Barry Andrews
Member of the European Parliament · Renew · IE
“Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, I just want to talk about the debate we've been having about China. I was on the trade committee in the last mandate, and we put an awful lot of effort into developing a whole raft of trade defence instruments around anti-dumping, FDI screening, the procurement instrument and anti‑coercion, am…”
“But on our trade defence instruments, we need to resurface the assumptions around these instruments. We need possibly to have an omnibus on this to make sure that they are actually effective, because they haven't been effective in the last few years. 3-0078-0000”
“Madam President, High Representative, back in May at the last plenary, you and I – you might recall – had a brief exchange about the problem of the mislabelling of settlement goods.”
“So the question is: can we honestly deal with the question of settlement goods without first dealing with the question of the Association Agreement? The sequencing is really crucial here, and I think it's very clear that the expansion of settlements is unlawful, and we must stop supporting settlers through trade. 2-0089-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, every day we see headlines referring to the AI race. And one thing is clear to me: European AI companies are not the frontrunners. US companies have developed 40 advanced AI systems. China comes in second with 15. In Europe we have only developed three.”
“Therefore, what I am asking you to do, HR/VP, is to look at this whole question, find out what the real volume of trade is, look at the rules of origin, and explore the question of whether or not we can properly stand over the labelling of goods that are said to be from Israel, but are most likely to be from the settlements.”
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“But on our trade defence instruments, we need to resurface the assumptions around these instruments. We need possibly to have an omnibus on this to make sure that they are actually effective, because they haven't been effective in the last few years. 3-0078-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, I just want to talk about the debate we've been having about China. I was on the trade committee in the last mandate, and we put an awful lot of effort into developing a whole raft of trade defence instruments around anti-dumping, FDI screening, the procurement instrument and anti‑coercion, among a range of other things. And we appointed a chief trade enforcement officer. And yet here we are today. And it strikes me that all of these measures that we put so much effort into are not being effective. We introduced tariffs on EV subsidies from China, and in Q1 2026, we saw an 82 % increase in imports of EVs from China over Q1 of 2025. So I think what we need to do is, yes, we're doing great on trade agreements. It's brilliant to have an agreement with India, with Mexico, with Australia.”
“So the question is: can we honestly deal with the question of settlement goods without first dealing with the question of the Association Agreement? The sequencing is really crucial here, and I think it's very clear that the expansion of settlements is unlawful, and we must stop supporting settlers through trade. 2-0089-0000”
“Madam President, High Representative, back in May at the last plenary, you and I – you might recall – had a brief exchange about the problem of the mislabelling of settlement goods. And I raised the question with you as to what the EU customs authorities could do about the fact that so many settlement goods are presented as 'made in Israel'? You replied that exports from Israel are difficult to prevent in circumstances where there is circumvention, unless we go after the suspension of trade with Israel as a whole. What has happened since then is that Global Echo has published further evidence of widespread mislabelling of settlement goods presented at EU customs authorities as 'made in Israel': of 5 900 shipments that arrived in the EU, 17 % contained settlement goods – far in excess of what has been reported thus far.”
“If we are to compete in the AI race, we need to start with the foundations. Currently, those foundations are at risk. Europe has the trading power, partners and the rules and now we need the will. 2-0550-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, every day we see headlines referring to the AI race. And one thing is clear to me: European AI companies are not the frontrunners. US companies have developed 40 advanced AI systems. China comes in second with 15. In Europe we have only developed three. This is despite a combined EU GDP of EUR 18 trillion alongside brilliant universities and research institutions. We need to look at our strengths to realise our AI ambitions. The EU is a trading powerhouse standing as the top trading partner for 80 countries. To put this into perspective, the United States is the top trading partner for just over 20 countries. We have an immense footprint in global trade, but we are not using it strategically. This is why I welcome the Parliament report on an AI trade strategy.”
