0:00:00 > 0:00:03Now on BBC News, it's Politics Europe.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Hello and welcome to politics Europe, your regular guide to the
0:00:46 > 0:00:50top stories in Brussels and Strasbourg. Ensay's programme senior
0:00:50 > 0:00:54figures in the EU say Britain can always change its mind about Brexit.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59The UK government said it isn't going to happen. So what is the EU
0:00:59 > 0:01:04playing at? Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar throws his weight behind
0:01:04 > 0:01:08deeper EU integration after Brexit and spells out his vision for the
0:01:08 > 0:01:13future of the block. We speak to one of his key allies. And the EU gets
0:01:13 > 0:01:18tough on plastic but it shies away from the plastics tax, so will its
0:01:18 > 0:01:27strategy work? All that to come, and more in the next 30 minutes since
0:01:27 > 0:01:30joining me for all of it is Kate Andrews of the London-based
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Institute of economic affairs and Alex Barker, Brussels bureau chief
0:01:34 > 0:01:39of the Financial Times. Welcome. First it is our guide to the latest
0:01:39 > 0:01:47from Europe in just 60 seconds. Big news this week as the EU declared
0:01:47 > 0:01:51war on plastic. The commission's new strategy aims to outlaw the use
0:01:51 > 0:01:57plastic by 2030 but there was no mention of a previous tax. The
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Bulgarian Prime Minister has entered his plan to presidency to MEPs in
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Strasbourg, if he is the first time Bulgarian has joined the EU has
0:02:06 > 0:02:12taken charge of the rotating post. The EU Council President Donald Tusk
0:02:12 > 0:02:16tweeted about Brexit, a harbour still open for you. Let's face it,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20we have all sent a text like that late at night. Jean-Claude Junker
0:02:20 > 0:02:25wondered if Brexit would be reversed, using article 40 nine.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Romania has a new Prime Minister. The third in seven months. He will
0:02:30 > 0:02:35become the country's first female PM if her nomination is approved. And
0:02:35 > 0:02:39after marathon talks, a breakthrough German coalition negotiations at the
0:02:39 > 0:02:45Barton shall call the initial deal an excellent result. We will see.
0:02:45 > 0:02:55But let's talk about Donald Tusk, Jean-Claude Junker, in their minds,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59do they think Brexit is reversible then?Donald was definitely does,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03and he wants to make that clear to the British public. I don't think he
0:03:03 > 0:03:07thinks it will happen but it is important that he says it could
0:03:07 > 0:03:15happen.Why? What is he getting at? The ideal outcome of these is to
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Donald Tusk, I would say, is that the UK to stay in the model that
0:03:19 > 0:03:22they built over 50 years to the continent to co-operate so that
0:03:22 > 0:03:27quite happy for it to happen and they see a small window where it
0:03:27 > 0:03:33could happen easily.Between now and October? Yes. What about Jean-Claude
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Junker are true? Is he talking about the UK changing the Pyrmont once
0:03:37 > 0:03:42they have left and then rejoining? He mentioned articles 49, the
0:03:42 > 0:03:48process that Moldova would be... Indeed. And it is a pretty rough
0:03:48 > 0:03:53road. You are looking at except in the euro, accept in things like not
0:03:53 > 0:03:57having a rebate, I don't think it is necessarily the past that the
0:03:57 > 0:04:01British public would want to go down.What is your reaction hearing
0:04:01 > 0:04:06these two important people within the EU, the commission president,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09saying that yes, our hearts are still open and Council President,
0:04:09 > 0:04:15you can come back, or not sleep at all?A few things are going on and
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Alex is right that it isn't in their interest to see the system they have
0:04:19 > 0:04:23built and have invested in so very much to lose one of their most
0:04:23 > 0:04:26important members and so I think there is still the sense that they
0:04:26 > 0:04:30don't want to give other countries the assumption that it is an easy
0:04:30 > 0:04:34process and something they could do but to the sweet talk, I think this
0:04:34 > 0:04:37is getting closer to when the negotiations are really going to get
