N Ireland fears loss of EU support for peace

BELFAST: The EU has long aided efforts to heal the deep divisions that plague Northern Ireland, and many people on both sides of the sectarian rift fear what might happen when Brexit forces it to walk away.

Since a 1998 peace deal ended three decades of violence between Protestant pro-British unionists and Catholic Irish nationalists, in which 3 600 died, the EU has pumped about €1.5 billion (R23.6bn) into projects to shore up that peace – more than any other body apart from the British state.

It has enjoyed broad support and influence as a force viewed by both sides as a neutral broker separate from the British government, which is distrusted by many nationalists, and the Irish government, distrusted by many unionists.

It has been able to take on projects others shy away from, such as the reintegration of former militants, both IRA and pro-union loyalists, and support for relatives of dead fighters.

Brexit is already rattling the region by raising concerns it will lead to a hard border with EU member Ireland. For some in both communities, the idea of a new, rigid frontier stirs painful memories of the British Army watchtowers and checkpoints that peppered the border during the decades of bloodshed.

“It’s a very fragile situation here, and in Westminster there seems to be a lack of consideration for Northern Ireland,” said Kate Clifford, director of the Rural Community Network, a community group that has received peace funding in the past.

“Without an EU peace programme behind that, without the impetus of the external force that is Europe, that honest broker, things will become very difficult.”

While no one expects a return to the widespread violence of Northern Ireland’s “Troubles” of the 1960s to 1990s, sectarian tensions still run high.

Some British ministers argue that savings from leaving the bloc would allow the government to match all EU funding and last month British Prime Minister Theresa May said her government would consider replacing that European money. – Reuters