Ireland and Germany Agree Updated Joint Plan of Action for Enhanced Bilateral and EU Cooperation
The third Germany-Ireland Joint Plan of Action for Enhanced Bilateral and EU Cooperation was agreed today during consultations between Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Joe Hackett, and State Secretary from the German Federal Foreign Office, Thomas Bagger.
The updated plan was announced during a visit by State Secretary of the German Federal Foreign Office, Thomas Bagger, to Dublin.
The Joint Action Plan reflects a bilateral relationship that is a prime example of how a large and a small member state can work effectively together. It represents an ambitious agenda across Ireland and Germany’s shared priorities in a number of areas including:
- Foreign, EU and security policy cooperation
- Climate and energy policy cooperation
- Joint engagement on EU policy issues of common interest
- People-to-people, education and research links
The Joint Plan of Action is the third iteration of a highly successful platform for strategic engagement between Ireland and Germany across a number of shared priorities. Alongside the updated Joint Plan of Action, an implementation report was published outlining progress to date including foreign policy cooperation, UN Peacekeeping and EU CSDP cooperation, EU policy cooperation, research links and people-to-people and education exchanges.
Germany is Ireland’s third largest trading partner globally and the largest in the European Union. Irish companies employ almost 38,000 people in Germany while German companies employ almost 15,000 people in Ireland. This year, Zeitgeist Irland 24, a season of Irish arts and culture will showcase a new generation of Irish artists at over 200 events in Germany.
Notes
The updated Joint Plan of Action was coordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the German Federal Foreign Ministry in conjunction with relevant line Ministries in both countries.
The full Joint Plan of Action is available to view here:
The Implementation Report is available to view here: