EU must now look out for Irish citizens ... otherwise it will just be proving UK’s decision right

YESTERDAY, the world awoke to vindication of arguably the greatest political axiom ever: ‘Democracy is the worst form of government… except all those other forms of government that have been tried.’

To say that the decision of the British people was a political earthquake is a grotesque understatement. For many Europeans, particularly on this island, it is the single most consequence-laden event to have occurred in our lifetimes.

It leads to a myriad of largely unanswerable questions: What will the collapse of sterling mean, short term, for the Irish economy? What will this mean for the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland? Will we need passports to visit London? Will our Irish family and friends in Britain have to get visas to stay? What will happen to the United Kingdom? Will Scotland leave? Will that trigger a ‘border poll’? Will we be able to strike a free trade deal with our nearest neighbour? Will our export businesses be hammered? Will our tourism industry suffer appalling losses? Will British-based multinationals decide to relocate to the nearest English-speaking EU member state – ie, here?

The list of questions is almost endless. Normally, such matters develop over years of diplomacy, negotiation and the flow of history; instead, we now have two years to try to put an entire new political arrangement for these islands, indeed for this entire continent, into place. Distant

One thing we must not do, however, is blame the voters. The people of Britain did not vote Out because they wanted to be worse off, to spark an existential crisis within the UK, to create a border with Ireland or to threaten the economic foundations of the world. They voted to leave a European Union which they felt was not representing them or their interests. They voted Out because many of them feared that the sovereignty for which they had fought – just like the people of this Republic fought for our own sovereignty 100 years ago – was being simply handed over to a distant and out-of-touch elite.

They did not vote to ban all foreigners from ever entering Britain; they voted Out because the concerns they raised about the effects of uncontrolled immigration were simply shouted down or ignored.

Moreover, this vote was a manifestation of the same phenomenon which has seen Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump achieve massive popular support in the USA: the sense among millions of working-class people that they have been left behind by global elites, that their voices are not being heard, that their concerns are being ignored and that their rights are simply being trampled on.

What we must not indulge, therefore, is the name-calling that is sadly further blighting an already deeply divided British electorate: we should not call these voters stupid or selfish, but try to understand what they are saying – and try even harder to resolve the diplomatic and financial crisis that this decision could precipitate.

The irony here is that, from an Irish perspective, it is the very same EU which Britain has rejected that will be at the forefront of so many of these decisions – all of which are absolutely crucial to us. It is utterly fundamental to our future prosperity that we are able to trade freely with the United Kingdom. To deny us this right would be catastrophic for the Irish economy. It would punish us for being good Europeans. It would inflict unnecessary suffering on millions of people simply for the sake of making a political point.

It is also utterly fundamental to our future that Irish citizens, as they have done for generations, are allowed to travel freely between these islands.

A ‘hard border’ across the North would do untold damage to the fabric of the peace process which has worked so remarkably for some years now.

Yet it is also clear that Ireland cannot negotiate any bilateral deals with the UK on these points. As we are a member of the EU, we must cede to the EU the right to negotiate on behalf of the entire union. And, as senior members of our own Government are already privately acknowledging, the omens so far are not good.

The language yesterday from the European Commission was terse: president Jean-Claude Juncker insisted gruffly that negotiations on Brexit must begin immediately. There will be no renegotiation. There will be no special deal for Britain. The general attitude of Brussels appeared to be: ‘Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.’

From an Irish perspective, however, this is not acceptable. From the day we joined in 1973, the people of Ireland have been nothing if not good Europeans. Over the past seven years, in particular, we have done what was required for the EU and the euro.

Damage

We have been a Europe-wide example of successful recovery from recession by taking the bitterest of medicine without complaint. We have done our bit for Europe; now Europe has a moral responsibility to Ireland to ensure we are not squashed as they try to stamp on Britain. We cannot be ‘collateral damage’ in the EU’s squabbles with the UK.

And this moral obligation is not just dependent on our past behaviour; every single one of our 4.5million citizens is also a citizen of the EU. Thus it is clear that the EU has an absolute responsibility to them as citizens, and as human beings, not to take actions which will harm them or their interests.

On Tuesday, the 28 political leaders of the members of the EU will meet to discuss the British vote. Both before and during that meeting, the Irish Government must strain every sinew to ensure that the people who direct policymaking within the EU, starting with Angela Merkel, agree that they must take Irish interests into consideration when agreeing exit terms with Britain. It should be made abundantly clear that the EU will do whatever it takes to ensure that its Irish citizens are not disadvantaged by a political decision taken in another country by another people.

Over the last 24 hours, many political commentators have said that the Brexit vote is a defining moment for the EU. What they generally mean is that we will see whether Britain’s departure makes a small ripple – or starts a landslide that brings the entire project crashing down.

We agree that this is the EU’s defining moment – but for a very different reason. The people of Britain have spoken, and we have to respect their decision. The real test now is whether the EU cares enough about its Irish citizens to do the right thing by us – or will they, in their desperate desire to punish the British and make an example of them, hammer the people of Ireland too? For if they do, not only will they be committing a horrific and utterly immoral betrayal; not only will they be promoting the arguments of those who want Ireland to exit the EU too – they will also, by the bitterest of ironies, be proving that the British were right.