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Irlanda guida l'Europa? La presidenza Ue di sei mesi protagonista a The Ring
Nell’episodio di questa settimana di The Ring, il programma di dibattito di Euronews, andiamo in Irlanda, che ha appena assunto la presidenza di turno del Consiglio dell’Unione europea, per capire quali temi tolgono il sonno ai politici.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/07/23/irlanda-guida-leuropa-la-presidenza-ue-di-sei-mesi-protagonista-a-the-ring
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
Nell’episodio di questa settimana di The Ring, il programma di dibattito di Euronews, andiamo in Irlanda, che ha appena assunto la presidenza di turno del Consiglio dell’Unione europea, per capire quali temi tolgono il sonno ai politici.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/07/23/irlanda-guida-leuropa-la-presidenza-ue-di-sei-mesi-protagonista-a-the-ring
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
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08:34our own spending in that area
08:36in sonar and radar and things that
08:38need to be done. But obviously as a small
08:40nation we will never be in a situation
08:43where we can be completely
08:44stand alone in terms of our
08:46defence. So I think it's important for
08:48member states to work together
08:50but it's very important, sovereignty is
08:52very important too and making our own
08:54decisions is very important. And is there any
08:56pressure now on Ireland to join NATO?
08:58There's absolutely no pressure for us to join NATO
09:00and I think to be quite frank it's never a discussion
09:02that's actually brought up around defence
09:04ministers' tables. It's more of an obsession here
09:06we should be able to talk about security and
09:08neutrality without drifting into the space
09:10of NATO. What is really really clear
09:12is that Europe wants to increase levels of
09:14cooperation on security and defence and increase
09:16the levels of spending. Ireland wants to be part
09:18of that because the day of invasions isn't what
09:20we're worried about. We had a cyber attack in this
09:22jurisdiction only a couple of years ago, took our health system
09:25offline, that came from Russia
09:27we need that investment and cooperation.
09:28And what the people want is Irish neutrality
09:30to be enshrined in the constitution
09:32and I think that is something very important
09:34and something that needs to be done to reassure
09:36Ireland, Irish people.
09:38There is a lack of trust, there is a lack of trust
09:41in government in this area, but there's also
09:43a lack of trust in the EU project as a whole.
09:54There is a creeping militarisation
09:56if you look at the EU spending
09:58and the EU funding that we have
10:00people do not want
10:02funding spent on
10:04militarisation when
10:05in people. So many people are suffering
10:07with the cost of living and going without
10:09and there's been so much
10:10neglect in areas as well.
10:12People actually are struggling back home
10:14and they don't want to spend on defence?
10:15But people realise that you do need to
10:17invest at home. Even when your grocery
10:19bills are tough, you still need to spend
10:21on locks on your doors and you still need to have a house alarm.
10:23Rose is there taking the decision
10:25to speak on behalf of the Irish people
10:26and said that there's a lack of trust against the EU
10:28whereas every Eurobarometer and European
10:30movement support shows that the vast
10:32In the area of militarisation.
10:32I'm sorry, this is really important.
10:33No, because in the vast majority of Irish people
10:35not only do the trust in the EU
10:36but actually it's an even split between
10:38Irish people who want us to increase
10:40the level of defence and security
10:42and also those who don't agree with the policy
10:44of military neutrality.
10:45But this is a true thing.
10:46Neutrality isn't on the agenda.
10:48We don't need it inserted in the constitution.
10:49It's not a constitutional matter.
10:51What are you saying?
10:52Because, repeat, you've just said
10:53the Irish people want us to do that.
10:55We have a very consistent policy
10:56that's not under any threat
10:57bar the opinions of the opposition politicians
10:59whereas on a European scale
11:01we're trying to prove to European partners
11:03that we're serious about
11:03Well then go to the people and ask them.
11:05Ask them in a referendum.
11:06OK, right.
11:07The last bill presented before the Dáil
11:09would you be able to say that you backed
11:11the people of Palestine over Israel under that?
11:14No.
