I4C Trouble with Daly and Wallace

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.