10 Mar 2015, 14:42
Recent EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting outcomes to be considered
10 March 2015
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan TD will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade tomorrow morning to consider the outcomes from recent Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meetings, the most recent of which was held in Brussels on 9 February.
Minister Flanagan is expected to outline Ireland’s approach at these meetings, which focussed on forging common EU responses to the Ukraine/Russia crisis, unrest in Libya and global terrorism.
Committee Chairman Pat Breen TD says “Members look forward to welcoming Minister Flanagan before the Committee The engagement will provide an opportunity for Members to raise issues of concern such as the conflict in Ukraine, progress in tackling the Ebola outbreak in three West African States and fostering stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
“In relation to the ongoing unrest in Eastern Ukraine, the FAC included discussions on widening sanctions against the rebels and their supporters in Russia. The February council also adopted conclusions in relation to counter-terrorism, which include support for strengthening partnerships with key countries; supporting capacity building; countering radicalisation and violent extremism; promoting international cooperation and addressing underlying factors and ongoing crises. Committee Members will also be interested in FAC efforts to inject new momentum into the reform process and help Bosnia advance on its EU accession path.”
The meeting commences tomorrow Wednesday 11 March at 10:30 am in Committee Room 3, LH 2000 and can be followed live here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
ENDS/
Media enquiries to:
Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
paul.hand@oireachtas.ie
Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade
Deputies:
Pat Breen, Fine Gael (Chairman)
Eric Byrne, Labour
Bernard Durkan, Fine Gael (Vice-Chairman)
Seán Crowe, Sinn Féin
Olivia Mitchell, Fine Gael
Dan Neville, Fine Gael
Ruairi Quinn, Labour
Brendan Smith, Fianna Fáil
Maureen O’Sullivan, Independent
Senators:
Mark Daly, Fianna Fáil
Lorraine Higgins, Labour
Michael Mullins, Fine Gael
David Norris, Independent
Jim Walsh, Fianna Fáil