On January 1 1973, the then Irish Taoiseach (or Prime Minister) Jack Lynch signed Ireland into the European Economic Community (EEC) alongside the UK and Denmark. Despite a difficult start, Ireland has gone from being poor to being one of the wealthiest countries in the world per capita, thanks mainly to EU membership. Speaking to Euronews, former Taoiseach and EU Ambassador to the US John Bruton said: “EU membership took Ireland out from under the shadow of our near neighbour Britain and enabled us not just to be independent politically but independent economically. EU regulations helped mode…