Ireland has a role to play in making the E.U. united and strong.

Indeed, American companies make three times as much profits from their investment in one E.U. country, Ireland, than they do from all their investments in China.

The Irish Free State was one of dozens of new European democracies to emerge from the cauldron of the 1914-1918 war. It was one of the very few that was still democratic in 1939. This book shows how the steely determination of one man, Kevin O'Higgins, made this possible. O'Higgins faced down mutinies in both the Gardai and the Army. He dissolved the Dáil Courts which were a parallel system that might easily have undermined the conventional courts. With WT Cosgrave, he put through a constitution which reconciled the local opponents of independence with the new State.

European investment in Texas alone exceeds all U.S. investment in China and Japan put together.

Financial service providers act as the lubricating oil in the economy. They link consumers who want to invest their savings for a good return with companies who want to borrow on best terms for expansion.

Of course the EU and member states must work to ensure that people moving from one country to another understand their obligations and their rights in areas like health, road safety and further education.

If the EU and the US can cooperate successfully on regulating financial markets, everyone else will follow.