‘It’s up to us’: Government must work inside EU to smooth path for possible British return

The Republic must work behind the scenes inside the European Union to make sure Britain has a “pathway to re-entry” to the bloc, a Government Minister has said.

“It is up to us,” said Neale Richmond, Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Britain wants a closer relationship with the EU. Maybe they want to rejoin,” said Richmond, speaking in London on Thursday after a diaspora event at the Irish embassy.

“If they do want a closer relationship, it rests on our [the State’s] shoulders to make that as easy as possible within the EU. We have to make sure that, around the European Council table, we are keen and eager [for Britain to return].”

British prime minister Andy Burnham, a long-time critic of his country leaving the EU, has reopened the debate in recent months by suggesting Britain could eventually seek to reverse Brexit.

He has also suggested Britain could accept EU freedom of movement to get a better Brexit deal and that it could rejoin the single market or customs union.

Richmond acknowledged there were “very real sensitivities” around the State being seen to advocate too closely for Britain inside the EU.

“We are Ireland, a part of the EU. But that is in no way a contradiction of saying we would love to see Britain back in the EU,” Richmond said.

He said government ministers from other EU states, such as France, Spain and Germany, have been vocal about their desire for Brexit to be reversed. “If anything, it would be the anomaly if Ireland wasn’t as strong a voice as our other EU partners.”

Burnham has raised the prospect that Britain could, in future, hold a new referendum on its relationship with the EU. Richmond said that was “a decision for the British government and the British people”.

“We respect their decision. But ultimately, if there is a change in [British] policy, we need to react and respond in turn.”

Richmond said the Republic had “tried its best” to keep Britain within the EU: “We should celebrate that, and say: ‘okay guys, the light is on. We’d love to have you back’.”

Burnham will attend his first EU-UK summit in Brussels next month, where issues will include finalising a youth mobility scheme to facilitate work and study for British and European young people in each other’s territory, as well as post-Brexit agri-food rules.

Burnham also covets an agreement with the EU that ensures Britain’s car manufacturing industry is not disadvantaged by proposed new “made in Europe” rules that would prioritise companies from the bloc in its supply chain.

Richmond said there was a “will to go further” on existing EU-UK agreements at the summit.

The Minister spoke to The Irish Times after announcing that a record £7.8 million (€9.1 million) had been allocated by the Government to support Irish diaspora-linked community organisations next year in Britain, via the State’s Emigrant Support Programme, an increase of €2 million.