11:14Because we have to be neutral.
11:15Your virgin neutrality and the one that you talk about
11:18without going into the depth
11:19completely removes the ability to work with partners.
11:21We're not neutral.
11:22We're in the European Union.
11:24We are military neutral.
11:25As you can see we're just getting warmed up here
11:28on The Ring.
11:28Stay with us because we're ready for the next round here
11:31on The Ring.
11:35Well as you can see we're getting a bit of a flavour
11:37of the debates that go on inside the Dáil
11:39the National Parliaments
11:40and as well of course over in Brussels and Strasbourg
11:42in the European Parliaments.
11:44And now it's time to give our viewers a real glimpse
11:46of how you actually put questions to each other.
11:49Rose Conway-Walsh you can address your first question
11:50Tina over to me.
11:51OK, well my first question is around simplification
11:54and some of the concerns I have around that.
11:56What outcomes would you expect to have from the simplification agenda?
12:00And would you be concerned about workers' rights,
12:03about environmental rights and human rights indeed
12:06with the simplification agenda that's been pushed at EU level?
12:10The simplification agenda is vital.
12:13It's vital to ensure the European Union
12:15actually keeps pace with the United States and China
12:17in terms of creating a more competitive Europe
12:19but also making sure that we have the future jobs and technology
12:23that workers will actually be able to have.
12:24What we have is ten Omnidus packages,
12:27three of which have gone through the stage,
12:29another seven, at least three of those will be pushed ahead
12:32by the Irish presidency that are vital.
12:34I have zero concerns.
12:36I was on the EBSCO Council as an Enterprise Minister
12:38when we worked with both Leta and Draghi
12:40to make sure that this agenda is one that does recognise
12:44the need to make sure that it is human-led,
12:46that workers' rights are protected,
12:47that our environmental responsibilities are.
12:49But also to make sure that SMEs can actually continue
12:53because repeatedly and understandably
12:55and I fully agree with Rose
12:56even though we come from different sides of the political spectrum,
12:58repeatedly you raise the pressures of bureaucracy
13:01on small Irish indigenous businesses.
13:02Well that's why we need to address that at a European level
13:04with a simplification package that allows businesses to be liberated.
13:08That's the administration burden being removed
13:10and the red tape being removed
13:11and absolutely I agree with that
13:13but I am very concerned about the deregulation
13:15and the push to deregulate.
13:17We see in this country alone in the defective concrete blocks,
13:20we're going to end up paying over $9 billion
13:23for light regulation in this country
13:26and I don't want to see,
13:27we need to see proper regulation.
13:30We need to protect our populations
13:32from their drive towards greed.
13:34Do you fear it could turn into over deregulation?
13:37Not at all. I fully agree with Rose.
13:38There is no deregulation agenda there
13:40and we need to knit this in the bud.
13:41This is about a simplification to make sure
13:43that when we're talking about environmental reporting
13:45that a small business in Galway or Mayo
13:47or wherever it may be is not filling in the same form five times
13:50because it has to do at a European level,
13:51domestic level and then at a regional level.
13:53It's about a simplification agenda
13:55to make sure that we can get finance deployed quicker,
13:58to invest in businesses,
13:59invest in workers,
14:00invest in education.
14:01This agenda is crucial
14:02and if Europe doesn't pursue these Omnidus packages,
14:05Europe will fall away
14:06and simply be a supply chain into China and America.
14:09That's of course the view as well of Mario Draghi,
14:11if anyone has read his very lengthy report
14:13about how we could die, quote, a slow agony.
14:15Neil Richmond, your chance now to address your question.
14:18To Rose, can we watch?
14:20Rose and I repeatedly say that we stand with Ukraine,
14:22but I've struggled to,
14:24how do we say that we stand with Ukraine
14:26when Sinn Féin voted against, in the European Parliament
14:28and in the Dáil,
14:30the €90 billion loan package that the EU worked so hard,
14:33managed to get through when the Hungarian regime changed.
14:35Is that standing with Ukraine?
