Matthias Barner opened the event from London, outlining the immense challenges and the key role the EU played in the Good Friday Agreement. He highlighted how the Konrad Adenauer Foundation is committed to European values and as a rule based international system.
After Noelle O Connell welcomed the panel and audience, she outlined the running order and then invited Minister for European Affairs and Defence Peter Burke to give his opening remarks.
The Minister, joining the event from the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU in Brussels, highlighted how the interaction between Ireland’s membership of the EU and the peace process is as important now as it was then. Both the 50th anniversary of Ireland joining the EU with Denmark and the UK and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement mark moment in our history of the positive change for Ireland. He highlighted how the former has gone on to support and sustain the latter.
The Good Friday Agreement remains at the heart of how the Irish Government, as co-guarantor, furthers peace and reconciliation. The Minister spoke of how the Good Friday Agreement belongs first and foremost to the people of Northern Ireland, it would not have been possible without the help and support of our international partners.
The Minster said that the EU has always been Ireland’s partner in peace, and it is right the Irish Government’s program to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, recognizes this unique and substantive contribution. In conversations with his counterparts across the EU, he has been struck by the deep level of engagement and genuine care they have for the on-going process of peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland. The Minister said he was glad that there are opportunities to express Ireland’s appreciation for this solidarity.
He continued by saying that the EU is fundamentally a peace project, and the Northern Ireland peace process is a standout example of the success of that project and sustaining peace and stability on the continent.
The Good Friday Agreement was facilitated by both Ireland and the UK both being Member States. The shared EU membership allowed space for politicians and officials to strengthen the relationships, which eventually lead to the agreement. EU membership helped to foster cross border trade and an integrated all-island economy in the years since the Good Friday Agreement.
As human rights have been central to the agenda of the EU, this has helped human rights come to the fore of the peace process.
The Minister highlighted the significant financial support that the EU has provided to the peace process, including PEACE and Interreg programs. These promoted peace and reconciliation, along with economic and social progress in Northern Ireland and the border counties.
The new PEACE+ program, with budget of over €1 billion, will continue this important work, and reaffirms the EU’s commitment to peace, reconciliation, and cross-border cooperation on the island of Ireland.
The peace process has benefited, the Minister explained, from the constant and tangible support from our EU partners, this continues today and shows no sign of waning into the future.
Throughout the Brexit process, the Irish Government highlighted the division and the disruption it would bring to relationships across these islands. The Irish Government set out to protect the gains of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement, to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, and at the same time protect the integrity of the EU’s Single Market and Ireland’s place in the EU.
These guiding principles have remained constant throughout the Brexit process, the Minister said, and have by and large, achieved these goals. The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland was key to this, as it sought to mitigate the most serious impacts of Brexit on the island of Ireland. Ireland and the EU recognised the importance of preserving and maintaining the gains of the Good Friday Agreement.
Clearly, there has been concerns in Northern Ireland about the implementation of the Protocol. The European Commission heard those concerns and responded with a new set of proposals. The Minister said that there has been a certain amount of trust lost in the long process over this whole period. The Windsor Framework provides a set of joint solutions that comprehensively addresses the concerns raised by people and businesses in Northern Ireland.
From hearing from stakeholders in Northern Ireland, the Irish Government has heard of the need for stability and certainty, which the Windsor Framework provides for. It allows for businesses in Northern Ireland to access the EU’s Single Market, protects their place in the UK internal market. It also gives businesses and stakeholders a greater say in now arrangement will apply in Northern Ireland. Stakeholders, the Minister explained, have been clear on the genuine economic benefit that can be realised, and we have already seen the signs that access to both markets can lead to much needed investment into Northern Ireland.
The all-island integrated economy has been one of the dividends of the peace process. The Windsor Framework provides this ability and certainty the business needs, to enable and grow cross-border trade further.
EU and UK are like-minded partners in the face of a myriad of global challenges, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cost of living crisis, to the climate crisis. The Windsor Framework opens a new chapter in EU – UK relations, allowing for the forging of a stronger partnership. The Framework also provides the opportunity for improved British – Irish partnership, which is vital for the peace and prosperity on the island of Ireland.
