Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to address members on recent developments at the Foreign Affairs Council. A large number of issues were addressed by the Council on which I will provide an update to the committee. In addition, I will look ahead to the November Council meeting. Following that I would be happy to address any questions or issues the Chairman or the members may have and hear their perspectives on the foreign policy issues and challenges we currently face.

I will commence with the situation in Syria, which has remained a matter of constant concern at the Foreign Affairs Council over the past 12 months. The European Union has sought to play a positive role and to work with all parties in the planned negotiations which were convened by the United Nations at the commencement of this year. I very much regret that the Assad regime, with apparent backing from Russia and Iran, refused to engage in these talks and devoted its energies to undermining the talks and engineering a return to violence, without any regard for the suffering of the Syrian people.

I remain firmly of the view that there is no viable military solution in Syria. Assad’s total reliance on mass murder and torture shows that the only basis for his power is terrorising the Syrian people. He can never hope to hold authority through the support of the Syrian population. I expressed this recently in a Dáil speech and I would note that this is also the consensus view of the international community from my many discussions with my EU colleagues as well as in my recent meetings at the United Nations in New York.

I believe the only viable and sustainable way forward remains a comprehensive end to violence and a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political resolution based on a real political transition process. That remains my objective and that of the European Union, which is reflected in the conclusions adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council at its most recent meeting on Monday last in Luxembourg. EU Foreign Ministers called on Russia to demonstrate all efforts to halt indiscriminate bombing by the Syrian regime, restore a cessation of hostilities, ensure immediate humanitarian access and create the conditions for a credible and inclusive political transition. This is critical to saving the lives of the Syrian people, particularly those who remain in the city of Aleppo.

The situation in Iraq remains extremely challenging. The European Union repeatedly made clear its strong support for a democratic, non-sectarian, unified and independent Iraq. There can be no peace in Iraq while Daesh remains in control of large areas of the country, subjecting millions of Iraqis to its totalitarian and barbaric cult of hate, murder and violence. This will need major support for the victims of the conflict in Iraq, including the large numbers of Iraqis displaced by fear of Daesh, and both Ireland and the European Union are assisting the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi population. The EU is working to support the implementation of the Government of Prime Minister al-Abadi in reforming Iraq to achieve the national reconciliation which is so vital to securing the future of Iraq.

More broadly, on the matter of counter-terrorism, the Foreign Affairs Council has discussed the issue on a number of recent occasions, in particular, the need to counter Daesh. In July, in the aftermath of the horrific Bastille Day attack in Nice, the discussions highlighted ongoing support for France, most practicably with regard to Article 42.7, first invoked following the November 2015 attacks in Paris. Ireland responded to that call for aid and assistance through a commitment to increase the number of Defence Forces personnel involved in the EU training mission in Mali from ten to 18.

The earlier Foreign Affairs Council on 23 May focused on the regional strategy for Syria and Iraq and the threat of Daesh. The conclusions unreservedly condemned the actions of Daesh and committed to engage in ways to prevent indiscriminate and targeted attacks, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2249. They also outlined actions to enhance its counter-terrorism action further in a human rights compliant manner, including through high level engagement with MENA countries, Turkey and the western Balkans, reinforcing technical assistance to priority third countries in the development of national strategies to prevent and counter violent extremism, as well as strengthening measures to curb the recruitment and movement of foreign fighters, in particular through enhanced external border controls.

The past year has seen continued stasis in the Middle East peace process. It was discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council in January and again in June, and EU Foreign Ministers also discussed it with the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, in July of this year.

Outside the Council structures, there were two developments of note. At the beginning of June, the French Government launched an initiative to inject some much-needed momentum into the Middle East peace process. I was one of ten EU foreign Ministers to be invited to attend the initial meeting in Paris, along with others, including the United States, the United Nations and important regional players such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. I commend the French Government on its efforts, which are continuing. We will continue to support it in any way we can. At the beginning of July, the Quartet published a long-awaited report which focused on the impediment to the two-state solution presented by the continued expansion of the settlements in the region. While the report came in for some criticism, what is clear is that if its recommendations were implemented, it would represent a clear measure of progress.

