Roberta METSOLA, EP President, address a joint sitting of the upper and lower houses of parliament, and meet with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar (followed by a press point), deputy Prime Minister Micheál Martin, and Seán Ó Fearghaíl, the Speaker of the lower house of the Irish Parliament.

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Ireland (T)

VARADKAR, Leo (IE)

Dublin

Ireland

MARTIN, Micheál (IE)

president's agenda

Ó FEARGHAÍL, Seán

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President, to Ireland (Dublin): joint press point by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Leo VARADKAR, Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach)

SOUNDBITE (English), Leo VARADKAR, Irish Prime Minister, - It's a very great pleasure to welcome the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to Dublin today, as we mark 50 years of membership of the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Leo VARADKAR, Irish Prime Minister, - In our meeting today, we discussed some of the most pressing issues facing our union, not least the war in Ukraine and its impact on us, and how best to secure Europe's future economic prosperity as we accelerate the green and digital transition. As we approach the first anniversary of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, both the European Parliament and Ireland stand in full solidarity with the Ukrainian government and its people. They demonstrated remarkable courage and resilience in defence of their sovereignty, freedom and territorial integrity. The values they are defending are European values, and they will prevail. Indeed, they must prevail. We also discussed the importance of ensuring that those responsible for unleashing and prosecuting the war are held to account. We discussed our shared wish to see a positive outcome on the ongoing negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom on the implementation of the protocol. Resolving the current difficulties would open the door to a stronger...

SOUNDBITE (English), Leo VARADKAR, Irish Prime Minister, - I also thanked the President and the Parliament for its steadfast support for peace in Ireland over many decades. The Parliament was a place where representatives from Unionist noxious backgrounds could find space to work together on issues of common interest and common concern to their electors. Indeed, John HUME, when he was an MEP, was inspired by the European Parliament and wondered that if French and German people to come together and work the way they did, white people in Northern Ireland couldn't do the same. The Parliament, through its weight, fully behind the significant contribution the EU made to economic development and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and its role is deeply appreciated.

SOUNDBITE (English), Leo VARADKAR, Irish Prime Minister, - President, Ireland's remarkable progress over five decades would have been unimaginable without our membership of the European Union. It gave us access to European markets, access to port and sources of European funding, an opportunity to shape and be shaped by the most remarkable experiment in sharing sovereignty in the world. Ireland would not be the place it is today without the European Union, and we like to think that the European Union would not be the place it is today without Ireland's membership and contribution. So, Roberta, once again, welcome to Dublin and I greatly look forward to the speech that you'll make to the Oireachtas.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, - Thank you so much, Taoiseach. Thank you, Leo, for your hospitality. The good meeting we just had and for the invitation to the beautiful city of Dublin this is my first visit to Ireland in my capacity as President of the European Parliament. And the timing could not be more fitting. 50 years after Ireland joined what was then still the European Economic Community. 50 years of European Union membership is something to celebrate.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, - Moreover, I think there are few better examples than Ireland of the positive impact EU membership can have. In this period, your country has transformed economic and socially. And today Ireland is at the heart of Europe's business and international trading relationships. And this is testament to the resilience of the people and of the nation. This year also marks 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement with the Tea Shock. We discussed the latest encouraging developments on the Northern Ireland Protocol, and I assured him that the Irish and European positions remain aligned and we remain fully committed to avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, fully committed to democratic choices of the people of the whole of the island of Ireland, and fully committed to preserving peace for all the people of Ireland. And in particular, we highlighted the need to continue to listen and engage with Northern Ireland stakeholders and authorities. We also had the opportunity to speak about the need for peace in Ukraine, a just peace, a peace respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. We agreed on the need to continue to support Ukraine and its defence against illegal aggression and in fight...

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, - I thanked the Taoiseach for the solidarity shown by Ireland and hosting some 70,000 Ukrainians and providing so much needed financial and humanitarian assistance. Finally, ahead of next week's meeting of EU leaders, we spoke about migration. We spoke about the economy on the need to help our businesses and industries to compete on the need to resist the temptation of over protectionism and the need to focus on Europe. The single market, another anniversary of 30 years, this 2023, and also what we can do collectively in order to bring back growth and confidence in the European economy. We all have the tools and the skill to strengthen European competitiveness, but we can only do it if we do it together. Thank you.

Question about migration and the support to Ukraine

Question and answers about Northern Ireland

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President, to Ireland (Dublin): joint press point by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Leo VARADKAR, Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach)

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Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament

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