The Minister spoke about Ireland joining the EEC in January 1973, and how support in Ireland for its EU membership remains high. However, he stated that we should never become complacent with those figures.
Ireland’s EU membership gave the impetus for Ireland to strengthen our human rights record, drive forward civil and social rights, introduce gender equality legislation, improve protection of worker’s rights, and to become much more tolerant, kinder and an inclusive country, than the Ireland of 1973.
Noelle O Connell, after some remarks on the Minister’s speech, called on Caitriona Mullan to give her opening remarks.
She first spoke of how common EU membership and citizenship made reaching the Good Friday Agreement more possible in 1998. The Good Friday Agreement was the first time in the EU that there was a framework for human rights in the context of diversity and diversity of identity.
She mentioned the German term of belonging to somewhere (zugehörigkeit) from resident and technical citizenship, which were needed to achieve the Good Friday Agreement. Common EU membership and citizenship gave practical expression through the Agreement, to the idea that an individual can simultaneously carry various layers of identity, rather than being forced to choose.
Caitriona highlighted how the Council of Europe’s European Convention on Human Rights provided some of the DNA for the different kinds of recognitions that are inherent in the Agreement.
She said it was important to recognize the role of EU regional policy in the Agreement, in particular the overall functioning across the EU. In particular, how that played out in the UK government’s process in the 1990s of devolved regional governments in the UK. That was important in how it became possible to set up the Northern Ireland Executive. There was a structural framework within the UK which had been influenced by EU policy.
In terms of the relationship between Ireland, EU and Member States, the island of Ireland has the only cross-border and interjurisdictional cooperation architecture in all of Europe. Not only transposed into domestic law on the basis of an international peace treaty, but also endorsed by universal plebiscite into different jurisdictions – that is unique.
Important now for developing cross-border trade and north-south, but for real business integration across the island of Ireland, which can benefit the economies of Ireland and the UK.
The land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, as Caitriona highlights, to be a source of very good practice and very good governance models for territorial cooperation, which should be of interest to all our EU colleagues. What is present on the island of Ireland is significant deep structural architecture for working across the land border, and across maritime borders. This gave expression to Article 174 of the Treaty on the Function of the EU, in particular, to the special needs of disadvantaged border areas of the EU, and the need for balancing that.
The majority of people in Northern Ireland did vote to remain in the EU, as a result, emotional, social or culture have not been cut with the EU. There does need to be a stabilization of economic ties, in context of respecting the principles of the Good Friday Agreement.
She highlighted how it is disappointing that Northern Ireland does not have a voice in the European Parliament. If it was not for the Good Friday Agreement which allowed Irish citizenship to be extended to them, Brexit in another world, could have stripped us of our EU citizenship.
In terms of how Ireland does cooperation across its only land border, which is now an external EU border, is significant for EU external relations. The Northern Ireland Executive offices’ overseas division have a very strong and active presence in Brussels. Important for colleagues in Member States to know that they can engage with that office as a unique contributor to the European conversation on a whole range of issues that Northern Ireland has experience in due its EU membership to date. Deep knowledge in issues such as cross-border mobility, animal health, etc.
She next moved onto the different strands in the Good Friday Agreement and the Windsor Framework, saying that it is hugely important that we get Strand One institutions up and running. There has been political cooperation from Strand One that has continued uninterrupted in one particular area in north-south cooperation, and that is in local government, regional cross-border partnerships. “It can be the something that can hold things together and it has provided a huge basis for keeping stability in the Irish border region over the last 25 years.”
In terms of the next few years and decades, Caitriona would like to see Northern Ireland become an economic asset for the EU’s Single Market and for both the domestic economics of both Ireland and the UK. “If this wins, everyone wins”, as it will allow an opportunity to permanently change the economic story of Northern Ireland, and the often complex social and economic inequalities that underpinned the conflict.
