I4C Trouble with Daly and Wallace

Mick believes Damien is attempting to cancel him - well, at the very least his stories of gratuitous sex. Meanwhile, Clare discusses "The Joy of Sex", her Fundamental Rights Report, the pleanary speech that made headlines across Spain and Catalunya, and being compared to a rapist by a far right headbanger. And Mick provides more background to the trouble brewing in Ethiopia.

Mick is in a state of shock after being called "the MEP who looks like the bass player from Jethro Tull" during a committee meeting with a neo conservative journalist. The two MEPs discuss their amendment to the report on stocktaking of the European Elections, where they aim to establish a free EU-wide TV channel for streaming proceedings from the European Parliament. Mick reminisces about the scandal that is the National Children's Hospital. In what would be a first for the European Parliament Clare ruminates on voting against her own "Daly Report" on fundamental rights. She tells us how the report ended up being an absolute mess and how that came to be. And the lead bullets ban is back on the agenda much to everyone's dismay.

Clare and Mick give their reaction to the US presidential election and discuss what changes the world is likely to see under Biden and Harris. Meanwhile, The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has run out of money at a time that the new US vice president, Kamala Harris, has promised to provide $70 million a week to Israeli security. Elsewhere, the fallout from CAP is still rankling with our two MEPs, particularly the clueless coverage of the deal back in Ireland.

Mick's 96-year-old mother Maureen has sadly just passed away. Exiled in Brussels and unable to return home for the funeral, Mick remembers his late mother with a couple of interesting stories. Elsewhere, the European Parliament is getting locked down and the MEPs are about to get locked out. Clare rallies against the mistreatment and push backs of migrants and refugees on the European borders. Mick is taking on the lobbyists who are muddying the waters over the banning of lead shot. And the two MEPs make their predictions on which numbskull is likely to win the undemocratic US Presidential Election.

We all heard of Jacinda Ardern's electoral win in New Zealand, but not a peep from the media about the landslide win in the Bolivian elections. Clare, Mick and Damien discuss the democracy in action which brought about the monumental win of MAS (Movement Towards Socialism party) in Bolivia, and the rejection of last year's right-wing coup. We've all read about the protests in Belarus, but who has said anything about the protests in Bulgaria? Clare is back from her trip around Bulgaria, where she is becoming a household name for taking on the corrupt Bulgarian Government and violent neo-nazis operating in the country. We're all braced for the worst when it comes to finding Funghi, but we're not all braced for the worst when it comes to CAP - a catastrophe for biodiversity. The European Parliament just voted for a destructive CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), which will bring about massive biodiversity loss and fund emitters with public money (30% of the EU budget)– no media dares to look into the details. Mick talks us through the monstrous CAP voting list and how the EPP, Renew and S&D political groups have undermined democracy and voted away any future we have of an ecological transition.

In the twenty-seventh episode of I4C Trouble Clare explains why fundamental rights in Bulgaria were on the plenary agenda in October and why the largest group in the Parliament learned to regret it, while Mick discusses the strong position the Parliament has taken in the Climate Law. In other news, an Irish campaign to free Julian Assange was launched last week by the Galway Alliance Against War, the Parliament revisits the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran, and Venezuela wins its appeal in the UK courts over its stolen gold reserves.

This week on I4C Trouble, Mick spills the beans on the hearings for the new Irish commissioner-designate, Mairead McGuinness. Clare reports on Europol's troubling aspirations to become a European FBI, and describes the interesting parliamentary politics around the first Rule of Law resolution, which centre on Bulgaria. The European Parliament discusses returning refugees to Afghanistan against the backdrop of an extremely precarious peace process. And while made up fears of "foreign interference" are used to justify massive military spending, the EU just doesn't seem to be able to stop itself interfering in elections in Latin America.

As Mick gets noticed in Belarus, our MEPs discuss the ongoing weaponisation of human rights. The EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum has been unveiled, but besides lots of talk of solidarity, it seems less designed to help refugees and asylum seekers than it is to send them back where they came from and pander to the anti-migrant member states. In a review of recent legislation and developments in the European Parliament, Clare and Mick discuss European Arrest Warrants, the European Year of Rail, vaccines, and what the floundering CAP talks mean for Ireland, Environment, Clean Food. All this and more, in the latest episode of I4C Trouble.

