Latest news with #MichaelMcGrath
BreakingNews.ie
11 hours ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
McGrath defends Kallas over comments about Ireland
Ireland's EU Commissioner doesn't think the vice president of the Commission meant to offend anyone when she commented on neutrality last week. Kaja Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, said the country's policy lacked understanding of "atrocities, mass deportations, suppression of culture and language". Advertisement Sinn Féin MEP Kathleen Funchion has asked her to apologise for the comments. But Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath thinks what she said was over-interpreted. Mr McGrath said: "I know from my engagement with her that she has a deep affinity for Ireland, there was no malice whatsoever intended in her remarks. "She is a very knowledgeable, very intelligent, very respectful person. She was speaking freely in an open debate in the Parliament, which is something that should be encouraged."
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
McGrath hopeful of EU-US trade deal 'outline' by 9 July
Ireland's European Commissioner has said that he hopes the "outline" of a trade deal between the European Union and the United States can be agreed by 9 July. Michael McGrath said that an agreement needs to be reached "as soon as possible" to provide stability. However, he warned that a "comprehensive" deal may not be secured by next month's deadline as experience has shown it can take a very long period of time. "It may not be possible to have the level of detail that you would normally have in a trade agreement completed by July 9th, but hopefully we can have the outline of an agreement that can provide the stability we need," said Mr McGrath, who is Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection. He described the ongoing talks as "detailed, protracted and quite challenging", but added that "everyone is still at the table, negotiating in good faith". Speaking at the European Commission in Brussels, Mr McGrath said: "We're doing everything we possibly can" to secure an agreement. "We're negotiating in good faith, and the US side are very clear on what the EU position is, what our expectations are." Mr McGrath said that he had discussions with Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič today, who he said is "knee deep" in the talks. "We're really conscious that businesses crave certainty, predictability and stability, and all of that has been in short supply in recent months and we want that to be provided as quickly as possible for them, so the sooner we get a deal the better." Amid reports that a baseline 10% tariff could be on the table, Mr McGrath said the EU is "not conceding that any particular level of tariff represents a new baseline." US President Donald Trump's administration has set a deadline of 9 July for the imposition of higher tariffs of up to 50% on the bloc, if a trade deal is not reached. Asked about the importance of reaching an agreement to alleviate the ongoing uncertainty, Mr McGrath said: "A continuation of the status quo is not ideal". "The longer that the status quo continues, then EU companies' exports are subject to these tariffs, the 10% tariff and the 25% in the case of automotives and steel and aluminum." He said the EU's position is well known. "We want tariffs to be either zero or as low as possible. We think it is a mutually beneficial trading relationship - about €1.6 trillion of transatlantic trade every year, millions of jobs directly supported either side of the Atlantic." Mr McGrath said the European Commission wants the best deal possible, both for EU consumers and businesses, and it does not believe the tariffs are the solution to trading issues. "It is a challenging context in the negotiations. It won't surprise anyone that the negotiations are detailed, protracted and quite challenging, but everyone is still at the table, negotiating in good faith. "Where there are issues in the global trade system that have been identified by the US side, including overcapacity in certain sectors, we believe that we need to work together to resolve those issues and we do not believe the tariffs are the solution." Govt to convene trade forum ahead of tariffs deadline The Government is to hold a special meeting of Ireland's trade forum next Wednesday - a week from the scheduled lifting of the pause on higher tariffs by the US. Tánaiste and Minister for Trade Simon Harris met his Italian and New Zealand counterparts this week. The forum is made up of Government departments, business groups and trade unions. Mr Harris said: "There are less than two weeks to go until we reach the deadline set by US President Donald Trump for a deal to be struck with the European Union. "In recent days I have been talking with the President Trump's US Trade Representative and the EU Trade Commissioner. "We appear to have reached a situation now whereby the imposition of 10% tariffs has become accepted as a norm or some kind of baseline. This is concerning as even that level of tariff is challenging for many sectors of the economy." The Tánaiste said that he would be making the case for zero-for-zero tariffs in any many areas as possible.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
EU to use network of fact-checkers against disinformation that threatens democracy, says Michael McGrath
The European Commissioner responsible for justice, Michael McGrath , has warned of 'creeping authoritarianism' in Europe and the undermining of judicial independence. He said the concern was not sudden coups or dramatic power grabs, but rather a slow process that can lead to a concentration of power in the hands of a few. 'This erosion often proceeds quietly through a systematic dismantling of safeguards designed to protect our rights and freedoms, such as changes to legal and constitutional frameworks, manipulation of electoral processes and the weakening, or indeed silencing, of an independent media,' he said. 'Closely aligned to such development is the undermining of judicial independence.' READ MORE Mr McGrath, commissioner for democracy, justice, the rule of law and consumer protection, was speaking at a seminar on emerging threats to democracy at the Law Society of Ireland in Dublin on Thursday. He said that in the absence of independent judges, laws were subject to 'the whims of those in power'. Citizens in Europe, he said, felt disconnected from the democratic processes that had shaped their lives. 'This disconnection can lead to apathy, and worse, create space for harmful ideologies to take hold,' he said. The European Union had an important role in making its politics simpler and more accessible and that included protecting societies against disinformation, he said. A European 'democracy shield', which he is developing, would help in protecting institutions and freedoms of expression while tackling disinformation. 'Ultimately, we must ensure that voters have access to facts, not fiction when making the decisions that shape our future.' A network of fact-checkers would be part of this approach and would help 'pre-bunk and debunk' manipulated information, he said, while upholding the fairness and integrity of elections. 'Users of online platforms should be clearly informed when algorithms are being used to promote political content, especially when these algorithms are driven by personal data or target individuals based on their characteristics,' he told delegates at the conference. 'They also have a right to know whether political content is sponsored or paid for and by whom. 'The effective enforcement, therefore, of the Digital Services Act and the regulation on political advertising, will be essential to achieving this transparency.' The European Commission has launched several infringement proceedings in recent years, and Mr McGrath cited the case to protect Polish judges from threats to their independence. 'The EU stands as a beacon for democracy and the rule of law,' he said. 'People look to us to set the standard and to promote and defend democratic values wherever they are under threat and so in a world facing the rise of authoritarian regimes and political instability the leadership of the European Union has never mattered more.'
