 Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to this webinar hosted by the IIEA. My name is Michael Collins, and I'm the Director General of the Institute. And we're absolutely delighted to be joined today by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and, indeed, the Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney, TD, who is very generous to take time out of his schedule to address us this afternoon on the state of our European Union. Ministers, indeed, very welcome back to the IIEA. Minister Coveney will speak to us for about 20 minutes, and then we'll go to the Q&A with you, our audience, and you'll be able to join the discussion using the Q&A function on Zoom, which I think at this stage everybody is familiar with. But in any event, you should see this on your screen. And please be free to send your questions throughout the session as they occur to you. I will come to just as many as we can once Minister Coveney has finished his presentation. I remind her that today's presentation by the Minister and the Q&A, which will follow it, are both on the record. Just to recall that this month of May, the IIEA is celebrating its 30th year since it was founded in 1991 by the late Brendan Halligan, who died last August. Our mission to share ideas and to shape policies as relevant today as it was 30 years ago. And we are delighted that the Minister can be part of these celebrations here today. Please check our website for further information, including details of the inaugural Brendan Halligan lecture, which will be given by the Taoiseach next Monday, May 17th. Please be free to join the discussion today on Twitter using the hashtag IIEA 30. We're also live streaming this afternoon. This is a very warm welcome to all of you joining us via YouTube. So now let me just formally introduce Minister Coveney. He absolutely does not need an introduction, but let me just briefly say that, of course, the Minister is the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Defense. He is also the Deputy Leader of his party, Fina Gael. He previously served as Taunista from November 2017 to June 2020 and Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, as well as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. He was appointed as Minister for Defense for the first time in 2014 and for a second time in 2020. And of course, he represents the Cork South Central constituency. So Minister, you're very, very welcome to do back to the IIEA. We look forward to hearing your remarks on the State of the Union. Thanks very much, Michael, and I really appreciate being asked to do this. I'm delighted to join with the IIEA members and friends as you celebrate the organization's 30th anniversary. And of course, many of us remember Brendan Halligan very fondly in that context. He's been so central to the IIEA and its history. Throughout the past three decades, the IIEA has made an invaluable contribution to public discussion in this country on European and indeed wider international issues. Given the challenges of the past year, I want to warmly acknowledge the manner in which you have adapted, innovated and sustained this dialogue despite the restrictions of the pandemic. The European Union has been buffeted by a series of rolling crises really over the last 12 years. Financial crisis, Russia's annexation of Crimea, an unprecedented scale of immigration, widespread terrorist attacks and the rise of ISIS, Brexit, political populism, the challenges of the Trump administration and perhaps most profoundly of all the COVID pandemic over the last 16 months or so. And it's important that we're honest with ourselves and acknowledge our shortcomings in the dealings with some of these challenges as a union. The union's response to each of these developments has not been without error. It's our inability to agree on migration policy and the challenges around border security. We've made mistakes. Internal divisions have been evident and at times we risked losing the support of our people and we've seen that in elections in different countries across the union. And yet our union has demonstrated remarkable resilience to. Together we have navigated these threats. Our 27 member states have recognized that solidarity unity and common purpose are essential for success. We've learned collectively that the range of challenges we face are too great for any one state to address alone, regardless of how large that state is. As we survey the global COVID landscape and prepare for recovery, my message is clear, the EU of 2021 is not a distant or remote construct, but a vital expression of our shared values. And it's essential to our collective progress. It remains as John Hume consistently reminded us the world's greatest example of peace and reconciliation. It facilitates and drives economic opportunities for hundreds of millions of citizens rooted in a commitment to social inclusion and respect for diversity, as well as economic opportunity. It is the world leader in ambitious and sustainable climate policies, and it's getting better at that every month. It is the global champion of multilateralism respect for human rights and the rule of law. It ensures that citizens can expect and enjoy the highest level of health safety and environmental standards. And we're also getting better at that. And for Ireland and Irish people, our place in Europe provides the cultural and political context for our modern and confident national identity in a country where a sense of place is so deeply ingrained. I think Irish people are very at ease with an identity that is both proudly Irish and European. Because of the great success that is the European Union, people rightly demand and expect more from it. Because of the very value system that we espouse is it is important that we look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we're continuing to live up to these values within our union. In terms of diversity, the rule of law, in terms of progressive and value-based and a value-based approach to migration. In the EU, is the EU the force for good in the world that it should be? Or are we falling short in how we project our influence and values globally because of internal differences and competing interests? These are questions that I think we need to constantly ask ourselves if we are going to remain the ambitious project that we need to be. In the past, Ireland approached our membership of the EU in a manner that was somewhat transactional. A tendency to focus on what we could obtain from the EU limited in some ways our ambition to proactively shape its future. That time is long past. Modern Ireland embraces the opportunity for making the case for a strong, vibrant and dynamic Europe as a whole. A Europe that truly can live up to the ambitions of its people. A Europe that is flexible and responsive to respond to the challenges of our