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En el episodio de esta semana de The Ring, el programa de debate de Euronews, viajamos a Irlanda, que acaba de asumir la presidencia rotatoria del Consejo de la Unión Europea, para saber qué temas quitan el sueño a los políticos.
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En el episodio de esta semana de The Ring, el programa de debate de Euronews, viajamos a Irlanda, que acaba de asumir la presidencia rotatoria del Consejo de la Unión Europea, para saber qué temas quitan el sueño a los políticos.
MÁS INFORMACIÓN : http://es.euronews.com/2026/07/23/irlanda-guia-a-la-ue-su-presidencia-de-6-meses-centra-el-debate-en-the-ring
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00:43An EU member since 1973, Ireland is now in the spotlight as it takes on the presidency
00:49of the Council of the EU for the next six months.
00:53With an ongoing war in Ukraine, pressure to finalize the EU's long-term budget and growing
00:58demands for greater technological and energy independence, how will Ireland succeed?
01:05Ireland has built a thriving economic model around attracting major US tech companies.
01:10But now it will have to help steer discussions on European digital sovereignty and on reducing
01:15strategic dependencies.
01:17Europe is also under pressure to strengthen its defense capabilities.
01:22But Ireland's military neutrality and decision not to join NATO could make this one of the
01:27most sensitive issues of its presidency.
01:30Can a small country like Ireland make a big impact and can it turn six months in the spotlight
01:36into lasting influence?
01:41Some of the questions we have for our contenders, let's meet them.
01:47Neil Richmond, Ireland's Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora.
01:52He represents the central-right Fine Gael, a member of the European People's Party.
01:56One of his party's most outspoken pro-European voices, he built his reputation on Brexit and
02:01EU affairs.
02:02He is firmly pro-business and pro-European and has repeatedly challenged Ireland's long-standing
02:07policy of military neutrality, once describing it as morally degenerate in the context of Russia's
02:13war against Ukraine.
02:15Rose Conway-Walsh, a far-left Sinn Féin Doyle deputy representing the Mayo constituency,
02:21a prominent advocate for increased public spending and regional development.
02:25She is a supporter of Irish unity and a vocal critic of what she sees as years of underinvestment.
02:30She has also challenged the government by arguing that Ireland must strike a balance between
02:34protecting strategic industries and jobs while remaining firm in its international commitments.
02:41Neil Richmond and Rose Conway-Walsh, welcome to The Ring.
02:45Thank you.
02:46So, as you can see, Ireland is in the spotlight. Will this be a chance for the country to shine,
02:51or is it just really keeping the show on the road, Neil?
02:54Hopefully, it is an opportunity to show off the best of Ireland, but there's a lot of work to be
02:57done and making sure that we get through this six-month period as the honest broker,
03:01progressing the European agenda, it's really important.
03:04Your view on that?
03:05I think it's really important for us to have the EU presidency. It only comes around every
03:09every 13 years or so. So, this is a real opportunity for us to show what the real
03:14values of the Irish nation are, and I think peace has to be central to that. But also equality.
03:20We're very conscious of so many people being left behind in the EU. We want to make this EU
03:25very relevant for the EU population as a whole.
03:28What would be a successful presidency? Should it be focusing on EU enlargement, the budget?
03:33What do you think?
03:34I think there's two really big issues. Firstly, it is the budget. It is the key part
03:38at the negotiating of the multi-annual financial framework where we need to get
03:41that level of compromise, that level of agreement. It's vital. But,
03:45secondary, there's an ongoing legislative push that Ireland has been behind in terms
03:49of the Omnidus package on simplification. We've heard what Letha has said. We've heard what
03:53Draghi has said. Now, we actually have the legislative tools to push them along. If
03:57we get those two big achievements moved along by December, I'll be very happy.
04:01And you mentioned Mario Draghi. He's, of course, meeting Ursula von der Leyen this week for talks.
