Debate contribution: EU Office in Belfast

Debate contribution by Mr Stewart Dickson on 12 January 2026.

MLA

Mr Stewart Dickson

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

12 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

EU Office in Belfast

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5312031

Read the official Assembly record

Text

The Alliance Party supports the motion, because it is important that we are wholly positive about the potential to establish an EU or, more correctly, a European External Action Service (EEAS) office in Belfast. As many will know, it is not a new concept. When the UK was a member of the EU, there were offices not just in Belfast but in Cardiff and Edinburgh. Now, of course, the EU has a diplomatic office in London, as the UK is no longer an EU member state. The EU has European External Action Service offices in a wide range of non-EU states. Having an EU or EEAS office in Belfast surely cannot be considered a bad thing. The United Kingdom has a diplomatic presence in the EU, and vice versa, since we gave up our EU membership. No one's sovereignty is impacted on by having such an office here, and it does not affect anyone's nationality. It is simply the establishment of a range of important diplomatic trade services between countries, as has been done for centuries. Indeed, if set up, such an EU office would join similar diplomatic services that already have offices in Belfast, such as the Polish consulate, the Chinese consulate and the American consulate. In fact, the American consulate in Belfast is one of the oldest continuously operating US consulates in the world, and yet no one believes that having that office here negatively impacts on their identity. If an EEAS office were to open in Belfast, surely it could only be a good thing. Our unique position as regards the EU compared with the rest of the world, with our dual market access, which the UK Government are often keen promote, and the ever-improving EU-UK relationships, means that an office in Belfast would help constituents and EU citizens who are resident here and benefit businesses. I recently asked in the Chamber for the First Minister to join me:

"in being relentlessly positive about Northern Ireland's dual access opportunities".

At that time, the First Minister agreed, noting that there is a "good-news story to tell" and that we must:

"promote the message that we are open for business. The fact that we have dual market access makes us the envy of many other economies and is something that we must maximise." — [Official Report (Hansard), 24 November 2025, p26, col 2].

While I am extremely positive about the prospect of an EU office in Belfast, it would be remiss not to mention some of the issues caused by Brexit, those who championed it and the subsequent Windsor framework. An EEAS office in Belfast would be well placed to help consumers with queries and businesses that operate from, in and out of Northern Ireland. It would allow the EU to see and feel at first hand the concerns about and benefits of the ever-evolving Brexit rules. It should not be lost on those in the Chamber that the Executive Office maintains a highly effective office, based in Brussels, that represents Northern Ireland in the EU. It might be worthwhile reflecting on its aims, which are:

"• to assist the Northern Ireland Executive to further the aims of its Programme for Government through supporting Northern Ireland’s European engagement. • to assist Northern Ireland Departments to contribute to EU policy development and implementation in relation to their core business areas and to increase Departmental engagement with elective European funding programmes. • to raise the positive profile of Northern Ireland in Europe and among its institutions."

We really should be telling the world that Northern Ireland is open for business and ensuring that businesses are best able to navigate our dual market access, which is something that could be of benefit to the whole of Northern Ireland. It needs to be a two-way street. That is why the Alliance Party supports the benefits of having a European Union office presence in Belfast for Northern Ireland.

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

Assessment

Not qualifying

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:17 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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