Ireland

Capital: Dublin
Population: 4,591,100
Year of EU entry: 1973
Currency: Member of the eurozone since 1999 ()
Schengen area: Not a member of Schengen

Joining the EU
The decision by the vast majority of the Irish people to join was when the European
Economic Community (EEC) in 1973 had a major impact on their development as a
nation.
Back then Ireland was considered by most of the global community as an almost
insignificant island, still struggling to find its place in the world more than five decades
after gaining independence from the UK.
Before becoming a state member, political leaders like Sen Lemass and Jack
Lynch, argued that Irelands future lays within Europe.
However, Europe wasnt so sure, because Irelands agricultural based economy was
choked by its dependence on the UK market, and the country suffered from
poverty, mass unemployment and emigration.

Negociations
The decision to retain neutrality after the World War II also didnt go down well with
the European communitys NATO members, and the first application to join the EEC
on July 31 1961 was rejected just a few weeks later.
The founding six EEC countries expressed doubts about our economic capacity and
our neutrality. Irelands policy of protectionism, which saw restrictions imposed on
imports, certainly wasnt very appealing to a European community with free trade at
its heart.
Leading economists in Ireland had been campaigning for a shift in economic policy
and by the early 60s many senior politicians were coming around to the idea that it
was the only way to tackle the high unemployment and mass emigration that blighted
the country.
Ireland continued to press for EEC membership but hopes were crushed in 1963
when then French President, General Charles de Gaulle , made it clear that France
didnt want Britain to join the community.

His stand brought an abrupt end to negotiations with all applicant countries and it
was to be another decade before Ireland became a member of the EEC.
A second application in 1967 had been blocked again by President de Gaulle but in
1969 his successor, George Pompidou , promised not to stand in the way of British
and Irish membership.

The treaty
Fresh negotiations began and in 1972 the Treaty of Accession was signed. A
referendum held in May 1972 confirmed Irelands entry into the European community
with 83 per cent of voters supporting membership.
Irish businesses have unhindered access to a market of over 490 million people
An estimated 700,000 jobs have been created in Ireland during the years of
membership and trade has increased 90 fold
Foreign Direct Investment in to Ireland have increased dramatically from just 16
million in 1972 to more than 30 billion
Between 1973 and 2008 Irish farmers received nearly 44 billion from the Common
Agricultural Policy.
Irish views and interests are reflected in the policies of the EU towards the rest of
the world
EU membership has helped bring peace and political agreement in Northern Ireland
through support and investment in cross-border programmes
The Irish language is an official working language in the EU, which helps to protect
the countrys native mother tongue for future generations
Even though they were an independent country long before they joined the EU, in
1973 Ireland was still ecomically dependent on the UK and struggling to find its feet
in the international community.
Thats no longer the case, and Ireland now exports all over the world and influences
global events through its voice in the European Union and has transformed itself
from a largely agricultural society into a modern, technologically advanced
Celtic Tiger economy.

Bibliography
http://ec.europa.eu/ireland/ireland_in_the_eu/index1_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/ireland/ireland_in_the_eu/impact_of_membership_on_ireland/ind
ex2_en.htm
http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/member-countries/ireland/index_en.htm