In his address to the joint Houses of the Oireachtas last week the British prime minister proposed an ambitious programme of co-operation between Britain and Ireland in the European Union. It was part of a broader agenda of British-Irish relations predicated on the transformations in Northern Ireland, but no longer, as Mr Blair put it, defined by them. "Our common interests, what we can achieve together, go much, much wider than that", Mr Blair insisted. It is a striking invitation, which deserves to be examined carefully in the light of changing British and Irish interests and concerns within the EU.
Mr Blair was quite candid about differing approaches in the past by Britain and Ireland towards agriculture, defence and monetary union. But he suggested that a more common agenda, and objectives, are arising concerning completion of the single market and structural economic reform; better conditions for growth and jobs; successful enlargement; a united and coherent foreign policy voice for Europe; a more effective fight against crime, drugs, illegal immigration and environmental damage; and flexible, open and accountable European institutions.
He went on to distinguish between areas where common European action makes sense, as in economic co-ordination, foreign and security policy, the environment, and taxation, education, health and welfare, "where countries or regions can best continue to make policy themselves". Mr Blair wants the new Intergovernmental Conference to develop "a habit of close consultation on European issues, marked by a step-change in contacts at every level".
It is in Ireland's interest (and in that of other smaller EU member-States) that Britain plays a full role in European integration, to balance France and Germany and ensure that many of the policies Mr Blair identifies are effectively pursued. His case is, in a way, a tribute to Ireland's success in the European domain, which has reduced economic and political dependence on Britain and contributed to a greater self-confidence in international and domestic affairs.
Irish ministers would, therefore, be wise to take up this opportunity to share perspectives with their British counterparts, partly to convince them that the sooner Britain joins EMU the better and that they should also explore together the case for joining the Schengen system of free movement. Consultation on foreign and security policies would deepen the overdue debate about joining the Partnership for Peace initiated by Mr David Andrews, in the light of Mr Blair's call for more co-operation in European defence. Taxation is fast emerging as an area of high British and Irish interest, against moves to harmonise higher corporate rates.
But Ireland and Britain continue to have different interests as well as common ones. The rate of British entry to EMU is a critical matter, for example, on which the Government has a veto it should be willing to use if necessary. Agriculture, institutional reforms and budgets are also divisive. And within the new British-Irish relationship, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales may regularly find more common interests than the Westminster government is prepared to articulate on behalf of the UK as a whole.