I4C Trouble with Daly and Wallace

This week on the podcast we discuss: the latest diplomatic attempts to address the situation in Ukraine, Irish neutrality under threat, sustainable aviation, subsidies for retrofitting houses, Chinese direct investment in the EU and French neocolonialism in the Sahel.

This week discuss the European Parliament delegation to Ukraine and the latest developments there. We also chat about Clare’s participation in the Bloody Sunday commemoration march, Mick’s meeting with Irish fishing groups, the recent political turmoil that we’ve seen across the African continent, a debate on the war in Yemen and the visit of Afghan women to the European Parliament.

This week on the podcast we’re focusing on Ukraine and how the narrative of Russian aggression and encroachment into Europe doesn’t really chime with what has unfolded there. We also discuss the concept of disinformation and how it is used to silence dissenting voices, the strategic compass- the EU’s military and defence policy, and finally a new proposal on EU policing cooperation. Read the study "Rhetoric and Reality of Disinformation in the European Union" here: https://left.eu/issues/publications/rhetoric-and-reality-of-disinformation-in-the-european-union/

This week Mick and Clare are in Strasbourg for the European Parliament plenary. They’re joined by Oisin to discuss the election of the new European Parliament President, and the French Presidency of the Council of the EU. They also discuss EU High Representative Josep Borrell’s proposal to link the opening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to the situation in Ukraine and why it’s a terrible idea, the recent report on the live transport of animals, the Irish Rail Review, and why trains are key in the green transition. Finally Clare fills us in on the new Digital Services Act. There will be two events launching the report “Rhetoric and Reality of Disinformation in the EU”: - an online event on Tuesday 25 January at 15:00 (Irish time), register here https://theleft-eu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TcKZaMmxQoyElYEnEw0hsQ - an in-person event on Saturday 25 January at 16:00 in the New Theatre in Temple Bar. Reserve a spot https://thenewtheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873630942

I4C Trouble is back to normal programming after the Christmas break. We discuss the situation in Kazakhstan, looming humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, tensions in Ukraine and the critical raw materials needed for the “green transition”- there are no silver bullets when it comes to the climate crisis.

We will be back next week with out first I4C Trouble Podcast for 2022. Meanwhile, we recommend you listen to this short podcast of Pushback with Aaron Maté - it’s an interview with a retired US Army Colonel and is a very clear analysis of the Russia/Ukraine issue. Worth a listen

In the last episode before the Parliament closes for Christmas, we discuss the EU’s refusal to share the vaccine technology with the Global South; Navalny winning the EU Sakharov prize for “freedom of thought”; tensions in Ukraine; yet another European Parliament resolution condemning Cuba; and proposed new powers for the Gardaí. We also discuss the country of the week- Spain.

links:European Council on Foreign Relations, essays on neutrality and European defence: https://ecfr.eu/publication/ambiguous-alliance-neutrality-opt-outs-and-european-defence/ Study on EU Border Regime: Profiteering from Dehumanisation and Mythologised Technologies: https://left.eu/content/uploads/2021/11/EU-Border-Regime-Profiteering-from-Dehumanisation-and-Mythologised-Technologies_.pdf

It’s been a busy week at the parliament. We discuss Covid and the world going mad over the new variant, the European Parliament’s foreign interference committee and their report on social media disinformation by the EU’s so-called enemies- Russia, China and Iran, an anti-money laundering proposal to limit the use of cash which could have problematic implications for EU citizens, the EU “green” taxonomy for sustainable economic investments which is considering labelling gas and nuclear as sustainable- so not so green after all, finally, Julian Assange’s father visits Brussels, we hear some updates from that

We’ve got a second podcast for you this week, we discuss Covid, Vaccines, the Common Agricultural Policy, Tsikhanouskaya (Belarus’s Guiado) visiting the EP (again), and lovely Belgium.

Damien is back from the COP climate conference in Glasgow. We talk about the failure of the rich countries to address financing climate change adaptation and mitigation in the Global South.

