Mr. Hugo Sobral:

I thank the Deputy, who touched on many issues. Briefly, on the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, we know that it will not compensate the entirety of the losses. It is basically a sign of solidarity. However, much more needs to be done. We are currently in discussions with the UK about the total number of catches, since they are now no longer in the Common Fisheries Policy. This is indeed a separate discussion. It is not necessarily easier.

On the PEACE PLUS programme, I can confirm that the programming of this next period has been done following the right consultation across the communities. As far as we know, there is satisfaction across the Border on the content of the programme, which follows largely some of the priorities that were there before, such as economic regeneration, supports for victims and youth. It also introduces some new elements such as the green transition and the community and grassroots approach. These are widely shared priorities.

As for the governance rules, we are taking it up with all governments, and certainly with Ireland, to make sure that these are as flexible and as simple as possible. I would also like to point out the possibility of technical assistance. The programmes of technical assistance can be used to capacitate both the beneficiaries and the regional administrations in making use of funds. We will take this up with the Irish authorities in preparing the next programmes.

The Deputy’s three specific points are out my of remit, so I should be relatively cautious in replying. However, I can say that we are working to have the Northern Ireland protocol respected and implemented. We have already proved that the EU is looking at the real problems with implementation and trying to address them. For instance, we will move ahead with the proposal on medicines to make easier the selling and export of medicines into Northern Ireland. We have also tabled a series of proposals to make the customs processes much easier. I will certainly report what the Deputy has just mentioned, as well as his concerns, to Vice-President Šefovi, so that both he and our UK service is aware of this cross-Border movement that needs to remain unhampered into the future.

The vaccines is probably one of those areas where we are doing a lot but it is not sufficiently recognised. The EU is already the greatest donor of vaccines. We are the largest exporter. We have exported more vaccines than were administered in the EU territory. The issue of the TRIPS waiver is being discussed in the World Trade Organization. There is a discussion to be had on that, but I would also say that the waiver is not a silver bullet to address the problem of lack of vaccines in developing countries. There are the issues of protection, distribution capacity, the cold chains needed for certain vaccines, health systems and national programmes of vaccination that are needed. We also need to look at those other aspects. We are trying also to support developing countries in looking at these other dimensions, which are equally necessary for successful vaccine roll-out.

It is my guess that the energy crisis will probably be discussed soon. There is a European Council taking place presently. The Commission has proposed a toolbox of actions that member states can take to alleviate the rise in energy prices for citizens and, in particular, for vulnerable consumers. These include social tariffs and reducing VAT for electricity, for instance. All of this is within the remit of the member states. However, we ourselves will work on increased energy storage capacity, precisely to avoid being faced with situations where we run out of gas. We will also work on joint procurement, which will facilitate our dealings with third countries that are exporters of energy. We are therefore taking some measures at European level. There are other measures that could be taken at national level. There needs to be a combination of both. We are also looking at the ways in which the markets are functioning to see if the price-setting system is the most efficient one. We are also looking at the demand transmission service and how it is working to make sure that there is no malfunctioning in the system. As the Deputy knows, the current rise in energy prices is a result of different factors, such as the recovery, the gas-led rise of consumption in Asia. There are therefore things that are beyond what we can do. However, we can certainly do more to try to address this. A number of measures are being taken. While they will probably not produce immediate results, they will make us more resilient in the medium term.