“Now it is clear that instead of a safeguard, this attachment is a formula for inertia and instead of neutrality, we have dependency and sadly, we are now forced to break that link with legislation later this year. Next week, Commissioner Lahbib will publish her Humanitarian Communication, and it gives the European Union the opportunity to recommit unambiguously to international humanitarian law. 2-0491-0000”
“Mr President, High Representative and colleagues, the UN Security Council was supposed to be a guarantor of global peace. Instead, its ineffectiveness has emboldened lawlessness and accelerated impunity. On my way here this morning on the tram, one of the stops was named after Aristide Briand, who in 1926, a hundred years ago, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on international peace. And I wondered what he would make of the state of the world a hundred years later in 2026. Would he agree that the UN Security Council is as weak now as its predecessor, the League of Nations? My own country attached itself for decades to the UN, including through the triple lock, requiring a resolution from the Security Council to trigger a deployment of troops overseas.”
“We have the numbers that, since 2015, the percentage of the trade from the settlements is around 0.5 %. Also the point that you made on the labelling, this has been raised by the Member States. The problem is – and we looked into this – that it is very hard to actually see how we could prevent this because the circumvention via exports from Israel is difficult to prevent if we do not have the suspension of the trade with Israel as a whole, because we do not have mechanisms to really go after. Yes, it is true that if we start to read the labels and see the addresses where it is coming from, but it is a lot of work considering that it does not have that impact. That is the assessment currently on the table. 2-0364-0000”
“Therefore, what I am asking you to do, HR/VP, is to look at this whole question, find out what the real volume of trade is, look at the rules of origin, and explore the question of whether or not we can properly stand over the labelling of goods that are said to be from Israel, but are most likely to be from the settlements. 2-0363-0000 Kaja Kallas, Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. – Thank you for your question and sorry for all those who did not get to have a question. I tried to answer shortly so you all have the possibility, but an hour is an hour. On the trade with settlements, we have really looked into this and, of course, it is not entirely my remit, but our trade people have also looked into this.”
“I understand all the points you have made about trade and the Member States, and I think everybody will continue to campaign for a suspension of the association. But in the meantime, we can actually implement the existing law. As you know, settlement goods are treated differently to goods that are made in Israel. They are subject of a tariff. I asked the EU delegation in Palestine to estimate the value of trade between the settlements and the European Union, and he told me it was EUR 50 million. However, we are all very aware of a widespread practice of mislabelling, so that what is presented as settlement goods is in fact made in Israel. The extent of this mislabelling is estimated to be up to 90 % in certain goods.”
“I would also ask the EU delegation in Palestine: have they visited Palestinian detainees and heard their testimonies? In the words of the brave journalist, whatever our views of the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape. 1-0224-0000”
“Mr President, according to a recent UN report, sexual assault is 'a major element' and 'standard operating procedure' in the ill-treatment of Palestinians in Israeli prisons by settlers and the IDF. This is borne out in separate reports on sexual violence by B'Tselem, by Breaking the Silence, by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and by the Norwegian Refugee Council. Last Monday, The New York Times bravely set out an incredibly detailed and harrowing account of increasing sexual violence on Palestinians by the Israeli Government. It is used to pressure communities and shape decisions about remaining or leaving in housing and villages. Europe has leverage – the least we can do is pressure Israel to at least allow the Red Cross to visit Palestinian detainees. This has been specifically forbidden since 7 October.”
“The European Foreign Affairs Council sat down to contemplate this – one of the deadliest single bombing campaigns in the region – and once again concluded that this massacre was fine; that it was, laughably, somehow consistent with the EU's expectations of its trading partners. I give the last word to Yair Lapid, who is the leader of the Israeli opposition. He said, 'For the thousandth time, it has been proven: military force without a diplomatic plan does not lead to victory'. Lebanon deserves better. 3-0473-0000”
“Mr President, last month I visited Beirut and spoke to people who had left south Lebanon for their own safety. They showed me photos of their homes, of their fields and their villages, concluding in many cases that they would not be returning. Since then, the demolition of buildings has continued with relentless ferocity. And then came 8 April 2026, when the US and Iran agreed a ceasefire that offered hope. But did it apply to Lebanon? In the confusion, Israel gave us Operation Eternal Darkness. As others discussed peace, starting at 2 p.m. that afternoon Israel hit, with no warning, 100 targets in 10 minutes across Lebanon: 300 were killed, of whom 100 were women, children and the elderly.”
