Member's statement: EU Engagement
Member's statement by Mrs Ciara Ferguson on .
- MLA
- Mrs Ciara Ferguson
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 24 March 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- EU Engagement
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5462715
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The visit by a number of Members to the EU institutions in Brussels over St Patrick's Day was extremely positive. There are huge benefits to continuously building on relationships with our EU counterparts. I was delighted to take part, alongside Brian Kingston of the DUP, in detailed engagements with the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. The junior Ministers also met the chair of the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, Sandro Gozi MEP. Junior Ministers Aisling Reilly and Joanne Bunting highlighted and advocated the importance of identifying opportunities to strengthen cooperation and shared understanding with the EU. I praise junior Minister Reilly and junior Minister Bunting for delivering such a positive and proactive message and building closer relationships with friends and colleagues in the EU. All of us, alongside Minister Andrew Muir, attended the Executive Office in Brussels annual St Patrick's Day breakfast. There was plenty of food for thought about the benefits of strategic collaboration between the Executive and the European Union. We discussed, amongst other issues, PEACE PLUS, participation of the North in ERASMUS+, other youth mobility initiatives and economic partnerships. We stand to benefit from deeper engagement with the European Union as a result of dual market access. Events such as the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly are an opportunity to strengthen that engagement. Ultimately, of course, I believe that Ireland's place is within the EU via a united Ireland. However, there is much that we can do in the meantime to build closer relationships, and the engagement of both junior Ministers, Minister Muir and MLAs over St Patrick's Day is a good example of that.
269 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.06 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.96).
- Subject area: Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.07 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.04 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.17 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.06 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.96 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.04 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.91 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.06 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.01 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.01 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:15 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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