Description
Analysis of efforts to develop peace in Northern Ireland often attributes the foundation of the peace process to the dialogue between the then Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party’s (SDLP) former leader, John Hume, in the late 1980s. However, it has been recognised that attempts to forge peace have a longer timeline, involving the interplay of several national and international historical contexts in which the European Community (EC) / European Union (EU) dimension and the role of the EU institutions in restoring peace and reconciliation in the region has been generally neglected. The objective of this article is therefore to examines the European dimension of the Northern Ireland talks process (1990-1998), addressing the whole range of relationships affecting the political stalemate in the years preceding the signing of Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (GFA). Drawing on never-before-seen United Kingdom (UK) government and EC/EU archival documents and semi-structured élite interviews, this article highlights how the original dialogue on power-sharing and devolution in Northern Ireland included a much stronger EU dimension that it is publicly acknowledged. Findings will reflect on the Brexit’s potential to destroy the peace process, assessing the current political obstacles to the adoption of flexible policy solutions, based on the experience of the past.
