Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We mark the 71st anniversary of the Schuman Declaration at a time of profound change and challenge for Ireland and Europe. The global pandemic has given us pause to think about the world in which we live. In these days of loss and uncertainty, people have demonstrated a remarkable resilience to weather the present and to look to the future with ambition. As we continue the fight against Covid-19, the prospect of getting our lives back fills our hearts with immense hope.

This is not a hope born of a desire to return to normal or to life as it was before the pandemic. This has been a period of enormous social trauma but it has also been a period of a great collective soul-searching across society. People have found a fierce appetite for something far better than what had gone before. This is a future shaped by true European values of solidarity, equality, human dignity and democracy. We saw this desire in how Germans sang "Bella Ciao", the Italian resistance song, in support of the beleaguered Italian people; in how Spaniards clapped health workers on their way into work cada noche, every night; and in how households in Ireland put candles in the window to honour all those who have tragically lost their lives.

The peoples of Europe have turned not to individualism, not to private interests but rather full-face to the public good. They recognise that strong public services and a fair economy are essential. There is a lesson in this outpouring of human solidarity and there is inspiration there too, a guide for the road that Europe must now travel. As the desire for fairer societies grows stronger, the European Union cannot simply remain tethered to the past. Seven decades on from the Schuman Declaration, we have an opportunity to reimagine what the European Union can be. We have a chance to respond to citizens' ambition for a better future. Too often the EU has promoted austerity and privatisation, which is an economic model that has failed. Too often the EU has facilitated the transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich, from the many to the few.

The Conference on the Future of Europe was launched on Sunday to engage with citizens on how the EU should deal with the challenges facing it, and it is very welcome. The truth is we cannot have more of the same. We must learn from Brexit that many people feel deeply disempowered. This is not all the fault of the EU. Governments often blame the EU for their own policy choices and failures. When the EU promotes the economic model that favours the well-off at the expense of ordinary people, the elites at the expense of citizens, there should be no surprise that people will reject it. This is the discussion we need to have.The European Union must become a vehicle for social progress for the many rather than a vehicle for the enrichment of the few.

We can construct a social Europe in a way in which citizens and member states have a greater say in formulating positive policy positions within the Union. This would be a social Europe of equals, partnership and solidarity, guided by democratic principles and based on the premise that it is by states working together as equals on matters of mutual interest that we can best serve citizens of the EU. I believe that European Union can be a force for good. It can be a champion of peace and human rights all around the world, nowhere less than in the Middle East where the people of Palestine again desperately cry out for international protection and justice.

Right now being a force for good means the EU supporting the intellectual property waiver on Covid-19 vaccines because we are a global community and the fight against this virus is global. We have a humanitarian duty to ensure all the peoples of the world have access to the vaccines they need. This is not only a humane approach but one based on enlightened self and mutual interest.

A progressive Europe must also be to the fore in responding to climate change and in shaping a transition that is truly just. It must lead advancements in workers and union rights. Europe should be a refuge for those in need of help and shelter, not a privileged fortress cut from plight and suffering. A modern Europe should look not to militarisation or federalism but to progress in solving the common challenges of humanity. This is about education for all, housing for all, healthcare for all and prosperity for all. These principles are crucial as Ireland and the EU face the future together.

As the world changes and as soul-search together to chart a new course, the parallel journeys to a new Europe and a new and united Ireland are powerfully complementary. Irish unity is the very best idea for the future of our island. It is a destination shaped by currents of change that shape lives and history. The pandemic and Brexit have utterly transformed the conversation and debate on Irish reunification. A new and united Ireland within a new social Europe is now a real prospect. Citizens recognise that it makes sense for Ireland in its entirety to be part of the same trading bloc and the same Single Market with the four freedoms that ensue. To be a part of Europe - that is what the people of the North want and that is what the people of the South want. To stand still or tread water is no longer an option for leaders in Ireland or Europe. Change is coming and there will be a referendum on Irish unity so the people will have their say. It is all of our jobs to prepare for that and to make the transition to a united Ireland a success for all the people who share this island. Just as with the support for the peace process, the Good Friday Agreement and the securing of the protocol, the EU will have a central role in this.

We are not a nation of little islanders. Ireland’s place, North and South, is within a Europe of equals. We will look again, as we have before, to our gallant allies in Europe to continue positively engaging with the process of Irish reunification as we transform our society. We will look to them as we build the all-island economy, all-island public services and an all-island society that is home to all, regardless of background or identity.

Unity will be the watershed moment in the history of Ireland and a moment we must seize. Just as both Governments should prepare for unity, the European Union must also prepare for the day that Ireland, in our totality, joins as a united nation. There is no doubt in my mind that a united Ireland would form part of a positive and progressive reshaping of the European dynamic.

In the words of Bob Dylan, the "old road is rapidly aging.” The old order is being exposed like never before. We have an opportunity to recast Ireland and Europe on the foundations of equality, hope and economic justice. The future will either be reactionary or revolutionary. Now is the time to confidently step forward with big and ambitious ideas to build a better Europe and a better Ireland. In order to achieve change we have to reach out to people who do not feel represented. From the smallest village to the largest cities, we need to address the real social and economic challenges. We need to empower people and communities and encourage them to take the future into their own hands. We need to give them power to shape the society in which they live.

This is a good vision for how to shape Europe and Ireland in the years that lie ahead. The future of Europe and Ireland’s relationship with Europe will be shaped by the decisions we make today. Let us not cling timidly to the past. Let us boldly move forward in partnership, common purpose and common cause. Let us move forward in hope to refound a Europe of social solidarity and a new united Ireland for all of our people.

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