 Good afternoon and you're very welcome to our webinar this afternoon, here at the IIEA. When I say here, I mean it's everywhere really because we're all joining each other yet again, remotely, virtually, but it's wonderful to have so many of you with us this afternoon. And thank you for bearing with us with the change of time to four o'clock. So we're delighted at this afternoon, really delighted to be joined by Elisa Ferreira, who's the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms. And the commissioner has been generous enough to take time from what is clearly an extremely busy schedule at the moment in terms of the agenda of work that she has. The commissioner will speak to us for about 20 minutes or so, and then we'll go to the Q&A with our audience. And you'll be able to join that Q&A in the normal way using the Q&A function on Zoom, with which you are very familiar at this stage. You'll see it on your screen. Feel free to send in your questions throughout the session. Like if a question occurs to you, put it in then, if you will, rather than waiting, because what often happens with webinars, people are listening, obviously they want to concentrate on what's being said, a question occurs, but then they wait. And then we tend to get all the questions together at the very, very end and we're trying to collate through them and so on. And of course, the earlier you send your question in, the more likely it is for us to reach it. Please also identify yourself when you're putting in the question. If you don't mind if you have an organization that you represent, or a particular role in life title, anything like that. Please identify yourself when you ask the question. Reminder also that the presentation by Commissioner Ferreira and the Q&A are both on the record. And reminder also that if you're using Twitter, feel free to tweet in the course of the presentation, the course of this meeting, and the handle is at IEA. And as I said, I'm delighted to welcome this afternoon on behalf of the IEA Commissioner Elisa Ferreira and the Commissioner holds the, as I said, the Cohesion and Reforms portfolio in the von Leiden commission. She had prior to that, a very stellar career in politics and in public public administration. She was for example, Vice Governor of the Bank of Portugal from I think 2017 to 2019. In political life, she's a member of the party of European socialists. And it's always nice to welcome a fellow member of the PES if I may be indulged just to throw that in from the chair. And she is that Commissioner was a minister during the Qataris premiership. She was Portugal's Minister for the Environment from 1995 to 1999 and Minister for Planning from 1999 to 2002. The Commissioner holds a PhD in economics from the University of Reading. And she prior to coming into this role, Commissioner Ferreira had advocated for a considerable period for the transition to renewable energy. And she is an area in which she has taken a huge interest and now as a European Commissioner herself she has said that she is taking great care to integrate the European Green Deal into her work, especially through the just transition fund, which she can tell you all about that herself, because now my great pleasure to hand over for her presentation to Commissioner Elisa Ferreira. You're very welcome. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for this kind of nice introduction. Thank you for your kind words and thank you for this invitation. It was a really great time for the think tanks and very qualified people like yourself to be and the members of Garish Institute for International and European Affairs to engage in this kind of dialogue because we are in a very critical moment, full of hope, full of and so we have got really to work together and to share our vision and and join forces so that we get back better so to speak. So, ladies and gentlemen, I am in fact very happy to have the opportunity today to discuss with you about the future in Europe and the future of Ireland in Europe. This is a distinguished institution that you are sharing and I really and sincerely regret also very much that I'm here in Strasbourg and not in Dublin with you today. I have a lot of admiration for the Irish tradition of constructive and thoughtful engagement with Europe and with the world. And more than ever, all of us in Europe need this tradition in order to be able to work for our common future and our common good. Working together as Europeans is what procured the corona vaccines working together is what enabled vision policy to rapidly mobilize 310 million euros in the middle of the health crisis. To procure key equipment for Ireland's health services. Last year, vision policy covered a third of the protective equipment Ireland needed and working together, it was working together is what will get us further out of this crisis. As you know, Europe has taken taken the unprecedented step of borrowing using Europe's triple a credit rating. We are creating and boosting investment funds, which will drive the recovery. First of all, we have the new react to you initiative. The initiative will invest or will support Ireland in 88 million euros to support in fact in employment and growth. Second, we are currently discussing Ireland's future recovery and resilience plan that you provide close to one billion euros of European investments in Ireland's recovery from this crisis, as well as in moving in the green and digital transition. And third, vision policy stands ready to invest 1.3 billion euros in Ireland in innovation, renewable energy, cross border cooperation and much more. All these investments add up to a once in a generation of community to build the country back for a better future together as Europeans. And it was Jane Joyce who said, I am tomorrow, what I established today. For us, the question is, what Ireland, and what Europe, do we want tomorrow, and what must we do today, so that we reach that target tomorrow. First and foremost, we must invest in the green transition. And I am impressed by Ireland's climate and clean energy ambitions, a set out in the national energy and climate plan. Second, we have stood on the west coast of Ireland on the stormy day, can attest the abundant potential for power for mainly for wind power. You are putting it to good use with a long term goal of generating 70% of electricity from renewable energy sources and accelerating the phasing out of coal and pit fire generation. The ambitious goal is a great collective project and a challenge. It requires considerable investment in offshore wind energy. It also requires the investment in the power infrastructure, including the Celtic interconnector, which with the 500, 530 million brands will link Ireland to the European supply chain. Since different renewables provide energy at different times, this link seems to us will make energy supply more stable for all of us. There is also the challenge of renewable transport. Ireland has a great ambition, nearly 1 million electric vehicles by 2030, and we need practical steps to make this happen. Another challenge is the issue of home heating in Ireland, this is still mostly based on fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency tells us that in order to be carbon neutral by 2050, we must stop selling fossil fuel boilers by 2025. In addition, Ireland also has to get in the field of building insulation. It's not only Ireland, it's a lot of countries, which is why it is encouraging to see this topic tackled in Ireland's recovery and resilience plan. I urge you to make full use of European support through the renovation wave. And for all Ireland's green investments, I urge you to make the full use of European funds, such as collision policy and the recovery and resilience facility, as well as the technical support and expertise available under the technical support instrument. Second, there is another instrument, the new Brexit adjustment reserve. It is a tangible expression of European solidarity with the people of Ireland and other countries most affected by Brexit. We recognize the steps Ireland has already taken to assist stakeholders and businesses in managing change. We recognize the need for further support. The Brexit adjustment reserve is a five billion Euro fund to help cover public expenditure linked to the Brexit. Ireland will be naturally the biggest single beneficiary with support likely to exceed one billion euros. The negotiations between the college leaders have started, and we will have a political trial log next week. So the negotiation, final negotiation on the legal text between commissioners and council and parliament. I hope I have, since your hopes that we'll conclude it rapidly, if possible, still in June. My third and last topic is the peace plus program. Our biggest objective, of course, is to support the Good Friday agreement and continuing peace and reconciliation in the border regions and throughout the island of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The peace plus program is our concrete contribution to the goal of peace and reconciliation and the Good Friday agreement. Over the past 25 years, we have invested more than three billion euros in specific actions to bring communities together and to build trust. The peace is the only of our programs with UK that will continue after Brexit. We are sorry about it, but that was the option from UK. As recent events in Northern Ireland have shown, unfortunately, this work of reconciliation is needed even more than before. I hope that the talks between Irish and British side on details will conclude soon. So ladies and gentlemen, let me come to an end. When I think of the future of Ireland and of Europe, I am very confident. To see Ireland's green ambitions, the skills and capacities of the Celtic Tiger at the service of the environment will strongly support it through the recovery and resilience program and crew cohesion as for the impact of UK living in the European Union. Europe will mobilize its funds for Ireland. It will be the major beneficiary, as I just mentioned, of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, and we will continue with the important peace plus program to support peace and stability on the island. Ireland will remain very, very close to our hearts. So thank you for your attention, and I look forward to our discussion. Thank you.