time. A Europe in which Ireland can play a full and influential role. COVID has posed unprecedented near impossible challenges for governments and societies around the world and we know that. The full effects of the disease on our societies will take years, I think, to play out and fully examine. It is also changing our expectations of institutions within the European Union too in terms of what we expect from them. Issues around citizens' health care and well-being were until recently considered a peripheral aspect of the Union's actions. The pandemic has thrust these centre stage. That transition has been swift and understandably has not been plain sailing. In the early days of the crisis, the Union struggled to act in a collective manner as countries did their own thing in response to the immense pressures on their own national systems. And so while we must learn from the lessons of that time, we also acknowledge that the EU has registered many successes in responding to COVID, particularly in more recent times, including in grounding its vaccine policy on European collaboration and solidarity. European investment in scientific research has been crucial to our ability to understand and overcome the pandemic. The Union launched new research initiatives in epidemiology, diagnostics, treatments, and of course vaccines themselves. Ireland contributes to and benefits from this research. We have partnerships in 11 of these research projects, and we are involved in EU and global trials to evaluate COVID treatments, and we play a lead role in the new EU-wide vaccine trial network. Nobody will deny that the pathway to procuring vaccines has been at times a difficult and turbulent one, but we are in a strong position now. Indeed, we are in a position beyond what some, even the most optimistic of people, might have expected this time last year. We could so easily have been in a space of competition, uncertainty, and inequality across Europe in seeking vaccines. But by continuing to coordinate our effort at an EU level centrally, by sharing information and experience, and by persevering on the basis of unity, Europe can emerge in my view stronger from this crisis. Our ability to withstand future challenges I think will be all the greater for us, even though we've made mistakes along the way, I think we're learning from that quickly. Europe's economic recovery also depends on solidarity and decisive action. Millions of jobs and businesses would have been lost if not for the financial support facilitated by the Union and ECB. Last summer's historic agreement for a 1.8 trillion EU budget through the multi-annual financial framework and next generation EU package underscored our capacity to come together to respond to a once in a generation challenge. It ensures unprecedented financial support to help Europe recover from the pandemic. And the key issue here is that we need to make sure Europe is recovering together at a similar pace where possible across the Union. Empowering the Commission to borrow on the markets has sent a strong signal that the EU is determined to chart the pathway to recovery together and Ireland firmly supports this unprecedented and new approach. Through the EU's recovery and resilience facility, Ireland will receive 950 million euros between this year and next with further support to come thereafter. Our national recovery and resilience plan will set out how we will use this money to advance our green transition to accelerate digital transformation and to support economic recovery and job creation right across the country. Of course, we in Europe recognize that COVID is a global pandemic requiring global cooperation. Across the Union we have mobilized over 40 billion euros so far to help partners worldwide in the most vulnerable countries in the fight against COVID-19. And we can and we must do more in this context and I think we will do a lot more in the months ahead. The socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have been keenly felt across all member states. Governments have sought to protect families and businesses with exceptional financial measures. We must also now ensure that we have fair economic recovery based on solidarity, inclusiveness and equal opportunity or as much as we can anyway across the EU. It is in this spirit that EU member states came together at the social summit in Porto last week to demonstrate a renewed commitment to social Europe, including through the implementation of the pillar on social rights. In delivering on that same ambition for fairness and equal opportunity, we must work to accelerate our digital transition also. The pandemic has shown just how important technology and connectivity is for all members of our society. The ability to move online has been vital in keeping large parts of the workforce, the education sector and services functioning through the pandemic. We need to make high quality connectivity and digital access a reality for everyone, especially those who live in remote and rural communities. We must build innovation, research and inclusion in the context of an open market, while at the same time ensuring that digital companies are required to uphold the standards necessary to protect our citizens and consumers. I think we have a lot of work to do in that space. Over the past year, many of us have come to appreciate just how much our well-being depends on the quality of our environment around us. And I'm proud that Ireland is grasping the opportunity now to modernize and strengthen our climate policies. Maintaining a focus on the European Green Deal is a key priority for us. Europe must lead on climate action and ambition in the face of the global climate emergency, encouraging our partners beyond Europe to do the same, but we won't be effective if we don't lead by example. The Green Deal will accelerate investments and progress in technology enabling cost-effective transitions as we decarbonize our societies. This will bring green growth and jobs and of course improve both biodiversity and our broader environment. Agreeing the European Climate Law is vitally important in supporting this ambition, establishing a new EU greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 55% by 2030, and committing the Union to achieving collective climate neutrality by 2050, which is an extraordinary target and hugely ambitious. All EU policies must contribute to this goal, and all sectors of society will need to play their part. Ireland is committed to an average 7% per annum reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030 and to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. This national approach is fully aligned with the European goals as we work to make these ambitious targets a reality. The debate in Europe over strategic autonomy has taken on new momentum over the past year. Some have sought to use this to promote