The head of the European Commission has praised Ireland for its handling of vaccinations, climate policy and refugees, saying that the country has “always remained true to our European values.”
The remarks were made during President Von Der Leyen’s two-day visit to Ireland this week, in which she is scheduled to hold meetings with both Taoiseach Micheál Martin and President Michael D. Higgins.
🇮🇪 In Dublin today. Very happy to meet @MichealMartinTD.
Thank you for the great cooperation over the past 2.5 years – quite eventful years, too.
In difficult times, you always remained true to our European values.
Go raibh míle maith agat. pic.twitter.com/z0WiTfPjON
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 1, 2022
“These were very eventful years indeed,” she said, speaking to Taoiseach Micheál Martin in reference to Covid-19.
“You have steered very skilfully Ireland through the pandemic and out of the pandemic, and I highly appreciate how you’ve always been a strong supporter of our vaccine strategy.”
She also said that Ireland’s response to the Ukraine crisis was “outstanding.”
“I want to thank the Irish people, for opening their hearts and their homes to Ukrainian refugees. This is outstanding,” she said.
“I want to thank you for the strong support for Ukraine to become a candidate member of the European Union.”
Additionally, Von Der Leyen praised the Irish government for pursuing renewable energy to achieve European climate goals.
“I want to underline how impressive the Irish investment in renewable energy is,” she said.
“You know your best way to become an clean energy superpower in the EU.”
The visit comes just weeks ahead of the changeover in Taoiseach that is scheduled at the end of the month, when Micheál Martin is set to stand down and be replaced once again with Leo Varadkar, as per the program for government.
Martin and Varadkar agree December 17th for changeover as Taoiseach https://t.co/rmlyzBSIsT via @IrishTimesPol
— Irish Times Politics (@IrishTimesPol) November 9, 2022