Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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550. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has discussed with his counterparts in Finland and Sweden their decision to join NATO; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13384/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland maintains regular high level political contact with interlocutors in both Finland and Sweden.

For my part, I meet on a regular basis with the Foreign Ministers of all EU Member States, including the Foreign Ministers of Finland and Sweden, including at monthly meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). Both countries applied for NATO membership in 2022 and they have regularly briefed EU counterparts developments regarding their membership process.

Since then there have been a number of opportunities for wider political engagement on these issues between Ireland and Sweden, including earlier this month when members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence visited Stockholm for engagements with the Swedish parliament.

Officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs are also in ongoing contact with their Swedish and Finnish counterparts on a wide range of issues, including developments in security and defence policies. Our Embassies in Helsinki and Stockholm report regularly and in detail on their engagement with political, diplomatic and academic interlocutors on progress in Sweden and Finland's NATO applications.

Ireland has always maintained close relations with both Finland and Sweden and will continue to engage with both countries on a range of issues, including their NATO membership process.