Clare and Mick conduct a post mortem on President Ursula von der Leyen's "State of the Union" address. Finally we're talking about a coordinated European COVID response, but is it too late? Why is the European Union legislating shipping emissions, but letting top polluters like the navy run rampant? Civil unrest in Belarus is being used to push for a change in the way the EU Council makes decisions, so why is so little said about the protests in Bulgaria, a member state? And now that the Moria refugee detention camp on Lesvos has burned to the ground, the EU wants the credit for relocation. But why were those people stuck there in the first place?

As Damien returns to the European Parliament after the summer break Clare and Mick have a wide ranging discussion on security and defence issues in Brussels, taking in the arms lobby and security contractors, the EU cybersecurity strategy, the European Defence Fund and the European Peace Facility. Things are on the move everywhere, in Libya, Mali and the Balkans, in Belarus, Turkey and Cyprus. Clare talks about the devastating fire in the Moria detention camp in Lesvos and her blazing intervention into Bulgarian politics in the LIBE committee, while Mick brings grave news about the European Climate Law, up for a vote in the plenary soon after being effectively gutted in the committees. Finally, Julian Assange's trial has just resumed, but the courtroom is virtually empty, and Mick and Clare are not there. Why? Recorded on Friday, September 11.

As Irish media coverage of Brussels wanes in the wake of Commissioner Phil Hogan's resignation over Golfgate, the real story of what goes on in the EU and further abroad remains untold. The people of Lebanon suffer the aftermath of a devastating industrial and economic crisis. The war on Syria rages on. The EU-MERCOSUR trade deal continues into law, and workers in the aviation industry suffer the effects of COVID-19. And where now for EU data protection after the historic defeat of Privacy Shield in the courts? All this and more in the latest episode of I4C Trouble with Daly and Wallace.

With Damien yet to return from the summer recess Clare and Mick sneak into the studio to discuss the Galway society dinner scandal that seized Irish politics for a week, stampeded all the way to Brussels and claimed the head of Ursula von der Leyen's biggest commissioner. What did it all mean? What did it achieve? And as Alexander Lukaschenko's days begin to look as if they are numbered, Mick asks, what's next for Belarus?

In an episode recorded on the last day before the summer recess, which seems like a lifetime ago now, Clare and Mick discuss the controversy in Ireland over Barry Cowen's dismissal by Taoiseach Micheál Martin. They review the hearing for the candidate for the head of the European Medicines Agency and recount their confrontation over increased military spending with the head of the European Defence Agency. Finally Clare addresses the recent landmark judgment of the Court of Justice on the Schrems II case, with huge implications for US tech giants in Ireland. Presented by Damien Thomson.

Germany has taken over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Having had a chance to grill several German government ministers in committee hearings, Clare and Mick give us the lowdown on what to expect in the next six months of politics in Brussels. Presented by Damien Thomson.

Clare and Mick explain tough calls on haulier's rights this plenary week in the monolithic Mobility Package of legislation. Our MEPs discuss the successful completion of a progressive "Wallace Report" at the environment committee, recognizing how the climate crisis affects the Global South. Also: what is it with the European Parliament's obsesssion with regime change in Venezuela? What do Clare and Mick think of the new Irish cabinet? And what is Mick's book of the week? Presented by Damien Thomson.

As the moment of truth approaches for the formation of an Irish government back home, Clare and Mick discuss the enormous defence spending at the EU, the visit of the Director of the World Health Organisation to the environment committee to discuss COVID-19, the publication of the annual Europol Terrorism Report, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Hot on the heels of the June plenary Clare and Mick compare notes on the big votes of the week, including their motion on the Black Lives Matter movement, the EU-Israel Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement, and yet another human rights debate on Hong Kong. And, as the Green Party membership gears up to vote on whether to form a coalition with Fianna Fáil & Fine Gael, our MEPs get down to brass tacks with the joint Programme for Government. Is it the green revolution it's cracked up to be or is it a recipe for five more years of selling out?

Besides looking at arms exports in the security and defence committee and the environmental impacts of European agricultural policy, Clare and Mick speak about the uprisings against systemic racism stateside and worldwide, the murder of George Floyd, the brutal crackdowns by militarized police, and the poor response from the European Union's foreign affairs minister Josep Borrell.

As the lockdown gradually eases, the Commission is unveiling a hodgepodge of plans and work is furiously underway to scrutinize them all. Clare and Mick break down the highlights of a busy week at the European Parliament: state aid rules and bail outs; food sustainability and big farms; public private partnerships and corporate lobbying; how the EU enables the settlement of the Palestinian territories; the rule of law during the pandemic; and the EU's flawed COVID-19 economic recovery plan. Bonus content: how to make sure you find a partner at the dance.

