Ireland and Europe after the “end of history”: Key Issues for Ireland in the EU

North Wing Conference Room, University College Cork 

17:45- 20:00, Wednesday, 6th of April 2022

Professor Ronan McCrea

Both the European Union and Ireland’s membership of it have been rocked by significant challenges in recent years. The 2008 financial crisis placed the Eurozone in jeopardy and at times shook the confidence of many people about Ireland’s place within it. The Russian threats to Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022 have placed question marks over collective security in Europe and Ireland’s role in collective defence arrangements. Brexit represented a blow to an EU that has always seen its future as involving a bigger and more integrated Union and presented a headache for Ireland which wanted to maintain close economic ties to both the EU and the UK. The Union has also operated on the assumption that liberal democracy is a destination that once reached, is never abandoned, and has struggled to cope with attacks on liberal democratic principles. Addressing these issues will involve challenging debates for Ireland about the kind of EU we want and the kind of changes we are willing to make to ensure the survival and effectiveness of the Union.

In his keynote address, Professor Ronan McCrea will discuss how the Union can best cope with these ongoing challenges, consider how they affect Ireland’s EU membership and what contribution Ireland might make to their resolution.

Agenda

Registration:                  17:45
Talk commences:          18:00
Drinks reception:           19:30
Event concludes:           20:00

About Professor Ronan McCrea

Professor McCrea is Professor of European and Constitutional Law at the University College London. He is a leading expert in European Union law with a particular focus on EU constitutional and human rights law and the future of the EU. He is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Kings’s Inns Dublin, and the London School of Economics. He has held lectured at the University of Reading and has held visiting posts at the European University Institute and the Central European University. He has previously worked as a référendaire in the chambers of Advocate General Poiares Maduro. Professor McCrea also contributes to public debate on legal and EU matters through his regular column in the Irish Times. For a complete bibliography click here.

Generously funded by the Jean Monnet Programme of the European Commission

Register here: Ireland and Europe after the End of History - Contact Details (ucc.ie)