What Mick spoke about.

13

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, only last September, Commission President von der Leyen stated that it was ‘paramount to now investigate’ the Nord Stream pipeline attack and that ‘any deliberate disruption of active European energy [...] is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response’ – the strongest possible response! Well, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Seymour Hersh, probably the most legen…

13

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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EU funding allocated to NGOs incriminated in the recent corruption revelations and the protection of EU financial interests (debate)

Madam President, the Qatar scandal should not be instrumentalised in order to discredit the work of all NGOs. It’s hard not to come to the conclusion that there’s a lot of MEPs that would like to do that. Sure, not all NGOs are perfect. Certain so-called human rights NGOs are in fact often guilty of instrumentalising human rights in the service of Western interests and imperialism, as we’ve seen i…

13

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Electoral rights of mobile Union citizens in European Parliament elections - Electoral rights of mobile Union citizens in municipal elections (debate)

Madam President, the voting process does need to be simplified and barriers reduced for mobile EU citizens to vote in European and local elections. However, these provisions are not enough to address democratic deficits when it comes to electoral rights. This report excludes millions of EU mobile citizens from voting in national and regional elections, as well as referendums. EU citizens residing …

13

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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REPowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans (debate)

Madam President, the idea that we should exempt new oil and gas infrastructure from the ‘Do No Significant Harm’ principle seems madness. As much as EUR 60 billion of the funds earmarked for COVID recovery could now be used to fund new fossil fuel infrastructure. Over 40 LNG terminal or gas pipeline developments have been identified, which could now be partly funded with the diverted COVID recover…

13

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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EU response to the humanitarian situation following the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria (debate)

Madam President, as the tragedy in Turkey and Syria unfolds, it has brought into stark relief the terrible impact of longstanding EU and US unilateral sanctions and interventions in Syria. The US, Israel and Türkiye each illegally occupied different parts of the country, stealing resources, food and fossil fuels that were essential before this crisis and are desperately needed now. The sanctions h…

2

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Revision of the European Works Councils Directive (A9-0295/2022 - Dennis Radtke)

Mr President, European Works Councils are one of the few genuine European workers representative bodies, and it’s essential that they have proper access to justice. As a consequence of Brexit, many companies are using Ireland as their legal base for their European Works Councils. Ireland is an attractive option for these companies because Irish legislation offers no collective bargaining rights an…

2

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Preparation of the EU-Ukraine Summit (debate)

Madam President, Zelenskyy has now banned 12 opposition parties and used the war to carry through deeply anti-democratic labour reforms. The International Trade Union Confederation, which unites more than 200 million workers worldwide, are protesting against the laws. General Secretary Sharan Burrow said in a statement, ‘it is grotesque that Ukrainian workers who defend the country and care for th…

1

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, believe it or not, the definition was first spoken by Francis Bacon in the 17th century in Britain. And when someone challenged him and asked him what was a gentleman or a lady, he said it’s one who treats others as he would like to be treated by them.…

1

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, on 6 March last year the security services of Ukraine, the SBU, arrested the First Secretary of the Ukrainian Komsomol, Mikhail Kononovich, and his brother, Aleksander. They were accused of treason and spreading pro-Russian views. These two young communists are subjected to physical and psychological torture, beatings, lashings, sleep deprivation and threats of execution. Political r…

1

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Situation in Afghanistan (debate)

Mr President, the aftermath of NATO’s criminal intervention in Afghanistan worsens every day. At the centre of the humanitarian disaster is Washington’s assets freeze and the fear it creates among foreign banks about breaching restrictions. Twenty—eight million people will be in need of humanitarian assistance this year, and the Taliban are a total nightmare. What is Europe’s response? We want to …

1

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Need for urgent update of the EU list of high-risk third countries for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing purposes (debate)

Madam President, the countries on this list are all non-white Global South countries. It’s uncannily similar to the EU’s tax haven blacklist. The rules are applied unilaterally and are often imposed on acutely vulnerable former European colonies. For centuries, European economies were built and sustained on the backs of the very colonies which are now desperate to survive and compete in whatever l…

1

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Transparency and targeting of political advertising (debate)

Madam President, of course we need transparency in political advertising, but this regulation is in danger of creating more problems than it solves. It mischaracterises the mere expression of political ideas and civic engagement as political advertising. This would impose severe obligations on individuals and civil society and therefore hinder democratic discourse and public participation. The EU’…

1

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Preparation of the Special European Council meeting of February, in particular the need to develop sustainable solutions in the area of asylum and migration (debate)

Mr President, if the EU wants a sustainable solution in the area of asylum and migration, it should end all its support to NATO and the military industrial complex. We need to stop bombing people’s homes. We should stop sending arms into conflict zones. We should pursue a policy of peace and diplomacy in Ukraine. We should stop impoverishing the people of the Global South with financial imperialis…

