Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank both of the ambassadors for their detailed presentations. There is an awful lot to cover and I have a million questions. Thankfully, Senator Chambers has asked a few of those questions so I will not repeat her excellent points.

Both of our guests mentioned Europe's place in the world. Mr. de Almeida e Sousa mentioned the eastern partnership but I want to ask about a country that is a bit closer, which is also to the east. I would appreciate the witnesses' opinions on the situation in Belarus and on the possibility of new sanctions being introduced at this week's European Council meeting. Even though it was an achievement to agree sanctions on Belarus at the last European Council meeting, I was massively disappointed at the fact that they were relatively narrow and that President Lukashenko was left off them. I know the German Foreign Minister, in particular, has been outspoken on this but I would like to get Ms Potzel's insight into what we might be able to expect in that regard.

On the future of Europe, which Senator Chambers mentioned, I would appreciate it if the witnesses could flesh out what preparations, if any, have been undertaken in their countries at a Government and parliamentary level to feed into a confidence in the future of Europe as we go forward.

I want to go back to the issue that dominates many minds in this country and across the water when we go away from the pandemic and the budget, namely Brexit. I am aware that it is not necessarily the biggest issue in other European countries. We had the fuss over the UK's Internal Market Bill being released at a late hour and it dominated British headlines. It was the third item on the Irish news but I do not know if it even registered in the news in Portugal or Germany. Other colleagues I speak to in member states across the EU have all moved on. Brexit happened on 31 January. It is difficult for a country such as this, which is so close to the UK and with a shared land border with the UK, to simply move on. I would appreciate hearing what the impressions of Brexit are in Portugal and Germany. Where do the witnesses see the potential of the future relationship between the EU and Britain? I know this issue was touched on earlier and it is vital that we have some form of a future relationship, even if a deal looks less likely at this stage. In that context, when we talk about recovery and the pandemic, what consideration can the MFF make to the impact that Brexit will have, how it can compound the economic impact of the pandemic and where that might affect the European recovery fund and the approach to Ireland, in particular?