This week Mick and Clare are joined by the wonderful Bethany Howard, another week, another host. They are just back from Lithuania at the trial of Algirdas Paleckis former journalist and MP accused of espionage. They fill us in on the trial and what they saw there.They also discuss the COP in Glasgow and the depressing reluctance of rich countries to take meaningful action on the climateFinally, Covid never went away but it’s back in full swing- they discuss how governments are handling it and the need for room for debate around the vaccine pass.

Clare and Mick are back in the Parliament, we discuss their recent trips.Clare fills us in about the report she just launched in Bulgaria and her visit there; Mick tells us about his trip to Nicaragua during the recent elections; Finally Clare has just been to Chios island in Greece where she met asylum seekers imprisoned on charges of people smuggling. She tells us the stories of the people she met in the prison there and the gross mistreatment of migrants by Greece, called “Europe’s shield” by EU Commission president Von der Leyen- is this what she meant?Read the report on rule of law in Bulgaria, Spain and France here: https://claredaly.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/BindingtheGuardian.pdf

Mick and Clare are just back from the Julian Assange trial in London. This week the podcast is all about journalism- what does it mean for the world when journalists can be jailed for exposing war crimes?Following on from that we discuss Taiwan and the lambasting Mick got last week for a video he put out on Taiwan and the One China policy. The One China policy is something accepted by the UN and the Irish government, yet somehow stating that now gets you described as a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party…

Poland is causing trouble in the EU- the Polish government is being accused of interference with the judiciary and overstepping the mark in terms of EU law. Is this the EU getting involved in the sovereign issues of member states or is it simply a case of enforcing the rules of the game? This week Mick, Clare and Damien get into the some big questions about the EU- what are the limits of EU power and where should we be drawing the line?

Damien and Clare are missing this week and Ciara, Mick’s parliamentary assistant, is taking over as presenter. Mick gets his revenge for previous “censoring” of his jokes by telling a long story he heard about a priest… lord help us.We discuss rising energy prices and gas shortages as we come into the winter- how did we get here, and what comes next? Also on the agenda- EU relations with the Sahel, China, and Ethiopia, and the killing of protesters in Lebanon this week.

Clare reports back from her mission to Bulgaria, Mick and Clare discuss the I4C position on Belarus.They also talk about tax havens, the Pandora Papers and the EU’s hypocrisy in blacklisting certain Global South countries as tax havens while countries within the Union… including our own…. continue to engage in similar practices.They look at the International Criminal Court’s decision to pursue the Taliban for war crimes committed in Afghanistan- fair enough, but why the refusal to look at the crimes of the US or Afghan armies?Finally Mick fills us in on recent developments in Tigray, Ethiopia.

So many issues, so little time. This week Clare and Mick are taking us through a whole range of recent events in the Parliament and beyond, most notably the letter that they wrote to the CEO of Portuguese bank Novo Banco calling on the bank to release Venezuelan funds for medicines and vaccines.They’re also talking about the attempted arrest of Catalan MEP Carles Puigdemont, a visit to Brussels by a group of Irish people affected by the mica building blocks scandal, last week’s elections in Russia and Germany, the persecution of journalist Algirdas Paleckis in Lithuania, and finally, how best to tackle methane emissions.

This week Mick and Clare are in Strasbourg and they’re discussing Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her speech on the “state of the union”… the absolute state of it is right.We’re talking hypocrisy, fortress Europe and “Great European Values”.

This week the Parliament is getting well and truly back into the swing of things. Mick and Clare catch us up on what has been happening in their committees. They discuss the sixth IPCC report on climate change and how its section on methane emissions is being deliberately misused by the meat and dairy lobby, corruption and organised crime in Bulgaria, working conditions in the aviation sector and finally Afghanistan.

This week Clare, Mick and Damien discuss the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the European reaction, the 20 years of US occupation and counterinsurgency during the war in Afghanistan and Irish government complicity in it, and the importance of learning the lessons. They also go back to 2010 to listen to what Julian Assange and WikiLeaks had to say about the war, and discuss how, even though the US war in Afghanistan is now over, the US war on journalism still continues.

