On the occasion of Ireland’s 50 years of membership in the EU Union, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen compared the Russian invasion of Ukraine to Ireland’s right to remain independent from the UK. The German politician’s statement addressed both houses of the Irish Parliament. 

“This country knows what it means to struggle for the right to exist. Today, another European nation is fighting for independence,” – von der Leyen stated. 

“You understand better than most why this war matters so much to all of us. Just like our friends in Eastern Europe, you know that in Ukraine, there is more at stake than the future of one country alone. Ukraine is fighting for freedom itself; for self-rule; for the rules-based global order,” – she explained. 

Von der Leyen’s words sparked outrage in the UK. Several politicians commented on them in the media. 

“The Northern Ireland peace process is a fragile creature, and it is hard to think of anything more provocative than to compare the Irish context with that of Ukraine, whose brave people are resisting the unwarranted aggression of Putin’s Russia” – Former Brexit minister David Jones of the European Research Group told The Telegraph.

For former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, von der Leyen’s allusion “shows ignorance of the UK’s relations with Ireland and a tragic failure to understand the depths of the wickedness of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to the slaughter of innocent people.”

Although the President of the European Commission did not necessarily mean to launch a controversy, her rather clumsy words were perceived as unjustified.  Indeed, not only has Britain strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but it has also been among the main supports for that country from a humanitarian and military point of view since February. 

Another thing stressed by von der Leyen’s critics is that her words were undiplomatic and even risky, given the fragility of the foundations on which the Good Friday Agreement was established. Let’s hope there will be no consequences for that incident. 

In early 2019, another high-ranked EU official targeted Brits with a mean comment. The then-President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said there was “a special place in hell” for Brexit supporters. 

Image: Twitter (@vonderleyen)

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen