Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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There are a million questions when we are talking about the Commission. We could talk about competition law or the conversations that are happening on unanimity versus qualified majority voting, QMV, and other issues. We could discuss the cross-border taxation issues that exist for remote workers. I am going to keep it simple and speak about the Gaza crisis we are dealing with at the moment. Two particular issues are highlighted above all. The European Commission, individual Commissioners and the Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, have overstepped the mark. People, including myself, have described them as green-lighting the Israeli regime. It is a particular Israeli regime. While we all condemn the absolute barbarism of Hamas, I do not hear a huge amount of condemnation from the EU of the slaughter of kids in Gaza. I accept that European states and individuals are coming from a different place considering the history of how badly the Jews were treated in pogroms. They faced everything from expulsion and ghettoisation right through to extermination. However, I do not see any reason we are not, first and foremost, all about international law and condemning those who breach those international laws. Beyond that, we must ensure that we are party to a roadmap for peace in the long term. At the moment, we must look at ceasefires and humanitarian aid. What interactions are happening at the Commission level? I imagine there is a high level of disquiet. Some of these issues need to be highlighted. From an Irish point of view, we may not get absolute agreement on positive moves that are beneficial to the Palestinian and Israeli people, whom this Israeli regime has not protected. We will sometimes have to make some moves on our own or, if we are lucky enough, with others. We cannot allow what has been going on and the slaughter in Gaza.