EU for Cork: Unlocking Opportunities for Cork
Can I just say a huge thank you.
First of all, for this invitation.
It's been said that I took time out of my busy schedule.
This is really important for my schedule because I am here to learn and to listen.
And the extraordinary thing is when we go into a room there's 27 commissioners from 27 Member States.
It is so important that I can talk about being in Cork and that they hear what's happening here.
And the day we break that connection between our grassroots and the Brussels level, it would be a very dire day, and I think we can do more, and we can do better.
So events like this are core to my work and it's a great way to start the week.
I'll be in Brussels tomorrow and we have a College meeting on Wednesday, and I promise to mention Cork in that meeting to have it in the minutes! So that I can reflect on it.
I have to say the weather didn't help but I was very well covered coming into the building and thank you for that.
So officially to say to Lord Mayor Councillor Kieran McCarthy, we know each other, and I commend your work.
You made a fantastically spirited contribution with three core messages that I have noted.
We've met on other occasions and I really would love to have your depth of knowledge around history.
Indeed, in your opening remarks you very quickly wrapped all around the whole story of Cork and its very deep history and I was able to see all of those physical manifestations in your fantastic office.
My office is not quite as beautiful and I don't know that I'd bring you to it, but you are welcome of course if you do call my way.
And then there's the chair of Cork County Council, who as you said described my history, which is 20 years old actually in Europe, I've been there for 20 years.
But thank you Councillor Frank O'Flynn for recalling the Ploughing, because if ever there was grassroots, they grow there. Indeed, I've always relished it.
But I have to say, I mentioned the Ploughing when I was with the Lord Mayor earlier because, when the sandwiches arrived in, I made the observation.
I said what are the others having, and then I said if this was the Ploughing, I would hold onto all of them because at the Ploughing you eat when you can.
And also can I just record our thanks to the meeting we had with the CEO Anne Doherty.
I acknowledge members of the Oireachtas here, members of Cork City and County Council and I commend all of your work collectively.
The European Commission office are very involved in this – thank you for doing this work with European Movement.
It's bringing together a lot of voices and a lot of forces and please say what you need to say so that I can bring your message back home.
Cork has a huge history and tradition. The port has its own story, its place in the world in terms of exports, imports, we all know of that.
But the past is never the future and I think what we're all trying to do at European level is to get the best out of all of the regions, towns, cities, villages and rural.
And also learn from each other.
And that is the added value that the European Union brings, not just to Ireland but to all of the Member States.
And there are challenges around growth as we know in this country, around housing, infrastructure, etcetera, and water even though we have lots of it, it may indeed come up in the conversation.
One of the big benefits for Cork, for Ireland, for all cities, towns, rural areas of being part of the European Union, and I sometimes think we forget it, is the single market.
And we need to deepen it and make it work better.
But funding of course is really important, and we will be talking about the benefits that come to this area from EU funding.
And indeed many projects big and small have received EU funding in this area.
And that kickstarts not just physical projects but also ideas, that brings jobs, it brings community development.
And I want to mention former MEP Liam Hyland because the LEADER programme was referenced. And he was an MEP, I was still a journalist and I wrote about the LEADER programme.
It was extraordinary that from the very small idea that he had, and he pursued it in the European Parliament, and it became a real, living project across Europe.
It is about bottom-up development. Very impressive and we should always acknowledge the work of those who may not be in the news but have left a very big mark on the European Union.
I'm looking at some examples of European funding – if I take the European Regional Development Fund.
It has contributed €3 million to the Cyber Innovate programme at Munster Technological University.
And this programme really helps students to go into the cybersecurity sector – it's really strong here in Cork.
I'd like to hear more about that because cybersecurity is one of the really important topics.
I look after the financial system. It's a long title, but it's basically about finance.
And one of my main worries is a sustained and successful attack on the financial system and its impact on society.
Because we all saw in the past when there are runs on ATMs that it can cause huge social disruption.
So this is a really important programme.
I then will move to other programmes, like the development of the Marina Park in the South Docks.
This also benefits from that European Regional Development Fund, to the tune of €3.25 million, and that's going towards park recreation activities, particularly water sports and event spaces.
Students and teachers in this region have benefited from over €37 million in Erasmus+ grants between 2021 and 2023 alone.
The most active organisations availing of funding are University College Cork, Munster Technological University, Cork Education and Training Board, and Cork English College.
But of course the rural areas of Cork County have benefited too.
And some of the figures here too.
Between 2014 and 2020, Cork County was allocated €16 million for community-led rural development projects.
