Bobby McDonagh: Time for a bit of perspective on EU relations

The French have an old saying: "il faut remettre l'église au milieu du village", which suggests that it is sometimes important to get things back into proportion and perspective. Literally it means, "the church should be restored to its place at the centre of the village". It is a phrase I sometimes heard around the negotiating table in Brussels.

As the dust settles on the European Commission’s serious mistake in moving to trigger article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol, it is time to restore some perspective.

The recent triggering of article 16 was indeed a grave mistake and has been acknowledged as such

Even though the commission’s proposal was immediately withdrawn once the error was identified, the episode has done significant damage. The mistake has rightly been highlighted and its consequences analysed. But it is important to ensure that the lessons we draw are the right ones. The wrong lessons would do further damage.

There are three particularly important elements of perspective.

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The first concerns the European Union’s support for Northern Ireland. The EU has a long-standing and richly-deserved reputation for supporting the peace process, undoubtedly a factor in the opposition of most of the people of Northern Ireland to Brexit.

Over several decades, EU governments have enthusiastically given billions of euro of their own taxpayers’ money, through the EU budget, to support the Northern Ireland peace programme and will continue to do so even after Brexit. The commission has always had an open door for delegations from Northern Ireland and their concerns. The European Parliament, graced over the years by some distinguished MEPs from Northern Ireland, has also been steadfast in its support.

Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the commission, supported to the hilt by all member states, has placed the protection of the Belfast Agreement front and centre of the EU’s priorities, including during times when the possible impact of Brexit on the peace process had to be drawn to the attention of others.

The recent triggering of article 16 was indeed a grave mistake and has been acknowledged as such. It seems to have resulted from tone-deaf overzealousness on the part of those dealing, under pressure, with the vaccine issue and from a failure to consult those, including Michel Barnier, who had negotiated the protocol and fully understood that nothing about it can ever be considered merely technical.

But the recent screw-up does not, as some intemperate comments imply, negate the decades of EU support for Northern Ireland or the value of its continued support. Nor does it mean that the commission is insensitive to Northern Ireland, even if it may be in the predictable interests of some to suggest that it is. Still less does it justify random abuse of the commission.

A second element of necessary perspective concerns Ireland’s relationship with its EU partners. A single reported comment by an unnamed diplomat in Brussels – namely that “there is a growing concern that Dublin is tempted to follow a policy of equidistance between the EU and the UK on Northern Ireland” and that this would be risky strategy – has been blown out of all proportion.

The unattributed comment reflects a misunderstanding of Ireland’s position as a member state of the EU. Ireland does not “choose” between an EU position and a UK one. Ireland, as part of the EU, shapes every EU policy by inputting our national concerns and, once a position is agreed with Ireland’s input, we support it. Our input to the EU’s Brexit policy as it relates to Northern Ireland has, by common consent, been exceptional. This has reflected both the EU’s receptivity and the Irish Government’s recognition that on this, as on other issues, our influence depends on constructive diplomacy, reciprocal sensitivity and well-judged firmness rather than on huffing and puffing into megaphones.

The Irish Government will rightly continue to support the maximum degree of flexibility in its application compatible with the integrity of the single market. That is also the EU's overall approach

The third essential element of perspective is that the protocol remains firmly in place despite the serious missteps in both London and Brussels. It is still as necessary as it is imperfect. It was agreed by the UK and the EU, after several years of difficult negotiations, to minimise the negative impact of Brexit on the peace process. The recent article 16 debacle, far from suggesting that the article should now be triggered for a different purpose, as some unionists argue, suggests the very opposite. Were that to happen, it should be met by similar howls of outrage.

Both sides need to work together to ensure that the protocol is applied both flexibly and effectively. The Irish Government will rightly continue to support the maximum degree of flexibility in its application compatible with the integrity of the single market. That is also the EU’s overall approach. In the ongoing definition of the EU’s detailed position, Ireland’s particular sensitivity to the different strands of opinion Northern Ireland will be factored in and valued by our EU partners.

Bobby McDonagh is a former ambassador to London, Rome and Brussels