Taoiseach attending first EU-Gulf Cooperation Council summit

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

Taoiseach Simon Harris is to visit Brussels for the first summit between the EU and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are represented on the council.

On Thursday, Mr Harris will also attend a meeting of the European Council.

The situation in the Middle East will feature at both meetings. Ukraine will be another focus at the meeting of the European Council.

The Taoiseach said: “I look forward to participating in the first summit between the EU and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as attending a meeting of the European Council.

“Clearly and rightly the situation in the Middle East will feature strongly at both meetings.

“EU leaders and leaders from the wider Middle East region have a responsibility to do all we can to bring an end to the devastating violence we are witnessing with horror.

“I have repeatedly said that the international community – all countries and organisations – must use all levers at our disposal to bring about a ceasefire.

“The European Council must deliver a strong and united message.

“I will continue my call, together with Prime Minister Sanchez of Spain, for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which has only become more pressing since the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice in July on Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.”

The Taoiseach also said he would engage with other EU member states who have troops serving with Unifil in Lebanon to ensure that “our peacekeepers are fully protected”.

He added: “The deliberate targeting by Israel of Unifil positions is against international law and cannot be tolerated.

“Following my visit to Kyiv last month, I also look forward to our discussion of Ukraine, which President Zelensky will join.

“Ukraine is looking into a bleak and difficult winter, and it is more important than ever that the EU continues to stand with it in every way we can.

“We will also discuss migration, an issue of vital political importance across the European Union.

“We do not want to see a fortress Europe, but we do need a secure and fair Europe.

“That means having a migration system that recognises the benefits that legal migration brings to our societies and our economies, while also being equipped to deal with irregular migration, to combat the people-traffickers who put the lives of desperate people at risk, to secure our borders and to work with international partners to tackle the root causes that drive people from their homes.”