Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. The European Union leaders will begin arriving in Brussels later ahead of tomorrow's summers. They're expected to discuss further sanctions on Russia, among other issues. This as we've been reporting on a new European plan drawn up with Kiev which aims to end the war with Russia. For more to discuss. I'm joined by Ireland's europe Minister Thomas Byrne. Minister, great to have you with us in our Brussels studio this morning on the issue,
first of all, of sanctions on Russia. The expectation has been there will be in agreement tomorrow. Is that what we should be hoping for from this meeting?
Well, I certainly hope so certainly what Ireland wants and what almost all member states want. I think, like every occasion, when we introduce these sanctions, we need to get all the member states on board. They're not all quite there yet, but in you know, previous iterations and multiple times all member states have come on board, so I would expect
that to happen. And I think it is really really important that the European Union continue to use its leverage, continue to use its unit and indeed our power and our financial wherewithal to support Ukraine in what they're doing, which is defending themselves and legitimately under an international law, making sure that they are keeping themselves alive as an independent country, which they are entitled to do.
One of the key issues that's been under debate is using frozen Russian assets to try and provide financing to Ukraine as well. It's been a divisive issue. It does it look like from the meetings that you've been having with ministers that has progress made on that?
Well, I think there is progress made. I think it will take the Leaders to make the final decision on that, to call on the European Commission to bring forward proposals to introduce that and to allow the mobilized assets to be used again to help Ukraine its financial situation, to protect itself to run its economy. So let's see what the leaders discuss on that. But it certainly something that we support. Belgium clearly has particular issues with it which
are very very understandable. But if the Leaders can agree and then the Commission will bring forward proposal and then we'll have to discuss it then. But this is something I think you see a huge desire among every member state to do something here and to make sure that we can use whatever power and leverge that we have.
Is this an issue for Ireland as a neutral country if that money would then be used to buy offensive weapons for Ukraine's.
Look, I mean we've given significant support in terms of defensive weapons, and there's a wide range in that definition of defensive weapons as to what we can do. We've given huge support in terms of refugees from Ukraine as well. Two percent for population are Ukrainian refugees. So look, we've
examined any proposals. We are a neutral country in terms of we don't join military alliances, but we're absolutely not neutral when it comes to the right of Ukraine to defend itself from an illegal and full scale invasion by Russia.
We've been reporting this morning on this new peace plan, a new twelve point plan. We're told that European countries are working on with Ukraine as well. Is this something that Ireland has been involved in.
Well, look, it's not something that I've been involved in personally, but I can tell you that the agenda for the leaders at the European Council meeting this week is very much along the lines of helping Ukraine to defend itself, helping Ukraine to build up its munitions and its defenses in the face of this full scale invasion, and also in terms of my own focus, progressing Ukraine's membership of
the European Union and the accession process. So yesterday in Luxembourg, as we as European ministers had a meeting with our Ukrainian counterpart, Taraskashus and that was designed and organized with Zavia Betel in Luxembourg, designed to you know, continue the discussion on Ukraine's incredible effort to join the European Union.
And again that's the focus of the leaders as well, and it's certainly been a big focus of mind because I think that we, you know, for our own security, for Ukraine's European ambition, we have to progress this as efficiently and as quickly as possible as a merit based process. But believe you me, they are really working hard to ensure that they reach the thresholds or to join the European Union.
Just on some of the other big issues that we're expecting leaders to be talking about. One of them, of course, is trade, and we've seen an increased content between the EU and China over recent days over the issue of the restrictions that China's placed on exporting rare earth metals. Now Marschefter its the U Trade chief, says that he'll be talking to his Chinese counterparts in the coming days
more about this. Where does Ireland stand on the idea of escalating measures against China in retaliation for those rare earth curbs.
Well, first of all, China needs to urgently roll back these restrictions and you know, stick to the WTO rules. I mean, you know, I was at a meeting of the G twenty trade ministers two weeks ago in South Africa. We'reland as a guest this year, and everybody around that table was supportive of the WTO. And I think that that's really really important. And we all had different nuances,
but fundamentally business in breach. And I think Marizefkovich, I think I have to say he's one of the busiest commissioners I've ever seen in terms of his engagements right around the world on really important issues to European jobs, European manufacturing, in European trade. And look, I think he's going to take a judgment. We will be supporting Commission of Separavige in his work. We always do because think he's done such a good job and takes into account
to member states and brings him member states along. I suppose as well, but we want to make sure that we have a level playing field around the world as well, and in China is one of the biggest trading countries in the world as well in terms of its own experts, so it can't pick and choose.
Competitiveness is of course the key issue for this commissioner. It is one of the items on the agenda for the Leader's meeting as well. In terms of how we see a simplification agenda being implemented across Europe, it's a common complaint from businesses around red tape, but the most concrete action that we've seen, certainly in recent days has been to soften or push back the implementation of some
key climate related laws. And thinking about the deforestation law being delayed by another six months, for example, is that how we should be reading what simplification looks like in this competitiveness agenda is essentially weakening some of the climate regulations that he has put in place.
No, that's not what ARNA wants to do. We want to make sure that we actually can meet our climate ambitions because we believe they're absolutely necessary in terms of basically saving the planet. But also it is worth recalling the European Union in terms of some of the laws, which are very well meaning, over the last number of years has increased the administrative burden on companies, that's a fact.
And the Commission, supported by the Member States, has decided to roll back on some of this because some of the form filling etc. It's just too much, and it's been done in the name sometimes of climate targets, are in the name of whatever else it is, and that's wrong. Now.
The difficulty is, of course that they know we can only pass this simplification these laws if the Member States and the Parliament degree and I think it does need a strong cooperation between the Council and the Parliament to get this true and to work with the Parliament to
listen to their concerns. This is a difficult challenge because some of these laws, quite frankly, have only been brought into the last number of years and we're asking some of the same people to roll back in them and kind of admit that maybe it wasn't going to work. So that's a difficult challenge, but I think we need
to do it. We badly need to do it because our jobs depend on it, and we're coming undersignific and external pressure from our investors, from our companies, and particularly small and medium enterprises who were the lifeblood of our economies. So I think the work of simplification is very urgent. There are some rules, of course, in various sectors that will be postponed for a while, but we definitely don't believe that we should be compromising our climate ambitions.
Okay, Thomas Barne, Arland's europe Minister, thank you very much for joining us.