On 8 November, NTNU and the European Studies programme’s Jean Monnet module invites you to the annual Jean Monnet lecture at Sellanraa, Litteraturhuset, Trondheim for an evening on “The Irish Perspective on Brexit” with an uniquely all-Irish panel. Moderated by Dr Michael J. Geary, Associate Professor in Modern History at NTNU who will be joined for an exciting discussion by His Excellency Mr Keith McBean, Ambassador of Ireland to Norway and Dr Mary Murphy, Jean Monnet Professor of European integration at University College Cork and the author Europe and Northern Ireland’s Future: Negotiating Brexit’s Unique Case (2018).

About:
The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union places Ireland in a uniquely difficult position. It is culturally and economically deeply intertwined with both the UK and the rest of the EU and is the only EU state to share a land border with Britain. Decades of civil violence ended in Northern Ireland with the historic signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, yet how to safeguard that Agreement and what to do with the Irish border have subsequently grown to become the most difficult issues in trying to conclude the withdrawal negotiations. Central to this event is to seeks answers to the following questions: How did the Irish border come to be the most decisive issue in the Brexit negotiations? Should Dublin have been more flexible with infamous backstop arrangement? How has Brexit damaged Irish-British relations?

This event is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union

The panel:
Michael J. Geary is Associate Professor in Modern History, NTNU
His Excellency Keith McBean is Ambassador of Ireland to Norway
Mary C. Murphy is Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, University College Cork

This event is free and open for all.