What you might need to know
This video includes AI-generated content produced under human supervision. Script by Dr Emmanuelle Schön-Quinlivan.
This is a short video about what you might need to know about Ireland and the European Union. So, the European Union, also called the EU, is a club of 27 members, or countries.
On 9 May 1950, the French Foreign Affairs Minister, Robert Schuman, made a declaration calling for the creation of a European Community. He famously said, ‘Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan.’ It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity. ‘This is why every year, we celebrate Europe Day on 9 May.
The first European Community was created in 1951 with only six countries: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
They only decided to work together when it came to managing coal and steel, two key materials used to make weapons and ammunition. Two very defined areas – coal and steel – but when this worked, they decided to extend it to other areas like agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and the environment. This is what we call European integration – working increasingly together, in more depth and in more areas, i.e., an ever closer Union.
The early European Union was called the European Coal and Steel Community and then the European Economic Community. But with the children, using the name ‘European Union’ from the start is easier.
In 1973, Ireland decided to join the club. It came in with Denmark and the United Kingdom. Over the years, the club has grown bigger and bigger until 2013, with the latest member, Croatia, coming in.
On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom left the EU. This meant that all its representatives were gone from the European institutions.
When asking the children which country left the EU, make sure that they answer the UK. Often they will say England. But the UK is a puzzle country with four pieces: England and Wales, who both voted to leave the EU. Scotland and Northern Ireland, who both voted to stay in the EU. But since there are more people in England and Wales than in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the whole of the UK is leaving the EU.
Why? Because the UK did not like the rules of the EU club. They wanted to make their own rules and make their own deals with other countries. They also didn’t want to apply the freedom of movement of people, which is one of the four freedoms of movement at the heart of the Single Market and the DNA of the EU.
Ultimately the EU is a club, and as a country, you need to decide whether it is better to be in the club (but you’ll have to make lots of compromises) or whether it is more beneficial to be outside the club. This gets the children to use their critical thinking skills and develop arguments to try and see several aspects of EU (i.e. club) membership. You’ll be surprised how much they have to say!