04:05But let's go back to the launch of the presidency, which took place earlier this month, of course,
04:09with President Zelensky of Ukraine. He was here. We've also seen the EU foreign chief,
04:13Kaya Callas, come into town as well. But slightly coinciding with the launch of the presidency,
04:18Rose Conway Walsh, was the whole Organistia Lumina scandal or investigation, if you like. A refinery in
04:25Limerick that was allegedly helping to fuel Putin's war in Ukraine. Now, there is an investigation
04:30that's come out by auditors saying that sanctions have not been breached here. But has this been
04:36embarrassing for Ireland? No, I don't think so. I think we're
04:39we're waiting for the report to come out. Whatever that report says, I think it's very important that
04:44the Irish government respond to that. But there's also a role for the EU to play in it. It is
04:49important
04:50that obviously companies here, that we have an ecosystem that upholds international law and human
04:57rights. And at the same time, it's very important that those jobs are protected. We're talking about
05:022,000 jobs, direct and indirect, in an area that has been neglected for so long. So I think it's
05:08important that the government get in there, that the EU get in there to support those jobs,
05:12to assure that the markets are diversified. Because aluminium is such a product that's in
05:20such demand across the EU, it shouldn't be going to Russia.
05:24So the plant will stay open for now?
05:26Absolutely. Let's be quite clear. Lumina isn't a sanctioned project. And all through the
05:3121 EU sanctions package against Russia, Ireland has backed every single package. We've never looked
05:36for an exemption. We've never argued against it. And indeed, David O'Sullivan, former Commissioner
05:40Secretary-General, has repeatedly said that Ireland is one of the best member states in terms of actually
05:44applying the sanctions. So we work with commission partners. We have a very detailed investigation.
05:50Very serious charges were made against where the products are going. There is a lot of confusion
05:54about that. And this Limerick refinery is front page of all the European papers.
05:59Ununderstandably so. And throughout Russia's horrible war in Ukraine, we've been quite clear that we can
06:04have nothing that is helping Russia in that effort. That's why we've been to the fore in terms of coming
06:09down against the Russian shadow fleet. Why we've pushed so hard in relation to energy capping.
06:13And why we have worked consistently within the Council, as well as across the European Parliament
06:18to make sure that we back sanctions, that we back supports. And we challenge the likes of the former
06:23Hungarian regime under Viktor Orban.
06:25Well, of course, it's a different EU now since Peter Meyer has come into power. But of course,
06:29you mentioned the war in Ukraine. What about defence? There was a new report out this week
06:33by the European Defence Agency, saying that Ireland is spending the least in the whole
06:37of the European Union on defence, just 0.2 of its GDP. Is that okay, do you think?
06:43Well, defence spending has been increased in Ireland. And I welcome that because there have
06:48been years, if not decades, of neglect in the whole area of defence. I'm glad to see that being
06:53addressed now. So how much are we spending?
06:53Well, it's up to 5% is what the EU want. But I think we need to be very careful.
06:59We are not going
07:00down the path of a new European army or of the militarisation. Defence is a member state
07:08obligation. And it's a member state competency.
07:11Should Ireland join NATO, do you think?
07:13No, I don't. No, I think our defence is sovereign. And I think we are a military neutral country.
07:18And I think we need to be assured in everything that we do, that we remain military neutral.
07:23That is the wish of the Irish people.
07:25But will it not get awkward now during the presidency? Because, of course,
07:28the big conversation today in Brussels is re-arming Europe, getting ready by 2030,
07:33pumping billions into defence. And whereas Ireland, it's the lowest spender in the bloc.
07:37And that's why it's important we talk about facts domestically, as well as on a European level.
07:41The EU doesn't want member states to get to 5% defence spending. That's NATO rose.
07:44No.
07:44Secondly, there's no plan for an EU army. That's a concept that is
07:47regularly put out by your political party. That's not on the bloc.
07:49That's what the Irish government has said consistently. We have commissioned on defence.
07:53We are going to double our defence spending. It will be up to €3 billion a year in the next
07:58year or two.
07:58For when?
07:59In the next two years. We've installed new drone defence technology, new radar technologies.
