United Kingdom and Ireland
Ireland has a long standing history with United Kingdom and the two countries are thought to be rather intertwined. Ireland does follow the lead set out by the United Kingdom. The two countries have a rather tumultuous history, one characterized by warfare, struggle, and negotiation. Since the two countries are so linked, both geographically and politically, the two follow similar trajectories in terms of their foreign policy. In the realm of foreign policy, the two countries have a number of agreements, which would point to Ireland following the United Kingdom’s lead. There are a number of settlement disputes, trade agreements, among other foreign policy measures. The first of these involved the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland border. One of the longest standing conflicts in the world surrounds this border, and it ended in 1997 with the Good Friday Agreement. This agreement designated the nature of both political, economic, and geographic relationships between Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Furthermore, Ireland can be seen as following the United Kingdom in other economic and foreign policy deals. One of the most notable being the Schengen Area. Both Ireland and the United Kingdom are two opt outs to the agreement which aimed to ease the flow of goods and services throughout Europe. The Schengen area was established to abolish border controls and to coordinate visa and asylum procedures. However, Ireland and the United Kingdom felt it best for both of their countries, for security reasons to maintain their own discretion with the flow of people, services, and goods across the border.
Ireland and Brexit
Ireland decidedly relates to Brexit, as the Northern border is a key part of their negotiations. The Republic of Ireland, which currently remains a firm member in the European Union, is the only EU country who shares a land border with the United Kingdom. Currently, this border allows for free movement from Northern Ireland into the Republic of Ireland. If the United Kingdom does withdraw from the European Union, however, they will likely institute border controls and stops. Checkpoints along that border have not been seen since prior to the Good Friday Agreement, which ended the fighting between the two countries. Currently, the Irish government aims to ensure as little barriers to both trade and travel between the land border. Within these negotiations, the European Union allowed the Irish government a veto over the Brexit negotiations, by requiring that the British government agree to certain guarantees regarding the trade relationship. This shows the importance of the relationship between the two countries, how Ireland has a deciding vote in the negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The Republic of Ireland government has already threatened to veto talks because their demands regarding the trade relationship were not met. Other European Union institutions have also threatened to veto the talks, on Ireland’s behalf, as well. Ireland has been met with overwhelming support by the European Commission, and President Jean-Claude Juncker has publicly stated that Ireland is fully backed by all 26 countries of the Commission during these intense negotiations. Additionally, the European Parliament has stated that they will veto any deal made unless current United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May adjusts her approach to the Northern Ireland/ Ireland border. The Republic of Ireland has received overwhelming support from the entire European community, and all countries have stated their intent to ensure fair terms for Ireland in the Brexit negotiations.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44560870
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/ireland-brexit-171213121309274.html
Glencross, Andrew. 2014. “EU Policy-Making in Action.” The Politics of European Integration.
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