00:00The EU ministers are here in Dublin for an ECOFIN meeting, but also they'll be joined by their Canadian counterparts,
00:06their British counterparts.
00:07So there will be discussion really about the windfall profits that energy companies are making as part of the chaos,
00:14the ongoing chaos, particularly within the Middle East.
00:17And there's been calls by some European capitals for taxes on that so that the exchequers in each country can
00:24then deliver a little bit of appeasement when it comes to people's energy bills.
00:28That's high on the agenda. Also, the future of AI will be very much up for discussion, although no major
00:34breakthrough will be.
00:36But I caught up with Simon Harris, who's Deputy Prime Minister and the Finance Minister of Ireland, and I asked
00:41him first about the negotiations with Canada.
00:44The actual meaning behind the phrase is something, quite frankly, yet to be determined, but it bothers us less because,
00:50you know, you can use whatever phrase you want.
00:52The good news here is that the State of the Union made a real signal of intent to have a
00:57much closer relationship between Canada and the European Union.
01:00And I think we can't gloss over that fact.
01:01The fact that the European Union, in the speech delivered by the President of the Commission, where you really outline
01:06the big strategic projects for the time ahead,
01:09has identified a closer working relationship with Canada as a priority for the European Union.
01:13And then to see the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, respond in kind.
01:17Donald Trump has said it's a hostile act and he'll apply even more tariffs on both sides.
01:21This is not a hostile act towards anybody.
01:23This is a positive development for the European Union wishing to partner with Canada, which we already do, in areas
01:29of common interest.
01:30But of course, we'll continue to economically partner with the United States.
01:33We have a trade agreement with the United States.
01:34A lot of painstaking work went into that.
01:36We saw it advance even further in relation to Irish whisky and the decision made by President Trump to remove
01:41tariffs from that last week.
01:43We need to build on that and find more opportunities.
01:45So this isn't either or.
01:46Can I talk to you about Aachenysh, the plant here, the Russian-owned plant that exports aluminium to Russia?
01:54We know it also exports across Europe, but obviously there's a real concern that that is found then in the
02:01defence industry in Russia,
02:02which is obviously prosecuting this war against Ukraine.
02:06Will Ireland sanction that, even if it isn't formally as part of the sanctions regime?
02:10We don't cherry pick when it comes to sanctions.
02:13We stand with Ukraine.
02:15The European Union stands with Ukraine.
02:16Ireland is the president of the Council of the European Union, stands with Ukraine.
02:20There's a war taking place on the continent of Europe, and we must stand with Ukraine for as long as
02:24it takes.
02:24The issue, though, in terms of what is sanctioned or not is a matter in the first instance for the
02:28Commission to bring forward proposals.
02:30That's always been the approach we've taken in this country, sanctions at an EU level.
02:34I think it has served the collective European effort against Russia well, but we've been very clear, too.
02:40Illumina is not a product used in Ireland.
02:42It is, though, perhaps a critical supply chain for many parts of the European economy.
02:47The evidence is that the Illumina does make its way into Russia.
02:51I mean, Russia has a war economy anyway, so, you know, it does make sense that it would definitely be
02:56part of the war machine.
02:57Would it be something that Ireland would consider doing unilaterally?
03:00Ireland's approach to sanctions have always been to operate at a European level, and we've been consistent in relation to
03:05that.
03:06I think it would be rather odd for Ireland to adopt any other approach.
03:08We've seen spiraling prices when it comes to energy costs, diesel in particular.
03:13We heard Donald Trump say that part of the reason for the diesel high prices is Zelensky attacking Russian diesel
03:21infrastructure,
03:22not at all relating that to the war in Iran.
03:25Do you agree with that?
03:26No, I mean, the reason there's a major energy crisis in the world right now is because the Strait of
03:30Hormuz is closed.
03:31And the most pressing issue on the mind of all European finance ministers,
03:35and I think, quite frankly, most of our citizens across the European Union, and certainly here in Ireland, is energy
03:40prices.
03:40Energy prices at the pump, of course, in relation to diesel and petrol.
03:44Prices on the farm in relation to things like green diesel.
03:47But now, as you come into the winter period, the cost of heating your home and the cost of energy
03:51in people's home, too.
03:53And governments around the world, including in Ireland, are seeking to make interventions to assist people.
03:59But I always make the point, and would make it again today, the greatest economic intervention we could see is
04:03de-escalation in the Middle East.
04:06Your fellow finance ministers have asked you to look at a potential windfall tax for energy companies that are earning
04:11billions,
04:11and what everybody else is suffering.
04:13Can you tell us where you are with that?
04:15Is it something that you support?
04:16Our energy company is making extraordinarily large profits on the back of this energy crisis,
04:21and they're not making those profits on the basis of being more enterprising or being innovative.
04:25This isn't about rewarding enterprise.
04:26They're making the profits because of the chaos that we're seeing in the energy markets as a result of the
04:31strait of Hormuz being closed.
04:33So I will be working with colleagues in the first instance here in Dublin this weekend to have an initial
04:38conversation around a windfall energy tax.
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