more protectionist actions, retrenching from global supply chains and directing resources to particular sectors internally within the European Union. For Ireland, we want to see Europe that is resilient across all sectors but strives to be the most innovative economy and society in the world. Somewhere that does not look inwards erecting barriers in a way that's protectionist but actually does the opposite. We can do this by building on the single market and the EU's principles of openness, multilateralism and competition. And that's why from an Irish perspective, even in the midst of this pandemic, even when we had huge frustrations in terms of the availability of vaccines, this government did not support any approach that would limit the export of vaccines or restricted out of the European Union. Understandably, much of the recent strategic autonomy debate has been informed by the experience of the pandemic. However, we must be careful not to fall into the trap of preparing for the last crisis. Today we tackle a public health crisis but future emergencies may pose very different challenges. So we must build a European resilience that is flexible and capable of meeting whatever future challenges or crisis that may come our way. I've spoken at the IAA on many occasions since 2016 about Brexit. You'll all be aware of the difficult process that led to the trade and cooperation agreement agreed on Christmas Eve. The TCA has now been ratified and it establishes a framework for EU-UK relations across a comprehensive set of areas. No fewer than 23 dedicated committees will work to ensure as productive a relationship as possible on issues from trade to aviation and law enforcement and many other areas. Of course, this new relationship is very different from what went before. This is a reality, though, that we must accept and we must adapt to. At the same time, I'm keenly aware of the challenges facing our own country due to these unavoidable changes. Our fishers, our haulers, importers and exporters find themselves at the sharp end of Brexit and the change that it's forcing on us. It will take more time and data before we can fully analyse the impact of Brexit on our supply chains and on the broader economy, but it is having an impact. In the meantime, the government will continue to offer support and provide guidance as we navigate these challenges together, as we've done through the process so far. The allocation of 21% of the EU's Brexit adjustment reserve, that's well over a billion euros, is another clear expression of EU solidarity with those most acutely affected by Brexit, namely ourselves. Of course, the protocol in Ireland and Northern Ireland has experienced significant challenges since January. However, it remains the vital framework, and in my view, the only available solution to avoiding a hard border on this island while protecting the gains of the peace process, the integrity of the single market, and of course Ireland's place within it. We support and encourage the ongoing discussions between the EU and the UK on its full implementation, and we continue to engage with those in Northern Ireland who do have very real concerns about the implementation of the protocol in Northern Ireland. I know that the EU is acutely conscious of these concerns, and is working with the EU to implement the protocol in a way that impacts as little as possible on people's lives in Northern Ireland. We need to be pragmatic, we need to be flexible, but that has got to happen with the parameters of the protocol itself. There can be no place for unilateral actions that only serve to dance trust and undermine progress, and there have been unfortunately examples of that. I'm concerned at the repeated pattern of such actions by the British government, and I urge that partnership rather than unilateralism be the preferred approach in the period ahead, so that we can get this difficult work done. Excuse me. In part for democracy, the rule of law, multilateralism, human rights, respect for the United Nations Charter and international law are all foundational values, if you like, for the European project, and of course our commitment to it. If we are able, in promoting such universal values beyond the Union, there must be full respect for these values within the Union. And I'm deeply concerned about the erosion of rule of law within some member states. Polling shows that Irish people are also concerned. More than three quarters of our people believe EU funds should be withheld from member states who fails with here to the rule of law. This is the guardian of the treaties, and I welcome the leadership shown by them in establishing greater accountability on the rule of law, even though that has been somewhat controversial and difficult over recent months. Of course, no member state is perfect. And we should all be open to scrutiny. My department engaged positively with the European Commission on the preparation of the Ireland chapter of the Commission's first annual rule of law reports last year. And I'm happy to continue that engagement this year, of course. Our principles and values are under sustained pressure in many parts of the world. Our response should be clear. Now is not the time to shrink from our commitment to our values. It's the time for us to be bolder and be more strategic in protecting pursuing and promoting them. This is the approach that Ireland is taking member of the UN Security Council, even if that means sometimes saying thing that our friends. There are those who argue for what they describe as a more pragmatic approach to our international relations, where we privilege our perceived interests over our values. From an Irish perspective, our values and our interests are not in conflict. They reinforce each other in many ways in terms of our international standing by promoting our views we protect our interests and ensure our security and our credibility when we speak in these areas. The treaties do not set our course in international affairs. They also provide us with a toolbox to achieve those objectives. The effectiveness of the EU common fire and security policy, however, is dependent on our collective will to utilize that toolbox. And if we're honest with ourselves, there are times when we have fallen short and failed to project our influence and our values as we should. Notably the EU's inability, for example, to agree a strong approach and a common approach to the ongoing crisis in Israel-Palestine for many years now. We would like to see Member States show more willingness in their actions to achieve a more geopolitical union. So that we can be more strategic in terms of how we influence other parts of the world in a positive sense. It's not an easy task to coordinate the foreign policies and balance the interests of 27 Member States. It's an impossible task, however, if we're not willing to trust that