Issues

Learning from the South

Irish Ambassador to the EU Rory Montgomery, points to how Northern Ireland could make better use of Europe, by focusing on policy as well as funding and setting clear priorities.

As the head of the largest Irish diplomatic mission in the world, Rory Montgomery’s chief responsibility is to make sure the Irish Government’s views are taken into account in the “enormous number of meetings” that take place every day within the EU.

The policy process means that national ambassadors will see proposals before the Council so the Ambassador’s role therefore is to solve any disagreements before policy reaches that stage, or at least narrow down the problems.

While nearly every government department is represented by his 87 staff in the Belgian capital to help achieve that, there is also a more general function to get an overall grasp of what the European agenda is and try to influence it. The Commission remains the embassy’s default contact but Montgomery’s work is increasingly taking in the Parliament too.

“The European Parliament’s powers have steadily increased over the years, most recently through the Lisbon Treaty. A big part of that is not just dealing with the Irish MEPs and Northern Irish MEPs but also the chairs of the committees or people who are particularly active on particularly European issues,” the Ambassador says. The ultimate aim, in general terms, is to make sure that Ireland’s priorities are understood, even before policy goes into formal discussion.

Irish priorities have changed even in Montgomery’s 13 months in Brussels. While the Lisbon Treaty referendum re-run was the big issue in 2009, he found that once the ‘yes’ vote was returned, people moved on “very swiftly” to the implementation stage.

“I would say that we are seen in Europe as a state which generally takes a pretty constructive approach. We’re not an outlier,” Montgomery remarks, and on an area like the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Ireland can be found at the top table.

“We’re among the strongest supporters of the CAP. We also are very much in favour of ensuring that the single market is fully developed and that any remaining issues remaining are ironed out.”

He highlights two issues. The first is the progress on a single EU-wide patent, which would allow for one to be valid across all 27 states. The current system does not allow for this and manufacturers must apply for patents separately in each member state.

Secondly, in spite of the population happily spending online with companies they know, the Ambassador believes that people are still sceptical about buying products from sites based in other member states. This is especially evident in Ireland, which he admits is a “small, open economy on the edge of Europe”.

Montgomery has also seen first-hand Ireland’s reputation take a turn for the worse: “Overwhelmingly the biggest issue politically has been the economic crisis and clearly Ireland is in a position where we had been seen as a model economy to one which has very clear problems.”

The loan to finance the National Asset Management Agency came from the European Central Bank. He now sees a “big part” of his job to communicate to Brussels what the state is doing to fix its financial problems.

“Beyond that we’re gearing up for what is a major debate every couple of years,” he says, alluding to the EU’s ‘financial perspectives’ in 2013 – its seven-year spending plan. As each country agrees its contribution to the EU, contrary to what current economic circumstances might suggest, Montgomery is looking “not just in terms of what we contribute to the EU but also what we get back”, whether it is concessions in the CAP reform or framework funding.

An eye on the North

With a vested professional and personal interest in the province, the Ambassador believes that his parents’ land has “benefitted substantially” from the EU. Perhaps, he says, critics of the North are too inclined to focus solely on the money: “First of all Northern Ireland’s farmers have benefitted considerably but I think the challenge for Northern Ireland is to broaden the focus away from the question of simply receipts into policy.”

He suggests that the province should decide on policy areas where it has a very strong interest either for or against proposals, but he does recognise the potential drawbacks it faces: “In formal terms, and constitutionally, Northern Ireland is part of the UK. Together with Wales and Scotland there are means of feeding into the overall UK position but it is only a small part of it.”

“We obviously have an advantage in that our officials are the front-line, but we are able to share our experience and perceptions,” he adds. The Irish embassy, he contends, has had “a great deal of contact” with the Northern Ireland government departments and MLAs and most meetings are used “to compare notes”.

To the now seasoned EU observer, the UK remains something of a conundrum. “The UK representation here [Brussels] is exceptionally professional and well-run even though the UK adopts policy positions that would put it in some degree of conflict with the other European parties.”

But for Northern Ireland the best is yet to come, he remarks. As the institutions bed down and local ministers become more familiar with EU issues, Montgomery sees only a bright future as they continue to protect the province’s interests in the union.

Profile: Rory MontgomeryRory Montgomery

Born in Dublin in 1959, Rory Montgomery was a gold medallist in history at Trinity College, from which he also holds an MBA. His wife, Dr Gerardine Montgomery, is a college lecturer in French and their son Johnnie is a university student in Dublin. Rory was appointed Permanent Representative in April 2009, having previously been Assistant Secretary and Political Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs since 2005. He was also involved in negotiating the European Constitution during Ireland’s 2004 EU presidency.

Back in 1998, he was part of the team which negotiated the Good Friday Agreement. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1983, and his previous postings have included Rome, Chicago and London. In his free time, he is a horse- racing enthusiast.

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