What Barry spoke about.

17

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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Preparation of the European Council (joint debate)

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, I just want to talk about the debate we've been having about China. I was on the trade committee in the last mandate, and we put an awful lot of effort into developing a whole raft of trade defence instruments around anti-dumping, FDI screening, the procurement instrument and anti‑coercion, among a range of other things. And we appointed a chief trade …

16

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

Madam President, High Representative, back in May at the last plenary, you and I – you might recall – had a brief exchange about the problem of the mislabelling of settlement goods. And I raised the question with you as to what the EU customs authorities could do about the fact that so many settlement goods are presented as 'made in Israel'? You replied that exports from Israel are difficult to pr…

19

May

2026

EN Speech

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Opportunities and challenges presented by a comprehensive artificial intelligence strategy for EU trade (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, every day we see headlines referring to the AI race. And one thing is clear to me: European AI companies are not the frontrunners. US companies have developed 40 advanced AI systems. China comes in second with 15. In Europe we have only developed three. This is despite a combined EU GDP of EUR 18 trillion alongside brilliant universities and research inst…

19

May

2026

EN Speech

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Recommendation on the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (debate)

Mr President, High Representative and colleagues, the UN Security Council was supposed to be a guarantor of global peace. Instead, its ineffectiveness has emboldened lawlessness and accelerated impunity. On my way here this morning on the tram, one of the stops was named after Aristide Briand, who in 1926, a hundred years ago, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on international peace. And I wo…

19

May

2026

EN Speech

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Question Time with the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - EU’s strategy to address the current crises in the Middle East

I understand all the points you have made about trade and the Member States, and I think everybody will continue to campaign for a suspension of the association. But in the meantime, we can actually implement the existing law. As you know, settlement goods are treated differently to goods that are made in Israel. They are subject of a tariff. I asked the EU delegation in Palestine to estimate the …

18

May

2026

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, according to a recent UN report, sexual assault is 'a major element' and 'standard operating procedure' in the ill-treatment of Palestinians in Israeli prisons by settlers and the IDF. This is borne out in separate reports on sexual violence by B'Tselem, by Breaking the Silence, by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and by the Norwegian Refugee Council. Last Monday, The New York Times…

29

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Situation in Lebanon: implementation of the ceasefire, support peace efforts and humanitarian access (debate)

Mr President, last month I visited Beirut and spoke to people who had left south Lebanon for their own safety. They showed me photos of their homes, of their fields and their villages, concluding in many cases that they would not be returning. Since then, the demolition of buildings has continued with relentless ferocity. And then came 8 April 2026, when the US and Iran agreed a ceasefire that off…

26

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Global Gateway – past impacts and future orientation (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, the Lobito railway corridor is perhaps the best known Global Gateway flagship project. However, a press release from one of the operators of the railway last month disclosed some of the shortcomings of the Global Gateway project that this opinion seeks to address. The press release announced the transport by railway of low-carbon copper anodes to the E…

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Building Europe's clean, independent and secure energy following the 2026 North Sea Summit (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, I very much welcome the plan arrived at at the North Sea Summit to dramatically ramp up renewable energy in the North Sea with joint European projects and the plans around increased generation in the time frame. I think this can provide a pathway to cost-sharing for the rest of Europe and, indeed, for the highlighted energy pathways, and I think the po…

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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EUCO and situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

Mr President, colleagues, here are 10 ways in which the United States has undermined international law in the last 12 months: rolling out the red carpet for war criminal Putin in Alaska; endless support for Netanyahu's war crimes; withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement; withdrawal from the WHO and UNHRC; the closure of USAID; the illegal global tariffs; sanctions on the International Criminal…

10

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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EU enlargement strategy (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, we keep hearing about existential threats to the European Union, that the European Union is on the verge of collapse. This is a narrative that we regularly hear from the far right, who would love nothing better than for the European Union to come to an end. So someone needs to explain to me, and indeed to the far right, why so many countries are striving …

10

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Presentation of the Energy Package (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, when you presented this package, already the situation was urgent. The events of the last 10 days supercharged the urgency of what we are debating here in this Chamber today. We need to really face up to the unavoidable nature of that urgency right now. In my own country, in Ireland, we have extraordinary vulnerabilities. We rely 80 % on fossil fuels for energy consumpt…

