Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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148. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will report on his most recent meeting with European Union defence ministers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3185/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I attended the recent Informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers which took place between the 12th and 13th of January in France.

This meeting consisted of three working sessions; a Working Dinner with NATO and the UN on the topic of “Interferences and actions of state and non-state actors in our operational theatres”, a Working Session on “Safeguarding the EU’s strategic interests in contested domains: focus on outer space” followed by a Working Lunch of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence to discuss the Strategic Compass. Defence Ministers also received a short Current Affairs briefing which touched on topics such as the situation at the Ukrainian border and the European Security Architecture, as well as the situation in Mali.

The working dinner, in which I participated, was also attended by United Nations Under-Secretary General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as well as the Chair of the Sub-Committee of the European Parliament on Security and Defence (SEDE) Nathalie Loiseau MEP. The discussion focused on the threats posed by various mercenary groups - notably the Wagner Group - in Libya, Syria, Ukraine and Central African Republic for example, with the discussion invited to focus on the threats faced, ways to tackle it, and concrete proposals on how to strengthen CSDPs operational effectiveness in that context. I took the opportunity to express Ireland's deep concern at the increasing engagement of both State and non-State actors in a number of countries where the EU has been working to improve peace and security and their negative impact on CSDP missions and operations. The NATO Secretary General also took the opportunity to debrief EU Defence Ministers on that day's meeting of the NATO-Russia Council.

The working session on 'Safeguarding the EU’s strategic interests in contested domains: focus on outer space', took place in the framework of the ongoing work on the Strategic Compass, with discussions focusing on the increasing threats and challenges faced (in the context of an EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence); how to react to hostile behaviours in space, how to protect space related assets and how space services best serve security and defence, in particular situational awareness for our CSDP missions and operations.

The joint working lunch between Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers focused on the first revised text of the Strategic Compass, which was presented to Ministers by the High Representative/Vice Prisident, Josep Borrell. Ministers provided their first reactions to the revised text with a view to providing guidance for further work within the Council, to ensure that the Strategic Compass is both ambitious and actionable prior to its adoption in March. Ireland welcomed the progress on the Strategic Compass as set out in the revised draft and urged a continued emphasis on multilateralism and the importance of the EU-UN strategic relationship.