EU heads of state and government are meeting in Brussels to discuss pressing international affairs. It could be the last time Simon Harris gets to sit around the table.
Ukraine
EU leaders have been joined by President Zelenskyy who is briefing them about Ukraine’s needs. The Ukrainians are under intense pressure from a slow but steady Russian advance in the east of the country.
“Obviously, things are not where they need to be in terms of moving towards peace in Ukraine”, said Simon Harris. “From an Irish perspective, we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Europe is nervous about what President Trump might do when he enters the White House in January.
“We need – very much – unity between the United States and [the] EU, and countries of Europe. It’s very important. We need this unity to achieve peace”, said Zelenskyy.
Syria
Another important topic of the summit is Syria. This week, the EU delivered the message to Damascus that the West wants to see a new government which respects “territorial integrity, national unity, independent sovereignty, protection of groups and ethnic minorities, non-sectarian governance, protection of civilians, provision of public services and protection of women”, according to a senior EU official.
“It is important that we monitor very closely what comes next”, said Taoiseach Simon Harris. “We need to judge the interim governance structures in Syria by what they do and not what they say.”
EU-UK relations
Over lunch, EU leaders are expected to briefly discuss how to progress EU-UK relations in light of the British government’s wish for a “Brexit reset”.
The Taoiseach confirmed that a UK-Ireland summit will take place in March. He said there was a need to “continue to flesh out what a [new] EU-UK relationship looks like.”
Israel
Today’s EU summit is also another chance to discuss Israel and the war in Gaza. The Taoiseach is expected to explain to his EU counterparts that, despite Israel announcing the closure of its embassy in Dublin, the Irish government will not give up on diplomatic contacts with Israel.
We are “not anti-Israeli, but we are pro-human rights, we are pro-international law, we are pro-peace and we will never be intimidated or silenced into moving away from that”, he said.
With government formation talks moving forward, this could be Simon Harris’ last EU summit as Taoiseach. Asked if he expected to become Minister of Foreign Affairs in the next Irish government, he said “I just can’t answer that yet”.