Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

While there have been numerous Tuareg ceasefires in the past, I see this as positive in that there is now a real opportunity in that country. The agreement is that many of the grievances of the Tuareg population would be addressed. There is criticism that there was no common agreement across the EU in regard to the conflict in the region but I presume there is common agreement in regard to building a real and meaningful peace process in that region. This is where the positive support needs to come from the EU in order to try to resolve the conflict that has been ongoing for decades in the region by seriously addressing the grievances of the Tuareg population in the north of Mali, in particular in regard to the corrupt regime that was in place, given the intervention was seen as the French stepping in to prop up that regime. Does the Minister of State agree this is a real opportunity that the EU needs to grab with two hands?

See this speech in context