Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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31. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the fact that some European Union countries are making unsubstantiated claims in relation to the legitimacy of the outcome of the recent presidential election in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38460/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government joins with other EU Members States and countries across the world in offering congratulations to President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris. We also recognise the significance of the Vice President-elect’s election as the first woman and first person of colour to hold that office.

As this House will be aware, the Taoiseach and President-elect Biden spoke by telephone two weeks ago during which the President-elect reaffirmed his full support for the Good Friday Agreement. In addition, they looked forward to working together bilaterally and across a range of international areas including EU-US relations, the UN including the Security Council, and on the important global challenges of COVID 19, economic recovery and climate change.

I find it particularly encouraging to see such high levels of participationin the democratic process in the US, which had a record voter turnout. The elections were closely contested, but, consistent with the judgement of independent media, the outcome of the Presidential election is clear. The results are currently in the process of being certified by the 50 US States.

While allegations have been made about voting processes, we have not seen and are not aware of any evidence to support such claims. In addition, the International Election Observation Mission for the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has found that the US elections were competitive and well managed.

Our relationship with the US is built on a deep foundation of ancestral ties and decades of close political, diplomatic and economic links. Strengthening bilateral relations with the US is a priority for Ireland as set out in our Programme for Government,as wellin our Strategy for the US and Canada 2019-2025.

With each successive administration in the White House and each successive US Congress, our relationship has been valued and strengthened, to the benefit of our people on both sides of the Atlantic. We maintain close relations with members of Congress and contacts from across the political spectrum, and will continue to seek opportunities to deepen and strengthen our bilateral relations with the new administration of President-elect Joe Biden.