Irish influence in the EU – this is no time for complacency

Sir, – I wish to write in response to the article “Ignore the negativity. Michael McGrath’s new job is a win for Ireland” (Barry Andrews, Opinion & Analysis, September 18th). While it is true that Ireland continues to punch above our weight at EU level, we should not over-exaggerate our current levels of influence or ignore some of the flashing red lights. It is simply a fact that over the past five years, Ireland has gone from holding one of the most influential portfolios in the European Commission to one that is comparatively much less significant. Separately, we are also clearly still adjusting our strategic approach towards an EU that no longer has the UK as a member. Thirdly, to say that our ability to win bids for EU agencies is a result of political strategies within European parliamentary groups is quite facile (as an aside, none of the Renew negotiators supported Dublin to host the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority in the final vote either), when in reality it is much more a function of our need to develop new strategies to rally the support of smaller EU member states in order to prevent such bids being dominated by candidacies from large states like Germany and France.

Such strategies should obviously involve more effective tactics than voting against the president of the European Commission and then expecting a reward in return.

At the end of the day, influence in the EU comes from building alliances and relationships of trust over a long period of time and making use of such relationships to deliver on your strategic priorities. In today’s EU, we are far from isolated but we no longer have the automatic support of a large member state (the UK) on some important economic questions. This has prompted much reevaluation but also creates opportunities, as Eoin Drea points out (“Michael McGrath’s new job in Europe shows just how far Ireland’s stock has fallen”, Opinion & Analysis, September 17th), for Irish leadership in an alliance of similarly-minded smaller member states. This is recognised across Government and a number of important initiatives are being pursued, including supporting Irish candidates applying for jobs in the European Commission. As the EU faces new geopolitical, economic, and budgetary challenges, we should rightly identify what is working for us, what isn’t, and continue to renew our approach in order to maximise our influence for the benefit of all Europeans. – Yours, etc,

REGINA DOHERTY, MEP,