Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2017
40. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Prime Minister Netanyahu met the EU Foreign Affairs Council; if so, the outcome of such discussions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53910/17]
View answerThe meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Brussels on 11 December preceded the Foreign Affairs Council, and was not therefore a meeting with the Council itself. The meeting was an informal breakfast meeting, essentially an exchange of views, and so there was no formal outcome as such. High Representative Mogherini hosted the meeting, and a similar encounter with Palestinian President Abbas has been scheduled for January.
Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed himself in particular on regional security issues in the Middle East, and on the opportunities to improve relations and trade between the EU and Israel. In the light of the announcement by the United States on Jerusalem, which took place after the meeting had been scheduled, he also restated Israel’s longstanding position on Jerusalem as its capital, and hoped that EU countries would follow the US lead.
Led by HR Mogherini, the EU and its Member States restated our firm commitment to a two state solution which must include finding a way through negotiations for Jerusalem to serve as the future capital of two states – Israel and Palestine. More broadly, the EU side took the opportunity to restate to PM Netanyahu our chief concerns in relation to Israeli Government policies on Palestinian issues.
For my part, I also stressed to him the destructive impact of continued settlement building both on Palestinian lives and on the viability of the peace process.