She would also like to see Northern Ireland become part of a wider conversation around how the EU can continue to recognize and enhance human rights diversity and inclusion, and across Ireland and the UK. Northern Ireland was the only area in the EU that implemented a post-conflict reconstruction program, where there is a lot of knowledge and practice in Norther Ireland’s experience in this area which could be very informative for the EU – both technical and intuitive. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means that has taken on a new level of significance.
She concluded by saying: “Call us [Northern Ireland] the lace trim on the garment of Europe, that dresses it up a little bit, and maybe makes it a little bit more appealing to engage with”.
After a brief set of comments from Noelle O Connell, she invited Rory Montgomery to give his opening remarks for the event.
He highlighted how, while the EU did not play a particularly big role in the negotiations of the Good Friday Agreement, however, it created a context or an arena for discussion and cooperation. Further, the removal of customs posts due to the introduction of the EU’s Single Market helped in softening of the border before the Good Friday Agreement.
The Irish Government recognised the serious threat that Brexit could pose to the island of Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement. When he was at the Department of the Taoiseach in December 2014, a paper was written about the possibility of a UK departure – the word Brexit had not even been invented then.
Overall, Rory explained that the Irish Government achieved good outcomes in a number of important areas. The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland effectively tried to safeguard north-south cooperation, protect human rights as underpinned by the EU’s Acquis Communautaire, and maintain the Ireland – UK Common Travel Area that predates the EU membership for both countries.
From the day after the referendum, the Irish Government worked very hard to put Irish issues at the centre of the Brexit negotiations, to which Ireland was very successful due to two reasons. The first was that there was a huge diplomatic push to talk to partners across the EU, but pushing what was an open door, as there was a very quick and immediate response in the EU to the maintenance of the Good Friday Agreement.
Acceptance across EU of the Irish analysis of the centrality of the Good Friday Agreement, in particular the border issue, that there could be no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland. UK government broadly accepted this too.
The essential mechanism to achieve this was regulatory alignment, which kept Northern Ireland effectively in the EU’s Single Market for goods, and the EU’s Customs Union. Theresa May tried to apply that to the whole UK, which Rory believes would not have worked, as it would have delivered Brexit in name only.
Rory spoke of how there would have to be some sort of border checks somewhere. If they were not going to be north-south, or between the island of Ireland and the European continent, there would have to be some sort of arrangements between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Unionists became alarmed by this, but they opposed Theresa May’s deal, and their opposition continued to progressively harden after Boris Johnsons’ deal with the EU. Unionists believed that his government could overturn the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Once the implementation of the Protocol began after January 2021, practical issues began to become apparent with the movement of food, or bringing your pet from Scotland to Northern Ireland, etc.
Rory then outlined the main elements for Unionists in Northern Ireland to oppose the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland:
Technical measures – many of which have been dealt with by the Windsor Framework.
Differentiation between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Democratic deficit.
It was through the DUP’s pressure in withdrawing from the Northern Ireland Executive allowed the UK government to push for changes in the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland through the Windsor Framework which some thought was not possible.
He then spoke of how while many would prefer the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland was not there, people in Northern Ireland see it as necessary, and welcome its softening. He cites polling which says that it has had a negative impact on political stability and weakening of the position within the UK.
He concludes by saying that the whole process has weakened the operation of the Good Friday Agreement, it has increased the salience within Unionism of a strand of opinions which never accepted the Good Friday Agreement, it raises questions about the viability of the agreement, which would have been inconceivable a few years ago, and it has reopened the question of a united Ireland. The chaos of the monumental change of Brexit might have a negative impact on the potential process of a united Ireland.
In the negotiations where was a popular phase “the duty of hope”, that was first used by Dick Spring, which we have to hope for now.
Noelle O Connell then hosted a panel discussion with an audience questions and answers session.
In the first question from the audience, she asked the Minister how the Windsor Framework has been received by his counterparts in the EU, and what in his views are the next steps for the Windsor Framework?
He responded by say that the Windsor Framework has been broadly welcomed by his counterparts at the Council of the EU. Upholding the EU’s Single Market is a key issue which many of his counterparts are keenly focused on. The real-time data sharing agreement between the EU and UK in January rebuilt significant trust with the UK. In terms of the next steps, with the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the House of Commons moving ahead of passing it, “its full steam ahead” in his own view.