I visited the region in mid-June and met Israeli and Palestinian leaders, including Prime Minister Netanyahu and Prime Minister Hamdallah. In all of my political meetings, I made clear my support, and the support of the Irish people, for the French initiative. In my meetings I also made clear the interest of the Members of this House and of the Irish public in the matter of the Middle East peace process.

I was at the Asia-Europe Meeting, ASEM, summit in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia when I heard of the attempted coup in Turkey on 15 July. Along with other foreign Ministers, I swiftly condemned the failed coup and the associated loss of life and violence. Since then, the situation in Turkey has been discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council as well as at a specially convened meeting of the Council of Europe with the Turkish foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuolu, on 7 September at which I made Ireland's position clear. I reiterated that the attempted coup was an attack on democracy. I expressed my concern that some of the actions taken since the coup are contrary to democratic norms.

The scale of the post-coup purge in Turkey, which has seen large numbers of people detained or suspended from their jobs, the arrests of journalists and the closure of media outlets, is very worrying. I also condemned the spate of terrorist attacks in Turkey, including those carried out by the so-called Islamic State or Daesh, the PKK or their affiliates in Turkey. Ireland supports a stable and democratic Turkey. We understand the depth of feeling that this attack on the core of democracy in Turkey has provoked. However, it is critical that legal due process is a cornerstone of the Turkish authorities' response, and in that context, the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial remains essential. The human rights and basic freedoms of minorities, including the Kurdish minority, must also be upheld as core principles. It is critical for all sides to cease hostilities and return to dialogue in order that the political process to resolve the Kurdish issue can be resumed.

The EU and Turkey are working together to address the challenges of the migration crisis, where Turkey plays an invaluable role, as host to approximately 3 million refugees. Migration remains a key challenge facing the European Union. The Union has made substantial progress in addressing the migration crisis through a range of measures, including its relocation programme, the deal that EU leaders agreed with Turkey, dialogues with countries of origin and transit to tackle the root causes of migration, and Operation Sophia to deal with the problem of people smuggling in the Mediterranean.

The deal agreed with Turkey by EU Heads of State and Government in March 2016 has been a major element in the EU's migration response. The reduction in the number of lives lost in the Aegean Sea as well as the reduction in the number of migrants entering the European Union from Turkey since the deal was agreed suggests that it is achieving its aims. The need to comply with European Union and international law was at the heart of the discussions leading to the deal and this issue was a matter of deep concern to us.

We in Ireland have been playing our part. We have resettled 486 refugees from Lebanon while 69 Syrians have been relocated from Greece, a number which I expect to rise to 60 to 80 people per month soon. We can be extremely proud of the work undertaken by our Naval Service in the Mediterranean, which has rescued more than 13,000 people. We have also provided to date a sum of €62 million in humanitarian assistance to Syrians and the region since 2012 and we have also contributed to other humanitarian funds.

Last month, Ireland co-facilitated a UN summit in New York to address large movements of refugees and migrants with the aim of bringing countries together behind a more humane and co-ordinated approach to the issue. The results of the summit, the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, will now be built on with the aim of securing international agreements on both refugees and migrants in 2018.

I wish to turn to the matter of Ukraine and the eastern neighbourhood. The Council had a discussion in January on Ukraine where the focus was on the country’s reform process. Ministers acknowledged the achievement of the government in moving forward with the reform programme in most challenging circumstances. At the same time, they stressed the need for continued implementation of key reform measures, in particular those related to the justice sector, the matter of public administration, the issue of decentralisation and the continuing fight against corruption.

