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The Minister for Employment and Small Business, Pat Breen TD is in Estonia today (Monday) for a series of bilateral meetings. These meetings form part of an ongoing programme of engagement by Irish government Ministers with EU Member States in an effort to build awareness of the unique impacts of Brexit on Ireland and to hear fellow Member State views regarding Brexit. To date there have been over 400 engagements undertaken by the Irish Government with remaining EU member states and the EU institutions regarding Brexit.

During the course of the Minister’s visit, he will meet with Ms Urve Palo, the Estonian Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, and with Jevgeni Ossinovski, the Minister for Health and Labour.  

Minister Breen will use these meetings to outline the significant impact of Brexit on Ireland, and to convey the unique nature of Ireland’s position as the Member State most directly affected by the UK’s exit.

The Minister will also discuss broader EU Single Market issues, as well as Estonia’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union which commences in July.  The Minister will be underlining Ireland’s strong commitment to the EU, noting that EU  membership remains  central to the success of our open, competitive economy, creating the foundation for much of the social progress we have made over the past four decades.    

Minister Breen noted that “as Minister with responsibility for the Small Business sector it is important that all of our EU partners are aware of the unique challenges facing Irish business as a result of Brexit. These meetings also provide me with an opportunity to hear about the impact of Brexit on the enterprise sector in our fellow EU Member States.  Ultimately, a renewed EU – and a strong Single Market – represents the best way forward for all 27 remaining Member States to overcome our collective challenges. 

Minister Breen will take the opportunity to meet with the Irish Estonian Business Network to hear first-hand, about their efforts to promote Irish and Estonian trade relations, and with Start-Up Estonia to better understand how the Estonian tech ecosystem is working, and to share information in regard to Ireland's SME sector.