Noelle next posed an audience question to Rory and Caitriona on what they believed the DUP wanted from the ‘Stormont break’ in the Windsor Framework?
Rory responded by saying that it threads a narrow line in reassuring Unionism and adding to complications to the Northern Ireland Assembly in due course and raises questions about Northern Ireland’s role in the EU’s Single Market.
Caitriona responded by saying that she had no idea about what the DUP was thinking about this. What she does see is economic difficulties in electoral areas of Unionists, which could be turned around by the economic prosperity under the Windsor Framework. In terms of concerns of Northern Ireland diverging from the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland has already diverged on quite several human rights issues for quite a long time. These were resolved by Westminster legislation (marriage equality, access to abortion services). Northern Ireland is the only part of Ireland and the UK that does not have a health strategy for women.
Stormont break gives a parliamentary choice to a regional parliament in the UK to choose to accept additional European legislation in the future. That, according to Caitriona, is being done through a repaired dynamic between London and Brussels, which she says is a significant story. Will the action taken by the DUP be seen in time be applied by other regions of the EU?
The next audience question that Noelle posed to the Minister, was his thoughts of the challenging facing the island of Ireland within the European context over the coming years.
He mentioned that there are any number of challenges. He focused on the EU’s Single Market, due to the Inflation Reduction Act and China, and how larger EU Member States have to meet the challenges that they bring. But the EU’s Single Market offers a level playing field for smaller countries such as Ireland. He mentioned that he is keen to promote in the Irish educational system and highlight to young people what it means to be a European citizen and the evidence of what the EU has done.
Noelle posed the next question to Caitriona about how best to capture the current conversation around the Good Friday Agreement?
She responded by saying that there is a danger in a loss of memory around this particular issue. She recommended that there needs to be a dialogue that looks at what the Good Friday Agreement offers to young people from both Ireland and the UK, such as their rights that they are entitled to, what are their human rights, to how to we achieve diversity? She highlighted that if nothing is done, will be a lost institutional memory. She spoke of how as someone who was born just after Bloody Sunday, her generation has carried all that with them in terms of memories and experiences.
Noelle then asked Rory about what are the key takeaways from his involvement in the Good Friday Agreement that can be applied to the current process with the Windsor Framework.
He responded by saying that if social media was present in 1998, there would not have been any agreement. He said that sometimes the absence of communication did no harm. Northern Ireland had a real generation of titans such as John Hume and David Trimble. He quoted Aristotle of logos, ethos, and pathos. Logos is the facts and information, ethos is the authority and credibility with which the person speaks, and pathos which is about emotion and understanding. He states that the key point is to always bring things back to their essentials, not to get hung up on point of detail.
Caitriona also added to this question. She said that we are in era where communications have dramatically changed things, where the pandemic drove people into a virtual world and lead to a worsening of relations with people. Where people were prepared to say things on social media that they would not say to someone’s face in a room with them. Post-Covid-19 it is important to get people back into room’s together and talk to one another. She ended by saying, jokingly, that if twitter had existed in 1998, she does not know what it might have been like.
Noelle’s final audience question, to the Minister, asked if the Good Friday Agreement will be changed or adjusted in future or will it remain the same for the next 25 years.
He said that he would be very reluctant to start unpicking it. He acknowledged that configurations change, and that can be observed in politics in Northern Ireland. The Minister said that he would be very slow to unravel pieces of that document. In its current form, it has drawn communities together, and provided the framework such as for the British – Irish Council. Ministerial meetings could be so much more, with the Minister saying that it needs to live up to the aspiration that are in the Good Friday Agreement. He said that we’re at our best when we’re cooperating and working closely together, and that is what we really need to focus going into the future.
Noelle closed the event by thanking the panel for their insights and thoughts throughout the event, Matthias Barner and Katie O’ Connor at KAS, the staff at European Movement Ireland for their help that day and the audience for joining in for the event.
