Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner Jørgensen, colleagues, we're having this debate about the tragedy in Sudan at a time when we're dismantling the tools that we would otherwise use to address this issue. We're having it at a time when USAID has been decapitated by the US Government, when the UK has reduced its overseas aid from 0.7 % of GNI a few years ago down to 0.5 % and now to 0.3 %. But the reality is it's about 0.15 %, when you take account of funding that is applied for domestic migration management. The same is happening in the Netherlands, where they've halved their overseas aid, and they don't want to talk about gender equality anymore in the Netherlands. In Belgium, they reduced it by a quarter; in Sweden, in Switzerland, and now the German Government will probably do the same thing. So we can say a lot of fine words in this Chamber, in this Hemicycle – as we've done before – but what we've done is surrender soft power on an industrial scale, surrender influence, and power hates a vacuum. So we have made this decision to retreat from an order of global solidarity and replace it with nothing. And now we're surprised that you find fragile states like Sudan, which is on the brink of starvation, which is so desperately impacted that the US Government in January declared a genocide. I often think, 'pity the soul that has forgotten how to shudder'; you might call it compassion fatigue. But somehow or other, this is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. We have no policy that has addressed this. There has been no statement from the Commission about this collapse in overseas aid. So it's all very well to say fine words here, but until we get a clear statement and establish a floor on European policy on these issues, those fine words will just disappear in dust.

Mr President, Commissioner Hansen, I want to add my voice of support to the argument for the use of immobilised Russian assets for Ukraine. At the very least, we should assert the legal right to seize those assets and apply them to the reconstruction of Ukraine. I have to say, I find it very hard to take seriously the sovereign right argument made by Russia and its sympathisers, in circumstances where Russia has demonstrated a complete and consistent disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbours. It would be a proportional response by the EU to apply these assets to Ukraine, given the estimated EUR 500 billion in damage done to Ukraine's economy. I have to say that I am informed that the Irish Government will bring forward legislation in the next two weeks called the Criminal Justice Violation of EU Restrictive Measures Bill. The legal basis for the use of these assets is sound and made out by other speakers. All that remains is for us to send a strong political signal reinforcing the international norm against aggression.

Madam President, Commissioner, first of all, I welcome your endorsement of UNRWA. When I visited Rafah a year ago, Israel was blockading humanitarian access. The excuse given at that time was that UN agencies were disorganised, could not be relied upon, or that humanitarian items could be used for military purposes. Israel has shut off electricity and aid again, but on this occasion, it is so emboldened by US support and EU inaction that it doesn't even offer excuses for the blockade of humanitarian access anymore. And in any case, what type of ceasefire is this? 100 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire. We have seen the outlawing of passive collaboration with the ICC. We've seen the 'Gazafication' of the West Bank. We've seen vicious settler violence and Ben-Gvir rescinding the Oslo agreement, and we're told it's Palestinians that are breaching the ceasefire. As we know, there can be no lasting peace and durable solution without full respect for Palestinian people's right to self-determination.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, the path to a sustainable peace in Syria will, of course, not be a straight one. We all know that. But there are positive signs. We saw yesterday's announcement in relation to the SDF and the government, and that is very, very welcome. However, the horrific violence in the coastal area must not go unpunished, and making sure that there is transitional justice is essential for that sustainable peace. The EU needs to invest in the political economy of reconciliation as a matter of urgency. The Syria conference that takes place next Monday is the ninth one, but different from every other – for some very obvious reasons and some less obvious reasons. The most obvious is the change in regime. The less obvious is the fact that international aid has collapsed in the last 12 months. My plea to you, Commissioner, is to concentrate on the agricultural industry, to concentrate on replanting, on irrigation, on bakeries, on the core of the regrowth of the Syrian economy and the pathway to that sustainable peace.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, the decision to suspend USAID is consistent with the public policy vandalism that has characterised the beginning of the Trump administration and applauded by autocrats around the world. And it is Afghan women. It is Ukrainian soldiers. It is hungry people in DRC, in Sudan and Yemen that will suffer. But before we get on our high horse, let us not forget that EU development policy is going in the same direction, albeit without the scorched-earth approach of the United States. So what we need now, in the short term, we need agencies to be provided with information about the waivers that are available from the State Department. We need to use every part of our diplomatic capacity to do that. In the medium term, we also have to bring forward contractual payments in order to assist with the cash flow and liquidity problems that agencies are experiencing during this 90 day suspension. And finally, we need a clear statement from the President of the Commission, Madame von der Leyen, a restatement of the EU's commitment and solidarity to our developing world partners. And we also need to make a clear statement that we will not surrender the soft power that we have built up over decades and not surrender that to autocrats. So far, the silence is deafening.

