GERARD O’REGAN: Our EU ties will face testing times in the months ahead – but we must keep the faith
THERE is nothing like the foodie challenges of a Parisian restaurant menu to check the credentials of those of us who like to see ourselves as both ‘Irish’ and ‘European’. Even with English translation, the nuances of the shellfish or the frogs legs on offer can test the outer reaches of the typical Irish palate.
Add in the overweening presence of a waiter who would like to conduct all business in fluent French, and it’s tempting for the Irish visitor to concede defeat and order the familiar and predictable. A detailed discussion on the intricacies of the menu, unless one is super-confident in often unknown territory, is fraught with risk.
The typical waiter’s innate sense of superiority in such matters reaches overdrive when he sees a pale faced Irish – or indeed British – customer.
Accordingly, there is a risk of serious humiliation if one should debate in detail what’s on offer. No wonder, despite having made many advances in recent years by way of acquiring some Gallic sophistication, we all too often plump for one of the old reliables.
So it’s more to be Quiche Lorraine – rather than Poisson Meunière with considerations of brown butter sauce – which will challenge our taste buds.
But culinary matters apart, other members of the EU are more mysterious to us than the French. For example, the latest in Italian opposition politics, or the foreign policy fixations of the Czech Republic, rarely enthuse many Irish Europhiles.
However, in recent months, as matters pertaining to Brexit reached a crescendo, many of us have been reminded of the European side of our psyche. But really embracing it is not without challenge. The whole idea of the EU is usually an appeal to the head rather than the heart.
It is essentially an economic collective primarily concerned with money and trade. Feeling European is still a vague enough concept, always battling against the centuries-old regionalised nationalism.
But in Ireland there is an ongoing assurance in having that now familiar blue EU flag, emboldened with stars to represent citizens, flying in conjunction with our own tricolour. And there is a certain stirring undertone to the Euro anthem based on Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’. Played mostly on ceremonial occasions, it is still a resounding call for the coming together of diverse peoples and countries, some of whom regularly waged war against one another over the centuries.
In the early years of our membership, direct support for farmers, and an ageing roads network, were the more tangible benefits of being part of the world’s largest trading block. The upside has become more intangible in recent times – but having access to such a vast market has been a key calling card for Ireland luring American high-tech companies here.
Brexit has, on various levels, made us reflect on our EU membership. Some of the high jinks on the international stage will have persuaded many to happily classify themselves as ‘Irish’ and ‘European’. This is in contrast to a residual antipathy to the mandarins in Brussels by leading members of the DUP. Such negative feelings are also obvious in a motley crew of English nationalists, still battling for their dream of a hard Brexit.
This latter group almost becomes misty eyed with dreams of former days of empire. Back then, Britannia ruled the waves, and could pursue endless free trade deals, unfettered by any pesky EU rules. Yet it’s easy to simplify such feelings. All nationalities need their delusions – the Irish are no exception.
Sometimes the Brexiteers annoy us because of their obvious lack of knowledge or interest in this country. But their inability to properly pronounce Tánaiste, and on occasions Varadkar, is a symptom of laziness rather than disregard. It is best ignored.
In any case, we are not as starry eyed about our European allies as we might have been in those early days of membership. Our traumas brought about by the financial bailout ended an age of innocence as to decisions taken in Brussels or Frankfurt.
Some analysts, then and now, insist we were turned over, and forced to accept an unacceptably high debt repayment deal. We had to pay for our spendthrift ways. But there was also foolishness among others, such as German lending institutions, and their variations of reckless lending.
Still, thanks to EU membership, we were able to call on all those
billions to dig us out of a financial black hole. That whole experience was a reminder we have to be ever watchful.
But the UK’s decision to leave has forged all sorts of new alliances and allegiances. The Irish Government says it wants to preserve the favourable state of Anglo Irish relations. It also wants to keep Northern Unionists on side.
But equally, we have to look after number one – the Republic of Ireland – as the jostling for a favoured position in a post-Brexit world intensifies.
One of the intriguing consequences of the Brexit drama is whether EU unity will hold. It will be an ongoing challenge for the Brussels bureaucracy to keep everybody on the same page – particularly if the UK tries to exploit any perceived differences to serve its own interests.
So in 2018 – while the British continue their long goodbye – the tie that binds those who remain will be tested as never before. But as of now we can be cautiously hopeful about what the new year may bring.
Powerful people in Brussels have told us they will be on our side when we confront challenges to come. We have no reason to disbelieve them.