Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am very interested to hear about the issues the Taoiseach discussed with Prime Minister Sánchez. Since the UK left the EU, Ireland has lost an ally on a wide range of matters, but we have been busy forging alliances on all the various issues of the day such as the Single Market, the digital Single Market, financial rules, the rule of law, migration and agriculture to name a few. This is important given the role played by qualified majority voting. I am aware that we worked with Spain in the past on Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, reform. Spain, too, has concerns about migration and migrants crossing from Morocco to the north African enclave of Melilla. The European Commission has launched an anti-smuggling operational partnership with Morocco. In this context, has the Taoiseach discussed the proposed EU pact on migration and asylum, which was first published in 2020 with Prime Minister Sánchez? This process provides for the sharing of responsibility and solidarity. In his role as a prime minister at the European Council meeting, does the Taoiseach think that agreement on this pact is likely any time soon?

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