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

When I said "Syria" my smartphone heard "Siri" and responded to me. Deputies with children will know what I am talking about.

The search for a peaceful resolution to the Syrian conflict remains a top foreign policy priority for the EU. EU foreign ministers discussed the situation in Syria at the April Council, at which they adopted a new EU strategy for Syria that sets out the EU's main lines of action. There are four key actions. I imagine Deputies are familiar with them.

The EU provides direct assistance to the UN-brokered talks in Geneva, including the technical discussions. The EU has launched, in co-ordination with the UN, an initiative to develop political dialogue with key actors from the region to identify common ground. The EU Syria peace process support initiative aims to facilitate the peace process, build the capacity of opposition parties and contribute to dialogue with civil society in support of the efforts of the UN special envoy for Syria.

The EU and its member states have mobilised more than €9.4 billion for humanitarian and resilience assistance to support Syrians inside the country and in neighbouring countries. This makes the EU the largest single donor to the effort. At the Brussels conference in April 2017, which was co-hosted by the EU, a further €3.7 billion for 2017 was pledged by the EU and its member states, representing almost 67% of the pledges. The EU will host another donors' conference for Syria in 2018.

Ireland has supported calls for sanctions at UN level as well. We very much regret that a draft UN Security Council resolution, which would have established a sanctions regime, a committee, and an expert panel to hold accountable those using and producing chemical weapons in Syria, was not passed in February 2017 due to the vetoes of Russia and China. Ireland will continue to support all efforts to ensure a lasting peace and full accountability for war crimes in Syria in the context of bringing peace and stability to the region. My views in respect of the inappropriate use of the veto in the UN Security Council by more than one or two countries are well-known at this stage. The matter is one Ireland wants to pursue in the context of UN reform and changing the way in which that veto is abused at times.

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