0:04:37 > 0:04:41nitty-gritty and both sides want to be seen to play nice. It was a
0:04:41 > 0:04:44hardball game in the beginning but now I think you want to paint
0:04:44 > 0:04:48yourself as if he were open-minded to getting a deal because you don't,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52it will be catastrophic for many countries involved.As a sound as
0:04:52 > 0:04:55though they are not accepting the decision by the Briton made with the
0:04:55 > 0:05:00referendum?No, I don't think so, certainly some people you could talk
0:05:00 > 0:05:04to in Brussels who think the idea of reversing shouldn't happen and hope
0:05:04 > 0:05:12it doesn't. But if it came to it, and the UK for whatever kind of
0:05:12 > 0:05:15circumstances and the changing its mind, 27 would think what better
0:05:15 > 0:05:20validation for a project in the country trying to live and then
0:05:20 > 0:05:24deciding it cannot, so I think the road back would probably be quite
0:05:24 > 0:05:29smooth.Also the person saying this and where you are saying it from
0:05:29 > 0:05:33matters and the second referendum in the UK, it could have pumped more
0:05:33 > 0:05:36political weight because politicians in Westminster have been instructed
0:05:36 > 0:05:39by their people and the public to carry forth something and when
0:05:39 > 0:05:42people from other countries to which it has a slightly different angle,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46you can say they are not respecting the result of the referendum are
0:05:46 > 0:05:49actually I think we should be slightly more generous as they are
0:05:49 > 0:05:53saying we are here, let's get the conversation going.To do that. Leo
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Varadkar leather debate on the future of Europe with MEPs in
0:05:56 > 0:06:01Strasbourg this week. That is the future of calls without the UK. So
0:06:01 > 0:06:06were there any shots across the bow regarding Brexit? Adam Fleming gives
0:06:06 > 0:06:11us his take on the Irish PM's speech. The new year means new
0:06:11 > 0:06:14thinking and the European Parliament is holding a series of debates about
0:06:14 > 0:06:19the future of the EU with EU leaders. First up is the Taoiseach,
0:06:19 > 0:06:26Leo Varadkar. He went to the Parliament with references to your's
0:06:26 > 0:06:29big figures past and present and threw his support behind a pet
0:06:29 > 0:06:34project of many MEPs - European white candidates for the
0:06:34 > 0:06:38parliamentary elections.I support a Europewide list of the European
0:06:38 > 0:06:44Parliament. I would like to get people in cafes in Naples and
0:06:44 > 0:06:47restaurants in Galway talking about the same election choices. Perhaps
0:06:47 > 0:06:51that is an ambitious idea but I think it is one we should strive
0:06:51 > 0:06:56for.The EU needed to be ambitious too about security, cutting the cost
0:06:56 > 0:07:00of medicine, helping the rest of the world.But there were limits to
0:07:00 > 0:07:05integration. All future holds, Europe needs to be competitive
0:07:05 > 0:07:11economically. And one of the ways to ensure this is by allowing
0:07:11 > 0:07:15competition among member states. And I think this is particularly
0:07:15 > 0:07:18important for peripheral and less developed countries. Whose domestic
0:07:18 > 0:07:23market are small and need investment. My strong view is that
0:07:23 > 0:07:27national taxes that fund national budget should be determined by
0:07:27 > 0:07:34national parliament and government. That led to raised eyebrows because
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Ireland is notorious for low rates of corporation tax. And it has been
0:07:38 > 0:07:44taken to court over a deal with apple.As you would say that Ireland
0:07:44 > 0:07:47should be allowed to find ways to make geographical advantage, I
0:07:47 > 0:07:53agree, but surely the alternative cannot be between a one size fits
0:07:53 > 0:07:57all taxation system, but would work through the central, big, core
0:07:57 > 0:08:01countries to the detriment of everyone else and a no holds barred
0:08:01 > 0:08:06tax competition that we have right now.Of course, there was an
0:08:06 > 0:08:10enormous elephant in the room. Brexit. As the negotiations move
0:08:10 > 0:08:15forward into phase two, we will continue to rely on your support and
0:08:15 > 0:08:19solidarity as we work to ensure that what has been promised in theory is
0:08:19 > 0:08:25delivered in practice. And there can be no backsliding on this. So it is
0:08:25 > 0:08:29important that these commitments are fully reflected in the legal text of
0:08:29 > 0:08:33the withdrawal agreement and firmly embedded in the UK's future
