Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Sinn Féin MEPs under pressure

The political maelstrom currently engulfing Sinn Féin, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, in Ireland is now having an effect on the party's two politicians in the European Parliament.

Following complaints by UK MEPs, the European Parliament's legal services department is next week likely to consider a request to strip members of Sinn Féin of their financial allowances, according to the FT.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Sinn Fein has been represented for the first time in the European Parliament since June last year with Mary Lou McDonald from the Dublin constituency and Bairbre de Brún from Northern Ireland.

The call by UK MEPs comes as Sinn Féin finds itself under increasing pressure as both Dublin and London have accused the IRA of carrying out a huge bank raid in Belfast in December.

This was followed in January by the murder of a Catholic, Robert McCartney, following a pub fight in Belfast - carried out by IRA members.

Jim Nicholson, an Ulster Unionist MEP, who heads a cross-party body which looks after MEPs' financial and administrative needs in the assembly said earlier this week that he had sent a request for financial penalties against Sinn Féin to the legal service to find out if there were grounds for action.

"It is not enough for Sinn Féin or the IRA to say they'll give one person or five people up. All the people who are guilty of this attack on Robert McCartney should be given up", said Mr Nicholson on Monday.

UK Labour MEP Gary Titley was also critical of Sinn Féin.

"The raid on the Northern Bank, the murder of Robert McCartney, the intimidation of witnesses, the evidence of money laundering suggests that extensive criminality has now become part and parcel of the Northern Ireland scene", he said.

Such criminality had no place in political action, he said, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

Head of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said on Tuesday morning at a press conference that he rejected everything the IRA was doing and that they could not expect to receive solidarity from the Parliament.

He added that the political grouping to which Sinn Féin's two MEPs belong should consider carefully whether it should include members who supported those who deliberately follow a policy which can lead to a 'miserable situation' for Northern Ireland.

Both Ms de Brún and Ms McDonald sit with the left wing GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament.

The McCartney murder and the Belfast bank raid have had an effect across the Atlantic, as well.

For the first time in a decade, leaders of the Sinn Fein party will not be guests of the White House for the traditional St Patrick's day celebrations on 17 March.

Moreover, on Wednesday, the Bush administration told the IRA it should disband after it offered to shoot four men - including two recently expelled members - responsible for killing Mr McCartney.

MEPs to condemn IRA violence

The five biggest political groups in the European Parliament have tabled a motion condemning violence and criminality by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Family of IRA victim take campaign to Brussels

Five Belfast sisters involved in a highly-publicised campaign against the killing of their brother by the Irish Republican Army will be bringing their fight to Brussels on Wednesday.

Ukraine slams grain trade restrictions at EU summit

Restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU could translate into military losses in their bid to stop Russia's war, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned EU leaders during their summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us