Charlie Flanagan: Cool heads will be needed to keep UK in EU

In many ways, the summit of EU leaders on December 17th and 18th brought to an end the "phoney war" on the issue of the UK's membership of the European Union. Recent weeks have seen an upsurge in activity around the issue. As 2015 ends and the new year approaches, the leave/remain referendum is getting closer and the possibility of a UK exit from the EU appears very real.

And yet, while there is no place whatsoever for complacency on this hugely strategic issue, we must remain focused on the tasks at hand. Cool heads tend to prevail, especially when matched with energy and determination.

Much work has yet to be done, in the first instance on securing agreement on a package of reforms among all EU member states, including the UK. The atmosphere at the EU leaders' meeting was constructive. While very difficult issues remain to be resolved, the European Council president, Donald Tusk, said that "leaders voiced their concerns but also demonstrated willingness to look for compromise".

For his part, the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, emphasised to his EU colleagues that the ultimate goal of these negotiations must be continued UK membership of the EU, and that this is in all our best interests. He also set out the particular importance for Ireland of achieving this goal.

Ireland’s approach

Put simply, Ireland’s approach is that the EU states must work together and find solutions to British concerns that are acceptable to all partners. Our approach is not and never will be “agreement at any price” in these negotiations – there remains a lot of work to do on issues relating to freedom of movement, for example – but we will play more than our full part in efforts to secure a deal.

This deal should include important elements to do with competitiveness, trade and growth, the kind of reforms that will benefit the UK and Ireland as the EU’s two fastest-growing economies.

And so the most recent European Council set an explicit objective of securing agreement – or “mutually satisfactory solutions”, as the summit conclusion said – at its next meeting on February 18th-19th, 2016.

The deal, when it comes, will move the UK referendum campaign up several gears. In practice, the campaign is already well under way, but minds will only truly be focused once a date is set. Ultimately, the decision is a matter for the UK electorate, and this is something we must respect.

In terms of British-Irish relations today, we are close neighbours and firm friends. The two governments have a shared interest in political and economic progress in Northern Ireland. We trade more than €1 billion a week between us in goods and services. More than 57,000 company directors in Britain are Irish. Overall, up to one in four people in Britain has some Irish heritage.

Stakeholder

Ireland is a direct stakeholder in this referendum as a fellow member state of the EU. Our shared EU membership over almost 43 years has helped to transform our own bilateral relationship and it continues to be very important in Northern Ireland, where it has been a powerful, if understated, force for good for everyone and every community.

The value of the UK's membership of the EU can be seen across all policy areas, including other areas overseen by my own department. On overseas development aid, for example, Ireland works with its UK colleagues across Africa, very often within an EU framework.

These are among the points I make in my regular meetings with my UK opposite number, foreign secretary Philip Hammond. Such meetings form part of the engagement of the Irish Government with the UK-EU question since the referendum was first proposed in 2013. We have regular high-level political contact, including, of course, between the Taoiseach and prime minister David Cameron.

The Government’s engagement includes the full deployment of our diplomatic network to help inform our actions. Our offices in London, Edinburgh and Belfast – as well as our permanent representation to the EU in Brussels and our embassies in other EU member states – are particularly active on the issue.

In Dublin, cross-government structures are in place and analysis is being carried out, led from the Taoiseach's office in close partnership with my own department, as well as the Department of Finance and others. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, I and other Ministers have worked to build awareness of the Irish perspective through targeted, high-profile speeches – in the past month alone, I have spoken on this issue to audiences in London, Belfast and Dublin.

This work will evolve next year as we enter a new phase in this most critical of debates. It is truly “getting real” now, but cool heads and determination can – and, I hope, will – prevail.

Charlie Flanagan is Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade