Spelade
-
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. -
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?
-
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.
-
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)
-
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. - Visa fler