00:00In Ireland, which has just taken over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union,
00:05one question is looming large this week. Should it stop exporting alumina to Russia?
00:10Under pressure from Kiev, Dublin is investigating whether the material could be supporting Russia's
00:15war effort, while of course weighing the impact on local jobs. Our Jorge Lebradero sent us this
00:20update from Cork. To sanction or not to sanction, that is the dilemma that Ireland faces when it
00:26comes to alumina, the white powder that it sells every month to Russia. We must remember that
00:32alumina is the raw material that it's used to manufacture aluminum, a lightweight metal that
00:37it's commonly found on the battlefield in Ukraine. Now, President Zelensky has made it clear he wants
00:44this alumina exposed to stop immediately, but the government of Ireland is trading carefully,
00:49balancing the pros and cons of such a decision. On the one hand, Dublin doesn't want any Irish
00:55material to end up propping up Russia's war machine. But on the other hand, Dublin is concerned
01:01about the potential disruption for local jobs, for the environment and for Europe's broader supply
01:07chain. The government has already launched an investigation to determine the final destination
01:12of these alumina exports. Taoiseach Michal Martin told us here in Cork that these findings will be
01:18shared with the European Commission to develop a joint approach that could tackle what he called
01:24the core issue. Now, I must say that the European Commission, the whole college, is here today in Cork
01:30to mark the start of the Irish presidency of the EU Council, a presidency that has been partially
01:36overshadowed by the damaging scandal of Illumina.
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