Speeches

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 legendary investigative journalist alive, has just published a report that presents detailed claims that, on President Biden’s orders, the U.S., with Norway’s help, blew up the Nord Stream pipelines. Hersh has a long track record of journalistic integrity. This was a premeditated terrorist attack on European critical infrastructure. It was also environmental terrorism. Does the EU care? Do yous need to know who did it? Or do yous want to know? Hersh says the U.S. did it. Did yous ask them? Did yous ask them did they do it? Or do yous not ask them questions anymore? Have we become so subservient, has the EU become so subservient to the US Empire that don’t even ask them if they did it? It’s really a fucking joke!

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 in Syria. What we should be looking at are institutional and structural failings within the Parliament, not tarring all NGOs with the same brush. Many in this Parliament will be more than happy with the eradication of NGOs and civil society groups in order to clear an unimpeded path for business interests. We need transparency and accountability for all lobbyists, not just for NGOs. The corporate sector has a far greater lobby footprint in the EU than civil society. So why are we singling out NGOs and giving free access to lobbyists? One could be forgiven for thinking that people in this area are looking to promote the interests of big business rather than the interests of their own citizens.

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 and paying taxes in other Member States have no say in the country they live in over the politics that affect their daily lives in that particular country. I mean, why should it be okay to vote for a mayor or a European representative, and yet not in national elections. Now, this legislation is supposed to be a new push for European democracy. Well, what about addressing the increasing concentration of mainstream media in the hands of fewer and fewer elite bodies? We were witnessing a race to the bottom in how news is being presented to us. And this has nothing good to do for democracy.

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 recovery money. This will do nothing to help security of supply this winter or next winter. We are throwing money and contracts at fracking in the US and making export attractive in Nigeria and Qatar. What will happen then? In ten years it’ll be 2033, by which time we should have considerably reduced our gas demand. Yet we’ll still have these contracts with our energy companies. Instead of genuinely empowering the EU, REpowerEU is further fuelling the EU’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. Are we learning anything from this?

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 have systematically deprived Syrians of the possibility to rebuild their war-torn country, and today the sanctions are blocking aid, equipment and essential materials from reaching Syria. The EU should end all sanctions now. We have punished the people of Syria more than enough. UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan has called on all sanctioning States to lift sanctions, to open all ways to deliver humanitarian aid and to ensure that no donor or bank or other actor is punished for humanitarian help to Syrians. It's time to park our geopolitical games and start giving a damn about people.

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 and very limited – if any – legal remedies pertaining to European Works Councils. The largest trade union in Ireland, SIPTU, wrote to the Commission almost two years ago, warning that unless changes are made to Irish legislation, European Works Councils would find themselves in an increasingly precarious position. Ireland has the second highest incidence of low pay in the EU, yet workers in Ireland are still waiting for changes to both Irish legislation and the European Works Council Directive. Fianna Fáil’s Renew Group voted with the far right at committee stage to remove references to trade unions in this report. Trade unions are democratic organisations with a legitimate role to play in European Works Councils

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 the injured, sick and displaced, are now being attacked by their own parliament’. Zelenskyy is attacking the people and structures necessary for the country to win a war. He is forcing through the most dramatic privatisation programme in the country’s history: a fire sale of public assets to Western vulture funds. What will that do for Ukrainian society? Since when did handing over public assets to big business ever help the people of any country? This is a programme for even deeper corruption and inequality. The EU is promising the sun, moon and stars to Ukraine, including fast—tracking EU accession. Be careful what you wish for!

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.

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 repression of communists, peace activists and progressive forces is common in both Ukraine and Russia. If Russians do it, it’s a travesty. Yet, when Ukrainians do it, it is to spread democracy and representing European values. Member States are divided on speeding up accession for Ukraine, and rightly so. The level of corruption is comical. The Zelenskyy government empowers far-right extremists and neo-Nazis while destroying workers’ rights and banning 12 opposition parties – and, as we can see from the case of the Kononovich brothers, are busy persecuting them. We cannot just ignore this oppression! We can start by calling for the release of these two men.

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 weaponise our tariff system in order to threaten Afghanistan and force them to take back people fleeing this disaster that we helped to create. We have to stop punishing Afghanistan. We must pressure the US to unfreeze the assets, and we must provide assistance to other countries in the region bearing the brunt of the crisis, like Iran and Pakistan, both suffering already from sanctions and natural disasters, and they’re struggling to cope with the refugees. And we have to stop fuelling the war in Ukraine and work for peace instead. The war is compounding multiple problems all over the world, affecting billions of lives.

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 limited way they can. Yet the EU is destroying the ability of these weaker states to compete by weaponising its unilaterally, disproportionately and unfairly applied rules on tax and anti—money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism list. How can we accept the methodology for this list when the US is not on the list? The US financed al-Qaeda in Syria. The US financed the Mujahedin in Afghanistan. The US gives almost 4 billion every year to the settler—colonial apartheid State of Israel which carries out state terrorism against the people of Palestine. Why aren’t they on the list?

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’s so—called ‘war on disinformation’ has little to do with protecting the public from false or dangerous content, and more to do with censoring and suppressing dissenting voices. So much of the moral panic in relation to political advertising comes from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Yes, the company clearly broke Facebook’s terms of service, but the reality is that, after a three-year investigation, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office found no evidence that Cambridge Analytica misused data to influence the Brexit referendum. The people of the UK voted for Brexit because too many felt let down by the EU’s neoliberal policies, and the people of America voted for Trump because they were tired of the Democrats’ neoliberal policies and Obama’s endless wars.

