What Lynn spoke about.

16

Dec

2025

Speeches EN

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Recent developments in Palestine and Lebanon (debate)

Mr President, as we approach Christmas, many in this Chamber will look forward to spending time with their children to holding them tight. For Palestinian children, however, there is no safe place: 2025 has seen Palestinian children endure genocide, starvation, torture, mass displacement, enforced disappearance and relentless violence from settlers and the IDF. In the West Bank, the IDF has killed 54 children. Amir was shot seven times. The paramedics were blocked from reaching him while he was still alive. In Gaza, the situation is catastrophic: now home to the highest number of child amputees in the world, the children of Gaza face deep psychological trauma. Two-week-old Mohammad has died of hypothermia while tents continue to be blocked from entry. The genocidal Israeli regime is responsible for this barbarism, but so too is the EU, who has done nothing to hold Israel accountable, and who turns a blind eye to the foreign money that's funding Israeli lobbyists ELNET to shape EU policy, to spread disinformation and to pay for MEP junkets. Shame!

15

Dec

2025

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

A Uachtaráin, in Ireland, thousands of much-needed new homes have been blocked from connecting to the electricity grid by data centres. Earlier this year, because of information requests that I made, I was able to reveal that the Minister for Energy had been warned that data centres would jeopardise the housing targets by taking up all the remaining spare capacity on the electricity grid. This was as a result of a first-come, first-serve policy, which ultimately favours big corporations with deep pockets, allowing them to secure grid access for their speculative projects while blocking desperately needed housing projects – this at a time when Ireland faces record levels of homelessness. When I challenged this, I was told that the EU rules mean that homes could not be prioritised even in a housing crisis – this is madness and it must change. System operators like the Electricity Supply Board must be able to have the discretion to put housing before data centres, and I hope that the grid package will deliver on this reform.

25

Nov

2025

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European Defence Industry Programme and a framework of measures to ensure the timely availability and supply of defence products (‘EDIP’) (debate)

Madam President, the EDIP regulation is another giveaway to the arms industry, but this time we're not only giving them taxpayers' money, but we're also sacrificing our environmental and workers' rights protections, in order that weapons companies can make even more money. This regulation, as others have said, steamrolls over the Habitats Directive, water quality legislation and the Working Time Directive. The proposed defence security of supply board is an undemocratic front for the arms industry, who are being handed a huge amount of power with zero accountability. Let us be very clear: the top 100 arms companies are earning more money every single year. They earned USD 632 billion in 2023 alone. This proposal is an attempt to give them even more money and more power as they destroy our planet. This regulation is corporate capture personified, and I urge colleagues, for the sake of democracy and the citizens we represent, to vote against it. I would also remind colleagues in this House that I come from a country that is militarily neutral, so we do not want a European army, the EU is not a member of NATO, and let that not be forgotten. We are a neutral state and deserve respect.

24

Nov

2025

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, today, ten countries have not ratified the CETA trade agreement. Yet the Irish Government is getting ready to bring forward amendments to its Arbitration Act to ratify CETA and effectively bring investor courts to Ireland. Ratifying CETA and introducing investor courts so that large multinationals can sue our countries would be a disaster for housing, for climate, for workers' rights, for public health, and so much more. All of the free-trade elements of CETA have been in effect for years, all that remains are the dangerous corporate courts. Why are the Irish Government so hellbent on introducing corporate kangaroo courts that ordinary citizens cannot access? These courts have awarded sums exceeding USD 100 million in more than a quarter of all cases won by the corporations. The Irish Government seems unable to stand up and say 'no' to corporate courts, they have not withdrawn from the Energy Charter Treaty and are now facing a case from Predator Oil & Gas. So the Irish people will always say 'no' to CETA and 'no' to the corporate courts.

24

Nov

2025

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30th anniversary of the Barcelona Process and the new pact for the Mediterranean (debate)

A Uachtaráin, as we debate the Barcelona Process and the pact for the Mediterranean, Israel is still murdering Palestinians in Gaza and dropping bombs on a civilian population. The Israeli government is escalating the de facto annexation of the West Bank, and the illegal Israeli settlers are still inflicting extreme violence on Palestinian communities in order to steal their land. In the communications around the new pact for the Mediterranean, the Commission claimed that it is a pact built on listening. They are clearly not listening to the screams of Palestinian children being murdered by Israel. They are not listening to the International Court of Justice, which has clearly said that we should ban trade with the settlements, and they are not listening to their own citizens, who do not want to be complicit in genocide and apartheid. The Commission is ignoring its duties under international law, and this new pact demonstrates its willingness to return to business as usual with a genocidal regime. Israel should be excluded from the pact. It should not be able to benefit from any of the three pillars of funding while it continues to murder Palestinians, maintain an apartheid regime, and actively sabotage all efforts towards peace and justice.