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, we have heard from our colleagues already during the course of this debate about the extent of the problem and indeed, on a business as usual basis, plastic production is estimated to increase by 70 % by 2040. So the urgency for this negotiation on this treaty could not be greater. We have seen as well in this debate the conflict between the diverging national interests of the oil producers and to the great credit of the Commission, the high ambition countries, the High Ambition Coalition, which has sought binding agreements. But I would ask that the Commission would take seriously the concerns that were expressed at the negotiation by developing countries, because naturally, developing countries will require finance to make sure that they carry out the responsibilities that are given to them under the treaty, if it is negotiated, and, of course, to implement the terms of the treaty. So at the EU level, we have to push for a unified and ambitious plastics policy that leaves no room for loopholes, but we also need to expand the High Ambition Coalition and persuade those developing countries that it is in their interest to achieve the outcomes of the treaty.

Mr President, Commissioner, yesterday President Trump signed an executive order and he said that no further US aid would be disbursed unless it could be demonstrated to align with American interests. Now, the European Union's development policy is heading in that direction. We have a geopolitical direction for the disbursement of aid and development aid, and that is becoming a central policy of the European Union. So we might sneer at President Trump for what he's doing, but we should also acknowledge that the ideological direction of European development policy right now is not very far distant from what President Trump has been doing. And the Commissioner is right: we should be haunted by what's happening, we should be outraged. In August, a famine was declared. That should have been a game changer. Two weeks ago, the US State Department said that the conflicts there should be classified as a genocide, and yet the world seems a very much colder place. So we can say whatever fine words – and I do respect your speech today, Commissioner – but if we are going to have a genuinely balanced foreign policy, we have to back it up with budgets. We have to back it up with a thoroughly enlightened development aid policy.

Madam President, Ms Kallas, colleagues, just this morning, I met women peace activists from Israel and Palestine, both of whom emphasised the importance of UN Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. It's often said that truth is the first victim of war, when in reality women and children are the first victims. The conflict in Sudan has been marked by grave violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, which, combined with a breakdown of basic services, is disproportionately affecting women and girls. Reports of conflict-related, gender-based violence have been widespread in Sudan. We are seeing similar scenes of mass rape and sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with children as young as nine being victims of sexual violence. But we have to put deeds with our words, and the reality is that our development aid budgets are shrinking across the EU Member States and here in the Commission. And we have to remember these speeches and these words when we decide on what our development aid budgets will be in the years to come.

Mr President, Commissioner McGrath, for the last decade, democracy has been in retreat, and the idea of democratic recession is not new. Freedom House tells us that, in 2024, the year of elections, global freedom declined for the 18th consecutive year. Now, just 20 % of the global population live in fully free countries. And layered on this already serious problem of democratic backsliding is X, TikTok and others putting the interests of their companies ahead of the interests of the public. We need to stop people being forced into narrower and narrower corridors of thought. We need a free marketplace of ideas and a Digital Services Act that's prepared to bear its teeth. I welcome the investigations into TikTok's risk assessment policy for new features and into its age verification practices. Ahead of the Irish national election just a few weeks ago, an NGO, Global Witness, placed paid adverts on TikTok to test its capacity to stop disinformation. One video claimed that you needed two COVID vaccinations to vote, and it was approved by TikTok. This proves that the need for a very strong Digital Services Act remains very acute.

Mr President, Madam Kallas and colleagues, I am just so pleased that Assad is gone. I campaigned against the policy of normalisation. Just last July, eight EU Member States proposed that we would reopen the Syrian embassy in Brussels. That initiative now looks embarrassing. But at its core was the mistake of trying to put EU migration management policy ahead of what might be in the interests of the wider Syrian people. The reality is that we turned our back on the Syrian opposition. We turned our back on those who fought for justice and against impunity. We turned our back on those who are haunted by the gulags and the prisons and the torture centres. Now, for once, we have an opportunity to invest in reconciliation, in reconstruction of this wonderful country. For the first time, we have an opportunity to really prioritise the interests of the people of Syria in all their diversity. A lot of analysis has focused on Iraq and Syria, but the better example is Sudan. There was a change of leadership there in 2019 and we failed to invest in reconciliation, the growth of democracy, in development. We turned our back on Syrians before. Let us not repeat that mistake.