19

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Small-scale fisheries situation in the EU and future perspectives (A9-0291/2022 - João Pimenta Lopes)

Madam President, blue whiting are in our Irish waters at a time of year when they are in prime condition for food production and so close to our ports that Ireland needs to ensure that a fair and equitable access agreement is negotiated by the EU Commission with Norway. Irish fish that swim, spawn and breed in Irish waters need to be a benefit for the people of Ireland who are closest to the resou…

19

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report 2021 (A9-0294/2022 - Angelika Winzig)

Madam President, the report is silent on the European Investment Bank’s strategic European security initiative and the relentless attempts by the Council, the Commission, the European Defence Agency, as well as the arms industry to undermine the restrictions that prevent the EIB from investing in arms and core defence projects. The EIB strategic European security initiative commits financing of up…

19

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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EU response to the protests and executions in Iran (RC-B9-0066/2023, B9-0062/2023, B9-0066/2023, B9-0067/2023, B9-0070/2023, B9-0079/2023, B9-0080/2023)

Madam President, I have condemned the nature of the crackdown on the protests in Iran. The numbers of protesters killed in the streets is a travesty, and I abhor the death penalty no matter where it’s used. Yet there are too many lies and omissions in this resolution, and I had to vote against it. These are peaceful protests. Many young people in Iran have had enough of the overbearing influence o…

19

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Investment practices of sustainable investment funds (debate)

Madam President, yet again, we’re seeing more rampant greenwashing. The Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation is clearly flawed as more than half of the dark green under Article 9 are levels of investment in the fossil fuel industry and in aviation. This money with green credentials flows to investment in big oil and the likes of Shell, Total, BP and Saudi Aramco; the airline companies Lufth…

19

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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The Global Gateway Initiative (debate)

Mr President, this geostrategic investment initiative in development ironically misses the mark of the development mandate in many ways, in terms of sustainability goals, human rights and more. It is neoliberal, in the sense that it is based on the assumption that it will mobilise or leverage resources from private investors who are effectively the dominant stakeholders. Effectively tackling pover…

17

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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The establishment of a tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, when Zelenskyy pushed for this special tribunal last December, he said that without justice there can be no peace. The reality is that war is the greatest injustice suffered on this earth, and too many are working hard to prolong this one. Zelenskyy should be at the negotiating table, but instead tours the world selling his forever war, as Ukraine is destroyed and co…

17

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter - annual report 2022 (debate)

Madam President, this is the annual report on human rights and democracy in the world and the EU’s policy on the matter. In 2022, 150 Palestinians were killed by the apartheid state of Israel. This year alone, and it’s only the 17th of January, 14 have been killed, 4 of them children. How come this is not mentioned in the report? How come we allow these terrible crimes against the Palestinian peop…

17

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Implementation of the common foreign and security policy - annual report 2022 - Implementation of the common security and defence policy - annual report 2022 (debate)

Mr President, these reports elevate the EU to a pedestal where we stand for all that’s right and just in the world, defending human rights, democracy, the rule of law. In reality, the EU and its partners never stop violating international law, going above multilateral institutions like the UN with their own parallel systems, including punishing millions of people around the world through our autho…

16

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, many years ago the great American singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie said, ‘if we fix it so you can’t make money on a war, we’ll all forget what we’re killing folks for’. War is a money racket. Lobbyists for the military industrial complex are wearing out the carpets in Brussels promoting war, promoting debt. The war in Ukraine is not a war for democracy. It’s just one more imperialist …

16

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Shipments of waste (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, in 2020 the EU exported over 27 million tonnes of waste outside the EU, an increase of 75% since ’04. Between 2001 and 2019 we doubled our hazardous waste shipments from the EU. Our waste production trend seems to be going in the wrong direction. This report supports the introduction of a phased-in ban on the export of plastic waste outside the EU, and that’s to be welc…

16

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Rules to prevent the misuse of shell entities for tax purposes (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, since the revelations such as the Pandora Papers and Open Lux, it is now common knowledge that shell entities are being used to shift and hide billions in wealth and profits every year for corporations and high-net-worth individuals within the EU. Now, to get to the heart of an issue like this we do need ambition, and the text is a welcome step forward. But I think most…

16

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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30th Anniversary of the Single Market (debate)

Mr President, 30 years of the single market marks 40 years of what is the principal reason and the ultimate goal for the process of European integration: a market. Despite initial promises of a social Europe, the single market, driven by the Commission and the Court of Justice, has helped to transform into, in Wolfgang Streeck’ words, ‘a machine for the liberalisation of European capitalism’. To a…