Euroscepticism is a whisper that’s “growing louder” in the Republic, according to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Helen McEntee will on Thursday give a speech to set out her priorities for Ireland’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union. Ms McEntee’s will be the leading Government department for the six-month presidency, which begins in July.
In a speech at an event hosted by the European Parliament Liaison Office and the European Commission Representation in Ireland, Ms McEntee will say that the Republic “enjoys very high levels of support for the EU”.
“Despite this, I am concerned by a rising level of euro scepticism in our country. It’s still a whisper but it’s growing louder. It puts forward the seductive populist claim that our problems ... do not lie in our own hands, they must be the fault of somebody else – and the EU or “Brussels” is a convenient somebody.
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“I want to foster a national conversation on Europe because ... we cannot allow these whispers to go unchallenged.”
In her first significant speech on EU policy since becoming the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms McEntee will tell the event that three of the main themes of the State’s presidency will be security, competitiveness and values.
“Without security, there can be no prosperity. Without competitiveness, we cannot sustain our societies. And without values, none of it matters.”
Ms McEntee will say the State is “living in a new moment in history. A moment where events move at extraordinary speed, where assumptions we once took for granted are being challenged”. It comes less than 24 hours after a dramatic de-escalation in tensions between the EU and the US, after President Donald Trump announced that he had reached a provisional agreement with Nato on the future of Greenland.
Mr Trump also withdrew a threat to impose tariffs on eight Nato countries, which he had announced as part of his plans to attempt to buy Greenland against the Danish territory’s wishes.
On Wednesday night, he also said he is discussing plans for a “golden dome” missile defence that he wants to develop on Greenland.
