The motion recognised the ‘positive economic, social and cultural benefits Belfast enjoyed’ by being within a member state of the EU, with its prosperity being best served by remaining within it.
South Belfast Councillor Paula Bradshaw said she was happy to back the motion.
“The economic facts in this debate are simple and confirm Northern Ireland receives substantially more from the EU than its citizens pay in. But it is about so much more than this. We need to make Belfast a city in which people can create wealth and jobs for the next generation, to which graduates can look as a chosen location to begin and maintain a career, and to which people are attracted as a hub of trade, leisure and educational exchange.
“The message that Belfast would send out to the rest of the world by leaving the world’s largest trading bloc would be that it wants to be none of those things. Brexit would see Belfast relegated to the periphery of the periphery. However, within the EU, Belfast is at the very centre of the world’s largest and most stable trading relationship – between North America and Europe. It should not be difficult to work out which of these options will maximise our trade, tourism and educational opportunities.
“Alliance wants Belfast to benefit and therefore I was pleased to see other parties backing the motion, showing it is indisputably in the material interest of the people of this city to remain within the EU – economically, socially and culturally.”