Simon Coveney is not likely to have much time for crying over any spilled milk. After the recent game of musical chairs between Dublin and Brussels, he remains firmly seated in Iveagh House at a time of immense challenge for Irish foreign policy.
Since passing up on one of the two Government nominations to replace Phil Hogan, Coveney has highlighted in particular the importance of the ongoing Brexit negotiations. He understands well that Brexit is far from done. The coming months will be dominated by the European Union’s continued efforts to reach a minimal, but nevertheless important, deal with the United Kingdom. At the same time, because of the UK government’s apparent determination to overplay its hand, preparations for no Brexit deal have to be stepped up. In parallel, the detailed implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol remains to be agreed and put in place.
Ireland's greatest EU challenge is not Brexit itself, but rather deploying our limited negotiating ammunition to influence Europe's wide, complex and evolving agenda to advance our national priorities
Coveney has also rightly highlighted the opportunities offered by Ireland’s recent election to the UN Security Council. Not long ago, he bemoaned that the all-consuming nature of Brexit meant he has spent two years as “Brexit minister first and foreign minister second”. It is understandable that he should now look forward from next year to devoting more time to Ireland’s wider foreign policy agenda and in particular to the immense responsibilities arising from our Security Council membership. Coveney’s leadership played a key role in Ireland’s successful UN campaign and he has the ability and experience to maximise Ireland’s impact.
However, beyond Brexit and the United Nations, three other areas will make great demands on his time and energies.
First, Northern Ireland is a self-defining priority for any Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Minister travels there almost every week.
Second, more time and energy will need to be devoted to nurturing Ireland’s bilateral relationship with the UK in the new world in which we no longer belong to the same European structures, sit around the same European tables, pursue the same European priorities or share the same European perspective.
Third, crucially, Ireland will need to devote greater priority to protecting and promoting its interests in the EU beyond Brexit. Ireland’s greatest EU challenge is not Brexit itself, but rather deploying our limited negotiating ammunition to influence Europe’s wide, complex and evolving agenda to advance our national priorities. The recent, almost exclusive, focus on the Brexit aspect of the trade commissioner’s portfolio demonstrated that the importance to Ireland of wider European issues is not fully grasped here.
The support of our EU partners was important in securing our Security Council seat. We will use that seat, in part, to advance shared European priorities including on development and multilateralism itself
Foremost among the areas to which the Minister should devote more time is thus the wider EU agenda. European economic and trade issues are of immense importance to Ireland. We can shape and will be affected by the EU’s new green and digital priorities, as well as by its handling of security, migration, agriculture and the rule of law. There are also profound questions about the future of the euro zone and of the EU as a whole.
All Irish Ministers, most notably the Taoiseach, play an important role in EU negotiations. However, the role of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and his department is crucial, not just in terms of EU issues that come under his direct responsibility but in terms of co-ordination, leadership and perspective. Our largest diplomatic mission is our Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels. We have embassies in every other EU member state. The work of every Irish diplomatic mission around the world is shaped by our EU membership.
The wider EU agenda is the Irish foreign policy priority that will require greatest effort and imagination in the years ahead. Because of its complexity, it involves hard slog and is rarely sexy. It is, however, existential for Ireland and will remain so long after our valuable years on the Security Council.
I have no doubt Coveney will continue to do his job well, that he will continue to impress both on Brexit and Northern Ireland and that he can have a personal impact on some important global issues during Ireland’s Security Council membership. At the same time, it is essential to recall that his scorecard must also include an evaluation of Ireland’s impact in Europe. He will rightly travel regularly to New York and anywhere that Ireland can make a difference. However, a crucial metric of his priorities will be how frequently he travels to Brussels and other EU capitals.
Fortunately, there are natural synergies across Ireland’s foreign policy priorities. The support of our EU partners was important in securing our Security Council seat. We will use that seat, in part, to advance shared European priorities including on development and multilateralism itself. UN issues will naturally be high on the agenda of the Minister’s meetings with his EU counterparts. However, it is essential that EU issues should top those agendas.
Bobby McDonagh is a former ambassador to London, Rome and the EU