Mr. Barry Andrews:

Deputy Harkin knows the European Parliament better than I do. I have only been here a year but I have been astonished by the level of knowledge. If we look at what has happened since 2016 when the referendum happened, we can see the number of MEPs who came to visit Ireland, visited the Border and had an opportunity to engage. It was an eye-opening experience for most of them.

They were surprised by the degree of division that remains in Northern Ireland. There is an interest in it. There is a strong sense of sympathy for the nationalist position among MEPs, apart from the Irish MEPs, in the context that the partition was a historical mistake. Unionism probably has does not have as great a listening ear in Brussels as nationalism. I see that as a problem because all communities in Northern Ireland must be listened to and their voices must be heard regarding the protocol. There is a continuing interest in the issue but it is very much reduced. We will not find it on the European Council agenda for a long time to come. It is a tier-three issue at this stage compared to where it used to be.

To flesh out my thoughts on this, first, there will be a UK delegation, which is an official delegation of the European Parliament. I am a member of the South African delegation and there is a US delegation. That is an official delegation that will be set up. I suggest we would have a carve-out of the parliamentary assembly specifically dedicated to Northern Ireland with representatives of the Northern Assembly and the European Parliament, but I am hastening very slowly on that because it would have a great number off pitfalls. The questions Deputy Harkin posed are practical as to who is involved, the buy-in from all communities in Northern Ireland and what powers this might have. Let us remind ourselves that the parliamentary assembly under the trade and co-operation agreement merely has the power as a forum to exchange views. That might seem like a talking shop to most of us but one of the great deficits as a result of Brexit is the proximity between members of the Oireachtas and Westminster and of officials from Ireland and the UK. I read recently that John Major remembered the peace process and much of the progress that was made under his tenure was created in the margins of the European Council between himself and Albert Reynolds prior to the Downing Street Declaration and in the run-up to the Good Friday Agreement, after which both of them had moved on but they both made a major contribution. That is where this sits as a carve-out of the parliamentary assembly. Alternatively, there is a possibility for somebody like me to simply set up a Northern Ireland group within the European Parliament. That does not require approval from anybody. It would be just an interest group which could develop over time. However, I want to see what we get out of the parliamentary assembly and if that can be set up at all. Those issues remain to be seen.

On the Conference on the Future of Europe, it is all about investment, climate action, recovery, vaccines and making sure the European Union works for citizens, but there is also another issue since the last time we probably reflected on it, which is the massive decline in democracy and pluralism across the globe. The democracy index produced by Freedom House at the beginning of the year noted that less than 20% of the global population live in free countries and that democracy has been backsliding across the globe for 16 years consecutively. The European Union is an island of pluralism, rule of law, democracy and internationalism. There is a bit of restating some of those values that bind the European Union together. There are problems within the European Union. Let us be open and honest about that with respect to Poland, Hungary and the rule of law. The Conference on the Future of Europe is an opportunity I hope will be taken to restate those values and to be definitive that these are values that are worth defending and restating. It is not insignificant considering what is happening across the globe, particularly on internationalism, which is such a key interest for Ireland.