“We should remind WindEurope that they have committed to deliver a 30 % decrease in production costs on the basis of the political commitments made at the summit. So, let's keep the pressure on. Let's make sure that we can deliver renewable, cheap energy and make sure that we can inoculate this continent from future fossil fuel price shocks. 3-0268-0000 Catch-the-eye procedure 3-0269-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, I very much welcome the plan arrived at at the North Sea Summit to dramatically ramp up renewable energy in the North Sea with joint European projects and the plans around increased generation in the time frame. I think this can provide a pathway to cost-sharing for the rest of Europe and, indeed, for the highlighted energy pathways, and I think the political point I would make is that it gives us an opportunity to remind the EIB that we need to put pressure on them to provide more risk around frontier technologies, to provide more balance sheet innovation in order to fund these developments. We obviously need cheaper and more reliable energy, and I think we are able to give more certainty for turbine makers, for example.”
“The United States is taking a break from political seriousness. We have to have the confidence in our values as reflected in international law. 3-0116-0000”
“Mr President, colleagues, here are 10 ways in which the United States has undermined international law in the last 12 months: rolling out the red carpet for war criminal Putin in Alaska; endless support for Netanyahu's war crimes; withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement; withdrawal from the WHO and UNHRC; the closure of USAID; the illegal global tariffs; sanctions on the International Criminal Court; illegal attacks on Venezuela, Nigeria, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Somalia; threats to the sovereignty of Greenland and this illegal attack on Iran. So we have three more years of this. And what are we going to do? If we try to beat this by being this, they win and we lose. So I call on President von der Leyen to choose the EU, to choose the rule of law, to choose the EU with all of its weaknesses.”
“I was in Ukraine in November, before this terrible winter, and one of the most important motivations for them is knowing that there is a credible and indeed merit‑based pathway to the European family. I therefore commend this report for illuminating that pathway. 2-0454-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, we keep hearing about existential threats to the European Union, that the European Union is on the verge of collapse. This is a narrative that we regularly hear from the far right, who would love nothing better than for the European Union to come to an end. So someone needs to explain to me, and indeed to the far right, why so many countries are striving to join the European Union. Why is the waiting room bursting with candidates for EU membership? We all know that the UK is undoubtedly worse-off after Brexit. By contrast, Iceland's parliament today debated moving forwards towards a referendum on EU membership, acknowledging the global turbulence. While Russia in Ukraine and the US in Greenland seek to expand their territorial range by invasion, the EU expands by invitation.”
“So, shockingly, we also have BER A and BER D ratings, which are almost exactly the same in terms of consumption. So there's lots of behavioural issues. I would conclude by saying that we need the incentives, the investment to achieve much greater electrification. These costs, of course, are much less than the uncertainty and price risks inherent in a fossil fuel system. 2-0371-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner, when you presented this package, already the situation was urgent. The events of the last 10 days supercharged the urgency of what we are debating here in this Chamber today. We need to really face up to the unavoidable nature of that urgency right now. In my own country, in Ireland, we have extraordinary vulnerabilities. We rely 80 % on fossil fuels for energy consumption; 80 % of our gas comes through just two pipelines from the United Kingdom. So we have an extraordinary vulnerability. Yet just this morning we received a report which shows that we're falling very, very far behind in our residential heat figures, both in terms of heat pumps and in terms of retrofitting and district heating. All of these figures are falling dramatically behind where they should be.”
“So the foot dragging by Member States has to stop. We have to lift the sanctions that we impose on ourselves. 2-0145-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, Chancellor Merz and Prime Minister Meloni were happy to point out the recent IMF report conclusion that we, in fact, impose a 110 % tariff equivalent on ourselves by not completing the single market for services. We are, in effect, sanctioning ourselves. But what Merz and Meloni failed to quote was the same IMF report which concludes that the particular problem is the substantial domestic barriers to entry in services in several countries, so this is substantially a Member State issue. Italy has one of the most highly protected services sectors in Europe. Germany is also a fortress of services. As the Financial Times recently pointed out, in over 30 years of the single market, only one French baker has ever had his credentials recognised in Germany.”
