The British and Irish have made significant progress towards resolving the Northern Ireland issue over the last 20 years. I would say that the membership of both countries in the EU has been helpful in that regard, for the following reasons:
- The fact that both countries are members of the same political entity makes the Ireland/Northern Ireland boundary look like an absurd anachronism;
- The other EU members provide a potential resource for mediation; and
- The influence of the Catholic Church over the Irish government has clearly diminished in recent years. While there are numerous reasons for that, I have to believe that the day-to-day connection between the Republic and a variety of more secular countries within the EU has played some sort of role in the process. That change, in turn, makes the ultimate acceptance by Protestants in Northern Ireland of a united Republic more plausible.
Brexit would put all of this at risk. It would harden the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland and make unification more difficult. For that, and other reasons I will discuss in the future, Brexit should be rejected.