the collective voice of 27 represents our best strategy for influencing the course of international events. The EU has proven itself as having the capacity to address pressing global challenges. It proves that multilateral solutions and systems can deliver coherence, stability and growth where centuries of mistrust and conflict have previously existed. The EU-UN partnership in peace operations and crisis management is a good example of that. Ireland is proud to have members of our Defence Forces participating in common security and defence policy operations in Bosnia Herzegovina, in Mali and in the Mediterranean. All of these operate in support of UN Security Council resolutions. The EU's instrumental role in efforts towards a return to full implementation of the Iranian nuclear agreement, the JCPOA is another example. Ireland is the best way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons capability. In our work on the Security Council's facilitator for the implementation of Resolution 2231 on the JCPOA, Ireland is making an active contribution in keeping with our long-standing commitment to disarmament and non-proliferation. Without multilateral cooperation through the UN, through the EU and through the UN Security Council, Ireland would simply have no influence on big international issues like this. In the context of the EU's global engagement, the revitalisation of the EU-US relationship I think is especially welcome. President Biden will visit Brussels in June for an EU-US summit. Such a summit has not been held since 2014, believe it or not. And I'm delighted to see this taking place so early in President Biden's tenure. I think it's a real signal of intent. EU-US cooperation will be crucial in responding to an urgent and challenging global agenda. The relationship is essential to our future prosperity in my view. Ireland can play and is already playing an important role in developing structured cooperation between the EU and the US. Ireland is also actively engaged in shaping a more coherent and ambitious EU-Africa partnership. This is an issue in which I am personally deeply interested and one which deserves a lot more political attention in my view in the EU, even though in recent times the Commission I think has been talking in very positive terms around increasing ambition. The prosperity and stability of Europe and Africa as neighbouring continents are deeply intertwined. The impacts of climate change and population growth are going to fundamentally shape this relationship with our closest neighbours just across the Mediterranean in future decades. A stronger, more effective political partnership between the EU and Africa is essential if we're going to navigate these challenges and make the most of the opportunities for both continents in the context of closer cooperation. Finally, I want to say a few words about an opportunity for our citizens to come together to debate many of the topics that I've touched upon here today. The conference on the future of Europe will allow the people of Europe to have their say on charging a future course for the Union focused on what matters to them. We want to see an inclusive conference with citizen engagement to the forefront. Indeed, this is absolutely critical in my view, as the EU will only be relevant if it reflects the priorities of its people. We must constantly challenge ourselves to ensure that we are indeed focusing on the priorities of our people and delivering on their interests. All too often the European Union gets caught up in inter-institutional wrangles and debates, and to be quite honest, we lose the people on the street in the context of many of those debates. And then we wonder why some of the EU debates or initiatives are not seen as in touch with what people are looking for. Tomorrow, we will launch the conference in Ireland. My colleague, Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, will head up our national programme of events and engagements to capture voices and ideas from all across the island, north and south. We have a strong track record of citizen engagement through our citizens' dialogues and citizens' assemblies, and I would really encourage as many people as possible to participate. The Union has demonstrated resilience in the face of considerable adversary, yet it remains fragile as a security of laws and values in a world of increasingly polarised views and division. We cannot take its future progress and wellbeing for granted, and we need to keep working on new thinking, new ambition, more unity, and a collective purpose, if you like, that is about more than the visual component parts of the EU. Boldness and ambition will be required to develop and deliver post-pandemic Europe. That can be the task of governments and institutions alone. It requires the energy engagement and imagination of everybody, particularly our younger generation. An EU that evolves to meet the real needs and dreams of an engaged people is the most effective way to preserve its resilience and endurance. By doing so, it will grasp the opportunities of the coming decades and provide global leadership on many of the pressing issues of our time. So thanks very much for the opportunity to outline some of my views, and I look forward to your questions. Thank you, Michael. Minister, thank you for covering such a wide range of issues, very substantial agenda in your remarks. And indeed, the Union is indeed a complex organisation addressing many and varied issues of interest and importance to us as Europeans as well as Irish. And thank you indeed also for your kind and generous comments about the IIEA as celebrating our 30th anniversary this year. But maybe just before we come to the questions, and I just invite people to send in their questions if they haven't already done so. The question session also has the previous remarks by the Minister, are indeed all on the record. But Minister, maybe just to get the ball going, you mentioned at the very beginning of your speech the importance of acknowledging shortcomings. Do you think people here in Ireland see the Union in the round, with its successes as well as its shortcomings? And how would you estimate the Union's standing at this time in Ireland? I think it's strong. I think it's perhaps not quite as strong as it was in the midst of the Brexit debates when they were at their height. When I think Irish people were quite taken aback by the support and the solidarity and backup effectively that Ireland was getting in terms of our very vulnerable position in the context of the Brexit debates. And I think that journey, while it was one of some pressure politically in Ireland in terms of very difficult negotiation, it was one when an awful lot of Irish people began to see the European Union in a different light. You know, it wasn't simply a source of money for farmers. It wasn't simply a policy