Matthias Barner opened the event from London, outlining the immense challenges and the key role the EU played in the Good Friday Agreement. He highlighted how the Konrad Adenauer Foundation is committed to European values and as a rule based international system.
After Noelle O Connell welcomed the panel and audience, she outlined the running order and then invited Minister for European Affairs and Defence Peter Burke to give his opening remarks.
The Minister, joining the event from the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU in Brussels, highlighted how the interaction between Ireland’s membership of the EU and the peace process is as important now as it was then. Both the 50th anniversary of Ireland joining the EU with Denmark and the UK and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement mark moment in our history of the positive change for Ireland. He highlighted how the former has gone on to support and sustain the latter.
The Good Friday Agreement remains at the heart of how the Irish Government, as co-guarantor, furthers peace and reconciliation. The Minister spoke of how the Good Friday Agreement belongs first and foremost to the people of Northern Ireland, it would not have been possible without the help and support of our international partners.
The Minster said that the EU has always been Ireland’s partner in peace, and it is right the Irish Government’s program to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, recognizes this unique and substantive contribution. In conversations with his counterparts across the EU, he has been struck by the deep level of engagement and genuine care they have for the on-going process of peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland. The Minister said he was glad that there are opportunities to express Ireland’s appreciation for this solidarity.
He continued by saying that the EU is fundamentally a peace project, and the Northern Ireland peace process is a standout example of the success of that project and sustaining peace and stability on the continent.
The Good Friday Agreement was facilitated by both Ireland and the UK both being Member States. The shared EU membership allowed space for politicians and officials to strengthen the relationships, which eventually lead to the agreement. EU membership helped to foster cross border trade and an integrated all-island economy in the years since the Good Friday Agreement.
As human rights have been central to the agenda of the EU, this has helped human rights come to the fore of the peace process.
The Minister highlighted the significant financial support that the EU has provided to the peace process, including PEACE and Interreg programs. These promoted peace and reconciliation, along with economic and social progress in Northern Ireland and the border counties.
The new PEACE+ program, with budget of over €1 billion, will continue this important work, and reaffirms the EU’s commitment to peace, reconciliation, and cross-border cooperation on the island of Ireland.
The peace process has benefited, the Minister explained, from the constant and tangible support from our EU partners, this continues today and shows no sign of waning into the future.
Throughout the Brexit process, the Irish Government highlighted the division and the disruption it would bring to relationships across these islands. The Irish Government set out to protect the gains of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement, to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, and at the same time protect the integrity of the EU’s Single Market and Ireland’s place in the EU.
These guiding principles have remained constant throughout the Brexit process, the Minister said, and have by and large, achieved these goals. The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland was key to this, as it sought to mitigate the most serious impacts of Brexit on the island of Ireland. Ireland and the EU recognised the importance of preserving and maintaining the gains of the Good Friday Agreement.
Clearly, there has been concerns in Northern Ireland about the implementation of the Protocol. The European Commission heard those concerns and responded with a new set of proposals. The Minister said that there has been a certain amount of trust lost in the long process over this whole period. The Windsor Framework provides a set of joint solutions that comprehensively addresses the concerns raised by people and businesses in Northern Ireland.
From hearing from stakeholders in Northern Ireland, the Irish Government has heard of the need for stability and certainty, which the Windsor Framework provides for. It allows for businesses in Northern Ireland to access the EU’s Single Market, protects their place in the UK internal market. It also gives businesses and stakeholders a greater say in now arrangement will apply in Northern Ireland. Stakeholders, the Minister explained, have been clear on the genuine economic benefit that can be realised, and we have already seen the signs that access to both markets can lead to much needed investment into Northern Ireland.
The all-island integrated economy has been one of the dividends of the peace process. The Windsor Framework provides this ability and certainty the business needs, to enable and grow cross-border trade further.
EU and UK are like-minded partners in the face of a myriad of global challenges, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cost of living crisis, to the climate crisis. The Windsor Framework opens a new chapter in EU – UK relations, allowing for the forging of a stronger partnership. The Framework also provides the opportunity for improved British – Irish partnership, which is vital for the peace and prosperity on the island of Ireland.