Including outdoor recreational spaces, renovations of community facilities like community halls, support to develop youth arts and training programmes, and agricultural enterprise and tourism.
This funding shows that the EU values regions and it values rural areas.
Cork also performs exceptionally well in the EU's highly competitive research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe, with dozens of international collaborations and individual grants.
Again, some examples. In 2022, UCC secured three prestigious European Research Council grants to the value of €4.75 million – more than any other Irish higher education institution that year.
And Ocean Wave Venture Ltd, an initiative based in Blackrock, will receive over €100,000 as part of a €4.6 million Horizon Europe research and innovation programme called SEASTAR.
And the aim of this research program is to establish an industrial system for harnessing tidal energy.
Commuter rail services in Cork will benefit from €164 million from the EU's post-Covid Recovery and Resilience Fund.
That will enable station upgrades, electrification and new equipment – allowing more of us, more passengers, to travel by rail, and that alleviates road traffic and reducing carbon emissions.
The three phase one elements of the programme, a signalling upgrade, the development of a through-platform at Kent Station, and double-tracking from Glounthaune to Midleton are on track to be completed by the end of 2026.
Let's look to the future then.
So there's one recent example in Cork of large-scale infrastructure I just mentioned.
I think the future is not just about money and projects. It's about people, knowledge, policy formation.
And that's happening here in Cork, and there's support for all of that.
Including trials of different technologies and policies to inform approaches on energy efficiency and social housing.
Including film festivals, like the Cork International Film Festival which has benefited from Creative Europe MEDIA support, and this promotes Europe's film and audiovisual sector.
And funding for youth services and adult literacy.
Indeed, studies for example to inform the relocation of the Port of Cork, freeing up a vast urban brownfield site that I've just had a discussion about in an earlier meeting.
And Europe also helps support Cork's commitment to tackling climate change, with a dozen projects approved over the past year under a range of EU programmes.
Again, demonstrating that the EU is about more than funding.
It's about ideas, knowledge and sharing information.
And I think that reference was made by the Lord Mayor of learning because you do a lot of work at the European level.
But you also bring a lot of knowledge and information which others value around the table.
We should never underestimate the capacity of smaller Member States to be very impactful.
And there is something about Irish representatives. Do I see MEPs here – I think I do. Grace [O'Sullivan], thank you for being here.
It is important to reference that you can have a very strong voice, even from a small Member State and sometimes more so.
We have to find a way, we can't shout our way through while being around the table, we kind of go around and find a way.
If my journey in the European Parliament taught me anything, it was patience and perseverance.
And learning that the best way to make progress was to speak when it was important to speak, but more importantly to be more silent. Because you learn a little bit more by being silent.
I'm conscious of my time here, so I'll try to rush through the rest of this.
What I would say is that being part of Europe – and thank you again Councillor for your remarks about how Europe has been so important for Ireland with this our 51st year of membership.
There have been ups and downs, as there always will be.
But it has really allowed regions like Cork City and County Cork to grasp opportunities.
Including highlighting that this city is really important for innovation.
Last year alone, Cork was awarded third place in the contest for the European Rising Innovative City. This is a huge achievement.
It recognised Cork's climate neutrality, smart-city and innovation cluster building efforts.
And again, what topics are more important than those?
This recognition, in my view, should benefit Cork's home-grown and international companies by encouraging greater investment in the region.
And that is made easier because we are part of the single market.
Everything hinges on us working and being together.
Our market isn't just a small few million people here in Ireland – it's a market of 450 million people, which is an economic powerhouse.
But as I say we could deepen the single market and make more of it.
That's the challenge that this College has been working on.
And it will be the challenge for the incoming European Parliament and indeed the next College of Commissioners.
Sometimes we think of Europe as rules and regulations.
I would like to turn those two words into certainty for business.
So if you're in Europe and you're in a single market, you're not dealing with 27 different rules and regulations, you're dealing with one set.
And that is just accepted without being understood as very significant when you're working within a single market.
In Europe, Brussels, for example they talk of the ‘Brussels effect'. I'll be in the United States next week talking about the whole financial story in Europe.
And while there are differences and nuances with the US, in an election year in particular, there is an awareness of what Europe is doing on climate, how we're managing that.
And we do have an influence globally.
We have to hold on to that responsibility, as much as it is an opportunity.
That we show leadership even in difficult times when there is a bit of a push against some of the moves in that direction.
Maybe we can have a discussion around that Because I think it is important to openly discuss where there are concerns.
