Comber spud brings EU down to earth

Jane Morrice points to the opportunities presented by Europe.

Many, if not most, people in Northern Ireland have tasted or known the Cyprus potato. Its arrival on our shelves heralds spring, salads, sunshine and new potatoes. But has anyone heard of the Comber spud in Cyprus? I assume not… until now that is.

In fact, if we get our marketing and export strategy right, the whole of Europe will soon know where Comber is. That’s because the European Union has recognised the Comber potato as something special and has awarded it ‘origin status’.

Just like Parma ham, Camembert cheese, or French champagne, the Comber potato can’t be copied anywhere in the world and no other potato can use its name. Could Lough Neagh eel, Portavogie prawns and Bramley apples be next in line?

With a market of 500 million people on our doorstep, there should be no stopping us in terms of what we can sell to our neighbours in the four corners of Europe and, with new trade deals opening up with China, India, the US and beyond, the world should be our Strangford oyster – one day perhaps.

But Europe is about more than farming and food supplies. It is also about culture and art and music and education. The Erasmus programme, which gives funding for students to study abroad, has been opened up to enable others to benefit from this exceptional opportunity to live and work in another country.

Although thousands of students from Northern Ireland have already benefited from Erasmus, we haven’t taken full advantage of this valuable way of broadening our horizons in the past, but we definitely should in the future.

The fact that we are all free to travel, work and even retire to any one of the 28 EU member states of the European Union is a huge opportunity for all. Travelling and living abroad is no longer the preserve of the wealthy élite.

Thanks to the opening up of EU borders and European skies under the EU Directive, travel to far-flung places is much easier and cheaper. With low cost airlines opening up regional hubs, such as Northern Ireland, tourism has increased by leaps and bounds, workers can get jobs in different countries, exchange of experience between professional and non-professional organisations has grown, and pensioners in the colder European climes can see the value of spending the winter months on the Mediterranean – if only in terms of heating bills.

Until relatively recently, the European Union was seen by many in Northern Ireland as little more than a cash cow to be milked to the last drop.

There is no doubt we have benefitted greatly from EU funding for agriculture, road, rail and port development, small business support, training programmes, environmental and energy initiatives, cross-border corporation and, of course, a huge investment, totalling nearly €1 billion, in the EU Peace Programme in Northern Ireland. But that funding was always intended to be a springboard, not a sofa.

Today, people in Northern Ireland are slowly starting to appreciate that being part of the European Union has much more than monetary value. Solidarity with our European neighbours, whether as far away as Greece, Spain or Portugal or as near as across the border, is an essential part of the European package.

In times of trouble, they stood by us and are still doing so. In these times of severe economic difficulties, it is our turn to return the favour. With the European elections only weeks away, one thing we can do is turn out to vote. That’s the best way to ensure we get the Europe we want.

Jane Morrice is a Vice-President (Communication) of the European Economic and Social Committee.