Teaching and learning in Brussels: Sinn Féin’s strategic ‘venue shopping’ approach in the European Parliament
| Author | Conor J Kelly |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/13691481211062930 |
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Original Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/13691481211062930
The British Journal of Politics and
International Relations
2023, Vol. 25(1) 139 –155
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/13691481211062930
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Teaching and learning in
Brussels: Sinn Féin’s strategic
‘venue shopping’ approach in
the European Parliament
Conor J Kelly1,2
Abstract
Sinn Féin was once staunchly Eurosceptic and has periodically campaigned against the ratification
of European Union treaties in Ireland. Since the early 2000s, however, they have rejected
the Eurosceptic label and self-described as ‘critically engaged’ with the European Union. This
article explores how Sinn Féin have used their membership of the European Parliament and the
European United Left/Nordic Green Left parliamentary group since their first Members of the
European Parliament were elected in 2004, with a particular focus on the acrimonious post–Brexit
referendum period. The article argues that the European Union forum is seen in terms of its utility
by Sinn Féin, as a venue to teach and learn from their colleagues on their particular understanding
of Irish history, nationalism and party strategy. It concludes by arguing that, in a process beginning
before Brexit, the opportunities the European Union platform affords Sinn Féin have led to the
adaptation of a particularly novel engagement strategy with European institutions.
Keywords
Brexit, European integration, European Union, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Sinn Féin, venue
shopping
Introduction
Sinn Féin are an Irish Republican Party who contest elections on both sides of the Irish
border. Since the 1970s, they have stood on a platform which is critical of the European
Union (EU). However, during the 2016 Brexit referendum, Sinn Féin opted to campaign
for Remain. This was despite having campaigned against the United Kingdom’s member-
ship of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1975 and against several EU treaty
ratification amendments to the Republic of Ireland’s constitution, including the Maastricht,
Nice, Lisbon and Fiscal Compact Treaty referendums.
1Department of Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK
2Constitution Unit, University College London, London, UK
Corresponding author:
Conor J Kelly, Department of Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London, 10 Gower Street, London
WC1E 6HJ, UK.
Email: ckelly06@mail.bbk.ac.uk
1062930BPI0010.1177/13691481211062930The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsKelly
research-article2021
Original Article
140 The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 25(1)
Before and after the 2016 referendum, the prospect of Brexit prompted a significant
shift in the tone of Sinn Féin’s public position on the EU. Since the decision of the United
Kingdom to leave, Sinn Féin has mounted a vociferous campaign in favour of Northern
Ireland having a ‘special status’ which would mitigate Brexit’s worst effects, as they see
them. The party, along with many others on the island of Ireland, points to the fact that
Northern Ireland itself (56% in favour of Remain), and in particular its nationalist com-
munity (88% in favour of Remain), voted with a strong majority against leaving the EU
(Garry, 2016: 2). They have also campaigned on the principle that Northern Ireland being
forced to leave along with the rest of the United Kingdom is tantamount to a breach of the
1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA), particularly its provisions on citizenship (Haughey
and Pow, 2020: 35; McCord Judgement, 2016). In their election manifestos, Sinn Féin has
had a marked shift from sporadic critical references to the EU to European integration
being positioned as a cornerstone of their Irish unification aspirations, as well as a key
instrument in facilitating the Northern Irish peace process in retrospect (Sinn Féin, 2019a:
3, 2019b: 3, 2020: 11). In elections since 2016, including to Westminster and the European
Parliament, they have positioned themselves as the electorate’s best option to prevent
Northern Ireland leaving the EU against its will.
This article expands on what others (including Maillot, 2010) have shown by high-
lighting how Sinn Féin’s position on the EU has evolved significantly since the advent
of the European project. In the early 2000s, the party moved from outright Euroscepticism
to what they called ‘critical engagement’1 with the EU. A key step in this process was
its first elected Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) joining the European
Parliamentary group2 European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) in 2004.
This political grouping was distinctly Eurosceptic, but only moderately so (Maillot,
2010). The article then takes a departure from others to explore how Sinn Féin has
adopted a novel engagement strategy with the European Parliament and this
Parliamentary group since 2004, in the crucial years before and after the Brexit refer-
endum. The article utilises semi-structured interviews conducted with a wide range of
politicians and officials from Sinn Féin (5 interviews), as well as their party rivals in
Northern Ireland and staff from the European Parliament (a further 12 interviews).
These interviews took place during the tumultuous Brexit period (2018–2020) in
London, Brussels and Belfast, and through private phone calls.
The result is a new body of evidence which examines how Sinn Féin has engaged with
the European institutions it is a member of. It argues that participation in Europe became
crucial for Sinn Féin‘s wider political strategy before and after Brexit, as the European
Parliament became a venue through which the party could teach and learn with their col-
leagues in Brussels. The article concludes by suggesting that Sinn Féin are irregular par-
ticipants in the European Parliament with a unique relationship with Europe which
prioritises the utility of the platform the EU affords them.
Sinn Féin and Europe: Critically engaged in GUE/NGL
Sinn Féin’s blend of left-wing nationalism led them to an outright anti-EEC position in
the 1970s. The party initially boycotted European elections. Along with Maillot (2010),
many scholars have highlighted the move away from Euroscepticism to a policy of ‘criti-
cal engagement’ by Sinn Féin in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This position reversed the
policy of withdrawal and pledged that the party would assess EU policies based on their
individual merits. Their increased willingness to highlight the peace, reconciliation and
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