Sinn Fein MEP to host '˜special EU status' event

The event will be held in Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin on Great James Street on Tuesday, May 30, at 11am.

It will bring together individuals and groups from a range of sectors to discuss the impact of Brexit on the north of Ireland.

The meeting in Derry will focus on what securing designated special status for the north within the EU would look like and how it would work.

Speaking ahead of the event, Martina Anderson MEP said:

“There is no doubt that the Tory Brexit agenda to drag us out of the EU against the will of the people here would be disastrous for the north and for the entire island.

“The people rejected that agenda in last year’s referendum and since then there has been growing concern about the impact of Brexit.

“But there is an alternative. Brexit is not a done deal and we have put forward a case for the north to secure designated special status within the EU and it has already received support across Ireland and across Europe.”

Ms Anderson, who sits with the GUE/NGL (European United Left - Nordic Green Left) group in the European Parliament continued:

“I have met and lobbied the key players on Brexit in Europe on our case for designated special status and it is clear there is significant support for it across Europe.

“We now need to see the Irish government make the case for designated special status a demand in the upcoming Brexit negotiations.”

Ms Anderson further stated: “The Irish government, as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, have a responsibility to act in the best national interests of all Irish citizens, including those in the north and it is clear that securing designated special status within the EU is in our best interests.”