Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
IT IS 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) was signed in Belfast, ending nearly 30 years of violent conflict and opening up the possibility of a new way forward to overcome sectarianism and the partition of Ireland.
The agreement was a major source of hope for the future, but there is deep disappointment in the North of Ireland that these hopes have not been fully realised, as the institutions remain in limbo because of the DUP boycott, sectarianism continues to blight public life and hopes of a better world founder in the mire of underfunded services and gross exploitation.
But whatever disappointment there is, we must acknowledge that peace is a valuable achievement, especially a peace that provides a basis for common action between the divided communities — even if that is yet to be finalised.
A new group within the NEU is preparing the labour movement for a conversation on Irish unity by arguing that true liberation must be rooted in working-class solidarity and anti-sectarianism, writes ROBERT POOLE
The independent TD’s campaign has put important issues like Irish reunification and military neutrality at the heart of the political conversation, argues SEAN MacBRADAIGH
US tariffs have had Von der Leyen bowing in submission, while comments from the former European Central Bank leader call for more European political integration and less individual state sovereignty. All this adds up to more pain and austerity ahead, argues NICK WRIGHT


