Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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109. To ask the Minister for Defence when the next meeting of EU defence Ministers will take place; the agenda for same if decided; his priorities for it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48688/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The next informal meeting of Defence Ministers will be hosted by Latvia as part of their Presidency of the EU Council and will take place in Riga on the 18^thand 19^thFebruary 2015. The agenda has not yet issued. However, as with previous meetings, it is assumed that Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) Missions and Operations will be on the Agenda. Current EU Military operations are Operation ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA , the EU’s anti-piracy maritime mission off the coast of Somalia; EUFOR RCA, the EU mission in the Central African Republic; and the EU Training Missions in Mali and Somalia (EUTM Mali and EUTM Somalia). The meeting will also probably discuss progress to date on the conclusions agreed by the Heads of State and Government at the European Council in December 2013 that focused on Defence and look forward to the further discussions on Defence issues to take place at the European Council in June 2015.