14:36Do you really stand with Ukraine?
14:38We absolutely stand very firmly with Ukraine
14:40and against the war of aggression from Russia.
14:43The reason why we voted in the way that we did against that
14:48was because, again, it was impacting our military neutrality.
14:52The €20 billion of that that was going towards militarization,
14:55we didn't feel that we could support that.
14:58We 100% would support any humanitarian effort for Ukraine.
15:05But there's a difference there.
15:07And I would ask at EU level that these be separated
15:09so that we would be enabled to vote for the humanitarian effort
15:15without the militarization.
15:17I don't want us to be paying for weapons to be sent to any country.
15:22No, but they are separated.
15:24It's the same with the European Peace Facility.
15:25It's the same with this €90 billion loan.
15:27It's the same with all the funding that Ireland has prepared,
15:30the over 250 million directly and over 250 collectively
15:33that goes to support the Ukrainian effort.
15:35It is for non-lethal supports.
15:37Radar technology surely is okay.
15:39Surely, mine clearing technology is okay,
15:41as well as an underground school in the Donetsk,
15:43as well as providing ambulances and humanitarian equipment.
15:46The thing is, they are separated against.
15:48But when you put that decision to vote against the €90 million package,
15:51vociferously by your finance spokesman,
15:53and then we see Sinn Féin MEPs in the European Parliament
15:55either abstaining or voting against sanctions package,
15:58it'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.
16:02Our MEPs, Lynne Boylan and Kathleen Funchen,
16:06knew exactly what they were doing,
16:07and we worked together with them from here.
16:10But we will not. We will vote.
16:12So why did they vote against sanctions packages?
16:13Because we will vote for humanitarian support.
16:16No, no, but I'm talking about sanctions packages now.
16:18We will not.
16:18You tied together, you vote against the €90 billion loan assistance,
16:21domestically and on a European level.
16:23At the same time, your MEPs, not just from the group of the left,
16:26from the Sinn Féin MEPs, have repeatedly voted against
16:29or abstained against their 21 sanctions packages.
16:32How on earth can they do that?
16:34Because sometimes when things are all bundled in together,
16:37and you have amendments,
16:38and amendments, so the amendments weren't accepted,
16:41or the amendments weren't voted.
16:42But surely.
16:43But we're talking about Ukraine and our stance in Ukraine,
16:46and Sinn Féin as a party stand absolutely firmly with Ukraine.
16:51Well, and should Ukraine join the European Union?
16:53Should Ukraine join the European Union?
16:54Absolutely, yes.
16:55And I think that's one of the things that the Irish presidency can do,
16:59Ukraine and Moldova, in terms of the expansion of the EU.
17:02And that needs to be quickened as quickly as is possible.
17:05Well, we've heard the views from our politicians here.
17:07Now it's time to bring in a new voice.
17:13I'd like to bring in the voice of Andy Burnham,
17:16the brand-new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
17:18the fifth Prime Minister in just four years.
17:21Speaking earlier this week, he said,
17:23I have a plan.
17:24I have a style.
17:25It's my style.
17:27And that's my mission, as your new leader,
17:29to bring back hope.
17:32What's your view on the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
17:35and what it will mean for Ireland-UK relations?
17:37Well, he's won in a long line of Prime Ministers in the last ten years.
17:42I wish him well in the job that he's doing.
17:44I think Britain has very many challenges.
17:47He has lots of challenges to sort out.
17:49But for us as a nation, obviously, we want our Irish independence.
17:52We want to be in charge of our own affairs.
17:54We want to be good neighbours with those beside us.
17:59But we would hope that he will facilitate that,
18:04as was outlined in the Good Friday Agreement.
18:05And Neil Richmond, he's been sworn in on the very week that the EU
18:08and the UK were meant to host their summit,
18:10all about getting closer together.
18:12What will all this mean now, do you think,
18:14for Brussels-London relations, and of course for Ireland?
18:17I think directly in British-Irish relations, this is a good thing.
