A háború utáni szabályokon alapuló rendszer újratárgyalásra kerül – mondja az Eurócsoport elnöke
Írország pénzügyminisztere és az Eurócsoport elnöke, Paschal Donohoe szerint az Egyesült Államok megkérdőjelezi a II. világháború után létrejött intézményeket. Az Euronewsnak adott exkluzív interjúban arra figyelmeztet, hogy a történelem tanúsága szerint „a fejlődés hanyatlásnak indulhat”.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2025/05/15/a-haboru-utani-szabalyokon-alapulo-rendszer-ujratargyalasra-kerul-mondja-az-eurocsoport-el
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
Írország pénzügyminisztere és az Eurócsoport elnöke, Paschal Donohoe szerint az Egyesült Államok megkérdőjelezi a II. világháború után létrejött intézményeket. Az Euronewsnak adott exkluzív interjúban arra figyelmeztet, hogy a történelem tanúsága szerint „a fejlődés hanyatlásnak indulhat”.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2025/05/15/a-haboru-utani-szabalyokon-alapulo-rendszer-ujratargyalasra-kerul-mondja-az-eurocsoport-el
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
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NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to the Europe Conversation. My guest this week is Pascal Donoghue, Finance Minister
00:12of Ireland and President of the Eurogroup of Eurozone Finance Ministers. He says his
00:17country and several others are against the idea of a digital tax on the tech sector in
00:22response to Donald Trump's widespread tariffs, despite the fact that this is a very popular
00:27move in other countries like France. Pascal Donoghue, President of the Eurogroup and Finance
00:33Minister of Ireland, thank you very much for joining us on the Europe Conversation.
00:37Shona, thank you for having me on.
00:39Well, look, let's start with the EU-US trade negotiations. We know that the EU has for some
00:45time now being offered a zero for zero tariff rate, but the US is not satisfied with that.
00:51It wants much greater access to the EU's markets when it comes to agriculture and other areas.
00:55And a lot of people would say that they'd like to see huge deregulation when it comes
00:59to the tech sector, the DSA, the DMA. Can you say that the EU is not for that, not for lowering
01:06standards for the sake of a deal?
01:09So we're not for lowering standards for the sake of that. And we do have to have a debate
01:15and an assessment within the European Union regarding our competitiveness and the degree
01:20to which decisions that we have taken may have contributed to our competitiveness declining
01:26with an impact on our growth, the impact on the number of jobs we may create in the future.
01:31So through that prism, it is important that we assess the regulations that we have and whether
01:37they are proportionate. But while I am convinced that an agreement between the EU and US is in the
01:45best interests of both, I certainly would take great care for a degree of deregulation being
01:53part of such an agreement.
01:54So when you say competitiveness, then what could it look like without lowering standards, without
02:00reducing what's in the DSA and the DMA? What could it potentially look like in theory?
02:06So I think there's a few strands for what it could look like. It could look like the efforts
02:10that we have in relation to the exchange of goods and the tariff levels for that. And what
02:17the EU have outlined as zero for zero is a very ambitious, but I believe important recognition
02:23of the value of trade and how it could be driven further. It could also look like commitments
02:28that we would have to buy more from each other in particular areas. And it could also look at
02:35what we could do in terms of the mutual recognition of the standards that each other have. And while
02:41that is easily and better understood with regard to goods, it could play a role with regard to services.
02:47This is a relationship, as you know, that's worth billions of euros every single day. And any change
02:54at all, no matter how small, that eases with the flow of that exchange of goods and services on a daily
03:00basis, on an annual basis could be worth a big improvement to both of us.
03:04We know that when the EU announced a couple of weeks ago its potential tariffs in the event that
03:10there's no negotiation led to, that digital services wasn't on that yet, but it potentially is on the
03:16table. Do you think that the reason why that's not there is because it's really a controversial
03:21part of the negotiations between the two sides?
03:23So I believe it is understood as a move that if it were to be applied, it could have larger
03:31spillover effects. It could at that point become difficult to look at what would be paths for
03:36further de-escalation. And it could make a trade relationship, which is obviously facing a very big
03:45challenge at the moment, face an even bigger one. Ireland and I have longstanding concerns regarding the
03:52role and use of digital services taxes. And my sense is that in the debate that is now taking
03:58place at the moment, it is understood as an option, but it's also understood as an option
04:04that could have very significant consequences.
04:08Indeed, but countries like Germany and France, particularly France, would push for something like that.
04:12And I think it's inevitable in a negotiation like this, that it's taking place,
04:18that different members of the European Union will have different views. That is, after all,
04:23I believe our strength. And what we will do is listen to each other and find a balanced outcome
04:29regarding options that we may need to take now and other options that we might need to consider in
04:34the future. But I think it is fair to say that there are a group of countries within the European
04:39Union that would have significant concerns regarding the use of DSTs and the spillover effects that it
04:46could have on the trade negotiations and the health of the economic flows between the EU and US.
04:52We know that the EU is also saying that regardless of what is the outcome of the next negotiations,
04:57it needs to seek stronger association with other markets, whether it's Canada and so on. But do you
05:03see there might be a renewal of the EU-China relationship as part of this?
