Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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10. To ask the Minister for Defence if he has attended any meetings with EU counterparts since taking office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34576/14]

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister to inform the House about the level of engagement he has had with his EU defence ministerial colleagues and in particular what has been the outcome of any discussions with regard to the formation of impending battle groups, the Nordic battle group in 2015 and the German-led battle group in 2016.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have had two proper engagements with EU ministerial colleagues, the first meeting on the margins of a NATO summit which was an event for partners of NATO in certain peacekeeping missions. I had a very good bilateral meeting with my Dutch counterpart. Two Dutch officers are in the UNDOF mission. I made it very clear to my counterpart what Ireland requires in order to stay. She was in complete agreement with Ireland's position. I have had a good engagement with colleagues at the informal defence meeting held in Milan last week. It was a very useful lengthy working session which gave me the opportunity to get to know my colleagues and the issues they are progressing. I can assure the Deputy that we have not made any radical new commitments but I have outlined an Irish perspective on some of the new challenges we face. For example, the mission in Afghanistan is coming to an end to be replaced by a peace observation and support mission in which there may be some limited Irish involvement. Ireland supports the battle group concept.

The name "battle group" is unfortunate, but that is what it is. Under the battle group model, military forces from different European countries train with each other in order that if there is a need to undertake peacekeeping or observation missions, troops from the various member states will have an understanding of how their colleagues from elsewhere operate and work. This model also ensures the proper interoperability of both the equipment used and the personnel serving together.