0:08:33 > 0:08:39relationship with the EU, whatever shape is ultimately takes. And from
0:08:39 > 0:08:41my part, I hope that the relationship that exists between the
0:08:41 > 0:08:48UK and the EU is as close and as deep as is possible.But how closer
0:08:48 > 0:08:53relationship with the UK?When you think that nearly 50% of exports
0:08:53 > 0:08:57from Irish owned companies go to the United Kingdom within agriculture in
0:08:57 > 0:09:03some sectors is as high as 90%, you potentially have quite a lot to
0:09:03 > 0:09:10lose. And yet, and yet, despite the fact that no one should be fighting
0:09:10 > 0:09:16hard for a genuine branded trade deal they knew, that doesn't appear
0:09:16 > 0:09:24to be the case.His name in the visitors book, Leo Varadkar's
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Eurovision on the record. The other leaders who have signed up to give
0:09:28 > 0:09:31fares include the Prime ministers of Portugal and Croatia and the BD,
0:09:31 > 0:09:37President Macron of France, chew here in April. Adam Fleming. I
0:09:37 > 0:09:48joined by the Irish MP Mairead McGuinness. Welcome. The DUP MP
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Sammy Wilson said Leo Varadkar was naive, arrogant and inexperienced
0:09:52 > 0:09:56for siding with the EU over the UK and the Brexit negotiations. What do
0:09:56 > 0:10:03you say?Indeed, he gives another term which he apologised for later
0:10:03 > 0:10:06on, but I disagree with all of that because I think the performance of
0:10:06 > 0:10:10the Teesside's speech which was about the future of Europe, he was
0:10:10 > 0:10:15anything but, he was clear, focused on and he didn't dodge the hard
0:10:15 > 0:10:20questions. You play the piece around taxation, he was able to respond by
0:10:20 > 0:10:24saying the other member states who perhaps have a prop to go for higher
0:10:24 > 0:10:28rate of tax but when it comes to exemptions are actually collect less
0:10:28 > 0:10:31tax and the effective rate is lower so he delved very comprehensively
0:10:31 > 0:10:36with a range of issues I'm not sure how Mr Wilson came to the viewpoint
0:10:36 > 0:10:41but perhaps he had it anyway and just felt he had to reflect it but I
0:10:41 > 0:10:45think the word has moved on from the type of politics I would hope
0:10:45 > 0:10:48because what happened this week in Strasbourg was very significant and
0:10:48 > 0:10:54hugely important for Europe. Leo Varadkar was the first leader of the
0:10:54 > 0:10:59country of the EU 27 to put his case forward and he had a set piece of a
0:10:59 > 0:11:03speech which was well-received but I think more importantly his responses
0:11:03 > 0:11:07and the humanity of his responses and in particular how he articulated
0:11:07 > 0:11:11to the special relationship between the UK and Ireland where as he said
0:11:11 > 0:11:17his mother and father met in the UK, fell in love, got married and indeed
0:11:17 > 0:11:21one of his sisters lives there and her children are UK citizens but
0:11:21 > 0:11:25clearly, Irish as well, they have that pirate go for possibility,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28though I think that many reasons his speech was profound and their
0:11:28 > 0:11:32reaction has been positive.Except Samuelson was pointing to the fact
0:11:32 > 0:11:39that in his mind, Ireland was used by the EU as a stick to beat the UK
0:11:39 > 0:11:43in phase one of the negotiations. The issue of the Irish border was a
0:11:43 > 0:11:47red line during the first phase. And for a moment it looked as though the
0:11:47 > 0:11:51EU was going to play hardball on it but was the financial offer was
0:11:51 > 0:11:55made, upped by the UK government, it seemed the EU settled the matter
0:11:55 > 0:12:02very quickly so were you really used in the first phase?Gosh, I think
0:12:02 > 0:12:06that is a very cynical and incorrect interpretation of the work we all
0:12:06 > 0:12:11did going up to the end of last year.But it wasn't resolved, the
0:12:11 > 0:12:18Irish border issue wasn't resolved, that was the point.Well actually, I
0:12:18 > 0:12:24think you're wrong in that. What was agreed is very clear that there will
0:12:24 > 0:12:30be no return to a heart border and, look, I spent all his light with the
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Irish medical Organisation talking about cross-border health
0:12:33 > 0:12:36collaboration post-Brexit. It is a really serious issue not the
0:12:36 > 0:12:40politics but the people on the ground. And when we come to look for
0:12:40 > 0:12:43the future, it is around issues like healthcare, access to medicine,