This summer Belgium was devastated by floods the likes of which it has never seen before, leaving 41 dead. In July, Clare and Mick met Cristophe and François two of the sound engineers in the European Parliament, to discuss what happened.The episode wasn’t published at the time but we’re releasing it now because it’s a powerful conversation about how it feels to see climate change in action, very close to home.

Things are wrapping up for the summer in the European Parliament so we’re leaving you with a big one. Mick and Clare are going deep into foreign policy, their positions on the big issues of the day- Syria, Cuba, Belarus- and the threads that tie it all together.The recent media barrage has misinterpreted Clare and Mick’s critique of the warmongering anti-China, anti-Russia rhetoric as towing the line pushed by those governments. In this episode they set the record straight - they’re not pro-China or pro-Russia, they are against the EU using Russia and China as bogeymen to justify militarisation.They’re also discussing the shrinking space for dissenting opinions and the dangerous tendency to label any view outside of the dominant pro-US one as “fake news”.Finally there's some talk about issues closer to home and the recent Disclosures Tribunal report on Garda whistleblower Nick Keogh.

This week we've got something different- we're airing an episode of the Echo Chamber Podcast where Clare and Mick were interviewed by Tony Groves and Martin McMahon.They talk about foreign policy- particularly Syria and Iraq, the EU and recent attacks on the MEP's foreign policy positions in the Irish press.

This week its I4C Trouble with Wallace and… Thomson. Clare is away and Mick and Damien are using it as an opportunity for an environment triple bill.First up is the EU Climate Law, the not-so-ambitious EU plan for reaching climate neutrality by 2050 which goes to a final vote this week. Mick explains why approving the law as it is amounts to a commitment to climate catastrophe.Then we’re talking bees- small creatures with a huge impact on EU food systems. There are big decisions to be made in the European Council next week on protecting the EU bee population and Mick and Damien are here to fill us in on that.Last of all we’re talking about rail, specifically the Southeast on Track campaign to reopen the Wexford/Rosslare - Waterford Rail Link which was shut down during austerity. There are some proposals to turn it into a greenway, but getting rid of a viable rail line is anything but green…

On this week’s episode Mick, Clare and Damien are talking about a country that’s close to all of their hearts- Italy! They take us through Italian politics, Italy’s impact in the EU and of course… Football.Then there are some updates from Brussels- They're talking about unmanned arial mobility- drones for postal deliveries and air taxis, Europol- the trans-European police force and the beefing up of its powers, how the environment often gets neglected in EU trade deals and the environmental impact of the military sector.

This week we’ve got something different for you. Clare and Mick recently appeared on Sina Rahmani’s the East is a Podcast to talk about national sovereignty in the age of global capital. This week we’re broadcasting that interview.Clare, Mick and Sina talk about the Irish parliament’s recent actions on Palestine, Ireland’s strange position as both historical underdog and member of the EU imperial core, and whether politics has the potential to be brought closer to the people.

This week the EU whistlestop tour is coming home to Ireland.We’ve got an entire episode dedicated to Éire - its role in the EU and how EU membership has shaped it. We talk about defence policy, the eurozone, the groups Irish MEPs belong to in the European Parliament and the Irish people who are making waves in Brussels.

In this week’s episode Clare, Mick and Damien are taking a pitstop in Germany on their inter-rail tour of the EU member states. Mick tells us about his glory days selling light up necklaces on the streets of Munich.They’re also talking us through the recent events in Belarus and the EU’s reaction to them, EU PESCO projects on military mobility and ever closer EU-NATO cooperation, and Afghanistan where the US is finally doing what it should have done years ago and getting out.Finally there’s some talk about recent developments in the Environment committee- what did and did not get included in the recent biodiversity strategy and updates on methane emissions.

This week on the podcast Clare and Mick are talking about the massacre that is happening in Palestine and Gaza. Opinions voiced on this in the European Parliament last week ranged from the equivocal “two sides” school of thought, to out-and-out messages of support for the apartheid state of Israel. They discuss the falseness of this “two sides” idea and the reluctance of the EU to criticise Israel, a state which enjoys a particularly privileged relationship with the bloc.This week was also plenary in the Europe Parliament- meaning votes on legislation- Clare and Mick take us through some updates on the TRIPS waiver, the Digital Green Certificate, counterfeit currency, climate change impacts in the Global South, data protection and access to environmental justice.

