Boyle, groups, get their Irish in at D.C. Brexit hearing

Congressman Brendan Boyle at the Subcommittee hearing

By Ray O’Hanlon

Brexit will have profound implications for Ireland and it was with that in mind that Congressman Brendan Boyle turned up for a recent hearing on the matter in the House Rayburn Building in the nation’s capital

The hearing was an open one conducted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.

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Whether Brexit amounts to an emerging threat might be open to argument, but the Philadelphia Democrat, whose father is from Donegal, is all too aware of the potential damage to Ireland, all of it, should Brexit prove to be anything but a well-managed and fully agreed process.

The witnesses before the hearing were not coming from an Irish perspective, hence the importance of Rep. Boyle’s participation, and also input from the Irish American Unity Conference and Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Chairman Rohrabacher set the scene: “The vote last year by the British people to exit the European Union and to return sovereignty to their shores reflected the will of the majority.

“While the negotiations to determine the ultimate relationship between the EU and Great Britain are still underway, the implications for the transatlantic relationship, from trade to security, loom large. This hearing will provide members with a timely update of the process and will illustrate America’s interest in the outcome.”

The listed witnesses were Nile Gardiner, Director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, Marjorie Chorlins, Vice President for European Affairs and Executive Director of the U.S.-U.K. Business Council U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Thomas Wright, Director, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings Institution.

The hearing audience included Peter Kissel, National President if the Irish American Unity Conference.

Mr. Kissel filed this report, which has been edited for length: “A congressional hearing has been told that a special envoy to preserve the peace in Northern Ireland should be appointed ‘immediately.’

“Thomas Wright, Director of the Center for the U.S. and Europe at the Brookings Institution, further testified before (the) that there should be a permanent independent commission of recognized diplomats to monitor the peace process on an ongoing basis.

“The committee's hearing, titled ‘Brexit: A Negotiation Update,’ was convened by Chairman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). He was joined by Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY), John Curtis (R-UT), Robin Kelly (D-IL), and Brendan Boyle (D-PA) as an ad hoc member.

“In opening remarks, Congressman Rohrabacher said that the hearing was to learn about Brexit and whether Congress can play a constructive role.

“Congressman Meeks said that Brexit is a ‘lose-lose-lose’ proposition and noted that Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement are at risk.

“Congressman Boyle stressed his concern about Brexit's impact on the U.S.-UK relationship, on the EU, and particularly on the peace process in the North of Ireland. He noted the U.S. role in advancing the peace and achieving a seamless border.

“The first witness was Nile Gardiner.

“Gardiner's written testimony called the EU's negotiators ‘unaccountable ruling elites,’ and variously described the EU's position as ‘excessive,’ ‘extortionate,’ ‘extremely aggressive,’ ‘mean-spirited, unrealistic and insulting,’ and accused the EU of trying to ‘ruthlessly extract’ as much from the UK as possible.

“Gardiner threatened that if the EU insists on making ‘onerous’ demands, the UK should pursue the ‘no-deal’ option and trade under World Trade Organization.

“Gardiner made several credulity-straining statements, claiming that Britain has ‘thrived’ since the vote, and that there has been no exodus of foreign banks or talent. In response, Congressmen Meeks repeated his ‘lose-lose-lose’ view, and other witnesses challenged his (Gardiner’s) comments.

“The second witness was Marjorie Chorlins. She highlighted the extent of trade between the U.S., UK, and EU, and strongly refuted Gardiner's views about the ‘no-deal’ option, stating that if the UK exits without a deal it would be a ‘disaster’ and that operating under WTO rules would cause sizable losses in trade and investment.

“Chorlins concluded by saying that while it's important to expand trade with the UK, ‘strengthening our economic ties with the rest of Europe must remain a top priority,’ and that the U.S. has advocated an integrated Europe for over seventy years.