0:12:43 > 0:12:48medical devices, which UK citizens should be really concerned about
0:12:48 > 0:12:51because it has been quite astonishing the number of
0:12:51 > 0:12:53pharmaceutical companies that have been in my office in Brussels
0:12:53 > 0:12:59pleading with me to understand their situation and they are worried about
0:12:59 > 0:13:04being able to continue if there is a clean or rather, not clean is the
0:13:04 > 0:13:08wrong word, a severe deal and no good relationship at the end of all
0:13:08 > 0:13:14of this process.Right.And if we bear in mind the consequences of
0:13:14 > 0:13:17that, the politics has to work so absolutely disagree with your
0:13:17 > 0:13:22interpretation. Except it wasn't resolved. I must finish this point.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27Anyone who uses the border in island politically acting correctly would
0:13:27 > 0:13:31certainly be no friend of Ireland and we had enormous support in the
0:13:31 > 0:13:33European Parliament and elsewhere around the border question because
0:13:33 > 0:13:38Europe is that this project.Sure, and I said there was a lot of
0:13:38 > 0:13:43support from the EU but it seemed to dissolve in terms of it in issue and
0:13:43 > 0:13:46you see it has been dissolved, in what way have the Irish border issue
0:13:46 > 0:13:50being resolved? Yes, there is a guarantee of a heart border, let me
0:13:50 > 0:13:53finish the question, because the questions about what will happen in
0:13:53 > 0:13:57terms of the trade deal and in terms of public relations and customs are
0:13:57 > 0:14:01going to be looked at in the future. Because in the draft agreement it
0:14:01 > 0:14:04says the UK will propose specific solutions to address the unique
0:14:04 > 0:14:07circumstances of the island of Ireland so it wasn't resolved, it
0:14:07 > 0:14:09was kicked down the road.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Well, I would interpret it very differently and I would disagree,
0:14:12 > 0:14:14absolutely and vigorously with your interpretation that once
0:14:15 > 0:14:17the money was sorted that the Irish question
0:14:17 > 0:14:17was practically dismissed.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19I think that is an appalling interpretation
0:14:19 > 0:14:20of what happened.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23The text of what is agreed, the bottomline in the text
0:14:23 > 0:14:26and we will not return to a hard border on Ireland,
0:14:27 > 0:14:31arrangements will have to be made.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34We don't know how to trade relationship talks will develop.
0:14:34 > 0:14:45There is no transition agreement reached yet,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48that is the next phase, in order that there
0:14:48 > 0:14:51is none of that difficulty around the border.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54If the United Kingdom continues on the path of wanting divergence
0:14:54 > 0:14:57then the United Kingdom has a problem in meeting its commitment
0:14:57 > 0:15:00which it made in the withdrawal agreement which must be written
0:15:00 > 0:15:01into legal text.
0:15:01 > 0:15:07So you do want a written legal text...May I finish? I must go to
0:15:07 > 0:15:13my other guest as well, map one Mack.Briefly, you were right in
0:15:13 > 0:15:17saying that it is written and sealed but the context and the support and
0:15:17 > 0:15:22the commitment is there.Many people would disagree with the A2 that it
0:15:22 > 0:15:27has been completely resolved. Alex, do you think the issue has been
0:15:27 > 0:15:33resolved? In many peoples mind that the UK and are on a collision
0:15:33 > 0:15:40course. Ireland's place in the customs union and market.Can it
0:15:40 > 0:15:46happen? There are all sorts of contradictions in the paper. It must
0:15:46 > 0:15:50be read quite carefully. There is no solution at the moment but they have
0:15:50 > 0:15:55set out a framework of the steps we need to go through in trying to find
0:15:55 > 0:16:00a solution. The parts that are contradictory promises that the UK
0:16:00 > 0:16:05was making to itself about the integrity of the UK. The parts that
0:16:05 > 0:16:10Ireland is interested in were bilateral promises about what
0:16:10 > 0:16:15happens in the circumstances were you cannot find a solution. There we
0:16:15 > 0:16:20have alignment, it will be in an mortify.Is whether battleline will
0:16:20 > 0:16:24be drawn because if these solutions that have been written into this
0:16:24 > 0:16:29agreement and even Kabul says we are not at the final end point of
0:16:29 > 0:16:35disagreement Patches Mairead says we are not at the final point. -- Kabul