“The lessons of Libya, Sudan and other fragile states are clear: when basic needs are ignored and civilian protection is sidelined, violence inevitably returns. In Sudan, we missed the window to support democratic transition. We cannot do the same in Syria. 2-0295-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, the agreement of March 2025 between the Kurds, the SDF and the government promised some hope for the future. However, that is looking increasingly fragile. The blundering attempts by President Trump are no match for the staying power of the European Union, and I believe that the Union has a really critical role now, providing its credibility and its long-term staying power and institutional approach to broker a longer-term peace. This must be matched by long-term support for good governance and support for the political economy of reconciliation. There is no room in complex post-conflict environments for a winner-takes-all approach. It is possible to reconcile the sovereignty of Damascus with the Kurdish aspirations, which should be guaranteed.”
“It is entirely reasonable to expect this to increase as Ireland hosts world leaders during the presidency in the second half of the year. I very much welcome EU support for dual-use technology through EU financial instruments, and urge the Irish Government to make the necessary legislative changes that would allow a whole-of-government approach to invest in and support such technology. 4-0034-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, I very much agree with the sentiments of this report and the statements of other MEPs on the effect the extraordinary changes in drone technology have had on security and defence policy, but also on wider industry. Our own capacity here in the European Union is being constantly tested: at least 10 countries have detected drones near airports and military units. The suspect, of course, is an imperialist Kremlin that believes that Europe is unprepared. In my own country, as we prepare for the assumption of the presidency later this year, the ability to counter drone incursion takes on urgency. Ireland has already seen suspected Russian drone activity in the vicinity of Dublin Airport during President Zelenskyy's visit to Ireland in December of last year.”
“I will be representing the European Parliament in our discussions on the MFF relationship with Greenland from 2028 to 2034, and this is our opportunity as a Parliament to make a very clear statement of our intention to invest in the sustainable development of Greenland, but also in our connections with the Greenland economy and with the European economy. 2-0228-0000”
“Mr President, High Representative and colleagues, I want to also express my solidarity with the people of Greenland for the stress that they are experiencing. I want to acknowledge the calm resolution of our Danish MEPs, with one notable exception, standing in the face of the extraordinary intimidation and threats that they are receiving from the United States with their barely believable and totally contrived national security considerations. The National Security Strategy, published just two months ago, doesn't even mention the Arctic whatsoever. They have completely and voluntarily downgraded all of their military presence in the Arctic.”
“I also want to recognise my former colleague Grace O'Sullivan, who did tremendous advocacy for Seán and all of the other defendants. 1-0211-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, I want to raise the case of Seán Binder. Seán Binder was acquitted in a Greek court last week, together with 23 other defendants. He had been prosecuted as far back as 2017, and his crime was espionage and felony. The facts of his case are that he was trying to save lives at sea. He was one of those volunteers who were embarked on search-and-rescue missions in Greece in 2017 – a year in which 3 000 people lost their lives at sea. That was his 'crime'. He was dragged through the courts for the last seven years. There was no basis whatsoever. This was the maladministration of justice, pure and simple. All it was meant to do was to have a chilling effect on anybody who had the temerity to save lives at sea. I just want to congratulate Seán Binder.”
“So we have to start the process in this communication, as we have said in this report, to rebuild that sense in which we are adherents to the rule of law, that it is applied evenly, regardless of geography, regardless of politics, regardless of religion. That is the nature of independent, impartial, the application of humanitarian law. 1-0179-0000 PREDSEDÁ: MARTIN HOJSÍK Podpredseda 1-0180-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner, obviously I want to add my condolences to the expression of condolences of MEP Pajín to the tragic events in Spain earlier today. I want to raise two issues. I'm very much looking forward to the humanitarian communication. But, first of all, I want to thank MEP Pajín for all the work that she and her shadows have done to prepare this report. What we really need to do is to somehow or another, rebuild the credibility of Europe's position on international humanitarian law. Because I don't have to tell the Commissioner how differentiated our approach has been for the past 18 months ‑ two years, and it has really undermined not only Europe's credibility, but obviously international humanitarian law itself.”