Ministers underlined the significant assistance being provided for the reform efforts by the European Commission and by member states. They also agreed that the deep and comprehensive free trade agreement in place since 1 January 2016 has opened up new opportunities for Ukraine to benefit economically from closer trading links with the European Union. The Council reiterated the strong support of the European Union for sovereignty in Ukraine, the territorial integrity of its borders and its continued commitment to help end the conflict in the eastern Donbas region. The need to move forward on implementation of the Minsk agreements was also highlighted.

On Monday of this week, I met foreign Minister Klimkin at a Friends of Ukraine meeting which took place before the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. The Minister provided an update on the current security situation in eastern Ukraine and the important political and economic reforms that the Ukrainian Government has introduced. I assured Minister Klimkin of Ireland’s full support for Ukraine as it continues on a reform path that is difficult but necessary for the future prosperity of the country and its people.

On the matter of Russia, at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in March, Ministers had a comprehensive exchange on EU relations with Russia. There was broad agreement that a change in the relationship was not warranted, given Russia’s continued support for the separatists in eastern Ukraine and its role in the conflict in Syria. Ministers approved a set of five principles to guide European Union policy towards Russia, including confirmation that implementation of the Minsk agreements would be a key condition for any substantial change in the European Union’s stance. It was also agreed that the European Union would step up support for Russian civil society and strengthen people-to-people contacts.

Ministers acknowledged that selective engagement with Russia could only be pursued on foreign policy issues and specific sectoral areas of interest to the European Union. I underlined the full support of Ireland for the guiding principles and stressed the importance of continued EU unity in our dealings with Russia. On economic sanctions, there was broad agreement that the lack of progress on the Minsk implementation and Russia’s unwillingness to engage constructively in the trilateral contact group negotiations made it inevitable that the restrictive measures would remain in place.

Since the March discussion, developments have taken a turn for the worse. In June, the Council extended the European Union economic sanctions for a further six months up to and including 31 January 2017. This decision was taken in light of the deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine with daily firefights between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian armed forces. According to the OSCE special monitoring mission, August recorded the highest number of ceasefire violations in the past 12 months. Intensive efforts within the framework of the OSCE trilateral contact group to make progress on the security and political strands of the Minsk agreements have made little headway. The situation has improved somewhat in the past four weeks after both sides agreed to a back-to-school truce on 1 September which, I am pleased to say, is largely holding. Agreement was also reached last month on a roadmap which envisages moving forward on parallel political and security tracks. The first step involves implementation of a disengagement plan, initially at three key locations before being rolled out along the entire contact line. I believe it is vital that the disengagement plan is implemented speedily as without a secure ceasefire there is no prospect of the Ukrainian Government agreeing to move forward with legislative proposals for the holding of local elections in the Donbas region and the granting of special status to the region, two key provisions of the Minsk agreements.

It is too early to assess if this latest initiative, on which OSCE, French and German negotiators have worked so hard, will result in a secure ceasefire and the full withdrawal of weapons. Hopes have been raised before of a breakthrough only to be quickly dashed. Later today, the European Council will have a strategic discussion on relations with Russia. Given the lack of progress in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s military actions in Syria, a change in the European Union's position is not expected.

Turning to the eastern partners, an eastern partnership ministerial meeting was held prior to the Foreign Affairs Council in May and EU foreign Ministers met again with the foreign Ministers of the six eastern partner countries at the informal Foreign Affairs Council in Bratislava in September.

The Eastern Partnership will also be discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council, FAC, in November. The EU supports reform to meet the expectations of the Moldovan people and continues to press for improvements in the human rights situation in Belarus. The November FAC is expected to consider the conduct and outcome of recent elections in both countries.

In order to assist the EU to meet the challenges and opportunities posed by ongoing instability in the international context, the High Representative and Vice President, Federica Mogherini, presented a new EU global strategy on foreign and security policy to the June European Council. The preparation of this new strategy was led by Ms Mogherini. She consulted closely with the member states but presented the strategy on her own responsibility to the June European Council. Ireland was actively engaged in the consultation process for the strategy, including at the FAC. The strategy sets out a vision for the EU's foreign and security policy and commits the EU to promoting peace, prosperity, democracy and the rule of law. It aims to mobilise all aspects of the EU's external action – diplomatic, economic development, trade and peacekeeping - in pursuit of coherent policy objectives. Irish perspectives and concerns have been taken on board to a large extent in the document.