“Mr. Wright from Brookings said the U.S. must maintain strong ties with the UK, but strongly opposed pursuing a bilateral free trade deal as proposed by the Trump Administration, i.e., compelling the UK to diverge from EU standards.

“He also stressed that the ‘no- deal’ option should be considered unacceptable and refuted Gardner's claim that businesses are not fleeing the UK, pointing out the numerous contingency plans ready to be triggered by businesses.

“Wright concluded by stating that it is absolutely necessary for the U.S. to remain engaged in preserving the peace in Northern Ireland, and said that the Trump administration should ‘immediately’ reinstate the special envoy position.

“He concluded by saying that ‘prioritizing and preserving the Good Friday Agreement should also be an issue in relations between the UK and the EU.

“After the witnesses testified, Congressman Boyle noted that Wright had testified that 142 areas of cross-border activity could be detrimentally impacted, and cooperation could be significantly reduced. He also reiterated the call for a special envoy.

“Mr. Wright added that aside from a special envoy during the Brexit process, there should also be a permanent independent commission of recognized diplomats to monitor the peace.

“In response to a question from Congressman Meeks addressed to Wright, Gardiner attempted to rebut Wright on the importance of the customs union, saying the UK can't remain in the customs union if it is to become a sovereign nation that has control over its borders.

“This comment prompted Congressman Meeks to challenge him that Brexit was really about immigration, which Gardiner admitted to.”

After the hearing, and in response to the testimony, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, in a statement, called on the House Foreign Affair Committee to convene a session and take testimony on the threat Brexit poses to the U.S. brokered Good Friday Agreement.

In a letter to the subcommittee members, AOH Political Education Chairman Neil Cosgrove stated: “During the recent Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing ‘Brexit: A Negotiation Update,’ many of the committee members and witnesses mentioned “the long standing relationship” between the United States and United Kingdom.

“We remind the committee members that the relationship between the people of Ireland and the United States is even older.

“When colonial America was seeking its independence, Ireland was one of its earliest allies, Washington once reflecting ‘Ireland, thou friend of my country in my country's most friendless days.’

“In respect to that ‘long standing relationship,’ we ask the committee members to not limit their consideration of Brexit’s impact to only Great Britain, but also the collateral threat it poses to the people of Ireland.

“Committee Chairman Rohrabacher several times made the case for inherent rights of local communities to self-determination and reject over reaching actions by foreign governments.

“We remind the committee that while Britain chose to inflict Brexit upon themselves, the community of Northern Ireland rejected it by 56 percent and the Republic of Ireland had no say at all.

“Additionally, it was also noted several times in the hearing that the United States does not have a direct role in the Brexit negotiations.

“However, the United States did have a crucial role in the Good Friday Agreement which ended nearly three decades of conflict.

“The U.S. has a continuing vested interest in ensuring this landmark in U.S. diplomacy in the cause of peace is not undone by Brexit.

“The Good Friday Agreement was born in an EU context of the free movement of goods, services, capital and, most importantly, people.

“A Brexit border, partitioning Ireland both physical and psychologically, threatens the peace and bonds which have been developing between the communities of Ireland for the past twenty years.

“The recent embarrassing burlesque of Prime Minster May rescinding a breakthrough deal (the AOH statement was issued prior to a more successful effort at forging an apparent deal) which would have granted Northern Ireland ‘special status,’ thus eliminating the threat of a destabilizing border in Ireland, to placate ten MPs of the Democratic Unionist Party, highlights the dysfunction of Britain’s Brexit strategy in Ireland.

“Both Congressman Boyle and Dr. Wright of the Brookings Institute eloquently articulated the ongoing need for the role of independent arbiter that the United States has traditionally played in Ireland if the current deadlock is to be broken and the catastrophic consequences to all parties of a hard Brexit averted.

“The Ancient Order of Hibernians therefore calls on the members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to convene a session to take testimony on the emerging threat Brexit poses to the Good Friday Agreement and to consider the future U.S. commitment to preserving the peace it fostered in Ireland.”

 

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