10

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Single Market: how to move from an incomplete single market to one market for one Europe (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, Chancellor Merz and Prime Minister Meloni were happy to point out the recent IMF report conclusion that we, in fact, impose a 110 % tariff equivalent on ourselves by not completing the single market for services. We are, in effect, sanctioning ourselves. But what Merz and Meloni failed to quote was the same IMF report which concludes that the particula…

10

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, the agreement of March 2025 between the Kurds, the SDF and the government promised some hope for the future. However, that is looking increasingly fragile. The blundering attempts by President Trump are no match for the staying power of the European Union, and I believe that the Union has a really critical role now, providing its credibility and its long-ter…

22

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Drones and new systems of warfare – the EU’s need to adapt to be fit for today’s security challenges (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, I very much agree with the sentiments of this report and the statements of other MEPs on the effect the extraordinary changes in drone technology have had on security and defence policy, but also on wider industry. Our own capacity here in the European Union is being constantly tested: at least 10 countries have detected drones near airports and military uni…

20

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Territorial integrity and sovereignty of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark: the need for a united EU response to US blackmail attempts (debate)

Mr President, High Representative and colleagues, I want to also express my solidarity with the people of Greenland for the stress that they are experiencing. I want to acknowledge the calm resolution of our Danish MEPs, with one notable exception, standing in the face of the extraordinary intimidation and threats that they are receiving from the United States with their barely believable and tota…

19

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, I want to raise the case of Seán Binder. Seán Binder was acquitted in a Greek court last week, together with 23 other defendants. He had been prosecuted as far back as 2017, and his crime was espionage and felony. The facts of his case are that he was trying to save lives at sea. He was one of those volunteers who were embarked on search-and-rescue missions …

19

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Humanitarian aid in a time of polycrisis – reaffirming our principles for a more effective and ambitious response to humanitarian crises (short presentation)

Madam President, Commissioner, obviously I want to add my condolences to the expression of condolences of MEP Pajín to the tragic events in Spain earlier today. I want to raise two issues. I'm very much looking forward to the humanitarian communication. But, first of all, I want to thank MEP Pajín for all the work that she and her shadows have done to prepare this report. What we really need to do…

26

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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Implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, I was at the PPA last week, about 10 days ago, and it was probably the best one so far, reflecting the overall good relations. However, I was quite critical of progress on a number of EU‑UK files. I described them as glacial, and I said that we have to stop treating the UK as a third country. Last Friday, a few days after the PPA, two stories appeared …

25

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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Escalation of the war and the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan (continuation of debate)

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, I very much welcome your statement and your statement of the fact that Sudan remains a priority and the financial commitments that you have outlined here today. But I wish to make the point that we need to use all of our leverage and all of the institutions available to us to exercise pressure to bring around a sustainable peace. Some of you will be aw…

24

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, Black Friday gets bigger every year – it's not just one day anymore – and it is the opposite of responsible consumption. The damage to the environment is well documented: almost 100 % more CO2 emissions compared to a normal week, because of deliveries, packaging and returns; 80 % of items bought only survive a couple of uses; and 50 % of consumers regret …

24

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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

Madam President, Commissioner Šuica and colleagues, when the pact on the Mediterranean was debated in committee, I appealed for a clear alignment between the pact and two other important and related initiatives: firstly, the Global Gateway and secondly, the fragility framework. The pact is described as complementary to the Global Gateway. It should in fact be more than that. It should be aligned w…

12

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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Protecting EU consumers against the practices of certain e-commerce platforms: the case of child-like sex dolls, weapons and other illegal products and material (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, there are a lot of companies that do a few things wrong, and there are a few companies that do a lot wrong, but there are very few companies that do as much wrong as Shein and similar online platforms. We are all very familiar with the environmental damage done by ultra-fast fashion. Just 1 % of textiles is recycled around the world. Fashion itself contribut…

12

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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The new 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework: architecture and governance (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, it is striking to me that nobody so far in this debate has mentioned Global Europe. I am Chair of the Development Committee. Naturally it is a serious concern to me – it is a EUR 200 billion budget. So my main message to you, Commissioner, is to defend this budget. It is really important that we do this. I very much support our decision to invest heavily …

21

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Renewing the EU-Africa Partnership: building common priorities ahead of the Angola Summit (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, as we all know, there is a massive change in our relationship with Africa evolving over the last decade, and it is embodied in the Global Gateway initiative, which is all about leveraging private sector investment, using European capital to try and create investment in energy, digital, transport, and, of course, also in health and education. That's all good …