Three Dominican students were proud to represent Cyprus in a Mock Council of the European Union Meeting in Stormont.

On Friday 16th October three Dominican College students had the challenge of representing “The divided Island “ of Cyprus in the fifth Mock Council meeting of The EU. The debate,organised jointly by The British Council and The NI European Commission office ,was designed to bring together over 80 students from twenty four schools across Northern Ireland, three schools from The Republic of Ireland and a school from both Wales and England .

The three Dominican College Upper Sixth students, Jordan Jones, Corin Panton and Tiarnan Quinn, all veterans of last year’s Debating Matters competition were asked to replicate the work of the European Council of Ministers, the main decision making body of the EU, by articulating their views as one of the 27 EU member states on issues pertinent to themselves as 21st Century citizens.

The venue of the Senate Chamber in Stormont gave the Dominican pupils the feeling that not only were they considering the major challenges facing the C21st EU but that they were also debating them in the historic crucible of Northern Irish politics . The issues under exploration at Stormont included the need to secure EU energy supplies, the EU reaction to the Financial crisis and the Union’s response to climate change.

Dr James Robinson , the UK director of RSPB, introduced proceedings by stressing to delegates the significant role his organisation plays in lobbying within EU politics and encouraged students to stand up for what they believe in, to strive to influence their EU partners of the veracity of their arguments and to “ seize this great opportunity to debate EU issues”. Dr Robinson outlined the political muscle of the RSBP with over one million members within the EU and how it had been pro-active in bringing about legislation on banning the illegal trade in wild birds. Bringing his challenging keynote address to a close he urged students not to complain about the wrong decisions to be made by others but to play a full role in helping ensure the right decisions are made.


The Mock Council debates were capably chaired by Dr Mike Smyth, Head of School of Economics in The University of Ulster and an influential adviser of the European economic and social committee.

In the first debate on Climate change, Corin Panton urged her fellow delegates to sacrifice “ a short term hit to the wallet” as preferable to “real long term damage to the environment”. She also asked the other ministers to consider their own reluctance to give up their “right to cheap flights”.

In the follow up debate on energy security Jordan Jones argued that The EU despite its political maturity and economic strength is still reliant on energy supplies from unstable regions such as Russia. He argued in favour of the Nabucco pipeline and explained Cyprus’s long term dependence on external energy . Recent EU developments such as the Orites Wind farm and advocated a greater move towards renewable energy sources.

In the afternoon’s third and final discussion on the Financial Crisis, Tiarnan called for greater EU regulation in the banking sector to avoid a repetition of the credit crunch and suggested from a Cypriot perspective that “the green shoots of economic recovery” could very well come from the successful move towards green energy research.

Mr Ramsay, the Dominican teacher who accompanied the pupils, praised the pupils for their detailed research and preparation and thanked the organisers of the Mock Council, for giving the pupils a valuable opportunity to articulate their views on EU matters, to negotiate with like-minded students and to work towards agreed solutions to common problems.

Tiarnan Corin and Jordan are pictured here on the Stormont steps on Friday morning.