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On Friday, 16 July 2021, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen visited Ireland to announce the approval of almost \u20ac1 billion in funding to finance Ireland\u2019s COVID-19 recovery. This funding is drawn from NextGenerationEU, the EU\u2019s \u20ac800 billion recovery fund jointly negotiated by the Member States and the European Parliament as co-legislators, which aims to support a sustainable, equitable recovery across the EU as well as advance the green and digital transitions over the coming decades. This event is the first in a series co-organised with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Dublin ahead of the European Citizens\u2019 Panel, which will be hosted by the IIEA in Dublin Castle on 3-5 December 2021, as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe.\n\nAbout the Speakers:\n\nFrances Fitzgerald is an MEP representing Dublin City & County for Fine Gael, and is a Vice-President of the European Peoples\u2019 Party, and currently serves on the Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON, Women\u2019s\u2019 Rights and Equality (FEMM) and Development (DEVE) Committees. Prior to joining the European Parliament, Ms. Fitzgerald was a Senator and T.D. in Dublin Mid-West (2007-2019) and Dublin South East (1992-2002), and she has served as T\xe1naiste (2016-2017), Minister for Business, Enterprise & Innovation (2017), Justice & Equality (2014-2017), Children & Youth Affairs (2011-2014), and Leader of the Opposition in the Seanad.\n\nCiar\xe1n Cuffe is a Green MEP representing Dublin since 2019, and a member of the Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and, Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committees, as well as the Parliamentary Delegations for relations with the United States and Albania. Mr. Cuffe has served as a city councillor, T.D. for D\xfan Laoghaire, and Minister of State for Horticulture, Sustainable Travel, Planning and Heritage.\n\nDrago\u0219 P\xeeslaru has been an MEP from the Romanian Partidul Libertate, Unitate \u0219i Solidaritate (USR-PLUS), as part of the centrist liberal Renew Europe group since 2019. He is a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC) and Parliamentary Delegation for relations with Japan (D-JP), and he was a\xa0 parliamentary rapporteur on the COVID-19 pandemic recovery fund. Dr. P\xeeslaru is a former Romanian government minister for Labour and Social Protection (2016-2017), and was previously a management consultant and economics lecturer before entering politics.\n\nThe discussion was moderated by Professor Alan Barrett, CEO of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).