Mr President, Commissioner, I would first of all say that Mr Kols is wrong, of course: the European Union carried out a very extensive evaluation to satisfy itself that there is no risk whatsoever of the diversion of EU funding from its intended purpose. That has been established time and time again by the European Commission. I would call on the President of the Commission to make a statement putting the full weight of the European Commission behind a request to the Government of Israel to request the Knesset to extend the 90-day period, because, as everybody knows, there is no replacement for UNRWA. As our HR/VP said, all ICC decisions are binding on all Member States. Despite the overwhelming support of EU Member States, we have had no statement from the President of the Commission, and I think it is reasonable to conclude that that silence undermines the legitimacy of the Court and of international law. The EU Action Plan on the ICC states: 'The EU and its Member States will undertake consistent action to encourage full cooperation of states with the ICC, including the prompt execution of arrest warrants'.

Madam President, Mr Commissioner, colleagues, the final communiqué of the G20 summit was surprising in some ways. The establishment of the Global Hunger Alliance was very welcome. The dedication to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the commitment to ending poverty and ending hunger was quite surprising to me. It made me wonder how comfortable EU Member States really would be with signing up to this rededication to traditional development aid. Let's not forget that the EU Member States and the Commission are slashing aid budgets. They are turning their back on traditional development principles and they are diverting aid budgets to migration management. So why does the Global South, under its leadership, dedicate itself to these traditional development goals? It's not because they want to access greater critical raw materials. It's not because they want to address the root causes of migration. They do it because it's right. It is right to be horrified that 700 million people went to bed hungry in 2023, when we have enough food for everybody. So I very much hope that the Commission and Member States take careful note of the importance of this declaration.

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, we are broadly agreed across this House that nothing we do or say would reward Russia for its aggression and its contempt for human rights. Equally, we are broadly agreed that we would not do or say anything that would reward Iran for its aggression. Yet we are now slowly embarking on a policy to do just that, under the banner of so-called normalisation of relations with Assad's Syria. This will send a clear message to Russia and Iran. Having stood by those who sought freedom, having passed countless resolutions condemning Assad's prisons and gulags and executions, and his use of chemical warfare, and looking for an end to impunity, now we quietly return to restore normal relations at a time that can only send one clear message: the EU will stand by those who seek freedom, but if autocrats have the patience and seek the protection of Iran and Russia, they might just succeed.

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, in my opinion, nothing more clearly exemplifies how European development policy is off track than what has happened in Sudan over the last five years. In 2019, a very brief window opened where the potential for Sudanese democracy to develop occurred, and the opportunity to invest in the political economy of reconciliation and making and helping democracy to happen was missed. So by 2021, it was almost too late. Then we had an opportunity for cancellation of a massive amount of debt in Sudan, but it was too late. So now we have a tragic situation. Global Gateway is the big idea in European development. But, of course, Global Gateway has nothing to do with Sudan. Global Gateway can work. So what we have to do is concentrate on fragile countries that are impacted by climate, by conflict and by the situation we see in Sudan. It is true that there was a ministerial at the UN General Assembly, but it was completely ineffective. And we all know that aid budgets have been slashed across the European Commission and EU Member States, and we will pay a price for that.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, whatever you might say about the shortcomings of the UN, everybody showed up. The UN has incredible convening power, and the European Union, more than anybody else, understands the value of multilateralism; it's in our genes. We understand that the sum is greater than the parts – really, really works at a European level and we believe it can work at a global level. Now, the European Parliament took this summit very seriously. Our President, Roberta Metsola, went over. Five European Parliament committees were represented. There were 13 MEPs on the delegation. So we took it really seriously. But let's be clear, parliaments do not have a significant role in the General Assembly, in any of the UN summits and, indeed, across the UN system. So we really have to reflect on whether we are adding any value as a parliament in what is happening at the UN Summit of the Future. We had no role in negotiation, we were not really attending the Summit of the Future, none of the European Commissioners that were present had the time to meet with us. So these are significant shortfalls. However, the more serious issues are the grim issues that are facing the world, the massive underfunding of overseas development assistance, which is impacting all of the UN agencies. The big trend, of course, was reform of the global financial architecture around multilateral development banks, the move from loans to grants, trying to improve the risk profile and the capital adequacy frameworks of multilateral development banks. So we have a great opportunity in the next while to make sure that we are taken seriously at UN Parliamentary Assemblies.

