IT looks as though the Irish government has successfully passed the first test of its presidency of the Council of the EU.

On Tuesday, Minister of Justice Jim O’Callaghan chaired an emergency meeting of EU justice and home affairs ministers he had called to respond to the mass influx of migrants into the Spanish north African enclave of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco.

Initially it looked as though there might be serious disagreements among member states.

Italy had called for the temporary suspension of Spain from the Schengen agreement on free movement within the EU, a suggestion Senator Michael McDowell called “idiotic and utterly disproportionate”.

Brian Feeney: Why are EU citizens in the north being ghosted by the Irish government?

Brian Feeney: Unionism fails to see it is in its weakest ever position

However, by the conclusion of the video conference there was “unanimous” solidarity with Spain’s government, and the Spanish minister thanked the other member states for their constructive support.

O’Callaghan said: “The EU is united and stands ready to support Spain.”

You could be forgiven for not knowing any of the detail of those events, because the north is no longer in the EU – apart of course from being in its single market for goods and apart from having several hundred........

© The Irish News