Clare and Mick discuss European exceptionalism and the real values of the European project. What is going on with coronavirus tracking apps and why are they a threat to civil liberties? Why is the EU fast-tracking bailouts for airlines but overlooking workers rights? What is Europe doing in the Sahel region of Africa and why are the Irish Defence Forces involved? Tune in to find out, share, like and subscribe. Happy Europe Day!

Clare and Mick discuss parliamentary dress codes, propaganda efforts by the European External Action Service and the work they have been getting up to over the last week in their seven parliamentary committees.

In the eleventh episode, disability and autism activist Jane Johnston tells Clare and Mick how the pandemic has impacted carers and the people they care for, and gives her thoughts on what’s included in the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael joint framework document. Presented by Damien Thomson, political adviser to the GUE/NGL group. Thanks for listening! 👂

Clare and Mick interview Medea Benjamin of Code Pink about the ongoing media and sanctions war being perpetrated against the government of Venezuela. They discuss the increasingly aggressive US state department moves on the international stage, the impact of these regime change operations on the ground, the role of the EU, and modes of resistance to the imperialist war machine.

Clare and Mick are back with a quick round-up of the week in politics at the European Parliament. Whether it's about the deterioration of the rule of law in member states or hiking defence spending while cutting health budgets, the coronavirus continues to place the European Union at a crossroads. Our MEPs tell Damien about their work across each of their committees, and how things in Brussels are shaping up while most of the EU is in lockdown.

The reports from the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and Equality mentioned in the episode can be found at the following links:Report on Penal Reformand Sentencing (May 2018)Report on Direct Provision and the International Protection Application Process (December 2019)

A video of the ceremony, including a speech by Councillor Declan Bree, can be viewed here.

Emma Clancy's report, Discipline and Punish: End of the Road for the EU's Stability and Growth Pact can be found here.

“We’re all in this together” is one of the mantras we’ve read and heard most over the last month in dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. But are we really? In episode 6 of I4C Trouble Clare and Mick take a closer look at modern day solidarity and some of the issues that would suggest not all individuals, businesses and Governments are in it together. Kindly presented by Damien Thomson, political adviser to the GUE/NGL group. Thanks for listening! 👂

In this episode of I4C Trouble we have our very first guest - Iranian-British writer and anti-war activist Ali Alizadeh. Our MEPs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace talk sanctions and Iran, with attention to the current coronavirus crisis. Alizadeh invites us to rethink what we think we know about Iran. Is Iran just a “rogue state” or is this term part of a prolonged campaign to delegitimize Iran? Kindly presented by Damien Thomson, political adviser to the GUE/NGL group.

In the fourth episode of I4C Trouble, MEPs Daly & Wallace continue to delve into some of the key issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic, chief among them the failures of the EU to show solidarity, internally and externally. They look at the genocidal effects of US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela during the crisis, discuss the worsening situation and abuses of rights in migrant camps on EU borders and warn that the government's emergency response to COVID-19 could very easily become a power grab, eroding data protection and privacy in the long term. Kindly presented by Damien Thomson, political adviser to the GUE/NGL group.

In the third episode of I4C Trouble, MEPs Daly & Wallace are in Brussels to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its effects during the European Parliament's emergency plenary to deal with the crisis. Wallace discusses the Irish government's controversial decision to quietly publish the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on NAMA during a public health crisis. Daly speaks about the historic impact of the pandemic on the transport sector, airlines' demands for bail-outs, implications for workers and the public, and the need for a radical rethink of aviation in the future. Kindly presented by Damien Thomson, political adviser to the GUE/NGL group.

Back with their second episode of I4C Trouble, MEPs Daly & Wallace discuss the pressing topic on everyone's minds: the global coronavirus pandemic and the emergency response in Europe. They examine the Greek government's illegal suspension of asylum law on the border with Turkey, the EU response and the wider geopolitical context. Finally, they explain how Parliament's committees work on files, and speak about two important files they have responsibility for. Kindly presented by Damien Thomson, political adviser to the GUE/NGL group.

In the debut episode of I4C Trouble, MEPs Daly & Wallace discuss their previous eight years of work in the Irish Parliament, the move to Brussels and their experience so far of the European Parliament. The failures of mainstream political reporting are a serious problem for the public's understanding of what's going on at the centre of power. But what can be done about it? Kindly presented by Damien Thomson, political adviser to the GUE/NGL group.