{"id":946467,"date":"2026-05-08T16:52:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T16:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/946467\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:52:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T16:52:30","slug":"new-imperatives-to-consider-in-uk-eu-relationship-taoiseach-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/946467\/","title":{"rendered":"New \u2018imperatives\u2019 to consider in UK-EU relationship, Taoiseach says"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK has to deal with different \u201cimperatives\u201d in its relationship with the European Union after Brexit \u201cirrespective of who\u2019s in government\u201d, the Taoiseach has said.<\/p>\n

Micheal Martin<\/a> was responding to a question on whether he was concerned a shift to a Reform UK<\/a> government could impact UK-EU relations.<\/p>\n

Ireland will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU between July and the end of the year, making it responsible for planning and chairing council meetings and negotiations \u2013 as well as representing the council in discussions with the European Parliament and European Commission.<\/p>\n

\"Reform<\/p>\n

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (Yui Mok\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

It was platformed as an opportunity for \u201cpragmatic engagement\u201d between the UK and the EU on issues affecting Northern Ireland<\/a> at a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) on Friday.<\/p>\n

Among those attending the NSMC in Co Armagh were Irish premier Mr Martin, deputy premier Simon Harris, and Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee as well as Northern Ireland\u2019s First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neil and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.<\/p>\n

Mr Martin said he had \u201cno doubt\u201d that the \u201cvery good relationship\u201d Ireland enjoys with the UK Government<\/a> would continue.<\/p>\n

\"Micheal<\/p>\n

Micheal Martin, Michelle O\u2019Neill, Emma Little-Pengelly, and Simon Harris (Brian Lawless\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt\u2019s a sensible, pragmatic one, and we support the thrust of the desire to have a pragmatic, sensible relationship with the European Union \u2013 we think everybody can benefit from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A press conference following the summit was held as counting continued in council elections in England \u2013 where pro-Brexit party Reform made major gains \u2013 as well as for parliament seats in Scotland and Wales.<\/p>\n

Asked if he was concerned that Reform leader Nigel Farage<\/a> potentially being the next prime minister could impact EU-UK relations, Mr Martin said Ireland\u2019s presidency will deal with the current UK Government and warned that local and general elections are \u201ctwo different beasts completely\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"(Brian<\/p>\n

(Brian Lawless\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Mr Martin said: \u201cOur view is and our perspective is that we believe that a good relationship between the European Union and United Kingdom is an important one.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said \u201cirrespective of who\u2019s in government\u201d there are \u201cimperatives out there now\u201d that were not present before Brexit.<\/p>\n

He said successive shocks had created anxiety and fear for the future in the public \u2013 as he pointed to \u201cseismic change\u201d within the last 10 years due to Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, tariffs, and the war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\"Taoiseach<\/p>\n

Taoiseach Micheal Martin (Brian Lawless\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Mr Martin told reporters: \u201cHence that growing rapprochement between European Union and the United Kingdom has that broader compass in mind, in terms of security and defence, European self defence.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThese are realities any government will have to deal with.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoliticians generally can campaign in poetry \u2013 but have to govern in prose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both he and Mr Harris cautioned that politics was becoming more fragmented across the world with the Tanaiste answering the same question: \u201cIn Ireland, we\u2019ve worked long and hard enough to disentangle ourselves from British elections \u2013 so I\u2019m not going to comment on an election that takes place in a different country.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the relationship between Ireland and the UK was the best it had been since Brexit, and given there had been no change of Government in the UK, he expects that \u201cto continue\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Deputy<\/p>\n

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly (Brian Lawless\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Ms McEntee said the presidency will be an opportunity to \u201cshow that the EU-UK relationship will continue to be a priority for Ireland\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said a UK-EU summit is an opportunity to show progress on some key areas including issues around phytosanitary rules and the emissions trading systems.<\/p>\n

Ms Little-Pengelly said she was hopeful the presidency would offer opportunities for \u201cpragmatic engagement\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said the key challenges faced by the EU are very similar to those faced by the UK, with global instability impacting on energy security and costs faced by citizens.<\/p>\n

The DUP MLA said she was keen to have cooperation in responding to those challenges as she said \u201clong delays\u201d in North-South interconnectors are an issue that can be examined \u2013 along with other interconnectors into the European mainland.<\/p>\n

\"Tanaiste<\/p>\n

Tanaiste Simon Harris (Brian Lawless\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Mr Harris said all the leaders were \u201ccommitted to further developing that conversation\u201d around energy security and resilience.<\/p>\n

The Tanaiste said: \u201cWe need to do better collectively in terms of developing policy responses there \u2013 interconnectors being a part of that, renewables being a part of that, learning from each other around retrofitting and supports being a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Little-Pengelly also expressed hope that the UK could be included in the EU\u2019s Security Action for Europe (Safe) defence fund, adding that Northern Ireland has a \u201cvery strong\u201d aerospace and defence sector.<\/p>\n

Mr Harris has previously said the UK\u2019s failure to secure Safe membership was \u201cextraordinarily disappointing\u201d and hoped it could be reviewed.<\/p>\n

\"Minister<\/p>\n

Minister of Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee (Brian Lawless\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

The deputy First Minister said cooperation between the UK and EU on defence as well as issues around cyber security and undersea cables is \u201cboth logical and also important\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ms McEntee emphasised the need for the EU, UK and US to work closely together on \u201coverall security\u201d and called for increased work on protecting critical underwater infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Ms O\u2019Neill said global volatility was high on the agenda for the meeting, with leaders focused on \u201chow we can help people through this crisis\u201d<\/p>\n

\"First<\/p>\n

First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill (Brian Lawless\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Sinn Fein\u2019s deputy leader said they discussed plans around energy security, large infrastructure projects including the Ulster Canal and the A5 as well as Ulster University\u2019s Magee campus and air connectivity between Dublin and Londonderry.<\/p>\n

Ms Little-Pengelly also told reporters that there were remaining issues with the post-Brexit Windsor Framework trade agreement, adding there was a high level of \u201centirely unnecessary\u201d and \u201cdisproportionate\u201d bureaucracy affecting Northern Ireland businesses which were under financial pressure.<\/p>\n

The Council meeting came a day after the leaders attended a signing ceremony for the delivery of faster trains between Belfast and Dublin, to enter service in 2030.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Reform UK hails \u2018historic change\u2019 but pollster warns of peak in support<\/a><\/p>\n

Local elections 2026: All the London results so far<\/a><\/p>\n

Starmer vows to fight on as Farage\u2019s Reform make major election gains<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK has to deal with different \u201cimperatives\u201d in its relationship with the European Union after Brexit \u201cirrespective…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":946468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[802,748,2000,299,5187,2557,1699,20730,4884,678,681,264201,1144,386,13033,7160,16,10788,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-946467","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-brexit","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-european-commission","14":"tag-european-union","15":"tag-european-parliament","16":"tag-great-britain","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-micheal-martin","19":"tag-mr-martin","20":"tag-northern-ireland","21":"tag-reform-uk","22":"tag-relationship","23":"tag-simon-harris","24":"tag-uk","25":"tag-uk-government","26":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116539998703510114","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=946467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/946468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=946467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=946467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=946467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}