Madam President, HR/VP, colleagues, I want to talk about the deployment of UNIFIL, UN peacekeepers present in South Lebanon. As you know, there are 29 positions where peacekeepers from different countries are deployed, including from Ireland. And there is now a request from the Israeli Defence Forces that those UN troops be withdrawn, that they be evacuated from South Lebanon. Well, let us remember our lesson of history. When UN peacekeepers were withdrawn from Rwanda, when UN peacekeepers were withdrawn from Srebrenica, these events foreshadowed some of the darkest chapters in the history of the late 20th century. So while I fully respect that this is a military operational decision that will be taken by the force commanders present on the ground, we have to remember that those UN troops are the eyes and ears of the world. We have to remember that the Israeli Defence Forces have shown little regard for international humanitarian law and we know that UNIFIL will play a key role in the inevitable diplomatic resolution of the current wave of violence.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, I actually believe that we have learned some lessons from both Ebola and from COVID-19, while some remain to be fully absorbed. An example of this is the growing autonomy of the African Centre for Disease Control, which has forced other organisations actually to sit up straight, and this is real progress, and I would describe it as a 'decolonisation of decision-making'. I really commend them for moving so quickly and forcing the hand of the World Health Organisation. Now the African CDC and the WHO are actually working together, as equal partners, and that's progress. So we've partially learned the lesson that effective response to disease outbreak should be locally led. I worked on the Ebola outbreak ten years ago. It was clear afterwards, when we did our lessons-learned exercise, that the outbreak was stopped because of local action. We need to carry this through now to vaccine development, to vaccine procurement and, of course, to vaccine approval, which has been unforgivably slow in this context. We also need to continue – both EU and Member State budgets – our support for health systems. We will have five European Parliament committees in New York for the Summit of the Future, for the SDGs. The SDGs are about leaving no one behind, the furthest behind first, and yet we have a situation – a continuing pattern of neglect – where the Democratic Republic of Congo requires 3.5 million vaccines to control this when that affects children so much, and yet they have only received a very small amount. That is a key lesson that we must learn.

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, the landmark ruling of the International Court of Justice on 19 July creates a positive obligation on the European Union and on all Member States and all countries that support multilateralism, to take such action as they can to end the occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The rule of law consistently applied requires that the Commission and the Council report to this House on the implications of that judgment. Doing nothing now actively erodes international humanitarian law. The only way to avoid degrading international humanitarian law is to act, to either ban trade with occupied territories, to to stop arms sales, to sanction leadership. Sadly, the EU's response has been inaction. The legal question is settled for once and for all about the settlements. We have to do all in our power to bring it to an end. And that's why I call on the Irish Government to act on the Occupied Territories Bill. We need to stop acting as a recruiting sergeant for extremist organisations and start working for peace.

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, as this is my last contribution in this mandate at least, I want to thank all of my colleagues that worked with me on the Sustainable Development Goals Alliance, and it is fitting that my last contribution should be on a law that seeks to chart a path for sustainable development and a Green Deal that works for people and planet. I see the green transition as a unique opportunity to create high-quality jobs in sectors that are very important to Europe, to Dublin and to Ireland. The Net Zero Industry Act is a remarkable piece of legislation that will incentivise public and private investment in wind, solar batteries and in storage. A very welcome shot in the arm for European industry. Dublin is already the tech capital of the European Union, with 16 out of the top 20 digital companies around the world based there. There’s no reason why Ireland shouldn’t be leading in the production of cutting-edge technology and wind, in heat pumps and in carbon capture, with huge competition from the US and China and elsewhere. Net zero will be key to Ireland and the European Union’s future. As I would appear to be the last-scheduled speaker in this mandate, on my behalf and on behalf of my team, I want to thank all of the staff here in Strasbourg and in Brussels for the excellent support that they’ve given me over the last few years.

