Former Minister Alan Dukes declared that if we used the capacity of the Eurozone that’s available today, we could do a far better job for all 500 million citizens of the EU. Mr Dukes and solicitor Ursula Tipp, addressed the question of European Economic Policy – What's in it for Ireland? at the evening seminar, jointly organised with European Movement Ireland, in Athlone Institute of Technology last week.
Alan Dukes said that a successful European economic policy would be beneficial for Ireland and other countries, including Greece. Mr Dukes added that “The Troika programme was one of the positive things the EU has given us, without it life here would have been more difficult”.
In her presentation, Ms Tipp said that solidarity within the EU works - as seen by the economic crisis Ms Tipp said that “SMEs presented a real chance for indigenous growth and that our EU trading partners have a lot to offer; in that context the potential exit of the UK from the EU would be a disaster”.
Following the panel presentations, a question and answer session with the Athlone audience focused on Greece, the ‘knowledge box’, banking, and the European economic rules. The audience included AIT students, NGO representatives, local business leaders, and public representatives..
The seminar was the 15th in a series of seminars which aims to explain the current economic situation in the EU, and to provide an opportunity for people to ask questions about its implications for Ireland. The seminar featured a presentation by Patrick O’Riordan of the European Commission and was chaired by Ruth Deasy, Head of Press at the European Commission Representation in Ireland.