05:07We have acknowledged that China can be a partner in many areas, but we have also acknowledged that
05:15in other areas they do pose challenges for the European Union. And I think that continues to be
05:21the right balance. It is absolutely inevitable as we look at the unfortunate trade tension that is
05:28taking place between the US and the European Union. The European Union will look at other ways in which it
05:35can generate and deepen trade. We'll do that twofold. Firstly, through our own single markets and our
05:41trade with each other. And secondly, looking elsewhere in the world and looking at deeper
05:45trading relationships that we can have there. I think it's important, however, to be realistic,
05:51to say that new trading agreements with other parts of the world, at least in the short term,
05:57are incomparable to what we might be able to get out of the single markets.
06:00On the broader issue around trade with the EU and other countries trying to dash to not quite
06:06make up, but in some ways get stronger trade links across the world, do you think that there's a fear
06:12that the issues around global warming, human rights and other elements that used to be part
06:16of the priorities of a trade deal, that they will just be eliminated in the demand for making up for
06:23what we're losing out at the moment? That risk is definitely there. And it is part of how the EU
06:31needs to be agile in responding back to a world that has changed so much. But we do have to stand
06:38by particular values and ways of engaging with the world that are important to us. I think it is likely
06:46in trade negotiations that will happen elsewhere, that the reference that those particular issues would
06:52have got will, I fear, go down. But in what we need to do here in the EU, I certainly want to still ensure
07:00they have a high value. And I believe we can do that. And I believe we should do that.
07:04So just moving on to defence, which obviously is the most important issue almost at the moment.
07:10You very much supported common borrowing when it came to COVID, because obviously you saw the
07:15impact it was having across Europe. Do you support the same for this existential crisis? Do you support
07:20common borrowing for defence? I think in the time ahead, the most likely way in which further spending
07:29on defence will happen will be both at a national level in terms of the use of own national resources.
07:36And then secondly, in the new framework that the EU have brought forward, where we would look at the
07:41use of the National Escape Clause where needed. And we would also look at new forms of lending to each
07:48other to help with new forms of spending. So where's the trade off? Because the defence spending has to go
07:55way up. And does that mean you take it out of cap? Or where does it come from? Cohesion funding?
08:01So I think in the time ahead, national defence spending will continue to be the larger component
08:07of how we respond back to Europe's security needs. I hope and I expect from the discussions that I can
08:15see happening, that that will be happening in a more coordinated way that has happened in the past.
08:20And I also think it's likely that progress will be made in areas of procurement. Therefore,
08:26that means that if there is a defence dimension to the next MFF and the EU budget, I still think
08:33it's likely to be smaller than the national contribution that members make to their own
08:39security and the security of the EU. And therefore, it is possible that the knock-on effect that it will
08:45have on other priorities within the EU budgets may be smaller than we think at the moment.
08:51But, you know, when you speak to any Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister,
08:54Defence Minister across Europe, they all say the same thing, that this needs to be a unified European
09:00response to this existential threat. That it actually has to be much bigger than what has been sort of
09:05offered in RE-ARM and that it has to be European-wide.
09:10It's difficult to have that debate and not divorce us from the broader reality that, firstly, we'll be
09:16negotiating a budget for the new European Union. Secondly, next generation EU, which is the new form of
09:24common borrowing that we have to deal with the crisis of a number of years ago of the pandemic.
09:29That that is still happening and still being evaluated. And death in relation to all of that
09:35both still has to issue and still has to be refinanced and dealt with at some point in the future.
09:41All of those things are going to come together.
09:43What's your assessment of the fact that Europe really has to do this alone now because
09:47the US is telling Europe we were shifting the burden, we're not sharing the burden,
09:51we're shifting the burden of European security to the European continent alone?
09:55I think that logic applies to so many elements now of the European Union, which is why I made
10:03the point to you there, Shona, that we can't have the debate about defence and security as existential as
10:08it is, but have that debate without reference to very other big things that are going to happen now
10:15with regard to the EU. But a theme of what is now happening is the rules, the institutions that were
10:21set up in the aftermath of World War II, set up with American leadership. They're now being challenged,
10:27they're being contested. The institutions that we know, the rules in relation to trade and tax,
10:33are all now open for renegotiation. That is now what is happening.
10:37Was Macron and Draghi right when they said Europe is mortal and it could die?
10:41All political order is mortal. All political order, if not capable of dying, is capable of declining.
10:50That is one of the many lessons that we have from the study of history. The European Union is no
10:54different. If you believe progress is inevitable, you're on your way to seeing that progress decline.
11:00OK, just finally, you're coming up to the end of your second term as president of the Eurogroup. You're
11:06running for a third term. Have other countries declared that they're going to run against you or
11:12what's the situation?
11:13So no formal declarations have happened yet, but of course, it's open to every country to decide
11:18do they want to put forward a candidate or how do they want to vote? I'm really encouraged by the level
11:25of support that I have at the moment. But really, all my focus is on completing my current mandate,
11:31which takes me all up to July. And then on the basis of my track record, asking countries to
11:36continue to support me in that work. And we have a few weeks to go before we get to that point. And as
11:41we have just discussed, an awful lot can happen in a number of weeks in the world that we're in.
11:46But I am encouraged by the support I've currently received.
11:48OK, well, Pascal Dunneau, Finance Minister for Ireland and President of the Eurogroup,
11:52thank you very much for joining us on the Europe Conversation. Thank you, Shona.