REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A DINNER FOR THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A DINNER FOR THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN FRIDAY, 18 MAY 2007
Distinguished Guests,
It is my very great pleasure to extend to each one of you the traditional Irish welcome, Céad Míle Fáilte, a hundred thousand welcomes. Not only is it a singular privilege to host the members of the European Court of Justice but your visit comes at a very special moment in Irish and indeed in European history. It is good to share this time of hope and peace with you and to acknowledge with gratitude the role played by the European Union and its institutions in bringing a new vision to bear on an old problem, one of the oldest and most intractable of all- the Irish question.
Your work has greatly enhanced the legal cohesion of the European Union and the coherence of the Treaties. It has drawn us all wherever we are in the Union, into a functioning stable, community governed by universally applicable and applied principles. You have been central to the evolution of the new legal order which underpins this great adventure in transnational consensus based politics, central to the consolidation of democratic structures and to championing the primacy of a rule of law infused with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Your work helped change and challenge the context in which the conflict in Northern Ireland took place. You showcased how the Union’s problems could be resolved by collaboration. You showcased the Union’s value system at work. Those wedded to the idea that only violence could solve their problems, that there always had to be winners and losers, were confronted with a new and powerful reality that there could in fact be winners and winners, that dialogue and collegiality has an intrinsic dynamic which conduces to good outcomes, good problemsolving.
So you come to an Ireland which used to have a very troubled relationship with Britain but now after thirty years together in the Union, enjoys a respectful friendship. Out of that friendship developed a shared focus on a common problem, the conflict in Northern Ireland. Out of that common focus came a creative and sensitive solution, an honourable compromise, acceptable now, at last, to all sides. It has been resolved the European way, peace, progress, and prosperity through partnership.
You too exemplify a fruitful partnership. Each of you brings to the Court the story of your own homeland with its distinctive perspective. You bring fidelity to the Treaties and the voluminous body of Union Law. You sustain a vital relationship with the national courts of member states and you help build the trust of the citizens of the Union. It matters to all of us that you are there and that you are successful. I hope your visit to Dublin, at this remarkable time in our island’s history will reconfirm in each of your hearts the life - enhancing power of partnership which is the very life-blood of the European Union and give you renewed energy to continue to be champions of the fresh new humanly decent order which is Europe’s future.
Enjoy your evening with us and enjoy Ireland.
Thank you.