The Minister spoke about Ireland joining the EEC in January 1973, and how support in Ireland for its EU membership remains high. However, he stated that we should never become complacent with those figures.
Ireland’s EU membership gave the impetus for Ireland to strengthen our human rights record, drive forward civil and social rights, introduce gender equality legislation, improve protection of worker’s rights, and to become much more tolerant, kinder and an inclusive country, than the Ireland of 1973.
Noelle O Connell, after some remarks on the Minister’s speech, called on Caitriona Mullan to give her opening remarks.
She first spoke of how common EU membership and citizenship made reaching the Good Friday Agreement more possible in 1998. The Good Friday Agreement was the first time in the EU that there was a framework for human rights in the context of diversity and diversity of identity.
She mentioned the German term of belonging to somewhere (zugehörigkeit) from resident and technical citizenship, which were needed to achieve the Good Friday Agreement. Common EU membership and citizenship gave practical expression through the Agreement, to the idea that an individual can simultaneously carry various layers of identity, rather than being forced to choose.
Caitriona highlighted how the Council of Europe’s European Convention on Human Rights provided some of the DNA for the different kinds of recognitions that are inherent in the Agreement.
She said it was important to recognize the role of EU regional policy in the Agreement, in particular the overall functioning across the EU. In particular, how that played out in the UK government’s process in the 1990s of devolved regional governments in the UK. That was important in how it became possible to set up the Northern Ireland Executive. There was a structural framework within the UK which had been influenced by EU policy.
In terms of the relationship between Ireland, EU and Member States, the island of Ireland has the only cross-border and interjurisdictional cooperation architecture in all of Europe. Not only transposed into domestic law on the basis of an international peace treaty, but also endorsed by universal plebiscite into different jurisdictions – that is unique.
Important now for developing cross-border trade and north-south, but for real business integration across the island of Ireland, which can benefit the economies of Ireland and the UK.
The land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, as Caitriona highlights, to be a source of very good practice and very good governance models for territorial cooperation, which should be of interest to all our EU colleagues. What is present on the island of Ireland is significant deep structural architecture for working across the land border, and across maritime borders. This gave expression to Article 174 of the Treaty on the Function of the EU, in particular, to the special needs of disadvantaged border areas of the EU, and the need for balancing that.
The majority of people in Northern Ireland did vote to remain in the EU, as a result, emotional, social or culture have not been cut with the EU. There does need to be a stabilization of economic ties, in context of respecting the principles of the Good Friday Agreement.
She highlighted how it is disappointing that Northern Ireland does not have a voice in the European Parliament. If it was not for the Good Friday Agreement which allowed Irish citizenship to be extended to them, Brexit in another world, could have stripped us of our EU citizenship.
In terms of how Ireland does cooperation across its only land border, which is now an external EU border, is significant for EU external relations. The Northern Ireland Executive offices’ overseas division have a very strong and active presence in Brussels. Important for colleagues in Member States to know that they can engage with that office as a unique contributor to the European conversation on a whole range of issues that Northern Ireland has experience in due its EU membership to date. Deep knowledge in issues such as cross-border mobility, animal health, etc.
She next moved onto the different strands in the Good Friday Agreement and the Windsor Framework, saying that it is hugely important that we get Strand One institutions up and running. There has been political cooperation from Strand One that has continued uninterrupted in one particular area in north-south cooperation, and that is in local government, regional cross-border partnerships. “It can be the something that can hold things together and it has provided a huge basis for keeping stability in the Irish border region over the last 25 years.”
In terms of the next few years and decades, Caitriona would like to see Northern Ireland become an economic asset for the EU’s Single Market and for both the domestic economics of both Ireland and the UK. “If this wins, everyone wins”, as it will allow an opportunity to permanently change the economic story of Northern Ireland, and the often complex social and economic inequalities that underpinned the conflict.