08:04We know that the situation in Europe at the moment, where there is literally a war on our borders
08:08and there's levels of hybrid terrorism that couldn't have been counted 10 years ago.
08:13This is the question. Who would protect the Irish if there was an invasion?
08:15And I'm talking as well, a cyber attack, sabotage?
08:18Well, some progress has been made there, but obviously there will be cooperation with other
08:22member states as well and indeed with our nearest neighbour. But that must be done,
08:27but not our military neutrality.
08:29Do you trust on the UK to save Ireland now when they've so much on their hands?
08:30It's not a case of trust in the UK to save Ireland. I mean, we are increasing, as you said,
08:35our own spending in that area, in sonar and radar and things that need to be done. But obviously,
08:40as a small nation, we will never be in a situation where we can be completely stand alone in terms
08:46of our defence. So I think it's important for member states to work together, but it's very
08:51important. Sovereignty is very important too, and making our own decisions is very important.
08:56And is there any pressure now on Ireland to join NATO? There's absolutely no pressure for us to
09:00join NATO. And I think to be quite frank, it's never a discussion that's actually brought up
09:03around Defence Minister's tables. It's more of an obsession here. We should be able to talk about
09:07security and neutrality without drifting into the space of NATO. What is really, really clear
09:12is that Europe wants to increase levels of cooperation on security and defence and increase the levels
09:17of spending. Ireland wants to be part of that, because the day of invasions isn't what we're worried
09:21about. We had a cyber attack in this jurisdiction only a couple of years ago, took our health system
09:25offline. That came from Russia. We need that investment. And what the people want is Irish
09:30neutrality to be enshrined in the constitution. And I think that is something very important and
09:35something that needs to be done to reassure Irish people. There is a lack of trust. There is a lack
09:40of trust in government in this area, but there's also a lack of trust in the EU project as a
09:46whole.
09:54There is a creeping militarisation. If you look at the EU spending and the EU funding that we have,
10:00people do not want funding spent on militarisation when so many people are suffering with the cost of
10:08living and going without. And there's been so much neglect in areas as well.
10:12Do you agree with that? People actually are struggling back
10:13home and they don't want to spend on defence? But people realise that you do need to invest
10:17at home. Even when your grocery bills are tough, you still need to spend on locks on your doors and
10:22you still need to have a house alarm. Rose is there taking the decision to speak on behalf of the
10:26Irish people and said that there's a lack of trust against the EU. Whereas every Eurobarometer and
10:30European movement support shows that the vast... In the area of militarisation.
10:32I'm sorry, this is really important. No, because in the vast majority of Irish people, not only do they
10:35trust in the EU, but actually it's an even split between Irish people who want us to increase the level
10:41of
10:41defence and security and also those who don't who don't agree with the policy of military neutrality.
10:45But this is a true thing. Neutrality isn't on the agenda. We don't need it inserted in the
10:49constitution. It's not a constitutional matter. Because there is, because, repeat, you've just
10:53said the Irish people want us to do that. We have a very consistent policy. That's not under any threat,
10:57bar the opinions of the opposition politicians. Whereas on a European scale, we're trying to prove to
11:02European partners that we're serious about defence and security. Well then go to the people and ask them.
11:05Ask them in a referendum. Okay, right. The last bill presented before the Dáil,
11:09would you be able to say that you back the people of Palestine over Israel under that? No,
11:14because we have to be neutral. Your version of neutrality and the one that you talk about
11:18without going into the depth completely removes the ability to work with partners. We're not neutral.
11:22We're in the European Union. We are military neutral. Well, as you can see, we're just getting warmed
11:27up here on The Ring. Stay with us because we're ready for the next round here on The Ring.
11:35Well, as you can see, we're getting a bit of a flavour of the debates that go on
11:38inside the Dáil, the national parliaments, and as well, of course, over in Brussels and Strasbourg
11:42in the European parliaments. And now it's time to give our viewers a real glimpse of how you actually
11:47put questions to each other. Rose Conway-Walsh, you can address your first question. Tina over to me.
11:51Okay. Well, my first question is around simplification and some of the concerns I have around that.