12

Nov

2025

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Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the islamist attacks of 13 November 2015 in Paris (debate)

A Uachtaráin, I rise to make a point of order under Rules 2 and 229 of our Rules of Procedure. As Chair of the Delegation for Relations with Palestine, I have been banned by the Israeli authorities for five years. Three members of the delegation are now blocked from participating in their mandate and from going on missions to Palestine. There have also been defamatory comments made about myself by Israeli authorities and about civil servants who work for this institution. All of this is a deliberate attempt by the Israeli Government to frustrate the work of the delegation, which is a part of this institution, and it is an insult to the institution. Therefore I am asking you, President Metsola, to please make a public statement condemning this ban by Israel and also to take reciprocal actions. We cannot have Israeli politicians coming into this House when they refuse to allow the politicians who are elected to this institution to do their job.

22

Oct

2025

Speeches GA

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UN Climate Change Conference 2025 in Belém, Brazil (COP30) (debate)

President, COP30 is at a critical juncture for our people and planet with rising global temperatures and rising climate disasters. The profit forces are trying to get real climate action on their way. We need to talk about this issue - the military industry. With the power of the military industry in Europe growing, let us not forget that they profit from death and are responsible for the climate crisis and environmental destruction. Global military emissions account for 5.5% of global employment, excluding armed conflict itself. The European army industry and its supporters in this room are trying to betray our planet and our climate action. We now need to call for real action on military emissions and the military industrial complex that profits from burning our planet.

21

Oct

2025

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Recent peace agreement in the Middle East and the role of the EU (debate)

A Uachtaráin, 11 days ago, we welcomed the ceasefire, but since then, 153 tons of bombs have dropped on Gaza. 62 is the number of Israeli occupation forces shooting incidents in the West Bank. 67 000 is the very conservative estimate for Palestinians killed, unknown is the number under the rubble. 169 000 is the number of Palestinians injured, 4 000 is the number of children who have lost limbs. 154 is the number of children who have died from starvation. 355 is the number of bullets fired at Hind Rajab by the Israeli occupation forces. 1 722 is the number of health and aid workers murdered. 34 is the number of hospitals attacked. Almost 300 is the number of journalists and media workers murdered. 2 is the number of ICC arrest warrants for members of the Israeli Government. 0 is the number of actions taken by the European Union. This ceasefire cannot be an excuse for the EU to sit on its hands. Now is the time for the EU to restore its credibility and to end its complicity in this genocide. There can be no peace without justice – there must be accountability for the lives behind these numbers. Their lives have to mean something. So please, EU, there must be accountability.

7

Oct

2025

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The EU’s role in supporting the recent peace efforts for Gaza and a two-state solution (debate)

A Uachtaráin, the legacy of the Palestinian genocide, the systematic failure of political leadership and, in some cases, the EU's act of complicity will have ramifications for decades. First and foremost, the profound trauma of mass displacement, of the loss of multiple generations of families, of tens of thousands of orphans, of forced starvation will be catastrophic. Palestinians may never be able to forgive the Western and Arab world, but it is not just Palestinians. Across Europe, young and old have taken to the streets in ever increasing numbers. They have been beaten and criminalised for standing up for international law. More than 100 civilians, EU civilians and three Members of this House were illegally abducted by Israel for trying to do what their governments should have been doing, which was to end the illegal blockade, and neither the Council nor the Commission thought to mention them today. How is this that a small, oppressive foreign regime built on racism and violent ideology has been able to infiltrate our institutions and dominate our foreign and domestic policy to create a situation where the freedoms, interests and wishes of our own citizens have been trampled on? We absolutely need the killing to stop, but this peace plan is colonialism. Gaza does not need a viceroy, and certainly not one who prosecuted an illegal war in Iraq. Gaza needs to be free from occupation, and Palestinians need to be treated with respect and given the autonomy for their own future. International law is the only framework for peace. Palestinians need more than EU money. They need justice.

6

Oct

2025

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

A Uachtaráin, Ireland's energy system should serve as a cautionary tale to others in the EU, because 20 years ago, Ireland had one of the lowest energy costs in the EU, and today we have some of the highest. And why is that? It is because government after government has chased the big tech and data centres to establish themselves in Ireland. Not just have they led to increasing energy costs, there is also a moral cost to this. Microsoft's Irish data centres were sucking our grid dry and they were powering cloud and AI systems used by Israel's war machine to facilitate the genocide in Gaza. Data centres also take up a huge toll on the environment. The EU conducted an official assessment of the sustainability of Irish data centres, and only 1 in 6 of those centres even bothered reporting. So it is outrageous that Ireland – the highest concentration of data centres in Europe – has failed so badly at even basic reporting. Not only are they worsening emissions and driving up energy costs, they are now preventing housing from being connected to the grid. I would urge colleagues to be wary of encouraging data centres onto your grids.

