Episodes
We look in depth at the Windsor Framework, which reboots the Northern Ireland Protocol, why Unionists have rejected it, what it means for both the restoration of the Stormont Assembly and for the broader EU-UK relationship. Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Colm Ó Mongáin are joined by London Correspondent John Kilraine to discuss.
Published 03/24/23
Published 03/24/23
In this special episode, Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin talks to the historians behind the Documents in Irish Foreign Policy series and explores some very familiar themes from the period 1965-69 as Ireland and the UK sought to join the EEC. Guests: Dr Michael Kennedy, Dr Kate O'Malley, Dr John Gibney.
Published 11/18/22
A Taoiseach and a UK Prime Minister meet in the northwest England and get on famously. Sound familiar? Political Correspondent Micheál Lehane, Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin talk pragmatism, mood music and citrus fruit.
Published 11/11/22
Another Northern Ireland election, but no date. A new Prime Minister in London, but what are his red lines and how red are they? Negotiations continue, but where are they going? Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin assess whether there will be a Rishi Sunak reset in EU-UK relations.
Published 10/28/22
A 'goodbye' from Liz Truss but no 'hello' to stability. As the UK's political upheaval rolls on, what effect will it have on relations with the EU? Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin try to make sense of an unprecedented week.
Published 10/21/22
An apology from an arch-Brexiteer, warm words in London and maybe the protocol was too strict after all. Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin pinch themselves and assess how we got here.
Published 10/07/22
A new British monarch, a new British Prime Minister - a new relationship with the EU? RTÉ Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin & Europe Editor Tony Connelly assess the chances of miraculous occurrences.
Published 09/23/22
The Second Reading of the NI Protocol Bill in the House of Commons - how did it go down? Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin & Europe Editor Tony Connelly look at the debate & reaction. Guests: Tom Tugendhat MP - Chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Prof. David Phinnemore, Queens University Belfast
Published 07/01/22
Anglo-Irish Relations hit a new low, EU-UK relations aren't far behind in the week when the legislation to disapply the Northern Ireland Protocol finally entered the Commons. What's in it and what's the way ahead? Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin gaze into the abyss. Again.
Published 06/17/22
Shifting goal posts, scoreless draws - RTÉ Europe Editor Tony Connelly & Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin review the action in this week Brexit fixtures.
Published 05/20/22
Forming a NI Executive is blocked by a DUP boycott over the Protocol, Dublin says there is no UK partner to make progress & the EU says Maroš Šefcovic's negotiating mandate is not going the change. So what's changed in Brexit-land? RTÉ Europe Editor Tony Connelly & Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin review what changed over the Spring.
Published 05/13/22
DUP disappointment at London's reaction, John Major's broadside & the impact of dynamic alignment on Northern Ireland. Europe Editor Tony Connelly, Northern Correspondent Conor Macauley, London Correspondent Sean Whelan & Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin round up the week. Guest: QUB's Lisa Claire Whitten
Published 02/11/22
Europe Editor Tony Connelly, Northern Editor Vincent Kearney, London Correspondent Sean Whelan and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin dive into the detail of the week the DUP pulled the plug on Stormont to change the NI Protocol. Also - UK Manufacturing's first year of Brexit with the University of Birmingham's Prof David Bailey.
Published 02/04/22
A new February deadline looms in EU-UK talks on the Northern Ireland protocol, but there are no obvious grounds for optimism. Europe Editor Tony Connelly, London Correspondent Seán Whelan, Northern Correspondent Conor Macauley & Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin round up the week.
Published 01/28/22
In the first episode of 2022 Europe Editor Tony Connelly, London Correspondent Seán Whelan and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin catch up how David Frost's departure and Liz Truss's arrival will affect EU-UK discussions on matters Brexit. Guest interview: Jill Rutter - senior research fellow of UK in a Changing Europe
Published 01/21/22
More political trouble on the home front for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a dourly-received EU move on medicines in Northern Ireland and fit of piscine pique are all on the war room table for London Correspondent Seán Whelan and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin.
Published 12/17/21
Governance (a.k.a the role of the European Court of Justice) is no longer a deal-breaker in the EU-UK talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol according to a senior British government official. Why the change of heart? Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin and London Correspondent Sean Whelan have a look.
Published 12/10/21
Has the prospect of Article 16 faded? Where are "constructive" talks going? Europe Editor Tony Connelly, London Correspondent Seán Whelan & Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin look at what, if anything, has changed and why. Guest: Daniel Fallen Bailey, Economic Adviser with the Irish Maritime Development Office.
Published 12/03/21
Ireland's 1921 withdrawal from the UK with the Anglo-Irish Treaty has been compared over the last five years with Brexit. Do such comparisons stand up? On the centenary of the Treaty, Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin & Dr John Gibney of the Royal Irish Academy's Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series take a look.
Published 12/03/21
Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin look at how a tragedy in the English Channel highlighted existing tensions between France and the UK. Guest: Nick Witney, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations
Published 11/26/21
UK Cabinet Minister Michael Gove sees a way ahead on the NI Protocol without using Article 16. Is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship or overoptimistic overanalysis of glacial negotiations? Europe Editor Tony Connelly, London Correspondent Seán Whelan and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin size up the tone of this week's utterances. 
Published 11/20/21
Europe Editor Tony Connelly, London Correspondent Sean Whelan & Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin review a week of hard-hitting Brexit rhetoric and look at what pulling the Article 16 trigger might trigger.
Published 11/11/21
As David Frost and Maroš Šefcovic conclude another Fridays for (Brexit) future meeting of their very own, Europe Editor Tony Connelly, London Correspondent Sean Whelan & Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin look at how itchy the UK's Article 16 trigger finger is and have an in-depth look at the ongoing Anglo-French sp(r)at with John Lichfield. 
Published 11/05/21
Join Europe Editor Tony Connelly, London Correspondent Sean Whelan & Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin on why English Channel neighbours are poisson each other off, polling on the protocol & why senior UK diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall resigned over Brexit messaging. Guest: Alexandra Hall Hall (@23:30)
Published 10/29/21