11:56What outcomes would you expect to have from the simplification agenda? And would you be concerned
12:02about workers' rights, about environmental rights, and human rights, indeed, with the simplification
12:08agenda that's been pushed at EU level? The simplification agenda is vital. It's vital to
12:13ensure the European Union actually keeps pace with the United States and China in terms of creating a
12:18more competitive Europe, but also making sure that we have the future jobs and technology that workers
12:24will actually be able to have. What we have is 10 omnidust packages, three of which have gone through the
12:28stage, another seven, at least three of those will be pushed ahead by the Irish Presidency that are
12:34vital. I have zero concerns. I was on the EBSCO Council as an Enterprise Minister when we worked
12:39with both Letta and Draghi to make sure that this agenda is one that does recognise the need to make
12:44sure that it is human-led, that workers' rights are protected, that our environmental responsibilities are.
12:49But also to make sure that SMEs can actually continue, because repeatedly, and understanding
12:55you and I fully agree with Rose, even though we come from different sides of the political spectrum, repeatedly
12:59you raise the pressures of bureaucracy on small Irish Indigenous businesses. Well, that's why we need
13:03to address that at a European level with a simplification package that allows businesses to be liberated.
13:08That's the administration burden being removed and the red tape being removed, and absolutely I agree with
13:12that, but I am very concerned about the deregulation and the push to deregulate. We see in this country alone,
13:19in the defective concrete blocks. We're going to end up paying over nine billion for light regulation in
13:25this country, and I don't want to see, and we need to see proper regulation. We need to protect our
13:31populations from their drive towards green. Do you fear it could turn into over deregulation?
13:37Not at all. I fully agree with Rose. There is no deregulation agenda there, and we need to knit this
13:41in the bud.
13:41This is about a simplification to make sure that when we're talking about environmental reporting,
13:45that a small business in Galway or Mayo or wherever it may be is not filling in the same form
13:49five times,
13:50because it has to do at a European level, domestic level, and then at a regional level. It's about a
13:54simplification agenda to make sure that we can get finance deployed quicker, to invest in businesses,
13:59invest in workers, invest in education. This agenda is crucial, and if Europe doesn't pursue
14:04these omnidust packages, Europe will fall away and simply be a supply chain into China and America.
14:09That's, of course, the view as well of Mario Draghi. If anyone has read his
14:12very lengthy report about how we could die, quote, a slow agony. Neil Richmond,
14:16your chance now to address your question. To Rose, can we watch?
14:20Rose and I repeatedly say that we stand with Ukraine, but I've struggled to, how do we say
14:25that we stand with Ukraine when Sinn Féin voted against, in the European Parliament and in the Dáil,
14:30the 90 billion euro loan package that the EU worked so hard, managed to get through when the Hungarian
14:34regime changed. Is that standing with Ukraine? Do you really stand with Ukraine?
14:37We absolutely stand very firmly with Ukraine and against the war of aggression from Russia. The
14:44reason why we voted in the way that we did against that was because, again, it was impacting our
14:50military neutrality. The 20 billion of that that was going towards militarization, we didn't feel that we
14:57could support that. We 100% would support any humanitarian effort for Ukraine, but there's a difference there.
15:06And I would ask at EU level that these be separated so that we would be enabled to vote for
15:14the humanitarian
15:15effort without the militarization. I don't want us to be paying for weapons to be sent to any country.
15:22No, but they are separated. This is the same with the European Peace Facility. It's the same with this 90
15:26billion euro loan. It's the same with all the funding that Ireland has prepared, the over 250 million
15:31directly and over 250 collectively that goes to support the Ukrainian effort. It is for non-lethal supports.
15:37Radar technology surely is okay. Surely mine clearing technology is okay, as well as an underground school
15:42in the Donetsk, as well as providing ambulances and humanitarian equipment. The thing is, they are separated
15:47against. But when you put that decision to vote against the 90 million euro package, vociferously
15:51by your finance spokesman, and then we see Sinn Féin MEPs in the European Parliament either abstaining
15:56or voting against sanctions package, it's hard to believe that you stand with Ukraine.
