Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)

I thank the witnesses for their presentation; I really appreciate it. I have a couple of questions. Given the recent escalations in the Middle East and the renewed focus on defence and security spending, are they concerned about EU spending on SDGs? Many member states want increased defence spending while retaining CAP spending and regional funding. This is not doable, quite frankly, without increasing tax under the MFF. No one seems to willing to grasp that nettle. Are the witnesses concerned that the SDGs, particularly through the European Green Deal, will suffer cuts as a consequence?

Simplification seems to be the catch cry of the day in the EU institutions, especially with the weakening of the cordon sanitaire in the European Parliament between the centre and the Eurosceptic blocs. My fear is this is deregulation for deregulation’s sake. As part of Ireland's EU Presidency, what would the witnesses suggest are the three key priorities we should focus on pushing?