The strategy stresses the importance of promoting and protecting human rights, development co-operation, conflict resolution and global governance to address the root causes of the challenges, such as migration and extremism, currently facing the EU. Other positive elements from an Irish perspective include a focus on the Middle East peace process, disarmament, gender, the UN and the importance of multilateralism more generally.

The June European Council welcomed the presentation of the strategy and invited the High Representative, the Commission and the Council to take the work forward. These conclusions make clear that any implementation of the strategy will be negotiated and agreed with the member states. Last Monday, at the FAC, I emphasised that all strands of the strategy should be progressed to realise its stated ambition to promote “peace and security, prosperity, democracy and a rules-based global order”. I also welcomed the commitment in the strategy to continue to mainstream human rights, women, peace and security and gender equality across a range of EU policies. These two important elements were reflected in the conclusions adopted by EU foreign Ministers. An implementation plan for the security and defence strand of the strategy will be presented to foreign and defence Ministers at the November FAC meeting. This will focus on enhancing the EU's peacekeeping capacity in support of the United Nations through the further development of the Common Security and Defence Policy as defined in the Treaty of Lisbon.

The worrying situation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was discussed at the FAC on in June. Along with our European partners, we remain concerned about the ongoing political instability, but welcome the efforts of the political parties to redress the situation and introduce a measure of reform. We are pleased that the political parties have agreed that elections can take place on 11 December. I also had a bilateral meeting with the Macedonian Foreign Minister, Mr. Poposki, en margeof the OSCE ministerial meeting at Potsdam on 1 September, at which I recognised the efforts of the political parties in implementing the July agreement and urged them to continue the commitment to reform and progress.

I welcomed the adoption of the Council conclusions on China at the FAC on 18 July, which provide the policy framework for EU engagement with China over the coming years. I also welcomed the outcomes of the EU-China summit, held in Beijing on 12 and 13 July. A number of items were discussed at the FAC in July, including the verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague on the South China Sea maritime dispute between China and the Philippines; foreign policy issues including bilateral security co-operation; the EU's China strategy and the positive prospects for enhanced EU-China co-operation; China's desire for World Trade Organization, WTO, market economy status; Brexit; and the ongoing important issue of human rights. Ireland continues to support a broad, positive approach to continuing co-operation with China and stresses the need to speak with one voice on China. This will help both sides focus on the challenges and opportunities arising from this very important relationship.

The FAC last discussed Colombia in April, when we had an opportunity to receive a briefing from the Colombian Government's High Commissioner for Peace, Mr. Sergio Jaramillo, and from the EU special envoy to the Colombian peace process, my predecessor and former Dáil Member, Mr. Eamon Gilmore. We also briefly discussed progress in the peace talks at the FAC in July. There have been significant developments in the months since then, not least the conclusion of negotiations between the Government and FARC, the signature of a peace agreement, and its subsequent unexpected narrow rejection by the people of Colombia in a plebiscite on 2 October. The message we have been stressing to our Colombian interlocutors is that the decision of the Colombian electorate to narrowly reject the peace agreement must not deter the two sides from pursuing peace. As we know from our own experience here in Ireland, peace processes are difficult, complex, complicated and can suffer unexpected setbacks. They are never linear. We are, therefore, urging all parties in Colombia to remain committed to the peace process and focused on their ultimate objective of bringing peace to their country. I am pleased to see that the various parties have begun a process of consultation in order to identify how the process might move forward. The role of the EU's special envoy, Mr. Gilmore, is of particular importance and in that regard, he has been working with both sides in Havana to encourage constructive solutions. In meetings at EU level in the weeks since the plebiscite, Ireland has been to the fore in encouraging the EU to maintain a positive approach. We have made clear Ireland’s intentions to remain fully committed to supporting the Colombian peace process, including through supporting the special envoy, Mr. Gilmore, assisting the efforts of NGOs working to promote and defend human rights and facilitating Colombian access to lessons learned from the peace process in Northern Ireland.

