The Brexit agreement negotiated between the European Commission and the UK showed considerable advantages for both Northern and Southern Ireland, ensuring that potentially significant disruptions to our trade and political ties were averted. Convincing the other 26 member nations to safeguard Ireland’s unique situational needs in the Brexit talks presented a daunting task, especially given their own pressing domestic issues.
Developing strong personal ties with other political heads was critical. Had Ireland followed Hungary’s lead, adopting obstructive strategies, we would have garnered less sympathy for our concerns. In addition, meticulously securing the backing of their peers was a key effort by Irish MEPs belonging to the main political groups within the European Parliament. This ensured the approval of the deal.
The European Union’s impulsive tendency to revert to national business subsidies may skew the single market towards larger nations. The Housing Commission’s review of the housing crisis spells out a colossal hurdle, though it has one glaring inconsistency.
One major takeaway from Ireland’s Brexit “triumph” is developing a rapport with those at the heart of EU decision-making will be crucial for the next five years to push our interests further. Key priorities for our new MEPs include maintaining and enhancing these relationships. But it’s essential to remember that this cannot be a one-way street. We must also back other nations on their crucial issues and prove ourselves as collaborative players.
[ China threatens to take ‘all necessary measures’ in response to EU’s plan to impose extra tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles ]
The economic progress of Ireland over the past five decades as a European Union (EU) member has been attributed to unrestricted trade with EU member countries and the wider world. Being a small home market, Ireland relies on external trade to achieve economies of scale. Removing trade barriers has been fundamental to fostering business growth and job creation. Any gross reversal of this through the imposition of trade barriers by our trading partners would jeopardise this success.
Tariff barriers are wasteful as they shield domestic producers with higher costs for products that can be produced more affordably overseas. Hence the most economically viable approach for nations is to manufacture goods and services which they can produce more efficiently, while purchasing cheaper products and services from overseas.
Imposing EU tariffs on Chinese electric cars may safeguard EU automotive jobs, but could also protect inefficient and costly EU car manufacturers.
An increase in motorists’ costs and a surge in greenhouse gas emissions is predicted due to the expensive shift towards electric cars. As a country without a domestic car industry, it is somewhat easier for us to present this argument.
China’s alleged unjust subsidisation of its own manufacturers to eclipse foreign producers and secure a significant market presence has stimulated the EU and US’s haste to impose tariff barriers on Chinese goods. The unwelcome truth is that these tariffs are unavoidable, and Ireland should strive to confine trade restrictions with China to items and services with legitimate strategic implications.
Large multinational corporations could casually dismiss small countries’ interests, yet a customer base of 450 million people is a force to be reckoned with. Over the past thirty years, the EU’s economic strategy has consistently prohibited governments from providing subsidies to individual companies to maintain a balanced business environment.
However, with both China and the United States now subsidising their local producers, the EU has defaulted to a similar approach, thereby overturning a longstanding policy. The most favourable strategy would be for such subsidies to be funded from the EU budget, regardless of the company’s location. Currently, the EU allows governments to provide subsidies for new investments in their own countries.
Intel is poised to receive €10 billion from Germany to assist with the €30 billion cost of a new facility. Less affluent and smaller EU countries are unable to emulate this level of support, posing a risk to the EU single market due to the reintroduction of beneficial national subsidies to businesses in larger, wealthier nations.
The EU’s collective action is pivotal in areas where it can make a large impact. Important matters such as consumer protection and climate change cannot be dismissed as the demands of a 450 million-strong market are too influential.
Despite climate change fatigue becoming apparent in some nations, it is crucial that Ireland persistently advocates for the EU’s effective management of climate change and for the implementation of the European Green Deal.
The recent European election campaign in Ireland unfortunately saw little attention paid to many of these pressing issues, apart from some opposition to climate change from certain candidates. The urgency of addressing climate and environmental pollution remains undiminished though, as noted in reports from the likes of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Environmental Protection Agency on the health of Ireland’s rivers.
Our secretaries and freshly appointed group of MEPs possess the capacity to favourably impact the progression of shared EU initiatives that prioritise economic balance and productivity, and assist in safeguarding our Earth.