Britain and Europe: The Endgame – A Postscript

In March 2015, the IIEA published Britain and Europe: The Endgame – An Irish Perspective.  The study represented a comprehensive analysis of the possible impact of different levels of engagement or disengagement between the UK and the EU on Ireland, North and South.    This new collection of five essays, with an executive summary by Brendan Keenan, forms a Postscript to Britain and Europe: The Endgame. The publication analyses the key changes in the political landscape since March 2015:  the outcome of the UK election in May 2015; Prime Minister Cameron’s letter to EU President Tusk setting out the four key British demands in a negotiation on EU reform; and the growing importance of security as part of European politics resulting from the refugee and migration crisis and the Paris attacks.   The authors conclude that changing attitudes in the European Council may facilitate an amicable solution with in the European Council on the UK’s reform agenda, if not at the 18-19 February Council then later in 2016. Nonetheless, Mr. Cameron will still have a referendum to win – and the outcome of that latter negotiation, as well as its implications for Ireland and British-Irish relations, remains uncertain.