Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, there is no standing EU army and as there are no plans for one, I am not sure where the Deputy is coming from in his question. It seems to suggest the informal meeting of Defence Ministers in Riga recently was undercover but nothing could be further from the truth. The most recent informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers took place in Riga, Latvia on 18 and 19 February. The informal defence ministerial meeting is not a decision-making forum, rather it provides an opportunity for Defence Ministers to discuss current issues and review ongoing progress in Common Security and Defence Policy developments. As such, the meeting did not have new implications for the work and-or deployment of the Defence Forces.

The first working session during the informal meeting was focused on preparations for the June 2015 European Council at which the issue of defence will be on the agenda. Clarification was provided by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the process leading to the June meeting and the issues she regarded as priorities for Heads of State. She informed Ministers of her intention to initiate a process to review the European security strategy and produce a new foreign and security policy. In her presentation to the European Council she will signal the launch of the process.

The meeting of Defence Ministers continued with discussions on the importance of strategic communications and the complex issue of hybrid conflict such as we have seen in Ukraine and Syria. Strategic communications are a key enabler in securing popular support for the activities of the European Union in crisis management operations.

During the final working session Ministers were briefed on the ongoing Common Security and Defence Policy military operations. During this session there was also a forward-looking briefing, linking rapid response and the battle groups with possible scenarios and concrete crisis areas. In the past few days I had the privilege of visiting, meeting and spending some time with the Irish troops in Mali in west Africa in one of the EU-backed missions. I take the opportunity to congratulate them on the impressive project on which they have embarked in undertaking a training mission in Mali.

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