John Gormley
Ceist:149 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Defence if he will report on the meeting of EU Defence Ministers in early October 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25377/03]
Written Answers. - European Council Meetings.
Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Ceist:160 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence if he will report on discussions held at the EU informal defence ministerial meeting in Rome on 3 and 4 October 2003; and the positions taken by the Government on the issues raised at that meeting. [25389/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 160 together.
I welcome the opportunity to report to the House on the discussions which took place at the informal meeting of Defence Ministers held in Rome on 3 and 4 October last. A number of such informal meetings have been held in recent years. The meetings have been a useful forum for discussions among Defence Ministers in the context of the development of the European security and defence policy, in particular the development of EU capabilities to carry out Petersberg Task operations. Discussions at the October meeting related to advancing the work done by successive EU Presidencies since the Helsinki headline goal was agreed in 1999. Key aspects discussed were ongoing efforts to improve the relationship between the EU and NATO; progress on the establishment of an agency in the field of defence capabilities as agreed at the Thessaloniki European Council in June 2003; and EU operations such as a prospective EU takeover of the UN-mandated NATO-led stabilisation operation in Bosnia Herzegovina.
In addition, I attended a meeting with the Italian Presidency and the non-EU European countries, Iceland, Norway, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria, during which representatives of those countries were briefed on our plenary discussions.