Fiona Flood, Brexit and EU Director at the Embassy of Ireland in London was the guest speaker at the March dinner of the Eastbourne European Movement. As an Irish citizen, she spoke with beguiling charm and, as an experienced diplomat from outside the UK, with great tact.
In her talk about the Irish-British relationship afer Brexit, Fiona characterised the UK-Eire relationship in terms of three important aspects: the joint interest in Ulster, trade and people. She noted that a large number of British and Irish people had both ancestry and tastes in common.
She remarked that the Irish government sees its most important external relatonship as with the UK. This is a consequence partly of the two countries’ close geographical proximity and partly of their common history. The Irish government is increasing its diplomatc representation in the Britain: as well as the Embassy of Ireland in London, there are now consulates in Cardiff, Edinburgh and the north of England. She commented that the Irish government’s priorities post-Brexit are to preserve the Good Friday Peace agreement and to keep open the border with Ulster. She noted that both countries are co-guarantors of the Good Friday Peace agreement.
She observed that post-Brexit, the UK now accounts for 20% of exports from Eire – formerly it was 60%. She was aware of several engineering businesses in Northern Ireland that are major employers and are critically dependent on keeping the border with Eire open. Much of the export trade from the Irish republic to continental Europe now travels directly from Eire to ports in France and the Netherlands – transport through the UK now is time-consuming and laborious. However, she commented that the British appetite for Cheddar had long been satisfed with Irish cheese and that Irish milk sometimes crossed the border several tmes before it was sold as cheese in shops in the UK.
Fiona commented that the EU considered that the Northern Ireland Protocol had been agreed to and signed by the British government in good faith. This is the key agreement which keeps the border between Ulster and the Republic of Ireland open for trade. She noted that technical discussions on the implementation of the Protocol were ongoing, but saw no appetite in the EU to re-negotate this agreement. She anticipated that progress on the implementaton of the Protocol would be delayed until after the new elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly in May this year.
She reflected that the enduring purpose of the EU is to prevent war in Europe. With the Ukraine Russia war in mind, EU countries generally are now recognising how valuable the EU is.
The next European Movement Eastbourne dinner is on 13 April 2022 when the speaker will be Dr Andrew Blick, Professor of Politics and Contemporary History, Kings College London. If you would like to know more about the European Movement in Eastbourne or attend one of its dinners, please call Paula Welch on 07510 851722.
