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Minister Coveney attends Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels
Minister Coveney attends Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney, was in Brussels today for a meeting of EU trade ministers at the Foreign Affairs Council (Trade Formation) where a number of topics were discussed including preparations for the 13th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC13) and preparation for the signature of the interim trade agreement with Chile.
Under the guidance of the Spanish Presidency and with EU Executive Vice President and Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis in attendance, the Ministers also discussed the current state of play in EU-US trade relations as well as an update on the negotiation and implementation of a number of EU free trade agreements.
Speaking after the Council, Minister Coveney said:
"Several important issues were discussed at today’s meeting. For Ireland and the EU, progress on WTO reform, including advancing the restoration of the dispute settlement function will be a key outcome for the WTO Ministerial Conference next year. The meeting also discussed the finalisation of the new agreement with Chile. We support the signing of the modernised Chile Free Trade Agreement which will assist Ireland and the EU in its objective of market diversification and supply chain resilience."
On the issue of EU-US Trade Relations, Minister Coveney added:
"Ireland is supportive of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council and continues to work with the Commission and fellow Member States in ensuring this platform delivers on fostering EU-US co-operation across both its trade and technology remit. Should an agreement be reached with the US on the Critical Minerals Agreement, this would further benefit EU producers."