Chris MacManus – 2022 Comments on Need for Brussels Belfast Engagement

The comments made by Chris MacManus, the Sinn Fein MEP for Midlands Northwest in The Republic of Ireland on 9 September 2022.

I welcome the opportunity to engage with our MLA colleagues at this roundtable event. However, I do not believe it should be up to individual MEPs or political groups to organise such events. This should be an ongoing formal engagement.

Today we have had, what were on occasions, frank exchanges between MEPs and MLAs from across the political spectrum. These exchanges were healthy and productive, that is why I believe it is important that the European Parliament and the Assembly formalise engagements such as this and that we have direct dialogue between the elected representatives of both institutions.

I consider this to be both a practical and crucial step we can and should take, as EU legislation can often have an impact for the north of Ireland, therefore it is important elected representatives from the north and other sectoral interests are heard in the drafting of any such legislation.

It is also worth noting that the Assembly itself has sought mechanisms for direct dialogue in the past and that the European Parliament agreed to this. Indeed, Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič referred to such a concept in his non-papers. It is now time to make formal those assurances.