Minister of State for European Affairs to attend meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels

Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, will attend a meeting of the General Affairs Council (GAC) in Brussels on Tuesday 17 December. Ministers will hold a discussion to prepare for the European Council on 19 December. This will focus on Ukraine, the Middle East, the EU in the world, and migration. Leaders will also discuss resilience and crisis prevention, endorse the Enlargement Council Conclusions and consider the situations in Georgia and Moldova.

On the GAC Agenda, Ministers will discuss EU-UK relations as well as exchange views on the upcoming Commission work programme for 2025, discuss the Future on Europe and the 2025 European Semester roadmap. They will approve the Enlargement Council Conclusions, endorse the next trio Presidency Programme (1 January 2025-30 June 2026), and be updated on EU-Switzerland relations. Under AOB items, Ministers will briefly discuss the Inter-institutional ethics body, work on strengthening Europe’s civilian and military preparedness and readiness, and the latest developments on the revision of the Framework Agreement between the Commission and the European Parliament.

Ahead of the meeting, Minister Carroll MacNeill said:

“Ireland will continue to provide our full support for Ukraine in its response to Russia’s war of aggression against it, including our support for an enhanced sanctions regime. The preliminary political agreement of the fifteenth sanctions package is a welcome development in this regard.

I am profoundly troubled by the humanitarian situation in the Middle East. The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah continues to hold, though I condemn the ongoing incidents and incursions that threaten the ceasefire. We also must not lose sight of the shocking ongoing situation in northern Gaza. Ireland has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire, release of hostages, and a massive scale-up of humanitarian aid into Gaza. It is imperative that Hamas and Israel take all possible efforts to reach a lasting ceasefire agreement.

The end of the Assad regime in Syria is an opportunity for the Syrian people to determine their future, and I call upon the new transitional government in Syria to ensure that humanitarian assistance be provided to those in need of it.

I welcome that the UK Government has stated its intention to ‘reset’ relations with the EU. Ireland has always supported the closest possible relations between the EU and the UK. I believe that there is a lot more the EU and the UK should be doing together. We are like minded partners, with shared values, in a globally challenging environment. I hope to see the development of a positive and constructive EU-UK relationship in 2025. This would complement the work we are doing to develop strategic Ireland-UK cooperation which the Taoiseach agreed with Prime Minister Starmer last September.

There will also be an important discussion on the Future of Europe and on the enlargement of the EU, where I welcome the progress made by Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, and Moldova on their accession criteria.”

ENDS

Press Office

17 December 2024