She would also like to see Northern Ireland become part of a wider conversation around how the EU can continue to recognize and enhance human rights diversity and inclusion, and across Ireland and the UK. Northern Ireland was the only area in the EU that implemented a post-conflict reconstruction program, where there is a lot of knowledge and practice in Norther Ireland’s experience in this area which could be very informative for the EU – both technical and intuitive. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means that has taken on a new level of significance.
She concluded by saying: “Call us [Northern Ireland] the lace trim on the garment of Europe, that dresses it up a little bit, and maybe makes it a little bit more appealing to engage with”.
After a brief set of comments from Noelle O Connell, she invited Rory Montgomery to give his opening remarks for the event.
He highlighted how, while the EU did not play a particularly big role in the negotiations of the Good Friday Agreement, however, it created a context or an arena for discussion and cooperation. Further, the removal of customs posts due to the introduction of the EU’s Single Market helped in softening of the border before the Good Friday Agreement.
The Irish Government recognised the serious threat that Brexit could pose to the island of Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement. When he was at the Department of the Taoiseach in December 2014, a paper was written about the possibility of a UK departure – the word Brexit had not even been invented then.
Overall, Rory explained that the Irish Government achieved good outcomes in a number of important areas. The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland effectively tried to safeguard north-south cooperation, protect human rights as underpinned by the EU’s Acquis Communautaire, and maintain the Ireland – UK Common Travel Area that predates the EU membership for both countries.
From the day after the referendum, the Irish Government worked very hard to put Irish issues at the centre of the Brexit negotiations, to which Ireland was very successful due to two reasons. The first was that there was a huge diplomatic push to talk to partners across the EU, but pushing what was an open door, as there was a very quick and immediate response in the EU to the maintenance of the Good Friday Agreement.
Acceptance across EU of the Irish analysis of the centrality of the Good Friday Agreement, in particular the border issue, that there could be no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland. UK government broadly accepted this too.
The essential mechanism to achieve this was regulatory alignment, which kept Northern Ireland effectively in the EU’s Single Market for goods, and the EU’s Customs Union. Theresa May tried to apply that to the whole UK, which Rory believes would not have worked, as it would have delivered Brexit in name only.
Rory spoke of how there would have to be some sort of border checks somewhere. If they were not going to be north-south, or between the island of Ireland and the European continent, there would have to be some sort of arrangements between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Unionists became alarmed by this, but they opposed Theresa May’s deal, and their opposition continued to progressively harden after Boris Johnsons’ deal with the EU. Unionists believed that his government could overturn the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Once the implementation of the Protocol began after January 2021, practical issues began to become apparent with the movement of food, or bringing your pet from Scotland to Northern Ireland, etc.
Rory then outlined the main elements for Unionists in Northern Ireland to oppose the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland:
Technical measures – many of which have been dealt with by the Windsor Framework.
Differentiation between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Democratic deficit.
It was through the DUP’s pressure in withdrawing from the Northern Ireland Executive allowed the UK government to push for changes in the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland through the Windsor Framework which some thought was not possible.
He then spoke of how while many would prefer the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland was not there, people in Northern Ireland see it as necessary, and welcome its softening. He cites polling which says that it has had a negative impact on political stability and weakening of the position within the UK.
He concludes by saying that the whole process has weakened the operation of the Good Friday Agreement, it has increased the salience within Unionism of a strand of opinions which never accepted the Good Friday Agreement, it raises questions about the viability of the agreement, which would have been inconceivable a few years ago, and it has reopened the question of a united Ireland. The chaos of the monumental change of Brexit might have a negative impact on the potential process of a united Ireland.
In the negotiations where was a popular phase “the duty of hope”, that was first used by Dick Spring, which we have to hope for now.
Noelle O Connell then hosted a panel discussion with an audience questions and answers session.
In the first question from the audience, she asked the Minister how the Windsor Framework has been received by his counterparts in the EU, and what in his views are the next steps for the Windsor Framework?
He responded by say that the Windsor Framework has been broadly welcomed by his counterparts at the Council of the EU. Upholding the EU’s Single Market is a key issue which many of his counterparts are keenly focused on. The real-time data sharing agreement between the EU and UK in January rebuilt significant trust with the UK. In terms of the next steps, with the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the House of Commons moving ahead of passing it, “its full steam ahead” in his own view.
