Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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152. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the agreements made by Ireland at the EU Council meeting in respect of security and defence matters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29610/18]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The European Council meeting was held in Brussels on 28 June 2018 and attended by An Taoiseach. The Council conclusions adopted at this meeting covered a number topics, including migration, security and defence, and economic and financial affairs.

In terms of security and defence, Council conclusions detailed a number of key areas including Permanent Structured Co-operation (PESCO), military mobility, civilian CSDP and EU-NATO Co-operation.

More specifically, in relation to PESCO the Council called for the fulfilment of the commitments with the further development of the initial projects and the institutional framework, and noted the future discussion regarding the conditions for third State participation in PESCO. 

EU-NATO cooperation was discussed ahead of the NATO summit in July with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg in attendance. The new Joint declaration was signalled in the Council Conclusions and there were calls for further deepening of EU-NATO Co-operation, in full respect of the principles of inclusiveness, reciprocity and the decision-making autonomy of the EU.

The Council welcomed progress on military mobility in the framework of PESCO and EU-NATO cooperation and called on Member States to simplify and standardise relevant rules by 2024.  Ireland noted that these efforts will fully respect the sovereignty of the Member States.  

The Council called for the swift implementation of the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) and for future progress on the European Defence Fund (EDF) both in its research and capability windows.

The Council also welcomed the work undertaken to strengthen civilian CSDP and called for an agreement on a civilian CSDP Compact by the end of this year.  It recognised that military and civilian aspects need to be addressed in a comprehensive manner with a focus on concrete deliverables.

Finally, the Council also welcomed the Joint Communication on Europe's resilience to hybrid and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear related threats and calls for the adoption as soon as possible of a new EU regime of restrictive measures to address the use and proliferation of chemical weapons.