The European Parliament: A Critical Space for the Development of Anglo-Irish Relations on Northern Ireland

• Published date: 01 September 2025
• Author: Giada Lagana
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cep4.70011
• Section: Research Article

Contemporary European Politics

RESEARCH ARTICLE

The European Parliament: A Critical Space for the

Development of Anglo‐Irish Relations on Northern

Ireland

Giada Lagana

School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK

Correspondence: Giada Lagana (laganag@cardiff.ac.uk)

Received: 4 April 2025 | Revised: 5 April 2025 | Accepted: 10 April 2025

Keywords: Anglo‐Irish relationships | conflict transformation| European Parliament (EP) | hunger strikes | Irish politics on Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT

The European Parliament (EP) serves as the legislative body where elected representatives from EU member states are

organised into political groups, rather than by nationality. Initially established as a consultative assembly, the EP's influence in

budgetary politics, legislation and oversight has expanded significantly since the first direct elections in 1979 and the passage of

the Single European Act (SEA) in 1987. While it has often been argued that the EP's ability to influence national politics is

limited, recent studies show that the active involvement of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in EU legislation and

other EP activities can foster stronger ties between European representatives and their national parties. These representatives

can leverage their involvement to demonstrate influence on supranational policy outcomes and build consensus both at the

bilateral and EU levels. This article uses the developing British‐Irish relationship on the Northern Ireland conflict to demon-

strate this function. It focuses on the early 1980s and the Northern Ireland hunger strikes. Using a novel network approach, the

article draws on a qualitative analysis of original archival sources, triangulated with semi‐structured elite interviews, to

demonstrate that the EP not only supported this relationship but also played a pivotal role in transforming it before the 1985

Anglo‐Irish Agreement (AIA) negotiations. In light of Brexit, this analysis highlights how the departure of the UK from the EU

may create a deficit in the British‐Irish relationship. Furthermore, it provides a foundation for further study of the EP's dynamic

role in fostering stronger relationships among EU member states.

1 | Introduction

The European Union (EU)

1

is in constant constitutional

development. Part of this evolution has seen the European

Parliament (EP) undergo a very significant transformation since

the late 1980s. From a consultative assembly, the parliament

gradually progressed towards becoming a pivotal institution in a

European governmental system, trying to resemble more and

more a parliamentary democracy (Lehman and Schunz 2005).

Direct elections in 1979 and the Single European Act (SEA) of

July 1987 were pivotal moments in the pathway towards

change. Subsequent treaties extended these powers further.

Most recently, the Treaty of Lisbon granted the EP co‐decision

rights in areas where a veto had long been denied, such as

agriculture, justice and home affairs policies.

Existing scholarship has demonstrated how the Members of

the European Parli ament (MEPs) have re sponded to this

growth by increasing the powers of the EP's biggest party

groups. In turn, the se political groups h ave learnt how to deal

pragmatically with the Council of the EU and the Commission

(Cooper 2012; Corbett, Jacobs, and Shackleton 2011;Kelbel

and Navarro 2020; Kreppel 2002; Kreppel and Gungor 2006;

Neunreither 2005; Warren 2018; Whitaker 2011) . Studies have

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly

cited.

© 2025 The Author(s). Contemporary European Politics published by University Association of Contemporary European Studies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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https://doi.org/10.1002/cep4.70011