Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 26 November 2019 - Strasbourg

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 12 and 13 December 2019 (debate)

  Martina Anderson (GUE/NGL). – A chairde, whatever the outcome of the Westminster election on 12 December – I will be voting for Elisha McCallion in Derry – and whatever the latest decision on Brexit, the uncertainty and damage done to Ireland by its larger neighbour will damage the EU too.

In April 2017, the European Council said reunification would result in the whole of Ireland automatically entering the EU. Partition is not only Ireland’s problem, it’s now the EU’s problem too, and Irish unity is the solution for Ireland and for the EU.

If you want to protect EU citizens from post—Brexit Britain’s lower standard of goods entering your market, then you need to help remove the British border in Ireland. Its democratic removal is outlined in the Good Friday Agreement, so support the constructive and positive debate about constitutional change in Ireland. Even the Fine Gael government’s youth wing has called for a unity referendum within five years. Irish unity is no longer an aspiration: it’s a project. A wise European Council would know that, and only a foolish one would ignore it.