NI: 'More emphasis needed on Euro issues'

Political parties and government need to encourage a greater engagement between people in Northern Ireland and the European Union, they were told today.

Sinn Féin’s European Election candidate in the province, Bairbre de Brun said most people did not realise up to 70% of all legislation affecting them originated in the EU and therefore they had little influence over it.

The West Belfast MLA told a Queen’s University sponsored seminar: “While issues of Common Agricultural Policy reform and the future of PEACE funding have generated a degree of public awareness other issues are less well developed here.

“Key issues such as age discrimination in the work place, the ongoing campaign for a gender directive, EU wide campaigns to tackle poverty, homelessness and social exclusion are all key issues in other EU member states.

“Yet here, the public often only find out about crucial EU legislation after it has been passed, leaving with no opportunity to affect the legislation which will impact on their lives.

“It is our firm belief that more needs to be done, particularly by political parties and government to engage the public on these issues and ensure that the necessary resources are made available so that all people can have a real input into the EU policy agenda.”

Miss de Brun said there was a need for “a more open and democratic engagement” with European Union issues by all involved.

The former Stormont Health Minister said this needed to happen much earlier when ideas and programmes were being developed in the EU in their early stages.

Journalists also had a role to play by “giving greater prominence to EU issues”.

She continued: “Ensuring that people here have real influence in the EU is a job for us all.

“Through greater effort, greater advocacy, greater campaigning and greater resourcing, we can ensure that our interests and concerns play a greater role in shaping the EU policy agenda.”