Member's statement: EU Enlargement: Anniversary

Member's statement by Mr John Blair on 13 May 2024.

MLA

Mr John Blair

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

13 May 2024

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

EU Enlargement: Anniversary

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4488564

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I rise to recognise the recent anniversary of the EU treaty that led to the enlargement of the EU on 1 May 2004, when what were referred to then as the "A8 countries" joined and changed things positively for many millions of people across Europe. It has been well documented that, following that date, citizens of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia integrated into the EU, and many people from those countries availed themselves of the movement and opportunities that were offered to them, as did, at that time, citizens of Malta and Cyprus. Of particular and local relevance today is the fact that, later this afternoon, members of the Polish community in Northern Ireland will host an event in Parliament Buildings to mark the anniversary, which coincides with Polish Heritage Days, an event held annually across the UK in May. It will be a pleasure to join them later to thank them for involving me in the preparation for the event and to take the opportunity to share the special day with them. Like other Members, I am sure, I have been lucky to have worked with members of our Polish community through my role as an elected representative and in my previous employment before I joined the Assembly. I welcome the opportunity to thank them for how they have enriched our community in Northern Ireland and assisted local employers, as well as creating local employment themselves. I say this to the Polish members of our community and to the Polish consulate in Belfast: the Northern Irish welcome remains as warm as ever, and your event in Parliament Buildings is much appreciated. I am sure that Members will join me in saying that, when there are challenges or when a small number of people seek to be unwelcoming or to undermine that welcome, we stand with our Polish community and will be here for it. I wish the organisers well for today, and I support their efforts to enhance relationships through establishing an informal all-party group (APG), which might meet twice a year. I thank Mike Nesbitt — he cannot be here for Members' statements — who has been closely involved, leading the correspondence about today and keeping in touch with us all. I understand that he will be present later. I also want to mention Deborah Erskine, who liaised with us both before today's event, and the other Members who have been involved.

410 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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