Ms Kata Tütt:

The whole enlargement procedure is clearly partly about defence but it is also about investing in the Common Market. There will be no return if there is no investment in the Common Market. I think this is quite clear. We need to keep the Common Market working. We need to connect territories and invest in the skills and economic transition. We decided together to invest in reducing carbon dioxide, in energy security and in the connection of the grid. This is what we are doing together. We are connecting territories and building roads, rail and energy grids and trying to keep the fabric of the European Union strong. If we do not do that and do not invest in all of the regions, then we will have regions that will hollow out completely. It is quite clear that would weaken the European Union. There are a lot of false dichotomies out there in the context of the cohesion policy only being a charity fund. The Deputy clearly knows it is not.

The competitiveness of the European Union is not decided in regard to how much we dedicate from the common budget on competitiveness because we spend so little together compared to the European economy and GDP. The competitiveness of the European Union is decided here in Ireland, and in Germany, in France and in the Netherlands. Of course, regulations are important, but the spending is happening at the national level. The big question is how much we spend together and how much is in the context of national sovereignty. This is the constant struggle happening today. If we decide, however, to spend more together, then we need to put in the money together. This is now the tension. We decided to spend together but we do not want to put in the money. It is really hard to decide how to move on from this situation.