Mr. Barry Andrews:

I thank the Chair for the welcome. It is true that we will see less progressive MEPs and that will be reflected in the institutions. Even the parties themselves are shifting their base. They are trying to defeat the far right by becoming more far right and that is really worrying. We are seeing the deselection of candidates who do not accord with this less progressive approach, which is very worrying. I will say that the EU is a valued leader in this space. There is no question or doubt about that. Without EU leadership, we would not even be in the modest position we are in now. Let us take into account the European Green Deal and the EU’s presentation of a voluntary review for the first time with spillovers, which is really conscious of how the EU's economic activities impact neighbouring countries. This is a valued area of leadership. We need to take account of that, while still holding the European Union to the high standards it sets for itself. This is where the activities of some MEPs come in. We try to hold the European Union to the highest standards that it sets for itself.

We asked for the overall strategy, but it continues to be absent. There is no overall EU strategy for the implementation of the SDGs, despite several resolutions being passed with huge majorities in the European Parliament, despite requests from the European Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions and various others. All of them have asked for this overall strategy. The brief about the strategic direction of Directorate General for International Partnerships after this election is incredibly troubling. There has been a drift away from the core principles that we have described, such as regarding putting those who are the furthest behind first. That is, in my opinion, almost completely abandoned in this strategy and it is a real worry. There is even talk of getting rid of the development committee itself. We have moved towards the global gateway strategy, which is supposedly an antidote to the Belt and Road initiative. It contains development money but its focus is not on fragile contexts whatsoever. It completely buys into the idea that everything we do in the global south should have a return; it should be an investment and it should be characterised as what one would expect from the private sector. That is definitely part of it, but we are forgetting the core of development policy in where the European Union is going. The urgency for this issue to be addressed immediately after the election cannot be overstated.

My question is really about the future. Ireland will hold the Presidency of the EU in 2026. We will then be coming into the four yearly review and that summit will be held in 2027. We just had one in 2023 and we will be in the final leg of it. As Mr. Donoghue says, we have achieved 12% of our targets. We need €4 trillion in investments to achieve Agenda 2030, and we are nowhere near that. My question to the panel is on how we are not really making progress. I am not optimistic. The public’s confidence in what we are doing is very diminished. What do we do? Do we focus on the goals, targets and objectives that can give us the best return? I mean that, of course, in the sense of an impact, rather than in the sense of investment.

On education for example, do we focus on one or two of the objectives that will restore public confidence in this project that actually can be achieved? This would be rather than keep saying 12% or 14%, let us just focus. Let us take stock of reality and put some effort into the areas in which we can achieve the most. Does Ireland have a role to play here in the run up to that 2027 summit and the context of our Presidency of the European Union?