This week on the podcast the Eurotrip continues with a chat about the Netherlands, a small, densely populated country that rivals Ireland in its obsession with dairy and tax breaks for multinationals. Then on to some updates from the week: fishing, transport and foreign policy.Finally we discuss the horrors unfolding in Palestine and Gaza- Israel is killing Palestinian children and there’s no real criticism coming from the EU.

It was all go in the European Parliament last week: with decisions taken on Brexit, arms funding, space, Russia, Colombia and more….Clare and Mick are taking us through these latest developments before resuming their EU member state tour in France. Oh la la!

The EU’s proposed Digital Green Certificate- A travel certificate those who have been tested, vaccinated or recently recovered from Covid-19- has provoked strong reactions in Ireland. Many are worried about the implications of the certificate, while others see it as a potential lifeline for the tourism industry.This week Clare and Mick are diving into the issue and talking us through the Digital Green Certificate- what is it? how will it affect people in the EU? and should we be concerned?

This week, Clare and Mick posed questions to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) over whistleblower reports of a cover-up around the chemical weapons investigation in Douma, Syria in 2018. On the podcast they discuss the Douma whistleblower testimonies and the need for the OPCW to meet with the dissenters. They’re also chatting about French MEP Nathalie Loiseau's reactions to their questions on the Douma report and the attention this all got in the Irish media.Finally, there’s football… Mick talks about the cancelled Super League and we learn about how governments use football teams as “sportswashing.”

Ecuador has just elected right-wing former banker, Guillermo Lasso as president.Clare and Mick were in Ecuador observing the elections.In this episode they report back, giving us the lowdown on the political reality in Ecuador, the electoral process and the outlook for the country going forward.

Repeated US invasions, years of US occupation and the frontline of the fight against ISIS… Iraq is a country that has suffered some of the most severe consequences of foreign interference in the Middle EastClare and Mick spent the past week in Iraq, meeting key decision makers on the ground, listening to them and learning more about the challenges that the country faces.Here’s the real story of that visit, straight from the horse’s mouth

We’ve got something a little different for you this week. Justin Podur, Associate Professor at York University's Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, is joining Mick and Clare to discuss the recent agricultural reforms and the farmer’s protests that they have provoked in India.See more of Justin’s work including his Anti Empire Podcast on his website https://podur.org/

This week China has hit back at EU sanctions by sanctioning some members of the European Parliament Committee on Human Rights. Mick and Clare give us the inside story on what is happening there and go in-depth about the EU’s invoking of human rights where and when it suits them.They’re also talking about vaccine passports and EU exports of banned pesticides to third countries, before touching down in sunny Lisbon and chatting about Portugal’s role in the European Parliament.

In our post-paddy’s day episode Mick and Clare are giving us the lowdown on all things Austria. There’s also talk of pastures closer to home and the Irish government’s failure to “green” their agricultural policies as well as the farmers in India taking to the streets in some of the biggest protests in history.Also on the agenda: vaccines (what else?), the trend towards in camera (private) European Parliament meetings, and US foreign policy under Biden who, despite his positive reception by many in Europe, looks set to be more belligerent than Trump.*correction: in the episode Mick mentions a football match between Germany and Austria in 1982, which was fixed to deliberately exclude a third team from qualifying. The team that they were trying to prevent qualifying was Algeria, not Tunisia.

This week, the US, EU states and others came together to block a petition by over 80 developing countries to lift patents on vaccines at the World Trade Organisation. Rich countries delivering yet another blow to global health...That’s not all Mick and Clare are sounding off about, they’re also talking about the European Parliament decision to waive the political immunity of three Catalan MEPs, the conflict in Syria ten years on, and the way the EU picks and chooses which human rights violations matter, and which ones don’t… It’s hypocrisy unbounded.We’re also jumping back into the tour of the EU member states with a deep dive into Poland. There’s been a lot of discussion of Poland’s rule of law (or lack of it) and the existence of LGBTI exclusion zones in Poland recently. So what are Mick and Clare’s impressions of the Poles in the Parliament? And who’s been spreading misinformation to the Polish public about crisp sandwiches?