9

Jul

2025

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EU-US trade negotiations (debate)

A Uachtaráin, the EU must not take reactionary measures to what is an extremely volatile presidency that's hell-bent on enriching the billionaires around him. So standing firm is just as important as any countermeasures. The EU needs to hold its nerve. Trump and the US cannot be allowed to dictate laws to the rest of the world. His latest announcements on pharmaceuticals are deeply concerning for workers in Ireland, and they will only hurt families and workers. It is important not to bow to bullies, and I would call on Ireland to resist the pressure and the baseless accusations that are being levelled at it from the US Administration for upholding international law and enacting the Occupied Territories Bill to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements. The tariff war should instead be used to reset trade politics that delivers for people, communities, and social and environmental progress. And it also hasn't gone unnoticed that the Commission is trying to exploit the crisis to plough ahead with deals that have widespread public opposition – deals like Mercosur or those that contain corporate courts, like CETA, and have been found to be unconstitutional in Ireland.

8

Jul

2025

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Situation in the Middle East (debate)

A Uachtaráin, we're now at a point where gunning down hungry people as they desperately try to get aid is a daily occurrence. There was international shock the first time, but just like with the bombing of the first hospital, when there are no consequences for Israel, they are emboldened and they carry on. 700 Palestinians have now been slaughtered at aid sites; baby formula is blocked. They are literally starving babies to death, and still the EU does not act. In fact, instead of holding Israel to account, President von der Leyen has Netanyahu, a war criminal, on speed dial, and she's actively encouraging him to carry out Illegal strikes on Iran. There is more outrage from EU leaders about artists calling out a genocide than there is against those who are actually carrying out that genocide. Solidarity with Palestine is being criminalised and the EU is sacrificing its civil liberties to support Israel. But Palestinian solidarity grows stronger every day. The people won't be silenced. The people are demanding suspension of trade with Israel. The people are demanding sanctions against Israel. The people are demanding an end to their complicity with Israel's war crime and its genocide, and they are demanding that their EU leaders act and listen to them.

7

Jul

2025

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

A Uachtaráin, I welcome that the Parliament is challenging the Commission's use of Article 122 of the TFEU to adopt the SAFE Regulation. The Commission chose this mechanism for the very purpose of bypassing parliamentary scrutiny, and it is a wholly inappropriate mechanism for defence spending. Article 122 is supposed to help Member States in the event of difficulties in the supply of certain products, like energy, or for natural disasters. It is not for the use of defence spending. But it is not the first time that the Commission has done this. They've also wrongly used Article 173 as the legal basis for the ASAP Regulation, which is effectively a EUR 500 million slush fund for the arms industry. This Commission is hell bent on funnelling as much public money as possible into the hugely profitable arms industry, while people across Europe are facing a cost-of-living crisis. We must stand up for democratic scrutiny and for public money to be used to address the cost of living, not the needs of ultra wealthy arms companies.

19

Jun

2025

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Institutional and political implications of the EU enlargement process and global challenges (debate)

A Uachtaráin, I welcome this debate on enlargement, as EU membership is a discussion that's happening in many regions across the continent – regions like the north of Ireland. Here the debate is coupled with the conversation around Irish reunification. This is an oven-ready, straightforward enlargement. The EU Council has already agreed – in the event of Irish reunification – the readmission of the north of Ireland. The conversation on reunification is taking place across the island of Ireland, in both public and private forums. Its special status is already recognised in international agreements. It's only a small step to reintegration into the EU. The conversation on unity has been heightened since the people of the North were forced out of the EU against their will by the Brexit vote. It is now time for the British Government to set definitive criteria for a unity referendum. The north of Ireland is a developed region which spent decades in the EU. The next enlargement could be about welcoming back the people of the North. However, I urge caution: an enlarged EU must be one that upholds the values that it claims to hold: that means respect for Member States' foreign policy and their policy of neutrality, and that means respect for international law and human rights.

21

May

2025

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The EU's response to the Israeli government's plan to seize the Gaza Strip, ensuring effective humanitarian support and the liberation of hostages (debate)

Madam President, on a point of order, the keffiyeh is not a political statement. Is it against the rules of this House to have a Ukrainian flag or a pin on our lapels? Would somebody call on us to remove that? People are more annoyed about symbols than they are about starving babies!