15:59Do you think there's an understanding of what they were signing against?
16:01Oh, I certainly do, yes. Our MEPs, Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funcion, knew exactly what they were doing,
16:07and we worked together with them from here. But we will not. We will vote.
16:12So why do they vote against sanctions packages?
16:13Because we will vote for humanitarian support. I'm talking about sanctions packages now.
16:18You tied together, you vote against the 90 billion euro loan assistance,
16:21domestically and on a European level. At the same time, your MEPs, not just from the group
16:26of the left, from the Sinn Féin MEPs, have repeatedly voted against or abstained against
16:30the 21 sanctions packages. How on earth can they do that?
16:34Because sometimes when things are all bundled in together, and you have amendments,
16:38and amendments, so the amendments weren't accepted, or the amendments weren't voted,
16:42but we're talking about Ukraine, and our stance in Ukraine, and Sinn Féin as a party stand,
16:49absolutely firmly with Ukraine.
16:51Well, should Ukraine join the European Union?
16:54Absolutely, yes. And I think that's one of the things that the Irish presidency can do,
16:58Ukraine and Moldova, in terms of the expansion of the EU, and that needs to be
17:03quickened as quickly as is possible.
17:05Well, we've heard the views from our politicians here. Now it's time to bring in a new voice.
17:13I'd like to bring in the voice of Andy Burnham, the brand new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
17:18the fifth Prime Minister in just four years. Speaking earlier this week, he said,
17:23I have a plan, I have a style, it's my style, and that's my mission, as your new leader, to
17:30bring back hope.
17:32What's your view on the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and what it will mean for Ireland-UK
17:37relations?
17:38Well, he's one in a long line of Prime Ministers in the last ten years. I wish him well in
17:43the job that he's doing.
17:44I think Britain has very many challenges. He has lots of challenges to sort out. But for us as a
17:50nation,
17:51obviously, we want our Irish independence. We want to be in charge of our own affairs. We want to be
17:55good neighbours with those beside us. But we would hope that he will facilitate that, as was outlined in the
18:04Good Friday Agreement. And Neil Richmond, he's been sworn in on the very week that the EU and the UK
18:09were
18:09meant to host their summit, all about getting closer together. What will all this mean now,
18:14do you think, for Brussels-London relations and, of course, for Ireland?
18:17I think directly in British-Irish relations, this is a good thing. Relations between the two countries,
18:22and indeed relations between Britain and the European Union are so much better today than they were a
18:26number of years ago under the likes of Liz Truss or Barge Johnson. I give credit not only to Keir
18:30Starmer,
18:30but indeed Rishi Sunak for bringing that along. But from a European point of view, there is an opportunity
18:35to get ever closer with Britain. As much as they are facing very difficult times, they're still one
18:39of the world's largest economies. They are still a very important economic as well as political
18:43partner for all of us in Europe. So the closer the relations, the better. Andy Burnham is of Irish
18:48descent. His lineage comes from Louth. His constituencies in Manchester have a really strong
18:53Irish population. His replacement as mayor of Manchester, indeed, is from the north. So it's a really
18:57positive move. But we want to see that relationship grow ever, ever closer, and perhaps maybe one day
19:02we see a British rejoin. Would you agree with that? Well, I would like a separation from Britain,
19:07never mind us joining closer together. But there are things that we need to tackle together as two
19:11islands, like climate change. And is that separation feasible? Just back to that debate on United
19:14Ireland. Yes, absolutely it is. I mean, we've seen even in the last week, Neil's own government or a
19:21party leader bring it on the whole business. I think it is, we believe that it's possible by 2030. We're
19:28coming up to the 28th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. And I know there's an inter-parliamentary
19:33conference as well that will look at the peace agreement that we have here. I think the EU
19:39member states have a lot to learn from our peace agreement. It is the international legally binding
19:45agreement, one of the most enduring in the world. That's a view from Rose Conway-Walsh. But now
19:49it's time to take a very short break here on The Ring. Don't go anywhere.
