The Pros and Cons of Irish Membership of the European Union

1354 Words3 Pages

Advantages and Disadvantages Associated with Irish Membership of the

European Union

The European Union stands on the threshold of unparalleled change over the coming years. The next waves of enlargement will be unprecedented in nature and continental in scale. This process has gained so much political momentum that it is now irreversible.

The EU will grow by the decades end to at least 27 member states comprising the largest economic bloc in the world, accounting for 25% of global GDP and incorporating 500 million people within its borders. Of these 500 million people, approximately 3.4 million of them will hold a passport stamped with the word Éire.

These are very exciting times for our country, we are now part of the largest economic community the world has ever seen, opening the doors of opportunity for us, the Irish citizens, everywhere we look. Ireland's membership of the EU is seen by most to be of great benefit to the country as it will solidify the foundations of our economy as well as increase the awareness of Ireland as an investment opportunity for multi national companies; however, some will argue that the change would be detrimental to our nation in the long run.

The beneficial aspect of Irish membership can, in most cases, be easily seen in three main areas:

· Economical

· Social

· Political

Economical

The economical advantages are those that are most evident in our nation these days. Consumers want products, products need delivering, deliveries require logistics, and logistics cannot be performed without the proper road network. It is here that EU grants have helped, being instrumental in the upgrading of our road infrastructure, allowing them to cope with the increased flow of traffic create...

... middle of paper ...

...arter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, which strives to bring social security systems in line with each other, vital when it is considered that the per capita social expenditure of a country like the Netherlands is twice as high as that of Portugal.

The European Union members speak together with one voice on such matter as energy and pollution and the research budget for the community is so great that it will lead to great advancements in technology.

Europe is the envy of the world,

and I am glad that Ireland is a part of it.

Bibliography:

References:

In completing this assignment, I gained information from the following sources:

European Investment Bank Internet site

http://www.eib.org

European Union Internet site

http://www.europa.eu

Business and Finance

Dated 11th January 2001

http://www.businessandfinance.ie

Open Document