Saving the Union

Ireland needs a strong EU for a successful future but the union also needs radical reform. The status quo is not working and it needs all our efforts to rectify that, writes Micheál Martin

WHEN the recession began in 2008 the accepted wisdom was that it was a global crisis of which Europe was just one element. No one is saying that any more.

While other regions have returned to sustained growth we are now in the fifth year of the deepest and longest crisis in the history of the European Union. It has constantly evolved during this time.