Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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47. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence when the next European Union Council of Defence Ministers will take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23510/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The next meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Defence Ministers’ configuration will take place in Brussels on Tuesday, 17 May 2022.

While the agenda has not yet been finalised, it is expected that Ministers will receive briefings on a range of topics touching on the latest developments in the area of security and defence. Ministers will also hold discussions on the implementation of the Strategic Compass in EU CSDP missions and operations and will follow-up on discussions from the informal Defence Ministers’ meeting in Brest. An informal working lunch is also planned with the Defence Minister of Ukraine Reznikov (via VTC) and NATO SG Stoltenberg with a focus on Russian aggression in UA.

The FAC (Defence) on 17 May will be preceded by the Steering Board of the European Defence Agency (EDA) which will discuss its contribution to the defence investment gap analysis currently being prepared by the Commission.