Posted 09 December 2008
Taoiseach launches major new study of the relationship between Ireland and the EU
At a time of extraordinary challenge for Ireland’s relations with the European Union and its partners in Europe, two leading political scientists – Professor Brigid Laffan, Principal of the UCD College of Human Sciences and Jane O’Mahony, a Lecturer in European Politics at the University of Kent - have published a major new study of Irish-European relations: Ireland and the European Union (Palgrave Macmillan).
Ireland is a small state in terms of the core variables to do with population, territory and wealth. Until economic take-off in the 1990s, Ireland was perceived as a small poor state, a taker rather than shaper of the dynamic of integration. In the first decade of the 21st Century, Ireland was portrayed as a successful EU member state, a showcase of European integration.
Pictured far right: Professor Brigid Laffan, Principal of the UCD College of Human Sciences, An Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD and Jane O’Mahony, a Lecturer in European Politics at the University of Kent
“The book tells an important story of how Ireland's membership of the European Union is fundamental to our success as a nation,” said An Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD who officially launched the book in Dublin on 08 December 2008.
“It reminds us that Ireland's relationship with Europe is not a success just because of what we got from Europe, but rather what we were able to achieve through and with Europe. It reminds us that the decision of the people in 1972 to join the European Economic Community, as it was back then, was fundamental to securing Ireland's economic and political independence. It traces back the original thinking about membership and how it was driven by a new national economic vision and confidence.”
“This book ably demonstrates how our membership of the European Union has greatly enhanced our international standing and our ability to act on the matters of most concern to us on the international stage,” continued An Taoiseach.
Jane O’Mahony and Prof Brigid Laffan, co-authors of 'Ireland and the European Union'
“It is published at a moment in time when the relationship between Ireland and the European Union has never been more critical. We all need reminding that Europe is far too important to take for granted.”
“This week I will meet with other Heads of State and Government at the European Council where we will deal with three key issues: the Lisbon Treaty, climate change, and the international economic and financial crisis,” said An Taoiseach.
“When I travel to the European Council this week, I will be aiming to achieve a political agreement that the concerns of the Irish public with regard to the Treaty will be responded to in a satisfactory way, both in substance and in a legally robust manner.”
“It is my own view that our future and Europe's are bound inexorably. The Union is the most effective mechanism for Ireland to have our voice heard and our concerns reflected in the international responses to global issues,” said An Taoiseach.
‘Ireland and the European Union’ outlines how Europeanization can not be understood from a top-down institutional perspective, nor can it be properly interpreted as a process of influence deriving from European decisions impacting on the policies, political and administrative structures of member states. It argues that Europeanization can only truly be understood as a ‘process of structural change, variously affecting actors and institutions, ideas and interests’.
Ireland and the European Union (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) is major new study of Irish-European relations by Professor Brigid Laffan, University College Dublin and Jane O’Mahony, University of Kent. It provides a rich account of Ireland’s membership of the EU and the impact of the EU on the institutions, policy and economy of Ireland.
Brigid Laffan is Principal of the UCD College of Human Sciences, University College Dublin, and Jean Monnet Professor of European Politics at UCD. She was the founding Director of the Dublin European Institute UCD in 1999. In March 2004, she was elected as a member of the Royal Irish Academy. She is a member of the Research Council of the European University (EUI) Florence, and the Irish Government’s High Level Asia Strategy Group.
Jane O’Mahony is a Lecturer in European Politics at the University of Kent where she convenes the BA in European Studies (Social Sciences) and the MA in International Relations and European Studies.
