Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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92. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his recent attendance at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. [57490/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Foreign Affairs Council most recently met in Brussels on 14 November.

This was the tenth formal meeting of the Council since the beginning of Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine and we again discussed coordination of the EU’s collective response. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, updated the Council on Ukraine’s current priorities and needs. The Council formally adopted the decision, which launched the EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine.

We also discussed the impact of sustained Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure, which are serious violations of international law and international humanitarian law. As part of this, we followed up on the discussions at the European Council in October on securing accountability, including for the crime of aggression. I underlined the importance of close EU coordination, in order to ensure that accountability is brought to bear on perpetrators.

We also discussed the continuing repression of protesters in Iran and took the decision to add 29 individuals and three entities to the list of those subject to EU restrictive measures in the context of the Iran human rights sanctions regime. This is in view of their role in the death of Mahsa Amini and the violent response to the recent demonstrations.

The Council also met with the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, to discuss latest developments in Belarus, and to reemphasise the EU’s sustained commitment to supporting the rights of the Belarusian population.

The Council also discussed EU engagement with the Western Balkans, including the EU's energy support package, ahead of the EU-Western Balkans summit on 6 December. We also stressed the need to deescalate tensions between Kosovo and Serbia and for the EU to continue to play an active role in this.

Over the course of the meeting, Ministers also discussed the EU’s engagement in the Great Lakes region, Lebanon, and Armenia and Azerbaijan, and reflected on the progression of the COP27 negotiations, amongst other issues.