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PEOPLE & PROFIT © FRANCE 24 12:42 Issued on: 12/03/2026 - 14:06Modified: 12/03/2026 - 14:08
Play (12:42 min) From the show Reading time 1 min The European Union is facing an “almost existential moment” as it seeks to weather global turmoil. That is the warning from Ireland’s Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris. He says the current conflict in the Middle East serves as “a stark reminder of how Europe must become much more energy independent and much more economically resilient."
Harris tells FRANCE 24 that he expects the United States to act “in good faith” in implementing a stalled EU trade deal, despite President Donald Trump’s shifting threats on tariffs. He describes the pact as “imperfect,” but maintains that “having an agreement in times of uncertainty is always better than not having an agreement.”
The Tánaiste says he still sees the US as a reliable trading partner. “When you strip away the noise or the headlines, and actually look at the detail, the trading relationship between the European Union and the United States, between Ireland and the US, is still strong, is still robust, is actually still growing. That’s despite all the challenges and headwinds. It’s important to judge an administration based on what they actually do, on substance, and we’re navigating our way through this.”
Harris – who is set to serve as Ireland’s Prime Minister from November 2027 – says he disagrees with other global leaders who have suggested that the multilateral world order is coming to an end. “I believe it’s under pressure, like it hasn’t been in any recent time. But therefore there’s an onus on us who believe in it to champion it, to speak up (…) No matter how big or small a country you are, the challenges and the opportunities of our time cannot be addressed alone. We are all way more interdependent than sometimes politics likes to suggest.”
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