Ireland and the UK: partners in Europe, 1973-

Ireland and the UK: partners in Europe, 1973-

I recently hosted an event at the Embassy during which Irish-born academic Brendan Simms, Professor of the History of European International Relations was our guest speaker. Introducing Professor Simms, I offered some reflections on Ireland’s experience of EU membership. This is what I said.

When I first read Brendan Simms' book, Europe: the Struggle for Supremacy, 1453 to the present, I immediately felt that its final chapter would make an excellent topic for a talk at the Embassy. This is because it deals with the 40-year period during which Ireland and the UK have been together as members of the European Union.

Prof. Simms reminds us of what eventful decades these have been. They witnessed, for example, the end of the Vietnam War, an intensification of the Cold War, the democratisation of southern Europe, several outbreaks of conflict in the Middle East, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the first Iraq War, the violent break-up of Yugoslavia, 9/11 and its aftermath, the invasion of Iraq, the post-2009 economic and financial crisis and the Arab Spring. These are just some of the developments analysed in the final chapter of Prof. Simms' book.

Within the EU, Ireland and the UK have been involved in the negotiation and ratification of four EU Treaties which gradually developed the Union’s capacities in keeping with the wishes of its member States, and the progressive enlargement of the Union, which has seen its membership expand from 9 to 28. Whatever its imperfections, the EU has been a bastion of stability and decency during the four decades of our membership.

The major theme running through Prof. Simms book is the centrality of Germany in Europe, not just geographically, but politically and economically. He sees the sweep of European history as a protracted attempt to deal with the consequences of Germany’s central position in Europe.

For Prof. Simms, the key issue with regard to Europe's future is whether the EU will be seen 'as a modern-day Holy Roman Empire ... incapable of effective collective action' or 'a mighty Union' based on a common debt, strong central institutions and a common defence. It will be fascinating to hear more about this from Prof. Simms, but first at would like to briefly outline our position on the future of the EU.

Ireland is fully committed to a future within the European Union and the Euro Zone. The economic tribulations of the past five years notwithstanding, EU membership has been hugely beneficial for Ireland, allowing us to pursue our national goals in concert with our EU partners and to develop our economic potential.

Membership has also been very good for Ireland's relations with the UK, enabling us to develop a strong, mutually-advantageous economic relationship which now sees more than £50 billion in trade go back and forth across the Irish Sea each year. Sitting around EU negotiating tables together has also highlighted how much our two countries have in common. It has built confidence between us, thus facilitating the two Governments in working together to promote peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. For these reasons, we sincerely hope that the UK will decide to remain in the EU, to whose evolution it has we believe made an important contribution.

For Ireland, the first priority at present needs to be for EU countries to complete their economic recovery and to deal with the burdens left over from this most severe of financial crises.

As regards the future of the EU, we are open to the Union's continued evolution and want to see the Union function effectively so that it can serves the needs of our peoples and help us meet the challenges of the future. We would, however, have major doubts about embarking at this stage on an ambitious refurbishment of the Treaties. The Lisbon Treaty has only been in place for a few years and we should concentrate on getting the best out of current Treaty arrangements and of the measures that have been adopted in order to strengthen to Euro Zone.

When it comes to common foreign and defence policy, Ireland has a proud record of participation in peacekeeping operations, including in recent years in conjunction with our EU partners. We are not members of any military alliance and nor do we intend to alter that position. We fully subscribe, of course, to the values of the EU and seek to promote these internationally at every opportunity.

Daniel Mulhall
Ambassador