Written answers

Thursday, 26 June 2014

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

European Council Meetings

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline the issues discussed at this week's meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27718/14]

Photo of Eamon GilmoreEamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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As the Deputy will be aware I attended the most recent meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Luxembourg on Monday 23 June. The agenda was a very busy one with discussions dominated in the main by the latest events in Ukraine and developments in the EU's Southern Neighbourhood, notably Iraq and Libya; a number of other items were addressed at the end of the Council meeting. The first substantive item for discussion was Ukraineand Ministers were joined for part of this session by the recently-appointed Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Pavlo Klimkin which was most welcome.

It is evident that there have been several positive developments in recent weeks – not least the Presidential elections and, the peace plan presented by President Poroshenko. However, as I stated after the Council meeting, the situation in Eastern Ukraine remains volatile and we must continue to support efforts towards de-escalation and stability in Ukraine. The signature of the Association Agreement with Ukraine scheduled to take place on 27 June is an important symbol of the EU's commitment and support, and will provide further impetus to political and economic reform efforts. Importantly, the Council Conclusions agreed at FAC on Monday also re-affirmed the EU's support for the work of the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission and agreed to establish a CSDP mission to assist Ukraine in the field of civilian security sector reform, including police and the rule of law. I welcome these positive developments.

Turning then to the Middle East region, attention was understandably focussed on the grave situation in Iraq– with some discussion on Syria – arising from the offensive launched earlier this month by ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/al-Sham) which has resulted in the capture of Mosul and several other major cities in northern Iraq. The situation on the ground in Iraq is clearly very worrying and I share the concern of our EU partners. The FAC strongly condemned the activities by terrorist groups and attacks on civilian targets in particular.

Through the Council Conclusions agreed on Monday, the EU has sent a very strong message to the Iraqi government that the emphasis going forward must be on an inclusive political approach which allows for a genuine role for the large Sunni minority. UN Special Representative for Iraq Nikolay Mladenov – a former Foreign Minister of Bulgaria – joined the Council for these discussions and made a valuable contribution towards our understanding of the situation. As the Deputy will be aware, there is now a considerable humanitarian crisis unfolding. I was glad therefore to confirm last week that Ireland would be distributing €200,000 of emergency assistance in the region – through GOAL – in the period ahead.

On Libya, Ministers had a very useful exchange of views, where there was wholesale agreement that the focus needs to be on supporting the political process in order to avoid seeing the country descending into further instability. Comprehensive Conclusions were adopted. It is my sincere hope that the forthcoming elections will represent a turning point and provide an opportunity for a real national dialogue to begin about Libya's future.

Minsters discussed the case of 3 Al-Jazeera journalists on trial in Egyptwhose sentences were strongly condemned by High Representative (HR) Ashton after the meeting; Ireland strongly supports this position.

The Council adopted Conclusions expressing extreme concern at recent developments in Thailand and called on the military leadership to restore the legitimate democratic process and the Constitution, through credible and inclusive elections, and to free all political detainees and remove censorship.

The Council also welcomed the holding of the second round of the presidential elections in Afghanistan which represents the first opportunity for a peaceful and constitutionally mandated transfer of power in the country's history. It called on the new President to reach out to all Afghans and reaffirmed the EU's continuing commitment to support the reform process in Afghanistan, focusing on promoting peace and security, reinforcing democracy, encouraging economic and human development and fostering the rule of law and human rights, including the rights of women and girls.

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