I4C Trouble with Daly and Wallace

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...