Dr. Barry Colfer:

I agree things are ticking along at the level of the EU but who will be in charge elsewhere, as the Senator said, will be important for all of us. I point towards the conclusion of my opening remarks when I spoke about the costs of non-enlargement. We could talk of "Ní neart go chur le chéile". The idea is enlargement is not just about costs. It is also about questions of security, arresting Chinese and Russian influence, and the EU's credibility on a global stage. To be objective, that is the sort of angle that could be taken by those who promote enlargement.

On French and German unanimity, the Senator is right and he took the words from my mouth that the paper is interesting but fairly light touch. There is a lot of disagreement between Paris and Berlin. One is a very liberal and the other a very social democratic government, although it is obviously a coalition in Berlin. However, there is definitely unanimity between Paris and Berlin on the importance of Paris and Berlin. I do not think that is going anywhere. I will say again that on the idea of being necessary or sufficient the Franco-German engine will continue. What we saw regarding the NextGenerationEU programme, for example, was a French and German cook-up in July 2020. Is that unfair to say?