Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I know this special meeting is dominated by Brexit and the position of Ireland and the EU is very clear, but what we are seeing in the House of Commons is MPs going around in circles and now making a request for another extension. In the meantime, other very serious issues are not getting the attention they should be getting from the European Parliament and I wish to refer to two of them in the time available to me.

While the issues in Catalonia are presented as being internal matters for the Spanish Government and there are matters before the court, the EU has been conspicuously silent on the human rights issues involved. No one should be prosecuted for exercising the fundamental right to free expression but if there are grounds for prosecution, three things must be in place. First, there should be a lawful investigation. It should be free of political considerations and there should be a presumption of innocence. What we are seeing are serious irregularities being noted by international observers at the trials. The concept of spontaneous demonstration is covered in international law but what we are seeing is an acceptance of the criminalisation of the practice and of the exercise of the right to demonstrate. We also see violations of EU regulations on the presumption of innocence and the abuse of pre-trial detention. As well as the ongoing trial in the Supreme Court, there are three other court cases going on simultaneously, which are having an adverse effect on the defence teams. With the defendants being tried in the Supreme Court, there is no hope of appeal except to the Constitutional Court. Of those people on trial, two of them are civil society leaders. They were involved in peaceful assembly to express their opinions and at this stage they have been in jail for 17 months.

This is in the context of a Europe that is emerging where human rights and the right to free assembly and free expression are seriously under threat. Recently, the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade had an informal meeting with activists from Poland and Ukraine. The ladies from Poland told us of their experience of violence while they were protesting peacefully. They were at a march where there were thousands with banners proclaiming "A White Poland", "Europe will be White or Deserted" and the witnesses to the joint committee had banners stating "Fascism Stop". The women were physically assaulted and they were charged with interference with a lawful assembly. The right to protest is under serious attack in Poland and it would appear that there is no support from the authorities. The lady from Ukraine told us about serious attacks on their march on International Women's Day, and said a particular target is LGBTI people. While Ukraine might not be in the EU, Hungary is, and what we are seeing there is a trampling of independent and dissenting voices.

Last September, in an historic vote, the European Parliament called for the triggering of Article 7 of the European treaty, which would mean challenging the Hungarian Government on its laws and policies and for failing to uphold basic human rights. The founding principles of the European Union are the rule of law, respect for human rights and freedom. Is very obvious, therefore, that European Union member states and national parliaments need to be more proactive on what is not acceptable within the European Union, particularly given the forthcoming European elections.

In looking at Prime Minister May's letter the one thing that struck me was that it was riddled with ironies. She makes the point that if the talks do not lead to a unified approach, there will be consensus on a small number of clear options and a series of votes. We have had all of that already. She states: "These steps demonstrate that the Government is determined to bring this process to a resolution quickly." We are certainly not seeing that from what has been happening in the House of Commons. Her last point is: "It is frustrating that we have not brought this process to a successful and orderly conclusion." There is little or no acceptance of its responsibility in the current debacle.

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