EU's knee-jerk return to national business subsidies could distort the single market in favour of larger states

The deal the European Commission negotiated with the UK on Brexit was very favourable for Ireland, North and South. It has avoided a potentially very disruptive change to our trading and political relationships. When other countries have much bigger issues of domestic concern, it was a big challenge to persuade the 26 other member governments to safeguard Ireland's special circumstances in the Brexit negotiations. Our good personal relationships with other political leaders played an important role. If Ireland had had a record like Hungary's of using obstructive tactics, our concerns would have had much less sympathy. Irish MEPs in the…