0:16:35 > 0:16:47says.Mairead says. Nobody has agreed on the definition so it is
0:16:47 > 0:16:51impossible to know if it has been agreed or in many peoples minds,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55that is not what the term was meant to be used for. The idea that there
0:16:55 > 0:16:59would be no higher border means that it has been sold, that is not the
0:16:59 > 0:17:04case. Neither side wanted a hard border. That is not new information.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08I think it was also used as a scaremongering tactic. That was
0:17:08 > 0:17:16always ridiculous to think that the issue could be solved.Well,
0:17:16 > 0:17:21Mairead, on that basis, if everything related to the Irish
0:17:21 > 0:17:25border was in full alignment, would you agree to the UK diverging in
0:17:25 > 0:17:31other areas?It depends on what you mean by divergences and there is
0:17:31 > 0:17:35dispute about that. And what other areas you are talking about. I
0:17:35 > 0:17:40mentioned health. This has not been discussed in the UK because there is
0:17:40 > 0:17:44a lack of awareness around pharmaceuticals and the fact that
0:17:44 > 0:17:47the European success story around registration and control and
0:17:47 > 0:17:51management of drugs and supply of these things. If the UK were to
0:17:51 > 0:17:55divert on those issues they would be real problems. I think the UK, when
0:17:55 > 0:17:59it looks at certain sectors and perhaps all sectors will understand
0:17:59 > 0:18:04better the divergences does not mean something is improved. In fact it
0:18:04 > 0:18:09means it is much more difficult for us to continue. Remember, we are
0:18:09 > 0:18:13close neighbours. We do not want divergences of the relationship, we
0:18:13 > 0:18:18want that to be strong. We are in a difficult position that the United
0:18:18 > 0:18:25Kingdom decision is being respected and with our E U colleagues and our
0:18:25 > 0:18:28leadership said that the support of our colleagues will be required as
0:18:28 > 0:18:34we move into more difficult phases. So we are a lot more to do?There is
0:18:34 > 0:18:39an enormous amount. Work we did last year was the toughest part. The
0:18:39 > 0:18:45hardest stuff is yet to come. The transition arrangement, I think
0:18:45 > 0:18:50politically in the UK this may be problematic because after March
0:18:50 > 0:18:552019, as I see it, the UK will leave yet remain until 2020 were at that
0:18:55 > 0:18:59point there will be the shape of the new relationship. Last year was
0:18:59 > 0:19:03passed, batten down the hatches, this year will be far more
0:19:03 > 0:19:08difficult.Thank you for that happy new Year message.It is not
0:19:08 > 0:19:12something that I want to say that sometimes you do need to speak the
0:19:12 > 0:19:17truth.This week, the European Commission declared itself a leader
0:19:17 > 0:19:22on the war on plastic by launching a drive to clean up the plastic
0:19:22 > 0:19:26choking oceans and filling landfill. What is in their self described
0:19:26 > 0:19:30holistic plastic strategy? The EU wants to ensure that every piece of
0:19:30 > 0:19:34packaging on the continent is reusable or recyclable by 2030. That
0:19:34 > 0:19:39is also the target for their aim of recycling half of all plastic waste
0:19:39 > 0:19:45generated in Europe. To do this, £881,000 will be invested every year
0:19:45 > 0:19:50until 2020 in the search to modernise production and make
0:19:50 > 0:19:57recycling processes more efficient. The commission Vice President said
0:19:57 > 0:20:00the strategy hopes to eliminate nondegradable single use items such
0:20:00 > 0:20:05as coffee cups, cutlery, stir is and drinking straws. One commissioner
0:20:05 > 0:20:10last week floated the idea of a tax on single use plastic to fill Brexit
0:20:10 > 0:20:17shaped holes in the EU budget after 2020. While the plastic strategy
0:20:17 > 0:20:21does not commit to a plastic packs it says it will explore the
0:20:21 > 0:20:27feasibility of introducing measures of a fiscal nature at the EU level.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31I'm joined now by an environmental lawyer. welcome.Do you welcome this
0:20:31 > 0:20:38strategy? It is a landmark moment in tackling plastic pollution. What we
0:20:38 > 0:20:45think is also that may be it did not go far enough. Plastic is a
0:20:45 > 0:20:50pollutant. It is a pollutant for the environment and also for health.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55Many people understood the seriousness of the pollution of
0:20:55 > 0:21:04plastic and what it has called for the planet.Everybody has watched