direction that was progressive and good. It was also something bigger that kind of had our back at a time when Ireland was exposed to real vulnerability in the context of a peace process, relationships between north and south trade across the Irish sea. And so many really had the potential to impact on so many people's lives. So I think in many ways at the height of that Brexit tension, support for the European Union and Ireland's place as part of something bigger was perhaps at its strongest, certainly in my lifetime. I think that there has been frustration in terms of the impatience around access to vaccines. I also think that the first few weeks and months of the EU response to the pandemic wasn't great. And in some ways it was an impossible ask to expect the Union to be ready for a pandemic that nobody saw coming. And certainly, you know, I think that that that there have been more questions of the European Union, perhaps around some of the mistakes that have been made, but on the whole, I think the support and this is backed up by by data and by surveys. You know the support for Ireland's membership of the European Union is still really really strong. It's in the mid 80s, if not the high 80s. And so, you know, in in political terms like that's almost unanimous support for EU membership so it's very strong but we should never take it for granted, you know, and I think I think the direction of the European Union now is one that Ireland needs to shape. The European Union without the UK is a very different Union for from an Irish perspective, you know, we don't actually have an ally in the UK, and a very powerful one at that in terms of shaping many things that we regard as important to the future of the European Union in terms of free and fair competition in terms of the globalized view of the world in terms of our approach towards competitiveness and taxation, like a lot of the things that that are really a fundamental part of our success in terms of economic growth have been backed up by Irish support in many policy areas, and we have to work hard now, I think to continue to win the arguments in many of those areas where perceptions and reality is also changing. And that's why we've worked so hard to build, I think new alliances, new structured partnerships with, you know, states like Nordic and Baltic states with Benelux countries. We've significantly increased our footprint and presence in big influential countries like France and Germany, as you know. And, and so, you know, we've really, I think gone into overdrive in terms of diplomatic outreach across the European Union to make sure that Ireland remains central to many of these discussions in an EU without the UK. You know, in short, I think Irish people are very much with us on that journey, very much committed to the EU and what it stands for. They very much feel European as well as Irish. And I think all of that is a very good basis to work from, but we should never take it for granted. I'm just going to come to a few questions now that are coming in online here. And just to tee up this question that comes from Thomas Maher, you know, you part of your speech talking about common foreign and security policy. You said that if we're honest with ourselves, there are times when we have fallen short and failed to project our influence and our values, as we should. And Thomas Maher as a master's student at UCD, he says, do you think Ireland will work more closely with the EU on defense in the future? Particularly in terms of defending against rising state sponsored cyber attacks. Yes. So, and actually, I was on my feet for an hour and a half this morning in the doll of taking questions on defense, where some still seem to think that we're heading in the direction of a European army and our neutrality is being undermined and so on. You know, it just isn't the case. But that doesn't mean that we're not cooperating with other EU member states to try to create, you know, a collective effort to intervene in crisis situations. You know, and we have good examples of that, you know, you know, Ireland, for example, across the Sahel at the moment, you know, we have, we're involved in two different missions and operations in Mali, for example. We work with a German contingent of peacekeepers in a UN mission in Mali really effectively. And our most skilled defense force personnel in the Army Ranger wing are very much part of that. But we also then work with other colleagues on the EU mission there, which is an EU training mission in Mali. And so, I mean, I think we will continue to work in areas where where we believe we have a consistency with Irish foreign policy in areas that are focused on peacekeeping, peace intervention, post conflict management, and of course in areas where Ireland has many concerns also need to be for. And the idea that, that, that we, we protect ourselves by not cooperating with other member states in in areas like cybersecurity and so on, just makes no sense at all, which is why we have to as a defense force personnel, seconded to the, the center of cybersecurity research in Tallinn, in Estonia, because we need to plug into other experiences. So the applied best practice here in Ireland. So cybersecurity is hugely important, and a real threat that we need to take seriously in Ireland because we of course house so much international data in Ireland, given the number of multinationals that are here that have enormous data attached to their business models. So, so we take cybersecurity and data protection and data management really, really seriously, and we are engaging with, with other countries in a way that does not compromise our neutrality but in a way that allows us to, to work in partnership for everybody's in different strategic areas, whether that's cybersecurity, whether it's sharing information in the maritime environment, whether it's partnerships in terms of peacekeeping, whether it's training together in what are called battle groups, which is a slightly unfortunate name, because it's not going to battle. It's about training together and ensuring that we have interoperability, if we need to engage in a crisis quickly. And so, you know, I think we are engaging in increased cooperation, but we're doing so in a way that doesn't undermine our traditional approach towards non alignment when it comes to military alliances. Thank you. Just a question here from Arthur Mahoney, just to change the subject psyche again. Arthur Mahoney is a government affairs policy analyst with Johnson and Johnson, who are members of the Institute of course. He says how does Ireland intend to, you talk about bridging the Atlantic between the European Union and the United States. How does Ireland intend to, what opportunities are there for Ireland to bridge this gap or to span this gap between Ireland and the United States, or between the European Union