More broadly, developments in Latin America and the Caribbean were discussed briefly at the FAC in July and the main focus, aside from the Colombian peace process, was the humanitarian situation in Venezuela and the political dialogue and co-operation agreement with Cuba. On Venezuela, Council conclusions were agreed which called for an urgent, constructive and effective dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and the parliamentary majority to address the country’s many challenges. Ireland, along with the rest of the EU member states, remains concerned about the humanitarian situation in Venezuela and in particular issues connected with human rights defenders and civil and political rights. On Cuba, it is hoped the political dialogue and co-operation agreement between Cuba and the EU will be signed by the end of this year, and it is further anticipated that a bilateral memorandum of understanding between Cuba and Ireland will be finalised before 2017. These advances are evidence of an ongoing rapprochement between Cuba and the EU, as well as Cuba's reopening to the world in more general terms, which we warmly welcome. On the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York this September, I was pleased to have bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Argentina, as well as the vice-foreign minister of Bolivia. This is all part of a stepping up of our engagement with the region, as foreseen in the programme for partnership Government.

Ireland supported the Council conclusions for continued climate diplomacy in 2016 agreed at the FAC held in Brussels on 15 February 2016. Ireland’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is underlined by our own national response in terms of policy and legislation and the planning processes we have under way for both mitigation and adaptation. It was also demonstrated when Ireland agreed, ahead of other member states, to the EU ratifying the Paris Agreement. This contributed to the upcoming entry into force of the Paris Agreement, which will take place on 4 November 2016. We have this week started the process to ratify the Paris Agreement. At COP21 in Paris the Taoiseach committed Ireland to scaling up climate finance and announced that Ireland will provide at least €175 million in public funding, mainly for adaptation in developing countries, by 2020 and additional contributions to the least developed countries fund. In 2015, my Department provided €36 million to the poorest countries of the world for climate related redevelopment programmes and a contribution of €1 million per year is being provided to the least developed countries fund.

Ireland supported the adoption of the Sahel Council conclusions in June, which reaffirmed the commitment of the EU to the region. Support for the Malian peace process remains essential for a stable and secure Sahel.

A number of terrorist attacks across the G5 Sahel countries - Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger - continue to remind us that terrorism remains a critical issue in this region. The Council condemned attacks on civilians and members of the UN peacekeeping force in Mali. It also supported a comprehensive approach to tackling other challenges faced by the countries in the Sahel, including development, irregular migration and organised crime.

Ireland has supported the comprehensive EU position in the Sahel in a number of ways. Eighteen members of the Irish Defence Forces are participating in the EU training mission in Mali at present. The objective of the mission is to assist in the reconstruction of effective and accountable Malian armed forces. Furthermore, Ireland supports the civilian mission in Mali in its goal of ensuring constitutional and democratic order and fulfilling conditions for a lasting peace in Mali through the deployment of two advisers. To further show our commitment to security in the region, the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, will visit Mali on 25 and 26 October. Ireland has participated in technical discussions regarding the migration compacts and the proposed programme actions of the EU trust fund for Africa, to which we have committed €3 million for the 2016-20 period. In addition, Irish Aid has provided over €16 million in humanitarian and development funding to the G5 Sahel countries since 2013.

I thank members for their time and patience in allowing me to review the agenda the Foreign Affairs Council has faced in recent months. I think they will agree that it has been a varied and diverse agenda. I have focused my remarks on the Council’s deliberations, as we agreed I would do. I will be happy to address any questions or queries that members may have. I look forward to hearing their perspectives on these issues and other issues they might wish to raise in the time allocated.