Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-20
============================================================

Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

First of all, the European Union will adopt and is adopting a principled, firm and robust stance in relation to the territorial integrity of Greenland, the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark and adherence to the international rule of law and to the United Nations charter. There are very clear positions from the European Union.
Also, having already prepared various scenarios in respect of potential responses to any additional tariffs, we - Europe - have prepared significant packages, the clearest being the €93 billion of packages. There is no issue there other than that I think it would be better if this were resolved by dialogue. If the US wants to arbitrarily tear up an agreement or undermine an agreement it entered into, that is a matter for the US. Europe, however, should be very clear. We entered into an agreement. We want to honour agreements we have entered into. We are very conscious that a trade war between the US and Europe, being one of the largest trading relationships in the world, would have very damaging consequences for the US, Europe and the world, not just in terms of job losses, which would be significant, or decline in exports but also in terms of a read-across to the financial markets and the potential creation of real damage on that front, which would have a ripple effect on economy, society and jobs.
Language is cheap here. We have to be very clear-eyed about what is at stake, and it is very serious. It is a grave moment for the transatlantic relationship. Europe will be strong and unified, and the principle of European Union solidarity is absolutely key here. We have been working. Canada has been pivoting more to Europe in terms of trade and other areas, as others have. Diversification has been happening in respect of trade, hence my visits and those of other Ministers to Japan, China and other areas to make sure we diversify trade and we are not focused on just one given area. Let us be honest, however, that the US-Ireland economic relationship is critical. It is a very important relationship. There is no point in saying it is not; it is. We have to do everything we possibly can to protect it and the jobs that depend on it without compromising basic principles in terms of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of EU member states. That remains our position.
I do not accept the analysis that has been given in terms of Europe being just all about flattery. It has not been all about flattery. A year ago the situation pertaining to Ukraine was very dangerous. I would argue that European leaders successfully created a scenario where additional supports were maintained for Ukraine over what has been a very difficult year. These are very serious issues for people, not just for ourselves but for other countries like Ukraine as well.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-20