Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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443. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the advice or briefings his Department received from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine ahead of his meeting with the French Minister for European and Foreign Affairs in Paris on 3 December 2020. [13348/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As part of my work on deepening the extensive and important partnership between Ireland and France, I visited Paris on 3 December for discussions with the French Minister for European and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian. I also met with the French Minister of State for European Affairs, Mr. Clément Beaune.

I exchanged views on Brexit and a number of European issues of common interest with Foreign Minister Le Drian and Minister of State Beaune. In addition, during my meeting with Minister Le Drian, I also discussed a number of matters on the UN Security Council agenda, in advance of Ireland taking up its seat at the Security Council in January

As agricultural issues were not on the agenda of any of these meetings, specific briefing was not sought from or given by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for this visit. However, I have ongoing engagement with the Minister on a wide range of matters including the impact of Brexit on the agri-food and fish sectors.