Northern Ireland and EU Representation
On April 12th, 2024, at the Dundalk IT campus, an Institute of Technology situated in a small town close to the Ireland and Northern Ireland border, a small EUact2 debate took place, organized by European Movement Ireland. From earlier involvements in EUact2 activities, the topic of Northern Ireland and EU Representation re-appeared as a concern to communities on both sides of the border. The discussion, therefore, brought together a number of high-level speakers and engaged citizens to discuss the common themes, challenges and opportunities of including Northern Ireland in the EU decision-making process in the post-Brexit era.
Dr. Jane Morrice (Former Vice President of the European Economic and Social Committee and former Deputy Speaker of the NI Assembly) spoke about communities living in Northern Ireland and those who are Irish, and as an extension, European citizens who have now lost their right to vote in the upcoming elections. From Jane's perspective, there is little that can be offered from the Republic in terms of the potential for EU citizens who are residents of NI and are seeking to engage with the upcoming elections. The question of how these citizens can still have their voices heard was discussed. For example, should the NI Executive Office in Brussels have more power to represent the needs of citizens? Could Northern Ireland be given a special status within the European Parliament, given that such a large proportion of the population remains European citizens? Is European citizenship as a concept of shared values itself devalued if it is only relevant whilst living in an EU country?
The conversation also focused greatly on youth engagement with both the EU and the role of cross-border youth and community work between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Aoife Murphy, a youth activist, spoke of her experiences of feeling more connected to her peers in Britain than in the South despite living on a shared island. Moreover, she discussed the lack of access to EU education and, as an extension, EU opportunities for young people in the North. To her, it is particularly interesting that so many students in NI choose to continue their studies in England, Scotland or Wales, while so few travel to Irish cities, such as Dublin, for university.
Eliz McArdle focused her contributions on enhancing cross-border engagement in terms of youth work and the often negative connotations of the North young people in the South can have due to a lack of crossover. While there are some differences in terms of currency or schooling systems, there is much more in common, and the young people of the South can, in fact, be a bridging point in terms of Northern Ireland's engagement with the EU.
Her contributions were complemented by audience members working for the National Youth Council whose colleagues had recently participated in EESC roundtables focused on EU-UK Youth Engagement. Their final report, released recently, highlights the role of CSOs in developing EU-UK relations and notes that the CSO sector is ready to develop this relationship.
Moreover, building on points made by speaker Aoife Murphy on the importance of programmes such as Erasmus remaining accessible to NI students for greater opportunity, the new EESC report also suggests the EC ramp up its negotiations with the UK to ensure the full reintegration of the UK into Erasmus+. The importance of this was highlighted by several audience members who themselves had participated in Erasmus programmes.
Finally, the audience and speakers highlighted the importance of positive NI engagement with the EU for maintaining peace. Through EU membership, Northern Ireland received millions in peace funding, which contributes directly to projects focused on youth, reconciliation and education. The EU brings economic advantages to the region and supports stability.
