Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 26 June 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs

Alliance Building to Strengthen the European Union (Resumed): Institute of International and European Affairs

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests. I congratulate and thank them for the constructive work they have done in their respective capacities during the years to meet the challenges in modern Europe. We have all contributed to this debate and hope it will be successful, but it will not be easy. There are new challenges and opportunities. We must presume to take full advantage of every opportunity that comes our way because there may not be one to go back and revisit this issue again. As the Vice Chairman said, the committee was represented at the recent COSAC meeting in Bucharest. It is ironic that the debate there could have been anticipated. There was a long debate on maximising employment and investment opportunities through the mediums of education and technology.

It was an interesting debate which went on for some time. It is something in which my colleague has taken a particular interest. As each day passes, new opportunities arise through education and technology. If we focus and zoom in on these areas and avail of the opportunities that arise, we will create what we need in the future, namely, further opportunities for an expanding population. We live in a different world from 20 years ago. The people of Europe are a moving population; they go to where the jobs are to be found, whatever that may be. It is very good from our perspective. It is what generations of Irish people have done. The jobs happened to be in the United States, the United Kingdom, elsewhere in Europe and across the globe in countries such as New Zealand and Australia. It is great that we have arrived at a point where people want to come here to make a contribution to the economy and use their skills in technology to assist us in our quest to increase employment.

The alliances referred to are hugely important. Corporate alliances are also important and must be made to the benefit of one side or the other. We must remember that diverse opinions are emerging across Europe on what democracy and co-operation are about and where we are likely to be in the next 50 or 60 years. The best thing we can do is look back over the last 50 or 60 years and at the progress made from when Europe was in ashes to when it was built to be a really strong and uniform entity. I think back to the time when Ireland's income per capitawas a fraction of that in other European countries and the United States. It is now on a par with most. Even in the depths of the recession, we kept in touch with it, from which there is much to be learned. We have progressed a great deal.

I have not referred to the challenges that worry me the most. Damage has been done to the cohesion of markets across Europe. That is evident in the UK car industry, for instance. There are announcements daily. We seem to take it that they were inevitable - they were - but they are happening in anticipation of Brexit. What worries me most is that the architects of the new Europe and particularly Brexit did not foresee these issues arising. Nigel Farage spent 20 years undermining the European Union and when he had achieved the result for which he was looking, he disappeared into the background because he had nothing more to say. Now he wants to come forward again to do something else. Worse still, many of our colleagues in the United Kingdom did not seem to know what was plan B. Exiting the European Union was one thing - allegedly it was to gain freedom, although from what I am not certain - but there has been considerable damage done across Europe. I hope we are not returning to an earlier era as ultra-nationalism has begun to re-emerge. It would be a disaster if that were to happen. In recent days there have been various exchanges across Europe, as well as with our colleagues in the United Kingdom who are still at a meeting, although they did not expect to be. They are nice guys who have made valid submissions in pleading their case. There was no plan B, but now we are being told that it will be all right on the day, that it will be perfect and that there is no need to worry at all. If there was no plan B, it is unlikely that there is a plan C or a plan D either. It worries me that there could be serious consequences.

We should not forget that the Good Friday Agreement has been a very important part of Anglo-Irish relations in recent years. It followed a 30 year guerilla war during which the most atrocious events took place on the island of Ireland. It now appears to be at risk. What is the value of a modern agreement if everyone does not stand over it? That is especially the case when it comes to an emotive agreement of that nature. We have heard people ask what the problem is at the Border? There are other places all over the world where there are borders. There are, but there are few borders - they include those in the Balkans - where people are very careful not to offend the sensitivites of others and for very good reason. The Irish position has held very well so far and has been well supported by our European colleagues. We should recognise this and owe it to them. However, it is also in the interests of the European Union to do so as it is not only about Ireland but also the European Union itself. Will the European Union that we recognise and in which people have lived in peace in recent years prevail or be undermined? Will the Good Friday Agreement prevail? Some of the things that have been said undermine it to a great extent. Some say they cannot change their views and that we must change ours, but that is the oldest negotiating trick in the book. We are not the ones who opted to leave. We did not ask to leave the European Union. We believe we have a contribution to make to it and are doing so, even as a small country. I strongly believe each country, whether large or small, has a contribution to make on the European platform. It all depends on what we bring to the table. We can either bring positivity or negativity, each of which has consequences. There is a slogan which refers to bringing Europe closer to the people, but we must bring them closer to it, something altogether different, and maximise the extent to which people across all nations, big and small, recognise that they are European and wish to contribute to that ideal.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.