Noelle next posed an audience question to Rory and Caitriona on what they believed the DUP wanted from the ‘Stormont break’ in the Windsor Framework?
Rory responded by saying that it threads a narrow line in reassuring Unionism and adding to complications to the Northern Ireland Assembly in due course and raises questions about Northern Ireland’s role in the EU’s Single Market.
Caitriona responded by saying that she had no idea about what the DUP was thinking about this. What she does see is economic difficulties in electoral areas of Unionists, which could be turned around by the economic prosperity under the Windsor Framework. In terms of concerns of Northern Ireland diverging from the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland has already diverged on quite several human rights issues for quite a long time. These were resolved by Westminster legislation (marriage equality, access to abortion services). Northern Ireland is the only part of Ireland and the UK that does not have a health strategy for women.
Stormont break gives a parliamentary choice to a regional parliament in the UK to choose to accept additional European legislation in the future. That, according to Caitriona, is being done through a repaired dynamic between London and Brussels, which she says is a significant story. Will the action taken by the DUP be seen in time be applied by other regions of the EU?
The next audience question that Noelle posed to the Minister, was his thoughts of the challenging facing the island of Ireland within the European context over the coming years.
He mentioned that there are any number of challenges. He focused on the EU’s Single Market, due to the Inflation Reduction Act and China, and how larger EU Member States have to meet the challenges that they bring. But the EU’s Single Market offers a level playing field for smaller countries such as Ireland. He mentioned that he is keen to promote in the Irish educational system and highlight to young people what it means to be a European citizen and the evidence of what the EU has done.
Noelle posed the next question to Caitriona about how best to capture the current conversation around the Good Friday Agreement?
She responded by saying that there is a danger in a loss of memory around this particular issue. She recommended that there needs to be a dialogue that looks at what the Good Friday Agreement offers to young people from both Ireland and the UK, such as their rights that they are entitled to, what are their human rights, to how to we achieve diversity? She highlighted that if nothing is done, will be a lost institutional memory. She spoke of how as someone who was born just after Bloody Sunday, her generation has carried all that with them in terms of memories and experiences.
Noelle then asked Rory about what are the key takeaways from his involvement in the Good Friday Agreement that can be applied to the current process with the Windsor Framework.
He responded by saying that if social media was present in 1998, there would not have been any agreement. He said that sometimes the absence of communication did no harm. Northern Ireland had a real generation of titans such as John Hume and David Trimble. He quoted Aristotle of logos, ethos, and pathos. Logos is the facts and information, ethos is the authority and credibility with which the person speaks, and pathos which is about emotion and understanding. He states that the key point is to always bring things back to their essentials, not to get hung up on point of detail.
Caitriona also added to this question. She said that we are in era where communications have dramatically changed things, where the pandemic drove people into a virtual world and lead to a worsening of relations with people. Where people were prepared to say things on social media that they would not say to someone’s face in a room with them. Post-Covid-19 it is important to get people back into room’s together and talk to one another. She ended by saying, jokingly, that if twitter had existed in 1998, she does not know what it might have been like.
Noelle’s final audience question, to the Minister, asked if the Good Friday Agreement will be changed or adjusted in future or will it remain the same for the next 25 years.
He said that he would be very reluctant to start unpicking it. He acknowledged that configurations change, and that can be observed in politics in Northern Ireland. The Minister said that he would be very slow to unravel pieces of that document. In its current form, it has drawn communities together, and provided the framework such as for the British – Irish Council. Ministerial meetings could be so much more, with the Minister saying that it needs to live up to the aspiration that are in the Good Friday Agreement. He said that we’re at our best when we’re cooperating and working closely together, and that is what we really need to focus going into the future.
Noelle O Connell closed the event by thanking the panel for their insights and thoughts throughout the event, Matthias Barner and Katie O’ Connor at KAS, the staff at European Movement Ireland for their help that day and the audience for joining in for the event.
You can watch a recording of the event here