Professor Gavin Barrett:

Exactly. It is an unfortunate name and they are not really working that well in practice either, as far as I can see. The resources the European Union has available in order to intervene in crisis situations do not seem to be very adequate. Maybe that is something that will be looked at in the future.

The Senator also raised the issue of preparing for enlargement. What can be done by the Oireachtas is to alert those who need to be aware of this kind of thing what is going on, what is coming down the tracks towards them and discuss these issues with them, and with the farmers in particular because we are talking about major changes to cohesion funds and CAP funds. There is no doubt about that. There was an element of "Wake up, everybody" in the Commission paper that was leaked. That is about existing budgetary provisions and it relates to nine member states joining. Nine member states are not going to join in the immediate future and they are not going to maintain the existing budgetary provisions but there will be some changes and we need to be ready for that.

We need to be thinking about it, have arguments and ideas about where the changes should come about, and consult the relevant parties, particularly the farmers but not just them. As to whether it is realistic to expect these budgetary changes to take place, I believe, without being glib about it, that it is a matter of the old Sherlock Holmes statement that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever else remains, no matter how improbable, must be true. In other words, Europe has to cope with this and will have to reach an agreement. In fairness, Europe has a pretty good record despite all the stick it takes. Ultimately, when its back is to the wall and it must come up with a solution, it actually does. Next Generation EU is an example of this. It will not be easy and I can imagine there will be negotiations until the eleventh hour and a lot later. Ultimately, however, some kind of agreement will be reached because it has to be if Europe wants to enlarge. The two aspects go together in that you cannot have enlargement without paying the cost.

Ireland’s position on defence and security policy was mentioned. Ireland seems to be doing the right thing. The position, which seems to be very much supported by the public, is to maintain neutrality, but that has not stopped Ireland from participating in cyber defence, which we desperately need, as we have seen. Where our position on military neutrality is not jeopardised, we take a very activist position on many things, and that is to be applauded. We can certainly continue in that respect.