Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very supportive of the European green deal. I am encouraged that President von der Leyen and the new Commission have decided to take a lead on this. When Ms von der Leyen was nominated by the European Council for Commission president she said she would do so and the President has already shown her sincerity in that regard. The objective is to transform Europe into the first climate neutral continent by 2050. The approach, and the way the President and the Commission have framed it, is a very good one. It is less in the vein of a climate apocalypse and more in terms of the opportunities that can be gained for the European Union in being leaders in climate action, be it creating new jobs and businesses, green growth, new technology, innovation and - in particular - new wealth. It is just an initial document and it now needs to be built upon and funded. I believe the European Investment Bank, EIB, has a role in this regard and it may be able to lend up to €1 trillion towards climate action projects in the decades ahead. The projects must be commercially viable so the money can be returned to the EIB.

The Mercosur political agreement has an environmental clause that requires Latin-American countries to honour their commitments on climate change. If they do not the deal is off. This is significant because previous trade deals have not included environmental clauses of that nature. It may become a model for the future.

On Israel and Palestine, I am strongly supportive of Palestinian statehood and we are strong advocates of the welfare of Palestinians. We do this in international forums, be they the UN, the EU or in bilateral meetings. We will continue to do so. This is well recognised by the Palestinian Authority and by other Arab countries. With products that are made in the settlements, Ireland intervened to support the labelling case, which now ensures that products made in the settlements are labelled as thus. This allows people and businesses to boycott them. In our view, an outright ban on imports would be contrary to European law because trade is a sole competency of the European Union.

We absolutely condemn any human rights abuses, in Bahrain or in any other country.

With regard to the WTO, international trade requires agreed rules for countries to trade with each other under a common set of principles. The WTO is at the core of that system. For it to function properly it must have a mechanism to resolve disputes. It is, therefore, very regrettable that the United States of America has decided to block the appointment of new judges to the appellate body. Without them it cannot function. At last week's European Council we expressed support for the European Commission's efforts to set up an alternative arbitration panel, interim arrangements, with third countries other than the US, while actively pursuing a permanent solution. Essentially, it is a work-around, except for disputes that involve the US. We are committed to finding an agreed solution to end the impasse.

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