Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The informal EU defence ministerial meeting was held in Sofia on 4 and 5 May. The meeting was hosted by Bulgaria, which currently holds the Presidency of the EU.

There were two working sessions over the course of the meeting which was chaired by the High Representative, Ms Federica Mogherini. The two sessions dealt with a range of ongoing developments in regard to EU Common Security and Defence Policy, CSDP, specifically aspects of PESCO and a discussion on perspectives on crisis management.

The PESCO session involved a discussion on the implementation of PESCO and the governance rules for PESCO projects. It was clear at this session that the focus should and will be on positive outcomes for the people of Europe. The work ahead to implement PESCO focuses on the governance arrangements, third country participation and achieving real deliverables through the projects.

The discussion on crisis management reflected on the current security challenges and the role of the EU in support of international peace and security. This session was attended by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping and the NATO Deputy Secretary General. This facilitated a reflection on operational co-operation and mutual support between the EU, the UN and NATO, both at the strategic level and also on the ground where units or contingents from each organisation may be deployed in the same theatre of operations.

I welcome the process under way to review the long-standing and important UN-EU Strategic Partnership on Peacekeeping and Crisis Management. I look forward to close engagement with my EU ministerial colleagues in regard to that. Ireland is committed to the development of EU capabilities in the area of crisis management in support of the UN and to enhancing EU-UN co-operation.

Ireland is an active participant in all aspects of CSDP, both civilian and military. We endorse the position that crisis management operations are most effective when part of a wider approach, linking up with diplomacy, development and rule of law instruments. Discussions during this session were constructive and inclusive.

En margeof the meeting, I met with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General primarily in regard to UNIFIL and UNDOF, and separately with my UK, Czech and Cypriot colleagues.

While in Sofia, I also attended a meeting of the European Defence Agency steering board.

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