Press release
Consultative Forum on International Security Policy – Day Three, Dublin Castle
From Department of Foreign Affairs
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Foreign Affairs
Published on
Last updated on
The Consultative Forum on International Policy continued on Monday at Dublin Castle. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar addressed the forum, saying:
"Today our security and our economic well-being is being tested in new and ever more challenging ways.
"We need to explore the opportunities for cooperating more closely with partners, while at the same time building our own capabilities to defend and secure the State."
The first two sessions of day three examined the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The opening panel discussed Ireland’s current engagement with the CSDP, including military and civilian crisis management missions, Permanent Structure Cooperation (PESCO) and the European Peace Facility. The second session addressed Ireland’s role in the EU’s CSDP and the extent to which Ireland’s foreign policy priorities can be reflected in the CSDP missions and policies.
The third panel looked at Ireland’s current engagement with NATO through the Partnership for Peace. With Ireland currently negotiating an updated partnership framework (ITPP), the panel discussed areas of and relevance for this process.
The final two sessions covered lessons learned from Ireland’s neighbours, including Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Sweden. The panels discussed the impacts of the invasion of Ukraine on each panel and their responses to the changing security environment in Europe and to new and emerging threats.
The Consultative Forum on International Security Policy focuses on a wide range of issues, including Ireland’s efforts to protect the rules-based international order through peacekeeping and crisis management, disarmament and non-proliferation, international humanitarian law, and conflict prevention and peacebuilding as well as allowing for a discussion on Ireland’s policy of military neutrality.
The Forum looks at our current international partnerships in the area of peace and security, particularly as a member of the UN and the EU, as well as with our engagement with NATO through the Partnership for Peace framework.