Madam President, High Representative and colleagues, the Colonna report states that the Government of Israel provided no evidence to support its claim that UNRWA staff were members of Hamas. Nevertheless, these claims led to an avalanche of condemnation of UNRWA by EU Member States, an avalanche of calls to suspend funding of UNRWA, regardless – it seems – of either the devastating humanitarian consequences or the absence of evidence. And if it’s never the wrong time to do the right thing, then the right thing for Austria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden is to acknowledge that suspension was a mistake and that UNRWA is indispensable. To make matters worse, the US Congress last week passed a bill providing USD 26 billion in support to Israel and banning aid to UNRWA until 2025. It’s difficult not to lose faith in the face of these circumstances, but as this will be my last speech on this issue – in this mandate at least – let me express my pride in the approach of the Irish Government: increasing aid to UNRWA, recognising Palestine and calling for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Madam President, Madam Commissioner, colleagues, last Friday, I had the honour of meeting with the Disability Federation of Ireland and being the first politician to sign their disability pledge. This commitment, on my part, signifies prioritising disability issues and actively working in Parliament on equality and inclusion. The Disability Federation of Ireland welcomed the European Disability Card, but they stressed that it is not enough, it is just a start. We must fulfil the EU strategy on the rights of persons with disabilities. We must improve electoral accessibility to ensure disabled participation in EU politics and, most importantly, to ensure full accessibility and freedom of movement across the EU through legislation. However, like many other marginalised groups in our society, people with disabilities are fearful of the rise in right-wing populism and what the next mandate may bring. They stressed to me that continuity in the next mandate is vital for people with disabilities. So, as they need representatives who will uphold their rights, people with disabilities tell me that they need the European Union, there is no other regional political entity in the world that stands up for people with disabilities in the way that the European Union does.

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, discrimination is where human rights cannot be enjoyed to the full, and if we continue to accept the idea that women are less safe than men on our streets, on our trains, in nightclubs, then we accept discrimination and we accept human rights abuses, and we accept second-class status for women. Women fear public transport and dark streets and prepare defensive postures with headphones, looking over their shoulders. This is the learned behaviour generated by a society that doesn’t truly value women’s safety. In my work on the FEMM Committee, I was happy to support this directive. I very much welcome, also, the announcement by the Irish Taoiseach of a special task force on safety in Dublin. There should be a women’s safety adviser in this task force with expertise on safety for women in public places. In addition, a dedicated transport police is a critical element of addressing this discrimination. Today’s directive is a crucial element in delivering a safer Europe for women, and I would like to pay particular tribute to Evin Incir, the co-rapporteur, and to Frances Fitzgerald, my constituency colleague, for their excellent work over the last couple of years.

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, it was my honour to launch Housing Europe’s election manifesto in Brussels in January. For the last two years, I have been exploring ways in which the EU can directly and indirectly support Ireland’s housing policy options, because the reality is that many people struggle to see what the EU can do to help them with the essentials of life, the cost of living, with healthcare and, for young Dubliners at least, access to housing. And I get it. In Ireland, despite record investment, the housing crisis remains acute, and, far from helping, some EU laws are actually stopping progress. For example, strict EU debt rules forced the government to choose between fiscal prudence and investment in public housing. That is why we need a comprehensive housing strategy for Europe to massively ramp up funding. That’s why we need a special committee on housing to work on this day in and day out. Taking real action on housing is our best defence against Euroscepticism.

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, it is a great pleasure to speak on a new European law aimed at safeguarding the human rights of some of the most vulnerable people in the world. When I visit schools around Dublin, where I come from, and I tell students that their mobile phones, their food and especially their clothes could be tainted by the mark of forced labour and modern slavery, they are astonished, ashamed and they demand action. So this is also about putting power in the hands of consumers and giving them the comfort to know that they are not passively contributing to human rights abuses across the world. I would like to commend the French Government’s recent decision to implement an environmental levy on hyper-fast fashion products, particularly targeting items from Chinese brands like Shein and Temu, as well as banning the advertising of such products. I call on the Irish Government to consider our own national legislation to address the impact of fast fashion and to put an end to the scourge of forced labour and modern slavery. I’d like to congratulate the Outlaw Ocean Project for their excellent investigative journalism in this field, and particularly thank the two rapporteurs, and, if I may say, my friend and colleague Samira Rafaela especially, for their excellent work on this file.

Madam President, the new law on the right to repair will put money back into consumers’ pockets. It will bring new life to broken appliances and make sure that we move away from a disposable economy to a circular economy. The throwaway culture has come to an end. Your smartphones, your airfryer, your bicycles can be repaired even after the expiration of a warranty or a guarantee. Saving 4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions is the equivalent of taking 2 million cars off the road. European consumers lose almost EUR 12 billion a year in buying replacements for goods that could have been repaired. This directive shows how the Green Deal can work for consumers, and for those of us who have consistently voted in favour of Green Deal measures throughout this mandate, it is crucial that we use these positive measures to show members of the public that laws that protect the environment are a win-win for people and for planet.