Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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132. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to attend a planned meeting between EU foreign affairs ministers and the Israeli Prime Minister which is due to take place in Brussels on 11 December 2017 (details supplied); his views on such a meeting taking place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51886/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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EU High Representative Mogherini has invited Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel to meet with EU Foreign Ministers at a breakfast meeting on 11 December, taking advantage of the fact that many Foreign Ministers may have arrived for the Foreign Affairs Council which will follow later that day.

The Middle East Peace Process is a very important issue for the EU. Ireland supports efforts to reach a comprehensive peace agreement to the Middle East conflict, and this is a priority for me personally. I have met with the US Middle East team to encourage their work, and to underline what the EU sees as the key parameters for an agreement. I have also taken an active role on this issue in the Foreign Affairs Council, urging my colleagues to continue our work to help preserve and create the political and physical space in which the two state solution can be achieved. I visited the region earlier this year and met with representatives of both parties, and I hope to do so again in the coming months.

The possibility of inviting both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas to Brussels for such discussions has been under consideration for some time. I understand that President Abbas’s availability to meet with EU Foreign Ministers at an early date is currently being explored.

This meeting will be an opportunity both to hear from Prime Minister Netanyahu, and to underline to him key EU messages and concerns about the Middle East. Subject to other commitments, I would expect to attend.