the EU and beyond. The focus there was largely on the international response to the war in Ukraine.