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 imperialism. The EU must immediately end the systematic criminalisation of asylum seekers, end pushbacks and end the externalisation of the EU’s borders now. Abolish Frontex. The EU rightly acted quickly to provide protection and reception conditions to millions of Ukrainians in a matter of months under the Temporary Protection Directive. This proves that humane treatment of non-Ukrainian asylum seekers and refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Libya is absolutely possible. We should welcome people fleeing persecution or repression from all places and not be selective about it.

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 resource, as prescribed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Sadly, Irish fishing boats are allowed to catch no more than 3.9% of the stock in our own waters. It’s to be welcomed that Norway’s recent attempt to secure unfettered access to our blue whiting grounds has been challenged by the EU Commission. It’s long past time for Irish coastal communities to be given a fair share of the fish that’s born and bred in Irish waters. It’s only fair.

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 to EUR 6 billion to dual—use projects seeking to develop security and defence systems in Europe. The EIB also signed a programme agreement establishing a cooperative financial mechanism with the European Defence Agency in 2019. In its 2022 roadmap on critical technologies for security and defence, on page 7, the Commission laments the fact that the EIB’s lending policy still has restrictions that prevent it from lending to the defence sector. How bad! The EIB should have nothing to do with the arms industry, nor should it finance anything that can double up as weapons, arms or military software or hardware.

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 of religion on how their society is organised. If I was in Iran, I’d be protesting too. But it doesn’t help matters that the US and some of its allies are looking for regime change and have boasted about getting arms to groups in Iran who have also got involved in the protests. And there is no mention of the biggest killer in Iran: western sanctions. Our sanctions hurt the ordinary people the most; sanctions which are illegal unless authorised by the UN, but the EU doesn’t seem to have a problem with ignoring the UN Charter these days. And this resolution is calling for more of them? Absolute madness!

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 Lufthansa, Air France, KLM; and to coal giants. In what world are these practices considered as not doing significant harm, as Article 9 states? The greenwashing of financial markets has proven to be very lucrative, with over 619 billion invested in these funds with a promise of sustainability. The European Securities and Markets Authority has outlined the innumerous labelling violations of dark green funds, but the enforcement of regulation has been lacking. How does the Commission plan on legally defining greenwashing to enforce the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and Article 9?

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 poverty and having a positive impact on development of recipient countries is not a likely outcome with this one—sided, risk—managed approach. International development is not a product of commercial competition. EU foreign policy shouldn’t be rooted in a geopolitical competition and bid for influence over Africa with China. Your obsession with China borders on lunacy. So ultimately, we see neocolonialism and neoliberal interests served by the Global Gateway initiative.

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 conscripted Ukrainians are killed by the tens of thousands. In the past 25 years, the imperialist powers have perpetrated wars of aggression against Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. They’ve killed millions of people and displaced millions more, dropped toxic munitions and committed countless war crimes. NATO members have never faced justice for these crimes. Of course Russia should also be held to account for any crimes it commits, but the list is long. If we actually care about justice, we will stop the antagonism and hypocrisy and get down to the real work of peace-making.

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 people to happen every day and we stay silent in here? It couldn’t happen without our complicity. There’s been a coup in Peru and we supported it. 50 protesters have been killed and we’ve nothing to say about it. That’s not in the report either. Yemen has the worst humanitarian disaster on the planet today. According to the UN, over 400 000 are dead and 16 million are hungry. And we have nothing to say about it. And it’s not in the report. What’s the idea? Why are we so selective?

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 authoritarian, unilateral sanctions regime. We fund and arm openly fascist regimes and authoritarian monarchic dictatorships. We are involved in conflicts in many of our former colonies, and we support anti-democratic coups when it suits our business interests. Yet in these reports, all the bad actors are out there in the jungle posing a danger to us. Meanwhile, we want to spend more on arms and defence while advancing the EU as a war project instead of a peace project.

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 war with the less privileged dying in their thousands and thousands. Why are our politicians promoting war? War is ugly. War is stupid. Whatever happened to our desire for peace? Where do we think this is going? There was a time when we had a different approach. There was a time when we weren’t so subservient to the military industrial complex or to US imperialism. What’s gone damn wrong with us? You keep talking about being worried about the European Union. Well, listen, if you are so worried about start working for peace and stop promoting war.

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 welcomed. But to stop us from drowning in our own waste we’re going to do a lot more, and we really need to scale up recycling capacity and also significantly reduce plastic waste in the first place. Europeans used to be resourceful, now we are wasteful. We need to change the EU’s waste economy.

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 of us agree that we have a lot more to do. A huge swathe of potential offenders are excluded from the text through exemptions to financial services. And what the scope limited to the EU it does nothing to tackle companies with shells registered in third-country tax havens like the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands. It’s a start, but we have a long way to go.

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 allow this market to function, the EU has created mountains of legislation through various treaties, regulations and directives whose function has generally been to promote neo—liberalism, allowing the EU to erode policies from consumer rights, labour rights and social rights in the various Member States. Now we need an EU that rejects neo—liberalism and we should always put the interests of the ordinary citizen before those of the markets.