The vaccine rollout is all anyone is talking about at the moment and Mick and Clare are no exception. They give us the inside scoop on what’s happening at EU level and why the UK’s relative success with the rollout is an argument for stronger public healthcare systems.Then back on the EU tour where the next pitstop is… Estonia. Mick and Clare take us on a tour of this little Baltic country and its Members of the European Parliament who are leading the charge on anti-Russian sentiment...

The first stop on Clare and Mick’s virtual whirlwind tour of the EU member states is… The Czech Rep- ahem Czechia… What’s going on in Czech politics? who have they got in the European Parliament? and what on earth is a pirate party?Then on to discussions of China, new EU sanctions on Venezuela, and the carbon “bootprint” of the military sector

With no Damien in the studio this week, Mick and Clare are left to their own devices and Mick takes the opportunity to tell a few stories… They’re also joined by agricultural expert and activist Matteo Netta who gives us the inside scoop on “social farming”, what on earth is it and is there any hope of the EU including it in the Common Agricultural Policy? Last on the agenda is the big news story of the week- the uproar over US troops landing in Shannon airport in breach of Covid restrictions- but US military use of Shannon isn’t a new problem- why is the US military being allowed to land there in the first place, and does it call Irish neutrality into question?

Mick and Clare discuss all things foreign policy- What is the EU’s role in foreign affairs and why does it matter? They talk EU military spending and the European Parliament’s total obsession with Russia and the Navalny saga, which is getting more airtime than the serious humanitarian crises happening elsewhere. There are some positive developments in the Parliament’s stance on the conflict in Yemen. But other issues continue to fly under the radar: what about the the EU land-grab happening in Ukraine? And why is the EU not doing more to address Abiy Ahmed's war crimes in Tigray, Ethiopia?

All eyes on the EU (for once) as details begin to emerge of the bungling of the vaccine rollout… In other news, Clare discusses EU policing cooperation with Israel, how Russian interference is being used to justify increased EU arms expenditure, and we have some spectacular stream-of-consciousness musings from Mick, bringing us from the Common Agricultural Policy to why the western media is so obsessed with Navalny, via Yemen and Belarus.

Vaccines are still the rage as the 'thick begins to plotten' and Europe and the UK head towards a trade war. A busy week in the Parliament - Clare is dealing with MEP's who are obsessed with electoral interference and Mick is looking for degrowth to save the planet...

Life goes on in the Parliament, while Europe is getting lost in the COVID mist. The EU is under pressure as it finds itself at the mercy of Big Pharma Elsewhere, Clare discusses European Arrest Warrants and Julian Assange, while Mick believes he has more support in Ireland than Alexander Navalny has in Russia and therefore the EU should back Wallace to run Ireland.

Mick is coughing, which he blames on the heat, but he plans to stick around for a while yet. However, the ignoramus Trump won't be sticking around, and with Biden only barely alive what's the future for the US after the riots on Capitol Hill? Did Europe get its Covid-19 vaccine order right? Mick and Clare discuss the corona virus and how biodiversity loss will create more virus problems in the future.

Brexit is boring Mick and Clare to death, so much so that people think they may actually be dead because RTE covers nothing from Europe these days other than Brexit. However, it doesn't stop the two Irish MEP's discussing everything from the Balkans, to Iran, to human rights to the leaky water pipes in Dublin that Mick wasn't allowed fix. Oh, and of course their new book - "The Coalition of the Unwilling" - which covers their infamous break-in at Shannon Airport.

The great bastion of democracy, the European Union, claimed the recent elections in Venezuela were a fraud, even before they took place. Unlucky for them intrepid travellers Mick and Clare were two of four MEPs who bothered to journey to Caracas to observe proceedings for themselves. This is their account of what really went down in Venezuela.