0:21:04 > 0:21:13blue planet, it seems to think but the visible aspect of the pollution.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16How far should they have gone with their strategy. What would you to
0:21:16 > 0:21:24have been. They did quite well and they did a good job to do today, it
0:21:24 > 0:21:30is not tomorrow and they did promise that something we are big or from
0:21:30 > 0:21:33other sorts of plastic may need to be banned. The commission promised
0:21:33 > 0:21:37that micro- plastic will be banned and also other sorts. That is good
0:21:37 > 0:21:41news and we look forward to that. We think that more could be done to
0:21:41 > 0:21:44phase out single use plastic. We all need to take responsibility for
0:21:44 > 0:21:48single use plastic.Less than £1 million a year or roundabout that
0:21:48 > 0:21:52for improving the recyclability of plastic. In the scheme of things it
0:21:52 > 0:21:58is not that big a figure. Is this virtue signalling or will it achieve
0:21:58 > 0:22:03something?Often they can be a level of virtue signalling that given the
0:22:03 > 0:22:06fact that comprehensive strategy is to tackle recycling and make
0:22:06 > 0:22:10recycling easier and plastic easier to recycle, this is quite a good
0:22:10 > 0:22:16step. I am happy that they have not gone straight for attacks because
0:22:16 > 0:22:20once that happens, people are going to feel the brunt. What they are
0:22:20 > 0:22:25doing is being practical. Likely, and I don't know how soon, in our
0:22:25 > 0:22:30future plastic will be phased out anyway. To tackle it now and to look
0:22:30 > 0:22:35at how to make it more easily recyclable is a good thing.Should
0:22:35 > 0:22:39there be a Europe wide plastics tax on single use items.Tax has an
0:22:39 > 0:22:48advantage. It is quite good. What you need to understand with tax if
0:22:48 > 0:22:52that it focuses on the consumer. We all have to take responsibility for
0:22:52 > 0:23:00plastic pollution. For example, if you want to cook with some
0:23:00 > 0:23:06courgette, you need to buy them free by free and you need to buy them
0:23:06 > 0:23:11wrapped in plastic. Why is that? Supermarkets have a responsibility
0:23:11 > 0:23:15on the tax will not impact that.So you do not promote the idea of
0:23:15 > 0:23:19attacks at this stage?I think it can be useful but I think would be
0:23:19 > 0:23:23better to at the industry.One commissioner thought it might feel
0:23:23 > 0:23:29the whole, the money raised from a plastic tax Europe wide could fill
0:23:29 > 0:23:34the hole that Britain will leave when it leaves -- leaves the EU.The
0:23:34 > 0:23:41commission... They are just endlessly creative about trying to
0:23:41 > 0:23:47find new ways to raise money and it is normally knocked back by member
0:23:47 > 0:23:52states. You pick on things that are not popular, plastic, pollution,
0:23:52 > 0:23:58bankers, foreigners... Ultimately, something like plastic taxation, I
0:23:58 > 0:24:02think it needs to be done nationally. It is a political
0:24:02 > 0:24:08sensitivity and it will work in some countries but in others, no.No, not
0:24:08 > 0:24:14across the 27, or the 28. Briefly, on the target that you mentioned,
0:24:14 > 0:24:21Kate, is that achievable by 2030? For all plastic to be recyclable?I
0:24:21 > 0:24:24don't know if it is achievable, I don't know enough about the industry
0:24:24 > 0:24:28to say so. We talk about going to supermarkets. If you force them to
0:24:28 > 0:24:31use something that will be more expensive than plastic, that will
0:24:31 > 0:24:36again be pushed to consumers. Doing this at a national level was more
0:24:36 > 0:24:40helpful because they can gauge what the response will be. Much will
0:24:40 > 0:24:46happen in the next ten years, in the next decade and who knows?If that
0:24:46 > 0:24:57target achievable? The first step would be to ban dangerous plastics
0:24:57 > 0:25:01from Cannock -- dangerous chemicals from plastic in order to make them
0:25:01 > 0:25:05recyclable. That is the first step. The commission is aware of that and
0:25:05 > 0:25:09the strategy shows the quick action is needed.At this point do you
0:25:09 > 0:25:15think the EU will push ahead all drop the idea?Sometimes
0:25:15 > 0:25:20policymakers are leading the public in an area. Here I think they have
0:25:20 > 0:25:24teenage gap open in public opinion and think they need to fill it.
0:25:24 > 0:25:30China made an important decision about not buying in foreign plastic
0:25:30 > 0:25:34and taking the plastic we were sending for recycling. That will
0:25:34 > 0:25:38change things and in terms of policy making they will need to move fast.
0:25:38 > 0:25:43Thank you very much for coming in. That is all for now. Thank you to my
0:25:43 > 0:25:48guess.