Europe Day 2020 was not a “Happy Europe Day!” celebration. Not only is the EU on lockdown at the moment due to a terrible pandemic sweeping through our poorly integrated functional construction but it is the first Europe day in a EU of 28-1 Member States. And for all those interested in the European project, the European construction, the role of Europe in the world and/or European integration, this moment requires proper consideration.
The adds coming from the Council of the European Union on social media yesterday called the Europa building “the beating heart of Europe”. And yet, Europe has many beating hearts; however, I will borrow this metaphor and speak of yet another beating, formerly bleeding, heart of Europe: Northern Ireland. In the midst of the novel coronavirus media coverage, here is a piece of news that did not get sufficient European wide media coverage (oh yes, our public sphere is not yet a European one): 2020 saw the closure of the European Commission office in Belfast, an office which had been open for the past 40 years. Half of these years were years plagued by violent conflict, known as the Troubles, and half were years of peace and reconciliation in the region. The EU played a crucial role in enabling the peace process here.
Here is the story of the European Commission Office in Belfast, seen and lived through the eyes Jeanette Thornton, who worked there throughout the entire life of this office.
Disclaimer: the views contained in the following piece are purely the personal ones of Jeanette Thornton and don’t necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
Jeanette Thornton: “The office opened in early 1980 and I was recruited in March. Having studied languages, business and European studies, it has been my dream job. Head of Office Geoff Martin began an intense round of meetings with various sectors right across Northern Ireland. I remember many late nights in halls and hotels around the country meeting with local groups of farmers, who held a range of views on the EU in spite of the fact that their income was greatly subsidised by the CAP.
We always had a policy of fairness and equality. We ensured that we met politicians from every sector – including at that time those who may have had links with paramilitary organisations, but who were trying to move to a peaceful resolution. That policy has been our leitmotif for the forty years I have worked with the office, and I believe has earned the respect of political parties and other key actors across the region and further afield.
Suzana Carp: Dear Jeanette, Please just tell us a bit about your every day life in EC Office in Belfast, so the readers can visualise it.
Jeanette Thornton: “My job in the office as PA to Head of Office and Office Manager began in March 1980. My role has been the functional management of the office, and also the organisation of information programmes and events, including visits of European Commission Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Commissioners. I particularly enjoyed organising our engagement with schools and young people. I was on the organising committee for the European Youth Parliament, and Eur Voice (a sister event of European Youth Parliament) for many years. Our Opportunity Europe programme, in partnership with the EU Unit of Belfast City Council, began back in 2004 with the enlargement of the EU. This two day event and fair ran for ten years, with thousands of school students, teachers and citizens taking part. We also ran the very successful Opportunity Europe Quiz programme for post-primary schools up to 2015.
One of my favourite events of the year was the Balmoral Show – a four day event which is the highlight of the farming and rural community in Northern Ireland. The Belfast Office had an information stand at the Show for many years, which gave us a valuable opportunity to engage with the farming community and other visitors.
Prior to the advent of videoconferencing, I would have gone to Brussels for Admin meetings or trainings, or to accompany interest groups visiting the Commission and Parliament. The information programme for the UK is co-ordinated between the four offices, who each interpret this in a way that best suits their local audiences.
“I have hugely enjoyed working with 7 heads of office over my 40 year career. Starting with Geoff Martin in 1980, followed by Dr Dennis Kennedy, Jane Morrice, Jim Dougal, Eddie McVeigh, Maurice Maxwell, and Colette FitzGerald.”
Suzana Carp: What were, in your view, the 3 biggest achievements of the EC office in Northern Ireland over time and will their legacy last into the future?
Jeanette Thornton: “I believe the interest of the European Commission in the peace process of Northern Ireland was a key factor. The three Northern Ireland MEPs John Hume, Ian Paisley (Lord Bannside) and Jim Nicholson played a key role in this – three Northern Irish politicians very different parties. The fact that they were able to work together for the good of all the people of Northern Ireland irrespective of religion or their politics made a huge impression on the Commission and Parliament and other EU Member States. Jane Morrice played a strong role in this process too and she facilitated the visit of Jacques Delors to Northern Ireland in 1992 which was a pivotal moment for the peace process and laid the path for the role of the EU for years to come.
The heads of the EC Office in Northern Ireland, from Geoff Martin who was the first head in 1980 through to Colette FitzGerald who led the office up to the withdrawal from the EU this year, assisted by informally bringing people together who would have been firmly on “one side” or the other, and would not normally have met or spoken to one another. The EU has always been accepted as an “honest broker” in the peace process.
The EU Programme Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border region of Ireland has also greatly facilitated the work of peace-making in Northern Ireland, as has the Task Force set up by President Barroso to further engagement between Northern Ireland and the EU.
Suzana Carp: Is there an audience for European topics in Northern Ireland? Did you struggle having to explain your job to others, is there any stigma attached to the EU?
Jeanette Thornton: “We have always found an audience for European topics. Events were organised across Northern Ireland with schools, youth groups, the voluntary sector and older people to bring the EU directly to citizens. Jane Morrice, during her time as Head of the EC Office opened the only European Info Point in the UK and launched an “Eur OK” program. At the time there was some hesitancy around this as the Info Point was to be opened on the ground floor of the then Windsor House building (now the Grand Central Hotel) – one of the most bombed buildings in Belfast. Our office was at that time on the 20th floor of Windsor House and we shared the building with a number of state agencies, including the Inland Revenue, which at that time would have been key targets.
The Info Point has been a huge success over the years and has brought thousands of people in to simply pick up information leaflets, to study in our resource library, or to attend events such as school visit programmes, Europe Day receptions, press and media briefings etc.
In spite of the general hostility of the British press to the EU, we have found that the Northern Ireland media have mostly reported fairly on EU issues, particularly those which affect Northern Ireland such as the peace process and of course EU funding.
Suzana Carp: As you left the EC office in April 2020, what memory from your time there played through your mind from your professional career there? How did you feel?
Jeanette Thornton: The official date for the closure of the office was 31 January 2020, so my work for the last few months up to end April has been purely administrative – mainly ensuring all legal measures were covered to terminate the lease, donating the assets of the office to charity and ensuring the office was effectively closed.
The psychological “leaving” began, however, when we learned the result of the UK referendum back in June 2016. Probably the worst day in my EU career.
Prior to that we had a few difficult years as the President had agreed with David Cameron that the Commission would not interfere in or try to influence the outcome of the referendum. In practical terms that meant that the office could not continue to organise any events which might be seen by the British government as advancing the “cause” of the EU in any form. The main work of the office during that time was one of political reporting to Brussels, and engaging with key sectors around the discussions on the withdrawal process.
As it stands, everyone in Northern Ireland qualifies for British and Irish citizenship (or both) under the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998. This means that de facto every person in Northern Ireland can choose to continue to be a EU citizen post Brexit, as half (more or less) already are. It is not just sad that the EC office here has closed and that the UK Government has recently denied the request of the European Union to retain its office here, but it is highly consequential.
The European Union is not just the European Commission or the Europa building in Brussels. The European Union is each beating heart that contributes to the creation of what Europe is: a living experience of peace across cultures and across competing interests. And it is of all those whose hearts beat on the European continent and all those around the world whose hearts beat for peace.
I only understood the EU after I studied abroad in Northern Ireland in 2008, as a posted student from the USA. It was my first time living my EU citizenship right, as my country of origin, Romania, had joined the EU a little over a year before. Only after studying the conflict in this region and the EU’s role, did I get to love, live and look for safeguarding the European project. My heart beats for Europe and it beats for Northern Ireland. I am so grateful to Jeanette for allowing me to interview her on these topics.