EU expansion – A time for pride in the EU dream

NOT even the forces of anarchy, such they were, could derail the weekend celebrations to mark the entry of ten new nations to the elite EU club.

Despite official preparations for a doomsday scenario, it proved to be a gloriously sunny, joyous and largely peaceful event as Ireland, on Europe's westernmost fringes, embraced new nations on the most easterly boundaries of the continent.

To quote Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney it was truly a moment "when hope and history rhyme".

In his May Day poem, Beacons at Bealtaine, specially written for the day, he described the auspicious occasion as a "homecoming" for the peoples of Europe.

What greater symbol of hope could there be than the image of children from 25 nations, all of them now living in Ireland, presenting their national flags to Europe's leaders in Dublin?

As President of the European Parliament Pat Cox succinctly put it: the dreams of those who, 50 years ago, saw what might be, have been realised.

Future disputes in Europe will be resolved around the negotiating table, not on the battlefield, under the rules of a club that now boasts 455 million members and is the largest trading bloc on the planet.

In many respects, the accession nations regard Ireland's experience in Europe as an inspirational story, a model of job creation, investment, and prosperity.

But it would be wrong for the Government to sit on its laurels. There is still a long to go in terms of this country's attitude on major issues of human rights, especially where disabled people are concerned.

Following a day of incident-free protest, as various groups marched through Dublin in sunshine, it was regrettable, but perhaps inevitable, that violence would eventually flare.

It finally happened when demonstrators came face to face with gardaí outside the Phoenix Park as a celebratory dinner was being held for the 10 new European Union member states in the splendour of the Government guesthouse at Farmleigh.

Arguably, the rights of the vast majority of people, the millions who consent to EU enlargement, must be balanced against the rights of the few who wish to voice dissent. But there can be no room for violent extremists hell-bent on causing anarchy and mayhem.

So, when 2,000 demonstrators confronted the gardaí, and a small number tried to break through the cordon, they were literally swamped, their ardor doused, as water cannon was used to quell potential violence. In all, 28 people were brought before a special court sitting.

If the use of water cannon and involvement of riot police was somewhat heavy-handed, it has to be said that it made a welcome change from the garda handling of last year's protest when the crowd faced a full-scale baton charge on the streets of Dublin.

Despite Saturday's outburst of violence, the reality is that the accession of the ten new member states to the EU was welcomed right across Europe and applauded from one end of Ireland to the other as festivities were held across the country.

In towns ranging from Waterford to Cork, Killarney, Limerick, Galway, Sligo, Drogheda and Bray, the new member states were welcomed to the club.

It was a time to be proud of being Irish and being European.