Letters to the Editor: EU response to tariffs must be measured and firm
'Europe must stand together to protect its citizens and economy.' Picture: Denis Minihane
The imposition of trade tariffs by the US is deeply regrettable, with serious implications for the EU and Ireland.
With Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and mounting pressure on the EU to increase defence spending, the prospect of a trade war adds further instability globally — with costs ultimately borne by businesses, consumers, and workers.
Notwithstanding the challenges the EU is facing, it is worth remembering that — as a single market of 450m people — the EU has significant leverage to mount a robust response.
Brussels should also seek to co-ordinate its response with like-minded allies like Canada and others outside of the bloc.
Just as the EU demonstrated its ability to be agile and united in its response to Brexit and covid, European Movement Ireland calls once again for a determined and coordinated EU response.
The EU must respond, rather than react, by taking a measured but firm response to US tariffs.
Above all, Europe must stand together to protect its citizens and economy.
Ní neart go cur le chéile.
As many in Ireland anxiously await the extent of US president Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, there is reason for optimism.
Should the new revenue reality usher in a downturn in the Irish economy, wages and prices may fall.
Such a readjustment is necessary for what is, at best, a three-star country — but one that charges five-star prices, and pays many in its bloated civil service five-star wages.
Here’s to a more humble Ireland, when the rip-off republic is dead and gone.
One of the arguments that Mario Draghi, the economist and former prime minister of Italy, made about the EU last year was that there is way too much regulation.
There is an old aphorism that says that when there’s a problem, Europe regulates whereas the United States innovates.
I would suggest that some deregulation isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
However, such an approach can lead to very poor outcomes — especially if its allowed to go too far.
Some regulations are very important as they keep us healthy and safe.
They need to be reinforced.
I do believe that there are an awful lot of growth-killing regulations out there.
These regulations impact us as a society, especially when it comes to building houses.
It’s most annoying when we see various interest groups protesting which then results in things not being built, whether they are bridges, houses, offices etc.
Such stringent regulations are found in the US too, and so this is true of many economies.
I think there’s a groundswell of opinion to subtly deregulate in order to boost businesses.
I certainly would not want to witness an Elon Musk kind of deregulation.
I would see such an approach as being thoughtless, mindless, and stupid, as it would be akin to taking a scalpel to things in the most indiscriminate way.
It’s my contention that We must scrap the dud daft, lunatic, insane, crazy regulations rather than the ones that keep us safe.
In essence, I would see this as being a nuanced thing.
In relation to helping Ukraine fight the Russian invasion, for Ireland to show its solidarity in a peaceful way — if it cannot support Ukraine militarily — it should show its support by expelling at least 28 diplomats from the Russian embassy in Dublin immediately.
No time-wasting, dithering, or sitting on the fence.
This needs to be done now if Ireland is serious about its relations with Ukraine.
Is the Irish public aware that on Thursday evening, March 27, more than 20 Metropolitan police — some carrying tasers — forced their way into a Quaker meeting house in London?
They broke open the front door without warning or ringing the bell first, searching the whole building.
Police stated they were targeting a group discussing climate change protests, but in the process broke into and searched other community groups — including private counselling sessions.
Six people were arrested, the first arrests in living memory to occur in a Quaker meeting house.
In a statement, Quakers in Britain said: “We strongly condemn the violation of our place of worship, which is a direct result of stricter protest laws removing virtually all routes for people to have their voices heard.
“This is because the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 in Great Britain, have criminalised many forms of protest and allow police to halt actions deemed too disruptive.
"Meanwhile, changes in judicial procedures limit protesters’ ability to defend their actions in court. All this means that there are fewer and fewer ways to speak truth to power.”
Quakers work hard to provide spaces for dialogue, to foster honest communication in times of conflict, and to support people to non-violently protest where it is felt necessary to do so.
This unprecedented attack by London police against a religious place of worship could have a chilling effect not just on the right to protest — but also to silence people for fear of facing the rigour of the law.
Bertie Ahern’s government of the time instructed the people to vote again to obtain a yes vote in the second Nice referendum in 2002.
Mr Ahern introduced the triple lock, whereby no Irish troops over 12 in number could take part in overseas missions without the approval of the Cabinet, the Dáil, and — most significantly — the UN.
When concerns about Irish neutrality led in turn to the defeat of the Lisbon Treaty — the EU’s constitution — in 2008, Brian Cowan’s government again insisted on a second referendum vote to change the result and repeated its assurance to voters on the triple lock — in principle, to be maintained indefinitely.
All parties subscribed to this “solemn” undertaking.
The programme for government of the last government led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael included a clear commitment that all Irish overseas military operations would be subject to the triple lock.
It is outrageous that the Government is reneging on the explicit Nice and Lisbon treaty commitments.
This is a clear betrayal of the Irish people’s wishes and of the “solemn” undertakings made to them in the Nice and Lisbon referendums.
Naturally, the Government will make no mention of these commitments because they do not want the people to be reminded of them.
Their contention is that Russia and China, as UN Security Council members, should have no veto on sending Irish troops abroad.
They make no mention of the similar veto that the US, Britain, and France have as security council members and have had now for nearly 80 years.
Without the triple lock, Irish troops could have taken full part in the disastrous 2003 Iraq war, the 2011 Libyan war, and the 2011 Syrian war — in none of which the western powers had a UN mandate.
Abolishing the triple lock would enable Ireland to dive fully into the Ukrainian-Russian war, along with the rest of the EU, as is now being mooted.
We have a very longstanding tradition of neutrality which has served this country well and today, more than ever, we should keep to that.
Everyone — except the sleep-deprived residents under the flight path and the Greens — wants the Dublin Airport passenger flight cap to increase beyond 32m passengers.
Why not take a leaf out of Ryanair’s book and rename Cork as Dublin South Airport, Shannon as Dublin Midwest, Knock as Dublin West, and Belfast as Dublin North?
Airlines could fly to these airports with no worries about breaching the cap.
A few luxury express coach routes with dedicated bus lanes on the M50 and everyone, except the Greens, would be happy.
Munster — finally — plans to play a European Cup game in Cork’s SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh in December.
Might this date, almost 10 months away, give the city authorities enough time to plan a park-and-ride service for the day or might they need more notice?
