Irish unity is the best way of restoring Northern Ireland’s position within the European Union, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has said.
Mr Eastwood said that while he did not consider the unity debate to be an election issue, he did believe it was important as an aspiration while dealing with immediate challenges.
The SDLP leader addressed a New Ireland Commission event in Belfast on Friday as elections were taking place to the European Parliament.
The commission was set up by the SDLP to facilitate discussions on the possibilities of a united Ireland.
A majority of people in Northern Ireland voted remain in the Brexit referendum in 2016, which saw the UK vote to leave the European Union.
Mr Eastwood said: “It is the same day the European elections are happening right across the European continent and on another part of this island.
“We are making the point that we have been dragged out of the European Union against our will and we would like to get back there as soon as possible.
“We have a prescription for that which, in the long term, is to build a new Ireland where we are part of the European Union.
“It has been a real tragedy and travesty that we have been dragged out of it.
“We hope that a new Labour government will bring us closer to Europe but we are very aware that the best way to get properly back into the European Union, to get all those benefits, is by developing and creating a new Ireland over time.”
Mr Eastwood said that a united Ireland also had to be a “reconciled Ireland”.
He said: “The process of building that is a process of reconciliation. It is about setting out a plan to have better economic outcomes, for lifting people out of poverty, for having a health service that actually works.
“This place is in a very bad state and we think there is a better way.”
With the General Election looming, Mr Eastwood said the united Ireland discussion was one for the “long term and the medium term”.
He said: “We can’t let today pass where we know that electors all across Europe are electing to the European Parliament and our voice is not going to be heard.
“A new Labour government will bring us closer hopefully to Europe but there is no British government that will bring us as close to Europe as actually being part of Europe, part of the European Union.
“That inevitably means building towards a new Ireland, that is a long-term conversation but it is one that we should have.
“Is it an election issue? Probably not. But it doesn’t mean just because we have immediate priorities that we can’t also have a vision for the future.”
Mr Eastwood told the event that his party was having discussions with unionists over the future of Northern Ireland.
He said: “Those people who tell me that unionists aren’t involved in this conversation about the future, I can tell you, they are wrong because they are talking to us and we are listening to them.
“The opportunity that this place has is massive and I don’t believe that people from a unionist background aren’t interested in the future.
“I don’t believe they are not interested in trying to make our health outcomes better or our economy better.
“Look at the economic stats in the north compared to the economic stats in the south.
“Is it a panacea? Absolutely not, but for us the opportunity that exists and the conversation and the build-up to creating a new Ireland is actually about ending division on this island.”
The event was also addressed by Claire Hanna, the party’s candidate in Belfast South and Mid-Down at the election.
She said: “We know that it isn’t a quick route back into Europe, but it is there for the taking and we are the party and the movement to get that in place.”