18:21Relations between the two countries, and indeed relations between Britain
18:23and the European Union are so much better today than they were a number of years ago
18:27under the likes of Liz Truss or Boris Johnson.
18:28and I give credit not only to Keir Starmer, but indeed Rishi Shunak for bringing that along.
18:33But from a European point of view, there is an opportunity to get ever closer with Britain.
18:37As much as they are facing very difficult times, they're still one of the world's largest economies.
18:41They are still a very important economic as well as political partner for all of us in Europe.
18:45So the closer the relations, the better.
18:47Andy Burnham is of Irish descent.
18:48His lineage comes from Louth.
18:50His constituencies in Manchester have a really strong Irish population.
18:54His replacement as mayor of Manchester indeed is from the north.
18:57So it's a really positive move, but we want to see that relationship grow ever, ever closer.
19:01And perhaps maybe one day we see a British rejoin.
19:04Would you agree with that?
19:05Well, I would like a separation from Britain, never mind us joining closer together.
19:09But there are things that we need to tackle together as two islands, like climate change.
19:12And is that separation feasible? Just back to that debate on United Ireland.
19:15Yes, absolutely it is.
19:16I mean, we've seen even in the last week Neil's own government or party leader bring it on the whole
19:25business.
19:25I think it is we believe that it's possible by 2030.
19:28We're coming up to the 28th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
19:32And I know there's an inter-parliamentary conference as well that will look at the peace agreement that we have
19:38here.
19:38I think the EU member states have a lot to learn from our peace agreement.
19:42It is the international legally binding agreement, one of the most enduring in the world.
19:47That's a view from Rose Conway-Walsh.
19:48But now it's time to take a very short break here on The Ring.
19:52Don't go anywhere.
20:01Welcome back to The Ring, EURI News' weekly debate show.
20:05This week coming to you from Europe House in Dublin.
20:08I'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 Council of the
20:19European Union.
20:20Now we've already heard some views from our politicians.
20:23Now it's time to hear from you.
20:25We took to the streets of the Irish capital to ask people what issues they wanted Ireland to focus on
20:31over the next six months.
20:33And first, if they even knew the presidency was taking place.
20:36No.
20:37No?
20:38I'm away ever till the end of the year, yep.
20:40No, I didn't know.
20:41No.
20:41I don't know anything about politics, I'll be honest.
20:44Yes, I did.
20:45I don't think there's issues that can push, but I think it should shine a spotlight onto the issues we
20:48have here in Ireland.
20:49So like the homelessness crisis, for example, I think that should cause a little bit more pressure on politicians to
20:53get it done.
20:54The one thing that is anxiety inducing for me would be the fact that everyone is investing more in militarization.
21:00So disarmament would be key, divesting from that and maybe investing more in education.
21:07More support for Palestine, less Israeli products on shelves.
21:12Housing.
21:13Probably housing, 100%.
21:16Rising cost of living and a lot of people are even food insecure, people don't realise that.
21:21Food insecurity has gone way up.
21:23And just support for local businesses and stuff.
21:26A lot of people are closing down.
21:28While we're not in NATO, we kind of avoid and stay out of the firing line for at least the
21:34media.
21:34We've always been a neutral country and we should stay that way.
21:37No, no, I think keep our neutrality for sure.
21:39Yeah, yeah.
21:40So there you go.
21:40A lot of interesting views.
21:41Many not even knowing the presidency is taking place.
21:44Does that surprise you?
21:45Well, if you live in Dublin, you can't avoid it because of the traffic.
21:48But it doesn't surprise me, no.
21:49And I think that's one of the challenges of the presidency is that, you know, that that democratic deficit that's
21:55there in terms of education for people are making it relevant, making the whole EU project relevant in people's everyday
22:02lives.
22:03And they outline some of them there, like the homelessness, housing, cost of living, all of those things that are
22:09impacting people.
22:10And obviously, Palestine 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 with the European Commission and
22:24Parliament.
22:25And it's on all of us, not just those in the government, to work with the European member states that
22:29have been twinned with our counties.
