Martina Anderson: ‘The North is ready - Europe must be ready too’

“The momentum for change is building across Ireland. The democratic pathway exists. The legal framework exists. The research is being done,” she added.

“What we need now is the political leadership and the preparation to match. The North is ready for that conversation. Ireland is preparing for its future. And it is time for Europe to prepare too.”

The aim of Irish Unity Week, which ran from November 9 to 12, was to put “Irish unity firmly on the European agenda, through a series of political events, including an exhibition detailing the history of Ireland and our prospects for the future”.

The week included the launch of the report: The EU and Irish Unity - The Consequences of Constitutional Change authored by Derry’s Professor Colin Harvey and Mark Bassett, Barrister-at-Law, and a political update from Sinn Féin’s national chairperson Declan Kearney MLA.

Ms Anderson said it was a pleasure to be back in Brussels “particularly for an exhibition that tells the story of our island”.

“It was,” she added, “a story of partition, discrimination, resistance, peacebuilding, Brexit and, importantly, the future. Because this exhibition is not simply about where we have come from. It is about where we are going.

“And, the message I want to deliver tonight is straightforward: The North is ready for a serious conversation about Irish unity. The question is - is Europe ready?

“I served in this Parliament during one of the most politically turbulent periods in our recent history - Brexit. And I remember very clearly the disbelief, the frustration and the anger when the people of the North, who voted to remain in the European Union, were told that our democratic wishes counted for nothing.

“We voted to remain. We were taken out anyway. And let us be clear - Brexit was not a decision taken by the people of Ireland. It was imposed upon us.

“I spent years in this Parliament making that argument, challenging the consequences of Brexit and demanding that our rights, our peace agreements and our unique circumstances be respected. We fought to ensure that the Good Friday Agreement was protected in all of its parts, that there would be no hardening of a border on our island – because it is already too hard, and that the European Union understood its responsibilities to the people of the North of Ireland,” said Ms Anderson.

“And I want to acknowledge that Europe did stand firm on important principles,” she emphasised.

“But we also learned a fundamental lesson. When governments fail to prepare for political change, it is ordinary people who pay the price.

“We cannot allow that mistake to be repeated when it comes to Irish unity. Because, unlike Brexit, Irish unity is not some constitutional leap into the unknown. It is a democratic pathway already provided for in an international agreement – lodged at the United Nations called the Good Friday Agreement.

“And in 2017, the European Council explicitly acknowledged that a united Ireland, achieved through that Agreement, would automatically be part of the European Union.

“That was a hugely important recognition. But recognition is not preparation. And political goodwill is no substitute for political planning. Today, across Ireland, the conversation has moved on. Academics, civic organisations, political representatives, trade unionists, women's organisations, Happy Lundies and local communities are engaging with the practical questions of constitutional change, said Ms Anderson.

“People are discussing what a new Ireland could look like,” she added.

“What kind of health service we want. What rights we will guarantee. How we build an economy that works for everyone. How we respect and protect British identity, Irish identity and those who identify as both.

“These are no longer conversations confined to republican meetings. They are taking place in universities, public halls, community centres and major civic gatherings.

The conversation has moved from whether we should discuss unity to how we prepare for it.

And yet, at official level, the preparations are still lagging behind the debate. That is the contradiction we must confront.

“The people are moving. Civil society is moving. The research is advancing. But our governments and the European institutions have not moved with the urgency this moment demands. And I say this as someone who spent years working inside this Parliament: Europe cannot afford to wait until a referendum is upon us before beginning the serious work,” cautioned Ms Anderson.

She added: “We need discussions now about citizenship, voting rights, the single market, the euro, investment, public services and the transition to a united Ireland.

“We need to ensure that nobody is left behind. And we need to ensure that the rights and identities of every citizen are respected.

“Because Irish unity must not simply be about removing a border. It must be about building a better Ireland.

“An Ireland that is inclusive, equal and democratic. An Ireland in which those from a British or unionist background can see their identity, their rights and their future fully protected. An Ireland that offers opportunity to our young people, security to our older people and dignity to every community.

“And Europe has an important role to play in helping make that possible. This exhibition reminds us that partition shaped generations of lives. The Civil Rights Movement challenged injustice and discrimination. The peace process created new possibilities. And Brexit exposed once again the democratic and constitutional contradictions of partition,” said Ms Anderson.

“But our history is not standing still,” she added.

“We are not here simply to commemorate the past. We are here to help shape the future.

“Tomorrow (November 11, 2026), Professor Colin Harvey and Mark Bassett will launch their latest report examining the consequences of Irish unity for the European Union. Their work is an important contribution to the growing body of serious research and preparation.

“And the essential challenge it presents is one that should resonate throughout these institutions: The European Union cannot be a bystander to constitutional change on the island of Ireland.

“It has a responsibility to prepare. Not to dictate the outcome of a democratic referendum. Not to substitute its judgement for the people of Ireland. But to ensure that, when the people exercise their democratic right to decide, they do so with clarity, confidence and the knowledge that Europe is prepared to play its part,” said Ms Anderson.

“I believe Irish unity represents an enormous opportunity - for our people, for our island and for Europe. The opportunity to complete the work of peacebuilding. To overcome the divisions of partition. And to bring the entire island of Ireland back into the European Union.

“So tonight, standing here in Brussels, my message is simple.

“The momentum for change is building across Ireland. The democratic pathway exists. The legal framework exists. The research is being done.

“What we need now is the political leadership and the preparation to match. The North is ready for that conversation. Ireland is preparing for its future. And it is time for Europe to prepare too.