and the United States. And what potential or opportunities does that bridge present for our economic model into the future. Yeah, I'm glad I asked that question because this is a pet subject of mine. I mean, I believe that we have once in a lifetime opportunity right now to build what I would like to see as, you know, institutional connectivity, not just relying on political personalities, but actually creating an institutional partnership transatlantic. In terms of political cooperation, trade and investment discussion and cooperation, strategic partnership and policy areas like climate, like the promotion of human rights and democracy in different parts of the world. I mean, I don't believe we will, we will get again in my lifetime, an administration in Washington that is as open to, to that kind of cooperation as this one currently is. I mean, if you look at, you know, Secretary Blinken, for example, their Secretary of State, I mean he is somebody he's a francophone speaks fluent French understands the European Union intimately. I think it's very open to, you know, serious and deep engagement and to listening to the European Union's perspective. And you know, I think a good example of that, for example, already is the JCP away. You know, where where the EU has been really, I think anxious to to persuade the US to change direction from the direction that the Trump administration has taken and look how, look how far we've come in a short number of months negotiations in Vienna have real momentum now in terms of trying to get that nuclear agreement functioning again in a way that can prevent concerns around around developing nuclear weapons so so for me. This needs to be about a lot more than just talk. We need to try to make sure that the summit next month has real outcomes. And, and I think we need to use every month that we've got with this administration to try to build a relationship that is lasting for for the medium term outlook, regardless of who's in Washington. If you contrast that to the relationship with the previous US administration which was based on tension, personal animosity at times, real conflicts of, you know, policy direction in terms of climate in terms of multi lateralism in terms of the approach to the UN. In terms of you know the protection of a human rights in certain cases. And you know, like, this is this is a big policy shift that we're seeing coming from Washington. We need to harness that in a way that isn't, you know, essentially falling or anything like that. But at the same time, there's a big opportunity here and we should grasp it and we should. There should be a sense of urgency around that, in my view. And you know I've been advocating for that within within the European Union over the last number of months and we'll continue to do it. And on that I have a question here from Bill Emmett, who's the former editor of the economist, he's chair of the Trinity long room hub, and it's directly relevant to what you've been talking about as president Biden has put pressure on the EU on two important issues corporate tax and of course, most recently, the vaccine pharma patent waivers. Will Ireland take a an active position on the EU response to these issues. What will it be and then I think I heard you minister talking in very positive terms about the possibility of the vaccine waiver. There's not yet a consensus in Europe on that. Oh yeah no I mean when I when I say that that we need more cooperation with the US, it doesn't mean we agree on everything. What it means is that we we we regard the relationship transatlantic as a priority, and therefore we give the heads up and we have. We have detailed conversations and we build a relationship of trust whereby, you know, both sides of the Atlantic work closely together and by the way I believe that should include the UK as well. You know for when I talk about a transatlantic relationship and talking about the transit at the Atlantic countries working together which involves you know Canada, the UK, and you know and others. But you know when you talk about corporation tax yeah I mean we have. We have a perspective here which I think people understand. We want to work through the OECD process. We don't want Europe doing its own thing on corporation tax or on the taxation of the digital economy either. We think that that will create huge problems in terms of how the global economy functions. But if we can get agreement, which will of course involve EU and US influence. At an OECD level, and I think that is likely to come in the months ahead. I think Ireland will have to accept that compromise and make it work. And we are up for that, even though we will continue to ensure that we get across an Irish perspective. Because I think a lot of other countries rely on Ireland to make that perspective in terms of economic tools around taxation, particularly for smaller economies that need to maintain competitiveness and so on. On vaccines yeah I mean I have said very bluntly that I do not believe that it is morally acceptable that IP intellectual property and patents should prevent the expansion of manufacturing capacity globally of vaccines when we see so many people dying on a daily basis. That being said, you know implementing what's been referred to now as a trips waiver under WTO rules is not going to solve this issue overnight, not by a long shot. So, you know, patents and IP legal protections are one element of the argument. And I think we should be open to to moving in a in a new and more generous direction in that space. There are consequences to that but I think the consequences worth bearing. But the reality is that manufacturing vaccines for coal is a very technical business. And even if you were to share the recipe if you like, for these vaccines, whether it's whether it's whether it's Janssen, whether it's Moderna, whether it's J&J, other vaccines, whether it's Pfizer, whether it's AstraZeneca, or indeed others in different parts of the world. We've also got to try to share the know how. And so if we're if we're serious about dramatically increasing manufacturing capacity in the short term, it's got to involve partnerships between many of the existing companies that have developed these vaccines, as well as the removal of of of paid protections in the short term, I think both has to happen. Because, you know, even to build one of these plants and by the way, I live only a few miles away from the second largest pharmaceutical cluster in the European Union in in in core Carver. You know, and to build a plant of that sophistication takes quite some time. So, so yes, the trips waiver is an issue that I think we should be be open to working with the US on. And I think that should be a priority. But I think there are a whole range of other issues as well that I think we need to focus on and work with companies on to make sure that