22:30Dublin's twinned with Greece, so I, the Greek ambassador out of the school, to talk about, well, how this really
22:34matters.
22:35And look, I've been working in European politics for over 20 years.
22:37The biggest issue for every EU politician, whatever the member state or where they're based or what level they're serving
22:42at,
22:42is 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 and what
22:52exactly is going on.
22:53We heard housing mentioned a lot there in that fox pop.
22:56What can be done here? And do you think Brussels can play a role? Because they're trying to start to
23:00play a role here.
23:00I certainly think they can. And I was glad to see at the beginning, at the launch of the presidency,
23:04that there was going to be a housing summit here.
23:07I think it's something that certainly impacts us here.
23:10So many people cannot afford a home now, so it's affordability.
23:13But I see there's commonalities across some of the other EU member states as well.
23:18So I think, collectively, it has to be looked at.
23:20If people cannot afford a home, so many children growing up, homelessness,
23:25what price are we going to pay for that in the future?
23:27What price are these children paying for us now?
23:29But what's the solution? I mean, that's the thing. We understand the problem.
23:30To 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.
23:41Well, 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 as a European
23:48issue.
23:49It had always been seen as a member state issue.
23:50And Rose is right, there isn't an EU member state that isn't having an issue with housing,
23:54just like Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
23:56We're coming out of the financial crash, followed by Covid, followed by Russia's war in Ukraine,
24:02that absolutely repressed the ability to build homes.
24:05We just don't have enough homes in this country.
24:07So that's how we have to work with European partners to get the finance in place
24:10and to make sure that we have regulation to allow the government.
24:13We built 25% more homes this year than last year.
24:16We want to do more of that again and find every which way to build more homes.
24:19And, of course, the main goals of the presidency are working on competitiveness and values.
24:26Does 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.
24:34So I 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,
24:43the value of people not ignoring a genocide that's happening,
24:47that's being played out every day on people's televisions and all of that.
24:51And yet we are so many months now after what was supposed to be a cessation of violence in Palestine,
24:56and people see that that's not happening.
24:58So there's protests in all of the EU events as well taking place.
25:01Is Ireland still censoring slightly on that topic?
25:04Not at all. I think anyone in an EU member state capital,
25:07and I've sat around Foreign Affairs Council meetings where they've asked why is Ireland so focused
25:11on the plight of the people of Gaza, the West Bank, and indeed into Lebanon.
25:15We were the first member state with Spain who not only recognised Palestine,
25:19but consistently have brought the motion to European Council meeting to spend the EU-Israel Trade Association Agreement.
25:26And Rose rightly talks about values when we hear about the vox swap.
25:28This matters to the Irish people. It matters to the Spanish people.
25:31I'd imagine it matters to every human.
25:33But 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 buy a home, or hold
25:41down a job.
25:42That's why it has to be one of the three pillars of our presidency.
25:45OK, 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.
25:58I'm going to ask you a question and you can answer with yes or no. Is that doable?
26:03We'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.
26:17Should Ireland join the Schengen area? Yes or no?
26:20No, because of our relationship with the UK. No.
26:23Should Ireland join NATO? No.
26:26Ever? No. No.
26:29Is the future of the European Union bright? Yes or no?
26:33Yes, if it's done properly. Yes, very bright.
26:35And should Ireland defend its low corporate tax model? Yes or no?
26:41Yes. Tax sovereignty is very important.
26:43But obviously we have the OECD agreement now at the minimum rate of 15%.
26:47So that's more than one word. But I think that has been settled.
26:54Yes.
26:55Should we be there? Yes.
26:56As will the nine other EU member states whose 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? Yes or no?
27:13No, to be honest. No.
27:15You 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.
27:30And any comments or any issues that you'd like to address,
27:33you can always reach out to us here on The Ring at Euronews.com for now.
27:38Thank you so much for tuning in.
27:39Take care and stay with us on Euronews.
27:41Thank you so much for joining us.
27:42Thank you.
27:52Thank you so much for joining us.
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