Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the ambassadors for their comprehensive presentations and strong words, which are warranted at this time. Some years ago I had the honour of going to Warsaw for the St. Patrick's Day celebrations and was warmly received by the Polish people, such friendly people. It certainly made a lasting impression on me. Long may that friendship between our two countries continue.

On the humanitarian responses from Romania and Poland, we are in awe of their responses, the generosity and solidarity. We are slightly geographically removed as the ambassadors will appreciate but solidarity is at the heart of the European Union. When we had smaller problems in respect of Brexit and so forth there was solidarity shown to us. Now there is unprecedented solidarity being shown by the EU countries in respect of the situation in Ukraine and that is at the very heart of the European Union. I hear very clearly the ambassadors' point that sanctions agreed by the EU to date are not enough. Several other speakers today said the same thing and made specific recommendations in that regard.

This may seem like an academic question given the scale of the war that is under way at the moment, but I raise the matter of a common security and defence policy at EU level. Both Poland and Romania are in NATO and that has very specific connotations and obligations. There have been calls from the French President for more strategic autonomy in energy, defence, security and so forth. As regards calls for enhanced security and defence at an EU level, arising from the invasion of Ukraine, how do the witnesses see the EU evolving in that process? What would they like to see?