Ibec Europe and Global Focus Issue 12

Welcome to the sixteenth edition of Ibec Europe & Global Focus. As this edition is published, Ireland along with the rest of Europe continues to face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. As 2021 began, Ireland experienced its third wave of the COVID-19 virus which sent the country back into Level 5 lockdown. Many other EU Member States have also reimposed or maintained their own restrictions in order to curtail or avoid new waves of the virus. While the free flow of goods and services has been maintained, travel and border restrictions have tightened to confront more
transmissible variants of the COVID-19 virus.

Inside this issue:

• Future EU-UK relations
• General EU affairs
• Global Trade and International Affairs
• Ibec Member in Focus – CRH
• Profiles – New WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
• Sectoral Update
• EU Member States Overview
• From our Policy Desks
• Ibec EU & International Events and Activities