22. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress that will be made on implementing the Draghi report during Ireland's Presidency. [69340/26]

The Government strongly supports the EU’s competitiveness agenda. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade holds horizontal responsibility for EU Policy across government, including coordination of our response to the Draghi and Letta Reports, and the new One Europe, One Market Roadmap. This is a whole of government effort, with the negotiations in Brussels and the domestic implementation resting with the relevant lead Departments.

Ireland’s experience of Europe’s Single Market as an engine for transformational economic growth has shaped our approach to EU policy-making. This is why competitiveness is one of our three core pillars during our Council Presidency term.

Central to this is our commitment to take forward work on the One Europe, One Market Roadmap, an inter-institutional agreement focused on the competitiveness agenda and which was signed by leaders in April of this year.

The Roadmap seeks to translate the ambition to close Europe’s competitiveness gap, as expressed in the Draghi and Letta Reports and the Competitiveness Compass, into 42 key identified measures and targets across five key pillars. The new framework takes forward the recommendations of the Draghi and Letta reports and seeks to implement many of measures and proposals identified in these reports.

The Roadmap also sets out ambitious timelines and deadlines for the agreement of proposals under our Presidency, which will be vital to boosting European competitiveness and building our economic resilience. Of the listed measures, 20 are targeted for agreement under the Irish Presidency.

Key proposals which are targeted for agreement by end 2026 include:

• the EU Grids Package, which is designed to improve energy interconnectivity and lower energy prices;

• EU Inc, which would enable firms to operate across the EU under a single set of harmonised rules;

• The Industrial Accelerator Act which aims to support industrial renewal by increasing investment in decarbonising industries;

The Roadmap also includes the Omnibus simplification packages, which will simplify the EU regulatory framework and reduce administrative burdens for businesses, in particular SMEs, to boost the EU’s long-term competitiveness. Both the Letta and Draghi reports underlined the need to reduce the regulatory and administrative burden on EU companies, particularly SMEs.

As Presidency we are a neutral chair and must be guided by and represent the agreed position of member states. We have prioritised delivery of the Roadmap as Presidency, but are, of course, reliant on the commitment of other Member States and the European Parliament to achieve these goals.