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
EU to clamp down on unsafe goods sold on-line
The EU is clamping down on products sold on-line that flout safety and consumer protection rules, according to Irish Commissioner, Michael McGrath . Europeans buy more than 12.6 million small items a-day on-line, a total of 4.6 billion a-year with 90 per cent of them coming from China , Mr McGrath told the Institute of Directors (IOD) on Thursday. Many of these goods break the EU's product safety or consumer protection rules, a practice the bloc intends to halt, the commissioner said. 'I will be visiting China later this year to take on that issue,' he added. READ MORE Speaking afterwards, Mr McGrath, whose brief includes consumer protection, explained that there was no question of the EU banning the purchase of legal products. However, he pointed out the commission has told websites to take down ads for goods breaching its rules following on-line product safety sweeps. The EU also has other options open to it, including revisiting customs rules and duties applied to goods bought digitally, the commissioner noted. Along with threats to consumers, flouting EU consumer and safety rules gives the businesses involved an unfair advantage over compliant companies, including those based in the union, Mr McGrath argued. The commissioner, who was speaking with IOD chief executive, Caroline Spillane, hopes new legislation for a harmonised company law system will pass next year. The system will allow businesses to opt-in to an EU-wide regime with uniform rules rather than having to negotiate different laws across each of the 27 member states. According to Mr McGrath, it will sit alongside each country's own company law codes.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
EU and US ‘knee deep' in talks to avert trade war, says McGrath
The European Union's chief negotiators and their counterparts in the US are 'knee deep' in talks to avert a trade war , Ireland's EU commissioner Michael McGrath has said. Officials are involved in tense discussions to lay out the bare bones of a deal acceptable to both sides that would head off the crippling 50 per cent tariffs US president Donald Trump has threatened to levy on EU trade after a July 9th deadline . The EU wants tariffs charged on goods sold to the US to be 'zero or as low as possible', Mr McGrath said on Wednesday. 'It won't surprise anyone that negotiations are detailed, protracted and quite challenging.' A blanket 10 per cent levy on imports from the EU has been in place since early April. Mr Trump paused plans for higher tariffs on EU states and other trading partners following a backlash in the financial markets. READ MORE Officials in Brussels have privately begun to accept that a deal that avoids steeper tariff rates is likely to mean accepting 10 per cent import duties. 'We do not believe the tariffs are the solution, so we're not conceding that any particular level of tariff represents a new baseline, it's a negotiation which is ongoing,' Mr McGrath said. The former minister for finance said EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič was 'knee deep' in talks with the Trump administration. A EU-US deal might not be fully worked out before Mr Trump's stated tariff deadline in two weeks' time, he said. 'It may not be possible to have the level of detail that you would normally have in a trade agreement completed by July 9th, but hopefully we can have the outline of an agreement that can provide the stability we need,' Mr McGrath said. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm that sets trade policy, was busy lining up trade deals with other countries, he said. However, those would never be enough to 'replace' the US, given it was Europe's biggest trading partner. [ EU readies retaliatory tariffs to secure better trade deal with Trump Opens in new window ] Separately, what was happening on the ground in Gaza was 'abhorrent and untenable', the EU commissioner for justice said. Thousands of trucks full of food and aid were blocked by Israel at the border, while images continued to emerge of Palestinian civilians who were 'clearly malnourished and emaciated', he said. The role of the commission when it came to foreign policy was often 'misunderstood', Mr McGrath said. The main obstacle to the EU taking firmer action against Israel was a lack of agreement between the EU's 27 national capitals. 'It isn't open to the commission to set a new position in relation to Israel and Gaza,' he said. 'Israel of course has the right to defend itself and has the right to respond to the horrific terrorist attack Hamas perpetrated on October 7th, [2023], but it has to do so in a manner that is consistent with international law,' Mr McGrath said. More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's 20-month invasion of Gaza, which followed attacks by Hamas militants in southern Israel, where about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. International aid agencies continue to warn that Israel is blocking enough aid from getting into Gaza. Large numbers of people have been shot by Israeli forces while trying to pick up food and supplies at designated distribution points since Israel took over effective control of aid distribution in recent weeks. 'The international community has to work together to find a solution. We need an urgent ceasefire and we need the trucks that are waiting at the border to be allowed to enter Gaza,' Mr McGrath said.
