St Patrick's Day message of solidarity from Irish Greens shows power of co-operation in Europe
The leader of the Irish Green Party today (17 Mar) issued a St Patrick's Day message of solidarity to Scottish Greens meeting at their Spring conference in Greenock.
In a video message, Eamon Ryan TD (member of the Irish Parliament), former cabinet minister and leader of the Irish Greens since 2011, says there is "real strength" in the Green movement across Europe and by working together Greens can minimise the harm that Brexit will do.
Eamon said:
“The co-operation between Scotland and Ireland has brought us all so much in recent decades and we must ensure that it continues, particularly on areas of environmental concern, which do not respect man-made borders, rather than allow the crash-out Brexit the Leave extremists want to see.
"After twenty years of living without a border on the island of Ireland, we're not going to return to the old ways. The people of Ireland don't want Brexit - it's the last thing our island needs and we will work with those in Britain who understand the gravity of the situation to avoid this potential catastrophe.
"We in the Green Parties of these islands have a real strength, being part of not just a British and Irish but a European and global movement, with a strong and growing presence in the European and national parliaments across our continent. We are ideally placed to work together in avoiding the harm Brexit will do to the peoples of the UK and Ireland if the current course is continued.”
Ross Greer MSP, Europe spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, said:
"The European Green movement have been at the forefront of the campaign to keep Scotland and the UK in Europe, while other parties are busy tearing themselves apart over the issue. We’ve proven that time and again, from the Greens in the German parliament standing up for Scotland, to the meeting of the European Greens Council in Glasgow shortly after the Brexit vote, which passed a resolution to ensure that every option which would allow Scotland and Northern Ireland to stay within the European Union be explored. This St Patrick's Day message of solidarity from our Irish friends shows the power of cooperation, solidarity and internationalism which the European project itself represents.
“If the Westminster government’s Hard-Brexit disaster does come to pass, the Green movement will be ready to lead the campaign for Scotland and the UK to recommit to the European project and we will do so with the support of our friends across the continent."