20:01Welcome back to The Ring, Eurie News' weekly debate show this week, coming to you from Europe House in
20:08Dublin. I'm Maeve McMahon. And for this edition, I'm joined by Neil Richmond and Rose Conway-Walsh.
20:14And we're zooming in on the fact that Ireland is currently holding the rotating presidency of the
20:19Council of the European Union. Now we've already heard some views from our politicians. Now it's
20:23time to hear from you. We took to the streets of the Irish capital to ask people what issues
20:29they wanted Ireland to focus on over the next six months. And first, if they even knew the presidency
20:35was taking place. No. I'm away ever till the end of the year. Yeah. No, I didn't know. No,
20:41I don't know anything about politics, I'll be honest. Yes, I did. I don't think there's issues
20:46that can push, but I think it should shine a spotlight onto the issues we have here in Ireland.
20:49So like the homelessness crisis, for example, I think that should cause a little bit more
20:52pressure on politicians to get it done. The one thing that is anxiety-inducing for me would be
20:57the fact that everyone is investing more in militarisation. So disarmament would be key,
21:03divesting from that and maybe investing more in education. More support for Palestine, less
21:09and Israeli products on shelves. Housing. Probably housing, 100%. Rising cost of living and a lot
21:19of people are even food insecure. People don't realise that. Food insecurity has gone way up.
21:23And just support for local businesses and stuff. A lot of people are closing down. While we're not in
21:28NATO, we kind of avoid and stay out of the firing line for at least the media. We've always been
21:35a neutral
21:35country and we should stay that way. No, no, I think keep our neutrality for sure. Yeah, yeah.
21:40So there you go. A lot of interesting views. Many not even knowing the presidency is taking place.
21:44Does that surprise you? Well, if you're living in Dublin, you can't avoid it because of the traffic.
21:48But it doesn't surprise me, no. And I think that's one of the challenges of the presidency is that,
21:52you know, that that democratic deficit that's there in terms of education for people are
21:58making it relevant, making the whole EU project relevant in people's everyday lives.
22:03And they outline some of them there, like the homelessness, housing, cost of living,
22:08all of those things that are impacting people. And obviously,
22:11Palestine is hugely important here in Ireland as well and support for Palestine.
22:16Your view there?
22:17I think it is a challenge, but it's also a great opportunity.
22:19In 2013, when we lasted the presidency, we launched the Blue Star Programme in partnership
22:23with the European Commission and Parliament. And it's on all of us, not just those in the government,
22:27to work with the European member states that have been twinned with our counties. Dublin's
22:30twinned with Greece, so I, the Greek ambassador out of the school, to talk about, well, how this
22:34really matters. And look, I've been working in European politics for over 20 years. The biggest
22:38issue for every EU politician, whatever the member state or where they're based or what level they're
22:42serving at, is showing the population at large how Europe works for them and how they can influence it.
22:47But as you can see, the disconnect, I mean, is huge between the capital city here and Brussels,
22:52and what exactly is going on. We heard housing mentioned a lot there in that Fox Pop. What can be
22:57done here?
22:57And do you think Brussels can play a role? Because they're trying to start to play a role here.
23:00I certainly think they can. And I was glad to see at the beginning, at the launch of the presidency,
23:05that there was going to be a housing summit here. I think it's something that certainly impacts us
23:09here. So many people cannot afford a home now, so it's affordability. But I see there's commonalities
23:15across some of the other EU member states as well. So I think collectively, it has to be looked at.
23:20If people cannot afford a home, so many children growing up, homelessness, what price are we going
23:26to pay for that in the future? What price are these children paying for us now?
23:29I mean, that's the thing. We understand the problem.
23:31To enable more funding, obviously more funding for housing.
23:34But now with the big focus on defence is going to be in the long-term budgets,
23:39whereas housing, I mean, won't even get a look in.
23:42Well, actually, this is the first time that we have a housing commissioner.
23:44This is the first time that we have the President of the European Council talking about housing
23:47as a European issue. It had always been seen as a member state issue. And Rose is right.
