Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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29. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the informal meeting of EU leaders in Salzburg; if the issue of immigration was discussed by the Heads of State and Government in attendance; and the details of the bilateral meetings he had on the margins of the meeting. [39410/18]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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30. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the recent informal meeting of Heads of State and Government. [39898/18]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 29 and 30 together.

I attended the Informal meeting of Heads of State and Government in Salzburg on 19 and 20 September. This was one of a series of Summits relating to the Future of Europe.

On this occasion, our focus was on migration and internal security. We also took the opportunity to discuss progress in the negotiations on Brexit.

On migration, we had a useful exchange on how best to progress the comprehensive approach we agreed at the June European Council. This involves working to secure our external borders and to strengthen cooperation with countries of origin and transit; and dealing with the management of migrants within the EU.

On internal security, the issues we discussed included the increasing complexity of the cyber threats we face, including to the integrity of our electoral systems.

There were no formal Conclusions adopted, but the outcome of our discussions will feed into the next meeting of the European Council, which takes place in Brussels later this week, on 17 and 18 October

Our discussions on Brexit, which took place in Article 50 format, provided an opportunity to review progress in the negotiations and discuss next steps. I reiterated the need for a legally operable version of the backstop in the Withdrawal Agreement, and thanked EU partners for their ongoing support and solidarity on this issue. I emphasised my hope that the future relationship between the EU and the UK will be as close and comprehensive as possible, but reiterated that the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, with a robust and legally watertight backstop, must be agreed first.

I had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister May in the margins of the Summit on Thursday, 20 September, in which we discussed the state of play in the Brexit negotiations, as well as developments in relation to Northern Ireland.

I also took the opportunity to engage informally with the other EU Heads of State or Government in the margins of the meeting.

I look forward to meeting with my EU counterparts again at the European Council in Brussels this week.