capacity can be ramped up in the short to medium term from a manufacturing basis in different parts of the world. But for the foreseeable future, most of these vaccines are going to be produced in Europe and the US for the rest of the world to and and we need to. I think we will become much more generous as the months move on and as as spare capacity starts to emerge on both sides of the Atlantic. And I think that Minister that your answer there covers a question also in very similar vein asked by Jim Carkin from Oxfam. But so let me move on. I just say one other thing like on that because I think it is important. I mean, I think we also need, you know, anybody can share a resource when they have excess, you know, there's no great sacrifice in that. I think the question we do need to ask ourselves though is, you know, is it okay for countries in the European Union to have vaccinated their vulnerable populations and move on to vaccinate everybody else. While there are, you know, 60 and 70 year old nurses in COVID wards in hospitals and parts of the world that have no access to vaccine at all. And, and should we be sharing even before we have our, our entire population vaccinated. And I think these are moral questions that we do need to grapple with. And, you know, I hope to be to be bringing something to cabinet on this in the weeks ahead. So, even the principle of sharing some of you, some of the resource that you have in the context of that moral argument around the need to protect vulnerable populations and parts of the world that have nothing. I mean, don't forget the content of Africa I think as a whole only has about 1% of global vaccine supply right now. So, you know, that is something I think we need to think about. And I think Irish people would be open to but of course we need to be pragmatic as well in terms of the pressures and demands of our own people. Thank you, Minister. Maybe just to move if we could to the Middle East. A question in here from pork Murphy whom you know well. And last indeed, a member of the Institute and a chair of the IEA foreign policy group. He is quiz question is when you say you wish for more from the European Union in reaction to recent events in regard to the Palestine Israeli conflict. Do you have something specific in mind. I mean, I think you need to probably separate what's happened in the last 48 hours from maybe what's been happening in the last three or four years because they are slightly different. But, you know, I want the European Union to have a close relationship with Israel. I want Ireland to have a good relationship with Israel. But I also think, you know, we do need to insist on an EU policy position in the context of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. And our position is that we advocate for a two state solution. We advocate for a negotiated peace agreement that that delivers a quality of esteem to both sides. And of course we call out breaches of international law when they're occurring and settlements in occupied territory are illegal. The expansion of settlements in occupied territory is illegal. The, the demolition of people's homes in occupied territory is illegal. And we've got to call that out and call it for what it is. And much of that activity, because it hasn't been called out sufficiently by the European Union continues. And in fact, has accelerated so far in 2021 and is a contributing factor, I think to a lot of the tension in recent days and a lot of the tragedy in recent days. And of course, then when you add to that, you know, what happened in East Jerusalem in the al-Aqsa mosque, where you had security forces using stun grenades inside in a mosque in one of the holy one of the holiest sites for the Islamic world. This is going to cause real tension. And unfortunately, terrorists in Gaza have have used us as an excuse to start firing hundreds of rockets into Israel, which has then triggered a security response, which in my view has has to be questioned in the context of the consequences in terms of civilian deaths and children in particular. I don't have the figures in front of me but close to 70 people in Gaza are now dead. Close to 20 of them are children. That's not acceptable. In my view, even though of course I recognize that Israel has a right to defend itself. There is an obligation in international law to make a clear distinction between civilians and children and targets that are, I suppose, legitimate in the context of a country having the right to defend itself. So we have unfortunately seen now another cycle of violence, which I think many people predicted at some point, given the building of tension. Particularly in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. And of course, the tragedy around that and the loss of life in Israel too, where I think six or seven civilians have now been killed by rocket fire. So everybody's losing here. And in my view, what's needed is a focus on international law, a focus on agreed UN and UN Security Council resolutions, and a peace process that is fair to both sides with the objective of putting an agreement around the state solution, where two states can live side by side with their security concerns addressed fully. And I, and I appreciate that so my position isn't one of taking sides per se I'm not pro or anti Israel or pro or anti Palestine in this dispute and this conflict. I'm in a position and the Irish government's position is one of insisting on an adherence to international law and international agreements in this space. And sometimes that means I've got to call things out and create uncomfortable conversations around that but I think I have an obligation to do that. I'm just running out of time now and we're not going to get up like to all the questions inevitably because there's a great number of them, but I suppose inevitably also we should have a few questions on brexit as we wrap up the session so this is a two questions about me the first one is from Khan power who's a life member of the IA retired from my back of course and it's like oh he says in view of the centrality of the Ireland Northern Ireland protocol to the EU UK agreement how does our government see a solution emerging to the opposition that the protocol to the protocol, which has been voiced by some political parties notably the dup and the uup. And secondly, a question if I may from Simon Carswell, who's a journalist and of course it's a question of some current particular topicality. Simon's question is, it has been reported that the dup leadership candidate Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will, if he wins the leadership contest instruct the party to cut off all north south cooperation, which risks the collapse of the northern assembly, do you believe that Jeffrey Donaldson will follow through on this threat, if elected leader, or is this just politics and playing