21

May

2025

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The EU's response to the Israeli government's plan to seize the Gaza Strip, ensuring effective humanitarian support and the liberation of hostages (debate)

Madam President, I stand here today to do what EU leaders won't do, and that is to apologise to the people of Gaza and Palestine. I'm sorry that it has taken tens of thousands of deaths and the imminent death of 14 000 starving babies just so that the European Commission can agree to review an association agreement that should have been suspended years ago. I'm sorry that the EU countries continue to send the bombs and weapons that shred your children to pieces, and that there's no accountability for their complicity in your mass murder. I'm sorry that over a year after the ICJ ruled that there was a credible risk of genocide against your people, EU leaders have failed to agree a single sanction against Israel. I'm sorry that EU leaders have refused to enforce the ICC arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the war criminals responsible for the genocide against you. I am sorry that you are starving while a few kilometres away, Zionists dine in the finest restaurants. To the children of Gaza, I am sorry that the EU's complicity and the moral cowardice of our leaders have resulted in your childhoods being stolen, your bodies being starved and broken, and your brutal murder. I want you to know that the public stand with you. We stand with you against the complicity of our leaders. Outside these institutions, people are making it clear they will never accept the normalisation of genocide or the violation of international law. We have not abandoned you. 'Never again' means 'never again' for anyone! (The President cut off the speaker)

7

May

2025

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Discharge 2023: EU general budget - European External Action Service (A10-0069/2025 - Joachim Stanisław Brudziński)

A Uachtaráin, I abstained on the discharge because the attached resolution is totally out of touch with reality. In the last number of days, the Israeli Government has agreed plans to permanently occupy Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, was attacked and the Israeli authorities are carrying out a mass starvation program in Gaza. Food is rotting at the border, while only a number of miles away, children are starving. The Director of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Mike Ryan, has said that the world is breaking the bodies and minds of the children in Gaza as a result of the inaction and complicity of many world leaders. The Gaza Freedom Flotilla recognises what EU leaders did not. You do not stand by while children are starving. You do not stand by while they are shredded to pieces, as they are bombed in tents. And you do not stand by with those who carry out these crimes against humanity. It's time to end the EU complicity!

6

May

2025

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A unified EU response to unjustified US trade measures and global trade opportunities for the EU (debate)

A Uachtaráin, Commissioner, when it comes to the EU's response to Trump's tariffs, it's essential that all Member States, including smaller ones like Ireland, are taken into consideration. The collective response must be one that protects workers, that funds and encourages upskilling and that does not pursue the same anti-worker, anti-environment, Trump-lite deregulation agenda. We also cannot exploit this crisis to increase LNG imports or to advance trade deals like Mercosur or the ratification of CETA. Deforestation, food laden with chemicals and corporate courts will not protect workers in Europe, but it will protect the profits of the few. Now is the time for fair, sustainable trade, which does not leave us exposed to the whims of oligarchs or serve the interests of corporates. Instead, it serves the interests of workers and families in Europe.

2

Apr

2025

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Implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2024 (A10-0011/2025 - Nicolás Pascual de la Parte)

A Uachtaráin, I voted against this report because it shows just how committed European leaders are to militarisation and the arms race. The EU is founded as a peace project. Indeed, in the Schuman Declaration, it was said that the pooling of coal and steel production will change the destinies of those regions which have long been devoted to the manufacture of munitions of war, of which they have been the most constant victims. Now we have European countries withdrawing from the Cluster Munitions Convention and the Anti-Personnel Mines Convention. In their desperation to give more and more public money to the arms industry, European leaders will next propose cutting public services. A better Europe is possible, one envisaged from 75 years ago, one that is committed to peace and one that defends the international institutions that were born out of the war – those institutions like the ICJ, the ICC and the UN.

1

Apr

2025

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CFSP and CSDP (Article 36 TUE) (joint debate)

A Uachtaráin, I'd like to welcome VP Kallas here today, given her notable absence at recent debates. And today I want to compare what Israel says with what Israel does, seeing as the Commission is unable to make that distinction. Israel claims it facilitates humanitarian aid entering Gaza. Yet all entry points into Gaza are closed for cargo since early March. At the border, food is rotting, medicine is expiring and vital medical equipment is trapped. Israel originally denied bombing the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. It has now attacked all hospitals in Gaza. Israel denies targeting journalists, yet they've killed over 200 journalists in Gaza. Israel denies killing humanitarian workers, yet they've murdered 15 paramedics and aid workers one by one and buried them in a shallow grave, some of them with their hands bound. Under the EU's watch, Israel has normalised genocide and contempt for international law. When will the EU find its humanity and stand up to this rogue state. Sanction Israel, free Palestine!

