Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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109. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for a report on his attendance at the informal meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Gymnich on 7-8 May 2025. [26950/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Neale Richmond TD, represented Ireland at the Informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers (Gymnich) on 7-8 May in Warsaw.

The Gymnich, hosted by the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU, was a welcome opportunity to discuss the full range of pressing challenges facing the EU at present, including the ongoing appalling situation in Gaza, support for Ukraine, and EU-US relations.

The meeting began with a discussion in the presence of UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The discussion focused on how the EU and UK can increase their cooperation across a wide range of areas, including Ukraine and Gaza, and cooperation on cyber, maritime-security, and hybrid threats.

This was followed by two EU-only working sessions; one on Russian aggression against Ukraine; and a second on EU-US relations.

Throughout discussions, Ireland emphasised the need for the EU to further demonstrate our unity and collective support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression. On Gaza, we reiterated our calls for an urgent ceasefire, the release of all remaining hostages and a massive scale-up of humanitarian aid into and throughout Gaza. We also raised the deeply worrying situation in the West Bank.

Following the Gymnich, Ministers attended a working lunch with EU candidate and potential candidate countries for an informal exchange of views on current challenges to European common foreign and security policy, with a focus on building resilience against hybrid threats.

After the Gymnich, on 9 May Minister Richmond travelled to Lviv, Ukraine, to attend an informal meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and a ministerial meeting of the Core Group for the Establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. At the Informal FAC, Ministers received an update from Foreign Minister Sybiha on Ukraine’s priorities and needs. They also discussed ways in which the EU can further strengthen its collective response, and ensure that Ukraine continues to get the support it needs to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Interventions at the ministerial meeting of the Core group expressed wide support for the establishment of the Special Tribunal and the importance of accountability. They also highlighted the symbolism of the conclusion of the Core Group process in Lviv, a city which has played an important role in the history of international criminal law.