McGuinness was speaking at Young Fine Gael’s 40th anniversary national conference in Ballinasloe, Co Galway on Friday.
“Brexit can kill or cure the EU – it is our choice,” she said. “Not withstanding the upset and regret at the outcome of the UK vote, the EU is standing firm and united, respecting the outcome of the referendum and waiting to open the exit negotiations.”
She warned of the uncertainty posed by the prospect that talks to agree on the UK-EU relationship after Brexit may not be completed by the two-year deadline, quoting Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s opinion that the task could prove “impossible”.
Unpicking the relationship is a mammoth task, with serious consequences for the UK, for the EU and for Ireland
“Membership of the European Union is so much part of the fabric and DNA of member states that unpicking the relationship is a mammoth task, with serious consequences for the UK, for the EU and for Ireland, in particular, as our economies, our peoples and our territory are so strongly linked,” said McGuinness, who is running for the position of president of the European Parliament.
McGuinness added that she had recently met the UK secretary of state for exiting the European Union, David Davis, to tell him that “Ireland’s position in these talks is firmly within the EU27 and the many issues of concern to Ireland will be negotiated in that context”.
This comment points towards Irish lobbying of European authorities to take Ireland’s special case into account when negotiating as a bloc with the UK, rather than parallel talks between Ireland and the UK on a potential bilateral deal.
The result of the UK referendum has emboldened those who seek to destabilise the European Union and to eventually destroy it
McGuinness called on her audience to hold fast in their defence of the core European values of democracy, freedom, respect for the law and human dignity in the face of rising populism.
“The result of the UK referendum has emboldened those who seek to destabilise the European Union and to eventually destroy it,” she warned, acknowledging that traditional political parties were challenged by this trend.
McGuinness is a former Irish Farmers Journal journalist.
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McGuinness was speaking at Young Fine Gael’s 40th anniversary national conference in Ballinasloe, Co Galway on Friday.
“Brexit can kill or cure the EU – it is our choice,” she said. “Not withstanding the upset and regret at the outcome of the UK vote, the EU is standing firm and united, respecting the outcome of the referendum and waiting to open the exit negotiations.”
She warned of the uncertainty posed by the prospect that talks to agree on the UK-EU relationship after Brexit may not be completed by the two-year deadline, quoting Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s opinion that the task could prove “impossible”.
Unpicking the relationship is a mammoth task, with serious consequences for the UK, for the EU and for Ireland
“Membership of the European Union is so much part of the fabric and DNA of member states that unpicking the relationship is a mammoth task, with serious consequences for the UK, for the EU and for Ireland, in particular, as our economies, our peoples and our territory are so strongly linked,” said McGuinness, who is running for the position of president of the European Parliament.
McGuinness added that she had recently met the UK secretary of state for exiting the European Union, David Davis, to tell him that “Ireland’s position in these talks is firmly within the EU27 and the many issues of concern to Ireland will be negotiated in that context”.
This comment points towards Irish lobbying of European authorities to take Ireland’s special case into account when negotiating as a bloc with the UK, rather than parallel talks between Ireland and the UK on a potential bilateral deal.
The result of the UK referendum has emboldened those who seek to destabilise the European Union and to eventually destroy it
McGuinness called on her audience to hold fast in their defence of the core European values of democracy, freedom, respect for the law and human dignity in the face of rising populism.
“The result of the UK referendum has emboldened those who seek to destabilise the European Union and to eventually destroy it,” she warned, acknowledging that traditional political parties were challenged by this trend.
McGuinness is a former Irish Farmers Journal journalist.
Read more
Kenny endorses McGuinness for president push
Full coverage: Brexit
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