Minister Coveney to attend meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Brussels - 6 May 2021 Minister Coveney to attend meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Brussels Minister for Defence, Mr. Simon Coveney, T.D. will attend a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Defence Ministers’ configuration, in Brussels on Thursday, 6 May 2021. Ministers will receive briefing on a range of topics including the recent visit by the HR/VP Josep Borrell to the Sahel, and updates on the situation in Mozambique and Ukraine. Ministers will also hold discussions on progressing the Strategic Compass which is the latest EU initiative on Security & Defence which aims to define policy orientations and specific goals and objectives in four clusters: