Ireland and the European Union: a less certain relationship?

In keeping with the Republic of Ireland's membership of the European Union (EU), successive Irish governments have signed up to and participated in the continuing evolution of European integration through the Single European Act, the Treaty on European Union, and the Amsterdam and Nice Treaties. The Irish electorate has shown its positive support for such projects in a number of referendums. It is undeniable that membership of the EU has had a significant impact on Ireland in economic, social and political terms. The Irish economy has benefited considerably from membership of the Single European Market and its ancillary developments. Membership of the EU has also given Ireland the opportunity to play a role on the European and world stages that would have been above and beyond its capacity as a small state. However, on 7 June 2001, Ireland's releationship with Europe and the EU reached a critical juncture following the rejection of the Nice Treaty by referendum. Irish European policy has thus entered a new and uncertain phase - a phase in which the irish electorate's previous commitment to the European project can no longer be taken for gratned. The central purpose of this chapter is to examine Ireland's changing relationship with the EU.