Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting that another president of Europe is present today, although President Metsola represents the European Parliament. The most recent president we were blessed with was the President of the Commission where, arguably, all the power lies, the members of which are all unelected bureaucrats. Not to be undone, and to give the impression that the EU is a democratic organisation, a democratically elected member of the parliament is present today.

The purpose of today's visit is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of our membership of the EU. It would be nice to have Europeans here thanking us for our total contribution of fish to the EU, which far outweighs any help in terms of the value of moneys we have received from Europe since we joined. Acknowledging that we have been hoodwinked over the years, even to this day, when France, Spain, Belgium and a host of other EU countries have more entitlement to our fish stocks than we have, would be welcome and would at least make us believe that the EU is interested in what we have to say.

Of course, the EU has always had plenty of our ruling parties to help it along the way.

3 o’clock

We are guilty of assisting in our own denigration unfortunately. Our ruling parties are going to happily get rid of our neutrality in the coming years and we will become an integral part of the European empire. I wonder what the European Parliament has to say about that but then the European Parliament will not have a role in defence. That will be left totally to the unelected Commission which is only required to inform the Parliament that it is going to war.

It is also interesting that President Metsola is from another neutral member state of the Union. I hope it is not in name only. Does the Government of Malta carry on in the same way as the Irish Government and happily undermine neutrality at every opportunity? Perhaps the Maltese Government has more backbone and will defend what its citizens believe.

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