to hard line hardliners in the leadership contest, and is this a cause of concern to you. So two questions and we're going to end on those ministers so. I will look, I mean, to a certain extent, they're, they're somewhat linked and look I mean the protocol which of course was part of the, the initial withdrawal agreement. A lot of people I think seem to associate the protocol with the trading cooperation agreement but of course the protocol became international law as part of the withdrawal agreements between the EU and the UK. What was agreed then at the same time as the TCA was an implementation plan between Marseille Kovic and Michael Gove for the protocol. And, you know, our position has always been look, the protocol has been agreed, it's international law, and it needs to be implemented in a way that that was also agreed between the British government and the EU. But we also of course recognize that since then the politics around the protocol has been very, very difficult. There are there are a lot of genuine concerns around the impact of the protocol and its implementation in Northern Ireland. We need to listen to that. There are flexibilities within the protocol. There are there is a committee structure in terms of a joint committee and a specialized committee that that can, in my view, apply pragmatism and flexibility within the confines of the protocol. And that's what we should be focus on focusing on doing and you know the negotiations between Vice President Sefkiewicz and Lord Frost are continuing and important. I think the relationship is better now than it was a few weeks ago. I think it's very unhelpful that the British government decided to take unilateral action in terms of changing the implementation plan for the protocol in terms of extending grace periods and so on without agreement, which has triggered of course, the potential of a legal change by the EU, but more importantly than that which damaged trust and relationships, which I think everyone is trying to now, you know, restore in terms of that relationship and trust. So, look, we'll continue to try to make a positive contribution to the discussion, which ultimately is between the EU, and the British government, but of course involves the Irish government and political parties in Northern Ireland as well. And, you know, I know some people don't want to hear it but but we are listening to Unionist concerns, but we also have to listen to listen to other concerns, you know, and we'll do as much as we can to try to advocate for pragmatism and change. But we've got to do that within the confines of the protocol and the international agreement that's there. You know, and like the truth is that there isn't any alternative there to the protocol that doesn't involve actually I think more difficult decisions. And, you know, the cause of disruption here is Brexit. The protocol is about trying to limit and manage that disruption in a way that protects a peace process protects an all island economy protects East West and North South relationships as best we can. But the protocol isn't the disruptor and the problem. Brexit is protocol, the protocol is about limiting that to the greatest extent possible. And when people compare the impact of the protocol on trading relationships across the IRC versus the way it was before. In other words before Brexit took effect. Like that is not a fair comparison, because because of course, Brexit, we've always contended that Brexit would make life worse in terms of free trade, because sharing a union and sharing a single market and sharing the customs of course is the ultimate in in free trade. And so moving away from that is always going to involve disruption. The protocol is about trying to manage that to the greatest extent possible. And we will continue to try to reach out and manage the politics as best we can and listen to everybody with a with an open mind. In terms of Simon's questions look I'm not going to get into any commentary around the dup leadership and who's saying what you know tomorrow is a pretty crucial day in terms of that leadership campaign. And, you know, it's not for me to make the distinction between what is campaigning language and what is, what is real. You know, I wish both candidates well in that process and whoever wins, we'll work with the leader of the dup to try to rebuild relationships that have been somewhat strained in recent months. And that brings us to the end of this state of the European Union session we've covered and you've covered a very broad array of issues and we haven't got everything. All our questions answered a lot of questions in on the conference in the future of Europe but that to be an issue really for tomorrow as well. Literally tomorrow in terms of the launch of the of that initiative and there's obviously an opportunity there to to learn more about that on that occasion. But just wanted to say thank you to you minister and to obviously just say apologize to anybody we didn't get to. I see questions here from the Spanish ambassador for example on Mercasura say several questions on the conference of the future of Europe, who relations with Turkey a question here there from Peter Maclone. Many, many questions but I think you'd be more generous in your time. And, and it's a testimony to the complexity of the work of the European Union and indeed your own work that there is such a full range of responsibilities and topics to be addressed. Thank you very much. And we look forward to welcoming you back again to the IEA at some in the not too distant future and in the meantime, we will continue to celebrate our anniversary. We look forward to a very big week for us and we'll be hosting the T-shirt in particular on Monday. So thank you. Thanks very much and if I might suggest at a later date, it will be great maybe to come and take questions on on on our role on the Security Council. I think a lot of the members of the IEA would find that really interesting in terms of some of the some of the policy areas that we're involved in the Horn of Africa to the Middle East to Iran. And peace and security to to climate security, you know, there's a we've we've managed to get Ireland into some really meaty and influential briefs in terms of of trying to influence influence global decision making and I know the many of your members would be interested in in much of that discussion. So maybe if we could think in the future about whether whether we could do a session on on the Security Council in particular because I think we only get an opportunity to be on the Security Council every 20 years or so. So if your if your members are interested in that I'd be delighted to facilitate it. Mr. I'm sure they will be delighted to host such an event at any time in the future. Great. Thanks everybody. And congratulations on the 30th anniversary. Enjoy it. Okay, thank you. Bye bye.