Frances Fitzgerald

EU member countries and lawmakers reached an agreement on Tuesday on the bloc's first rules to tackle violence against women, the European Parliament and officials said.

The law seeks to protect women in the 27-nation European Union from gender-based violence, forced marriages, female genital mutilation and online harassment.

Ireland's Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has voiced her country's support for Greek efforts to handle the lingering migration crisis, while criticizing plans to reactivate the so-called Dublin regulations, which state that asylum seekers must seek protection in the European Union member-state they first arrive in.

Migrant and refugee children play at Skaramangas reception center near Athens during a visit there Tuesday by Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas and Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald. The Irish politician chatted with refugees and volunteers. [Yannis Kolesidis/ANA-MPA]

Ireland has agreed to take part in a refugee quota system proposed by the European Commission and will take in 2,900 additional refugees, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald confirmed on Sept.10.