LAST UPDATE | 27 Aug
THE EU’S PLAN to boost investment opportunities across member states was the main topic of a conversation between Taoiseach Simon Harris and French president Emmanuel Macron today in Paris.
The strategy, named the Capital Markets Union, has been discussed between member states for more than five years now and though EU leaders were keen to get the plan completed during the last European term, the momentum fell as time continued.
Ireland’s EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness has been spearheading work on the strategy for the last five years and has voiced strong support for its completion sooner rather than later.
It is hoped that Ireland’s nomination for the EU Commissioner role, former finance minister Michael McGrath, will take over the McGuinness’ portfolio once the top diplomats are agreed by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
It is understood the strategy will be the main focus of the portfolio in the coming term and von der Leyen has voiced strong support for her Commissioners to get it over the line within the next five years.
Today, speaking to reporters in Paris after a discussion with president Macron, Harris said that the two leaders expressed the importance for the European Council to “carve out time” in the EU’s agenda to finish the strategy.
“President Macron and I might have different views on the finer detail of [the Capital Markets Union], but we don’t have a different view on the fact that you need one and that Europe needs a Capital Markets Union,” the Taoiseach said.
The plan aims to incentivise investment within the EU, create better funding opportunities and better access to capital, or investment, for small and medium sized businesses and remove any barriers in the Single Market that impede on that process.
It is hoped that this will create better competitiveness, something which Harris today said Marcon is very passionate about, and autonomy in the EU’s valuable Single Market as well as strengthen existing investments within the bloc.
Harris said: “I certainly want, and president Macron has said this publicly many times, a real focus on competitiveness for the next Commission.
“There is a real risk here that Europe gets complacent around competitiveness and other geopolitical [trading] blocs, like the United States.
“I want to keep investments here in Europe so that we can better fund services in Ireland and across the rest of the European Union,” he added.
The two also discussed how France and Ireland can collaborate over the next number of years, and the Taoiseach said he has put staff in place to begin work to carve out strategies on how both of the countries can do so.
Harris and Macron also discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine and expressed support for the country to continue defending itself from a Russian invasion.
“Of course, we also discussed the situation in the Middle East – which is really hard to find words to fully capture the scale of the humanitarian crisis there,” the Taoiseach said adding that the French President shared his thought.
Harris added that, during the meeting, he reiterated that he believes the EU should be working to get a peace deal agreed between Israel and Hamas to put an end to the conflict in Gaza.
While in Paris the Taoiseach also attended events to meet Team Ireland in the 2024 Paralympic Games, where he met the 35 athletes who are competing across the competition.
Harris said that he was “delighted” to meet the stars, adding that they are at “the top of their game”.
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