23:51There isn't an EU member state that isn't having an issue with housing, just like Australia, Canada
23:55and the United Kingdom. We're coming out of the financial crash, followed by COVID, followed
24:01by Russia's war in Ukraine, that absolutely repressed the ability to build homes. We just don't have
24:06enough homes in this country. So that's how we have to work with European partners to get the finance
24:10in place and to make sure that we have regulation to allow the government. We built 25% more homes
24:15this year than last year. We want to do more of that again and find every which way to build
24:19more homes. And of course, the main goals of the presidency are working on competitiveness
24:24and values. Does that mean anything, though, to regular people in the streets of Dublin?
24:29No, one of the values has to be that everybody has a home to live in, has somewhere to live
24:33in. So
24:34I don't think so. But values in terms of the Irish nation, as I said, support for Palestine,
24:39the value of international law, the value of people standing up for people, the value of people
24:44not ignoring a genocide that's happening, that's being played out every day on people's televisions
24:50and all of that. And yet we are so many months now after what was supposed to be a cessation
24:55of
24:55violence in Palestine, and people see that that's not happening. So there's protests in all of the
25:01EU events as well taking place. Is Ireland still censoring slightly on that topic?
25:03Not at all. I think anyone in an EU member state capital, and I've sat around foreign affairs
25:08council meetings where they've asked why is Ireland so focused on the plight of the people of Gaza,
25:13the West Bank, and indeed into Lebanon. We were the first member state with Spain,
25:17who not only recognized Palestine, but consistently have brought the motion to European council meeting
25:22to spend the EU-Israel trade association agreement. And Rose rightly talks about values when we hear
25:27about the vox pop. This matters to the Irish people. It matters to the Spanish people. I'd imagine it
25:32matters to every human. But you ask what do values mean to people? What does competitiveness mean?
25:36Competitiveness matters to every single citizen, whether they're buying a cup of coffee, trying to
25:40buy a home, or hold down a job. That's why it has to be one of the three pillars of
25:44our presidency.
25:45Okay, Neil Richmond and Rose Conway will stay with us as it's now time for our fifth and final round.
25:55So now it's time to do something a little bit different. I'm going to ask you a question,
25:59and you can answer with yes or no. Is that doable? We'll try. We'll try. Come on.
26:05Is the European Union a force of good, Neil Richmond? Yes or no?
26:09Oh, 100% yes. Yes.
26:11Is Ursula von der Leyen a good president of the European Commission? Yes or no?
26:16No. Yes.
26:16Should Ireland join the Schengen area? Yes or no? No, because of our relationship with the UK.
26:22No.
26:23Should Ireland join NATO? No.
26:26Ever? No.
26:28No. No.
26:29Is the future of the European Union bright? Yes or no?
26:33Yes, if it's done properly. Yes, very bright.
26:36And should Ireland defend its low corporate tax model? Yes or no?
26:41Yes. Tax sovereignty is very important, but obviously we have the OECD agreement
26:45now with the minimum rate at 15%. So that's more than one word, but I think that has been settled.
26:54Yes. Will you be there? Yes, as will the nine other EU member states
26:57whose corporate tax rates actually is lower than ours.
26:59As you can see, tricky to fit into a yes or no there.
27:01Is Ireland, though, too dependent on big tech companies? No.
27:06Yes, I think we need to invest more in our indigenous companies.
27:09What about the climate? Is Ireland doing enough to reach its climate targets?
27:12Yes or no? No, to be honest.
27:14No. You both agree on that? You agreed on a couple of things, right?
27:18Don't tell anyone.
27:20Neil Richmond and Rose Conway Walsh, that brings this edition of The Ring,
27:24coming to you from the Europe House here in Dublin to a close.
27:27Thank you so much for joining us and thank you for tuning in.
27:30Any comments or any issues that you'd like to address, you can always reach out to us here on The
27:35Ring at Euronews.com.
27:37Fernand, thank you so much for tuning in. Take care and stay with us on Euronews.
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