Laois Councillor addresses European Parliament

Cllr. Dwane Stanley gives Irish perspective on resetting of EU/UK Relations

Debate on the EU-UK relationship: perspectives for regional and local cooperation
Thursday, 15th May 2025

ClIr Caroline Dwane Stanley
“As European Alliance Group welcome the ‘resetting’ the EU-UK relationship, this is a positive development. From an Irish perspective, fostering greater cooperation and exchange between the EU and UK is necessary not only for our collective prosperity and resilience, but it is also crucial to maintaining peace on the Island of Ireland.”

“The Irish case demonstrates how cooperation affects local communities within and outside the EU, thus highlighting the urgent need to bolster cross-border relations. This cooperation needs to extend across all social and economic aspects of our lives.”

“Secondly, in a time of global uncertainty there is a clear need for working together. There cannot be a situation where different tariffs are levied for exports from the same Island. We hope that the EU trade commissioner will take this into consideration in negotiating with the US.”

“My final point is a plea to those in power for our young people who have been affected by BREXIT. I believe that all young people should ®️ be allowed to study, work and live across the EU and in the UK. The youth of today are our future and hopefully by fostering their free movement we can build a future of strong cooperation.”

I wish everyone success with the summit (Note: Summit is being held in London this week)