Ireland cannot afford to risk leaving future of EU in hands of others

WHILE Brexit has been making the headlines in Ireland for obvious reasons in recent months, there is a major debate taking place in Brussels about the future of Europe and how it needs to reform.

For once, the EU Commission does not have all the answers. In fact, the recent white paper by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was a frank admission that it is up to the member states to take a leading role in setting out what direction Europe should take.

Tomorrow, the EU marks the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which effectively started the European Union. EU leaders will go there and the discussion will be all about the future of Europe.

How is the EU to respond to the challenge of Brexit? Can the rise of the populist hard right and hard left be stopped by making the EU work better for ordinary people? Is Europe to become effectively a two or three-speed entity?

We can’t be agnostic on all these questions. The future direction of the EU never features in Irish domestic politics and is ignored in all election campaigns. Take the Dutch election last week – the entire debate between Prime Minister Mark Rutte and populist Geert Wilders (inset) over the closing part of the campaign centred on Europe’s future and how Dutch politics engaged with that future.

In contrast, in Ireland we see the future direction of Europe as something that others will decide for us. Silence for us is not an option. We have to get down and dirty into this debate, network with others and build alliances with other similar-sized countries on our priorities.

We have to accept that the reare huge policy choices facing the EU post-Brexit. We can no longer hide under the skirts of the UK and sit back as passive observers while others set the agenda. The fundamental question is whether we need more or less Europe? We don’t need a new grand design. We need Europe to deliver on things that people care about – like jobs for our youth and improving our standard of living. Of course, EU co-ordination in certain areas is needed. It is about keeping the focus on ‘better regulation’ and maximising the things that Europe is good at, such as the single market, boosting trade and consumer protection. It is essentially about delivering on all the things that we have said we would deliver on. The sensitive issues for Ireland in the next stages of EU development will be a move towards an EU Defence Union, further reform of the Eurozone, and the establishment of a real common EU asylum policy. Many will see Brexit as an opportunity to push for a so-called United States of Europe. Remember the brash response of the six founding EU member states who gathered together two days after the Brexit referendum to say to the world that we need an “ever closer union”? That rightly drew scorn and came across as elitist, not just to EU citizens, but to those counties not invited to take part. What we should be arguing for in a post-Brexit environment is a reformed and better EU that is more connected with its citizens. When your third largest member decides to leave after more than 40 years of membership, you know that it cannot just be business as usual. I see three priority areas for us right now.

Firstly and most importantly, we need a proper solution to the migration crisis in the EU. There needs to be solidarity between all countries, it cannot just be Sweden and Germany accepting the great majority of refugees. And it is really up to the commission to be a strong enforcer of a common EU asylum policy.

Secondly, we need to have a real commitment to the completion of the single market – that means putting in place a proper common market for digital and financial services goods, and finally delivering on an EU energy union.

Thirdly, we need more engagement between national parliaments and EU institutions. Frankly, the Dáil and Seanad have very little engagement with the EU legislative process.

National parliaments have the chance to flag objections to any EU legislation, but to trigger a formal ‘yellow card’, objections need to be raised by at least one third of national parliaments. This yellowcard system has not worked well and needs to be reformed to give parliaments more of a say throughout the legislative process. More of a say in putting the brakes on things that cannot work.

The post-Brexit EU will hold many challenges for Ireland but this should not frighten us. Being part of a strong EU is good for Ireland. We have benefited so much from the EU through structural funds, single market access and having a greater say on international issues. I have repeatedly argued that our response to Brexit must be a pivot towards Europe. It is an opportunity to deepen our trade links and increase our exports to the rest of the EU.

But we cannot let France and Germany decide which direction Europe takes. We need to be right in the midst of that debate.