11

Mar

2025

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Deteriorating situation in Gaza following the non-extension of the ceasefire (debate)

A Uachtaráin, the decision by the Israeli Government to cut off electricity to Gaza is just the latest in a series of actions designed to make life for Palestinians unliveable. The decades-long illegal occupation and the 18-year blockade and siege of Gaza have all been allowed to continue because of the inaction of the international community, and that includes the EU. 'Attacks against civilian infrastructure, especially electricity, are war crimes': those are not my words, those are the words of the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who rightfully called out Russia but refuses to call out Israel when they deprive Palestinians of water, food and electricity. War crimes are war crimes, and international law applies to everyone. The obvious double standards that we are seeing are undermining the EU's credibility across the world and even with its own citizens. The provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in weighing the allegation of genocide brought against Israel specifically referred to the facilitation of aid deliveries. In the International Criminal Court, one of the charges against Netanyahu is that he is using starvation as a method of warfare. We had the Association Council meeting in February, and some of us naively thought that maybe some strong words would be said to the Israeli authorities; maybe they would be asked to uphold international law. But instead, what we have seen is that things have gotten worse since that meeting. Israel is escalating its violation of international law. So the question is: when is the EU going to finally stand up for international law and human rights?

11

Mar

2025

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White paper on the future of European defence (debate)

Madam President, I've been listening to the whole debate, and I've heard a lot of colleagues talk about defending democracy and about the need to join an EU army, but I would like to ask them, what about Ireland's democracy? What about our right to be a neutral country? Because repeatedly, Irish citizens have rejected any form of EU common security and defence or EU army, both at Nice and at Lisbon treaties. They rejected those treaties on that basis, and consistently polling data shows that 75% of the Irish population support our position of neutrality. So I ask colleagues who are calling for NATO, who are calling for EU armies, what about Ireland's respect for our democracy and our democratic wishes to remain a neutral country and to not have our cohesion funds slashed and burned for the arms industry of Europe? So, respect Ireland's democratic wishes.

10

Mar

2025

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, as the EU commits itself to a dangerous policy of rearmament, which is only going to make the world more dangerous, the Irish Government is also getting ready to jettison our triple lock on the deployment of Irish troops. Let us be very clear: Ireland's neutrality and our long-standing commitment to UN peacekeeping missions has made the world safer. It is attacks on the UN and on neutrality that is making the world less safe. From our role in leading negotiations on the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to being the only country to have an unbroken record of UN peacekeeping service since 1958, Ireland's neutrality has been a beacon in this world. The cynical moves to scrap the triple lock will move us away from the UN and threatens Ireland's neutrality. The most recent poll shows that 75 % of Irish people support our continued neutrality. Yet the Irish Government seems determined to throw its lot in with the EU, to undermine our neutrality at every turn, while the EU is engaging in an arms race. It's time to save the triple lock.

10

Mar

2025

Speeches GA

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Cutting red tape and simplifying business in the EU: the first Omnibus proposals (debate)

Chair, 196 people were killed for protecting their land, rights and environment in 2023. 245 textile workers died in 2021. Every year, over 200 people are killed in mining accidents in the DRC. The CSDDD had a chance to tackle human rights violations and the destruction of the environment. But if we reduce the duties on big companies, we listen deafly to the UN recommendations regarding their business and human rights. We are trying to reduce the red tape and costs for small companies where possible, but we do not agree with deregulation. Simply put, this Omnibus package goes back to human rights that we all uphold our law on business and human rights.

10

Mar

2025

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Parliament’s calendar of part-sessions - 2026

Madam President, I wish to raise a point of order relating to the agenda item on the deteriorating situation in Gaza. On February 24, the official mission of this Parliament's delegation for relations with Palestine, of which I am the Chair, was supposed to take place. Instead, myself, Rima Hassan, MEP, and two officials of this Parliament were detained by the Israeli authorities and subsequently deported. While detained by the Israeli authorities, our electronic devices held by Members and staff of the delegation were confiscated for over 90 minutes. Our passports, including an Irish diplomatic passport, were confiscated and were not returned to us until we arrived back in Brussels. This all took place on the same day that the EU-Israel Association Council was taking place, and EU leaders were committing themselves to continue business as usual with Israel, while the Israeli authorities were not allowing us, as elected officials, to do our jobs. So I ask you, Madam President, that you address this matter urgently.