Lots of other rights you have here, but I'll hold that for an efficient speech.
Last, I'll say about two topics.
One is my own area of finance. I talk about Banking Union and Capital Markets Union a great deal.
But I'm very conscious that when I was canvassing in connection with elections for the European Parliament, nobody ever came up and said, ‘Tell me what's happening on CMU or Capital Markets Union.'
And rightly so because we have failed to make it real for people. Or indeed Banking Union
But people do come up to me and say, why is it that I can't get a mortgage from Belgium or France? Or how is it that they have a different structure around financing housing?
And the reason there are differences, is because in the one area in particular where we have not completed the single market is capital.
The free movement of capital.
It's a pity in one sense we haven't completed it. But it's also an opportunity.
But I would say there's a gathering and growing momentum to do something and do something quite fundamental here.
And it is because we have to find a lot of finance.
To invest in this just transition – as you referenced Lord Mayor – in this transition towards a more sustainable economy and society. And a more digital economy and society.
And while the public purse will be involved, and the European budget will be involved, private investment is crucial.
We are great savers here in Europe. I won't ask how much we've all saved collectively, but I bet it's a pretty penny.
Because we do save, but we don't invest.
Saving is fine, and we need a little for a rainy day. But we need to invest in the longer term.
And it is an agenda that I am pushing. And I'm getting less resistance.
And I would ask that our European leaders fight this battle and realise that sometimes we have to give up on a Member State issue in order to add value, in particular around finance, Banking Union and Capital Markets Union.
And then I just want to pick up on the three topics and very briefly about involving the grassroots, Lord Mayor
This is key, and I'll mention why I'm very happy to be here.
There's no point in a few people talking in a room with great ideas and thinking that they have all of the great ideas when they haven't listened first.
And sometimes we haven't listened efficiently or effectively and this is why I'm here, to listen.
The second thing is about partnership and working together, that unlocks more opportunities than working in silos.
We could do better here, both I think at a community level, at county, regional and definitely at the European level. And indeed, within the institutions of Europe we can do better.
And the last point for me is this discussion around a just transition. I think those two words are core, but I know they're difficult.
It is very hard to guarantee a just transition, of leaving no one behind, and it's a commitment we have made, and I think we do have to honour it.
That's why even though we may need to have longer discussions and we may need to alter the timeframe on things, we do have to bring people with us, or we'll fail in our endeavour.
So programmes like LEADER are part of bringing Europe closer.
But this a year of elections, and you will be running locally, and I know you've already started your local campaigns and I wish you all well.
I commend those who stand for election, at whatever level it is. I have to say, I don't think I'd be fit for local level because you really are at the coal face and you get all of the comments and therefore, we need to listen to those who are involved at the local level.
And then at national level, of course, is key to driving European policy.
We will have elections to the European Parliament, and someone was just saying that despite we're in Europe for 50 years, do people really understand how the institutions of Europe work?
Did I fully understand how they worked before I became an MEP? Do I fully understand today?
There's a dynamic about institutions. Essentially, it's about people working together.
But I will say two things: trust in institutions is key and all of us have a responsibility to respect institutions.
I want to thank you for your kind remarks but also for referencing debates I would have chaired.
The one thing I was very conscious of, and I'm sure the Lord Mayor will share this, as will the Cathaoirleach and indeed the Cathaoirleach of Seanad Eireann.
I have great respect for institutions and the institutions of the state, at the European level and at local level and that no one should dismiss them or disregard them or be disrespectful in them.
I was conscious in moments, great moments of trauma within the European Parliament when there was a neighbour leaving Europe, we never thought this would happen, that it was upon my small shoulders to make sure that our institution of the European Parliament was not disrespected.
And really, democracy is under pressure. It's been referenced already.
I see it and I feel it over 20 years, and I think that the more we disrespect the institutions and the story that this place holds, the more damage we allow happen.
So those of us who have positions, have responsibilities also to make sure that trust continues and where trust is breaking, then we have to build it.
I'll reference the financial system where trust broke down after 2008 and rightly so, and it's been difficult to rebuild trust.
So, look we're here to engage, to listen and I'm just thrilled to be here.
I just wish I had a Cork accent, but you can't have everything in this world.
Thank you very much.
| Zařazeno | po 08.04.2024 18:04:00 |
|---|---|
| Zdroj | Evropská komise en |
| Originál | ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/documents?reference=SPEECH/24/1899&language=en |
| lang | en |
| guid | /SPEECH/24/1899/ |
