Stormont's official opposition to demand NI representation in EU Parliament - but will it only be for Irish passport holders?
Stormont’s official opposition is call for Northern Ireland representation in the European Parliament – but have failed to explain how this could be achieved without having elections only open to Irish passport holders.
The SDLP will have control of Assembly business on Monday and have put forward a list of proposals on the province’s future relationship with the EU.
Perhaps the most controversial proposal is a demand for the Secretary of State to look at “options for Northern Ireland representation in the European Parliament reflecting our rights as EU citizens and obligations under EU law”.
It is not the first time the party has raised the issue of EU voting rights, but its claim that people in Northern Ireland are EU citizens has been questioned in the past.
As the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union, it is unclear exactly how the SDLP believes that Northern Ireland citizens are citizens of the EU.
Irish passport holders are considered EU citizens for certain purposes, but the idea that elections could be contested purely involving one section of the community would be highly contentious.
The News Letter asked the SDLP that given that only Irish passport holders are considered EU citizens, how would NI representation in EU parliament work without having a sectarian vote where only Irish passport holders can take part. The party did not respond.
Earlier this year, an Alliance Party MLA hosted an event at Stormont on the “denial” of EU voting rights for Irish citizens in Northern Ireland – which made no mention of extending the franchise to UK citizens.
The News Letter had asked Alliance whether it supported only Irish passport holders having a vote, or all citizens – but it did not respond.
New Europeans UK, who ran the event, had said “over half a million people in NI holding Irish citizenship are excluded from voting”.
UUP boss Mike Nesbitt has said the issue of Irish passport holders is a red herring – and millions who voted remain “are all excluded from EU elections, that is the outworking of democracy”.
He said he accepted that the voting majority choose the direction of travel.”