Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am standing in for our leader, Senator Higgins, who could not be with us. On behalf of the Civil Engagement Group, I welcome our colleagues from the European Parliament. It is lovely to see them again. This is about Irish and European parliamentarians. It is both important and timely that we have the opportunity to discuss the role of the EU in addressing challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate and biodiversity crisis, and the humanitarian crisis happening across the globe. It is also an opportunity to discuss more broadly the ideals that underpin our Union and how they intersect with the challenges we face.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, parliamentarians across Europe, including Oireachtas Members, have been calling on the European Commission to play its part in ensuring equitable access to vaccination and medical treatment in the global south. Shamefully, the European Commission has continued to block a waiver under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, TRIPS, on Covid-19 vaccine technology at the WTO. A TRIPS waiver is a key tool in the global public health emergency, and the blockage to waiving intellectual property rights is actively prolonging the pandemic. The delivery of effective vaccines was not driven by the market but by large-scale public investment. Vaccines were developed with public money and, therefore, should be treated as a public good. I commend my European colleagues who have campaigned in favour of a TRIPS waiver. I urge the MEPs present to advocate strongly for a change in the European Commission’s position.

As we begin administering booster jabs in wealthy countries, we must recognise that we are doing so when a large proportion of the global south remains unvaccinated. Irishman Dr. Mike Ryan of the WHO has compared this to giving lifejackets to people who already have them while others are allowed to drown. Human rights principles are not being upheld and profit is being prioritised over human life. This is one of the defining moral issues of this global pandemic. So far, the EU has failed to act in a manner consistent with the principles of protecting public health and human rights.

At the end of the summer term, the Houses of the Oireachtas passed the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill. At the time, my colleague, Senator Higgins, said Ireland is starting late and should be starting stronger. The same is true of the Fit for 55 legislative package. It is vital that our colleagues in the European Parliament be given a stronger role in strengthening the European Green Deal agenda. A 55% reduction in emissions by 2030 is welcome, but 55% should be the floor, not the ceiling. We must be prepared and, indeed, planning to exceed that target. It is also important that we should not enter agreements that will actively harm our ability to engage in climate action. The recent ruling from the ECJ demonstrates that the kinds of cases being taken by the fossil fuel companies under the ISDS provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty are not compatible with the achievement of EU climate targets. The European Commission has acknowledged that one of the main reasons EU countries have not left is the 20-year exit clause.This 20-year exit clause from the Energy Charter Treaty is similar to the exit clause contained in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, a treaty that contains a rebranded form of investor-state dispute settlements, and which would have the same regulatory chill effect. As parliamentarians we must oppose trade treaties that endanger our ability to tackle the climate emergency.

In respect of trade I must also emphasise to colleagues from this House and the European Parliament the need to ensure our trade does not legitimise violations of international law. The occupied territories Bill I introduced in the Seanad in 2018 must be passed to ensure Ireland does not legitimise international law violations in illegally occupied territories and places such as Palestine and Western Sahara. The Government's suggestion that the legislation would not be compatible with EU law is unfounded, given that in respect of Russia, sanctions relating to occupied Crimea and goods from there were found last year by the Court of Justice of the European Union to be legal within our trade law under the Rosneft ruling. It was found it was a matter of public policy when human rights are being violated. I urge colleagues in the House to support justice in international trade, and legislation that seeks to align public policy with human rights principles.

I finish by thanking the Members of the European Parliament for their attendance today. I look forward to getting further opportunities to engage with them, as well as our colleagues from Dublin and Ireland South. I apologise to Members as I must leave shortly and will not be able to stay for the answers. I would love to have a chat another time.