EU leaders will gather for a special summit near Brussels on Monday to plan a new era in the EU’s approach to defence and security against the backdrop of growing apprehension about the Trump administration’s attitude to Europe’s security.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will attend his first meeting of European leaders since his re-election as Taoiseach and is expected to signal to EU leaders that Ireland is rapidly increasing defence spending and recognises the need to co-operate on defence of sub-sea cables.
His assurances to his fellow EU leaders – and to the Nato chief and the British prime minister Keir Starmer, who will also drop by – come as questions about Ireland’s…