Ireland: Press remarks by High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas with Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence, Helen McEntee

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Dear Helen, thank you for having us here in Dublin today, just a few weeks before you start your Presidency.

Your Presidency priorities reflect exactly what Europe needs: defending our values, strengthening our security, and boosting our competitiveness. Europe must remain a principled global actor.

But principles alone are not enough. Europe must also have the hard power to defend them. That means investing in our security, strengthening our defence capabilities, and building the capacity to protect our citizens and our interests.

Ireland's proud tradition of military neutrality is not in question, but neutrality does not provide immunity from the threats Europe faces today.

No country in Europe is off Russia's target list. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we have seen a surge in hybrid attacks and sabotage, including against critical infrastructure such as the undersea water cables.

As EU Defence Ministers discussed yesterday, Russia's shadow fleet represents a serious threat. These vessels smuggle sanctioned oil, endanger the maritime environment, and act as launch pads for hybrid attacks. Russian navy vessels also have repeatedly been caught near critical data and energy cables. We cannot afford complacency.

Greater investment in maritime capabilities is essential to keep our countries safe.

In February, Ireland launched its first Maritime Security Strategy, setting out the plan to better protect its interests at sea. Ireland's commitment to increase defence spending by 55% by 2030 sends a clear signal that Ireland is stepping up.

We also discussed the developments in the Middle East. There is a fragile pause now, and hopefully parties will reach an agreement soon. A return to full-scale war would come at a tremendous cost to the entire region. A continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz is unacceptable. Its repercussions extend far beyond the region, disrupting the global economy and threatening food supplies.

Lebanon, where thousands of European troops serve under the UNIFIL mission, remains close to the brink. Recent months have been exceptionally difficult for all troop contributing countries, with peacekeepers operating under increasing threat by Hezbollah. The service and dedication of UNIFIL personnel deserve our respect and gratitude.

I want to also acknowledge Ireland's longstanding contribution to peace, stability, and security in Lebanon.

In Gaza and the West Bank, the humanitarian and political outlook remains dire. To increase the pressure, EU Foreign Ministers last month imposed sanctions on Israeli extremist settlers and leading Hamas figures.

Last week, Ireland imposed travel bans on Israeli Ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. Proposals to impose sanctions on the EU level are currently under discussion among Member States.

Finally, Minister McEntee and I discussed how we can further strengthen our support for Ukraine. I want to thank Ireland for making Ukraine its priority during Presidency. We all want this war to end, above all Ukrainians themselves, but the reality is that there are no signs that Putin is ready to end his invasion, so we need to keep backing Ukraine.

Today, we presented proposals for the 21^st sanctions package. This includes a temporary freeze to its Russian oil price cap and measures against institutions used by Moscow to circumvent EU sanctions, including banks, oil traders, refineries and crypto operators in third countries.

The EU will continue to target Russian revenues to force Moscow to end its war, but we need to deprive Russia not only of the money, but also the assets that they need to fund this war.

The Minister and I also discussed reports that sanctioned Russian defence companies may be benefiting from significant volumes of Irish aluminum imports. As the Minister said, investigations into these allegations are ongoing.

Alumina is not currently covered by the EU sanctions. Europe must close all loopholes, tighten sanctions' enforcement, and ensure our commitments are backed by deeds. No European products should end up in drones and missiles that kill Ukrainian civilians.

Dear Helen, Ireland's Presidency comes at an important time for Europe. We look forward to working closely together and really stand ready to [do] everything we can to make your Presidency a success.

Thank you very much.

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/media/video/I-290885