“Secondly, in the Financial Times, it is reported that some 'carve‑out' might be done for CBAM, but it will apply to the export of electricity from the UK to the EU from 1 January. We are told in the Financial Times that this is also now the first time that the talks have begun in earnest, bearing in mind that CBAM is starting in January. That simply is not good enough. We have to move beyond treating the UK as a third country and we have to increase the political priority. 3-0320-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, I was at the PPA last week, about 10 days ago, and it was probably the best one so far, reflecting the overall good relations. However, I was quite critical of progress on a number of EU‑UK files. I described them as glacial, and I said that we have to stop treating the UK as a third country. Last Friday, a few days after the PPA, two stories appeared in the media that, in my view, vindicated my position. As regards SAFE, we have not made progress in bringing the UK into SAFE, which is absolutely appalling considering it was announced in May and the summit made its conclusions in May. The report in Politico said that these talks are now going 'to move to a higher political level'. That should have happened a long time ago.”
“We cannot have one arm of the EU institutions making a very clear priority of Sudan, while on the other hand, we ignore the reality of what is happening in the United Arab Emirates. So, I think what we need to do is also be clear that we have to have an investigation on how it is that European arms are finding their way into Darfur. This is not acceptable. There's widespread evidence of it and it needs to be tackled. 2-0342-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, I very much welcome your statement and your statement of the fact that Sudan remains a priority and the financial commitments that you have outlined here today. But I wish to make the point that we need to use all of our leverage and all of the institutions available to us to exercise pressure to bring around a sustainable peace. Some of you will be aware that the President of the European Council, António Costa, met with his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates very recently in the context of ongoing negotiations on a free trade agreement. And now, no mention whatsoever was made of the conflict in Sudan in the conclusions of those negotiations or in the press statement that came after it. That is completely unacceptable.”
“There are lots of things that ordinary people can do, including shopping local; buying from Back Market, which does refurbishing of tech; buying from Vinted, which does pre-loved fashion; supporting brands like Patagonia; supporting outlets like Freitag, who actually close their outlets on Black Friday. So there's no reason why Black Friday can't become Green Friday. 1-0236-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, Black Friday gets bigger every year – it's not just one day anymore – and it is the opposite of responsible consumption. The damage to the environment is well documented: almost 100 % more CO2 emissions compared to a normal week, because of deliveries, packaging and returns; 80 % of items bought only survive a couple of uses; and 50 % of consumers regret their purchases, given the impulsive nature of Black Friday. But it doesn't have to be this way. There are lots of things we can do. We have to follow through with the ecodesign for products framework. We also have the waste framework and due diligence.”
“That has to be increased to at least five euro. I would also call on the Irish authorities to wake up to this reality. Shein has its European headquarters in Ireland – it therefore falls to the Irish regulators to take seriously the questions of data regulation under the Digital Services Act, under environmental issues and under labour. 1-0316-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, there are a lot of companies that do a few things wrong, and there are a few companies that do a lot wrong, but there are very few companies that do as much wrong as Shein and similar online platforms. We are all very familiar with the environmental damage done by ultra-fast fashion. Just 1 % of textiles is recycled around the world. Fashion itself contributes 10 % of our global emissions. We all know about the labour law infringements that are happening. We all know about the data infringements, we know about the copyright infringements. We realise that this company is way beyond control at this stage. So what we need to do is to recognise that we need a much stronger reaction from the European Commission. A two-euro levy is going to make no difference whatsoever.”
“Hard power is stored in a warehouse and hopefully never used. Soft power never stops working. Defend the budget. Thank you, Commissioner. 1-0180-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, it is striking to me that nobody so far in this debate has mentioned Global Europe. I am Chair of the Development Committee. Naturally it is a serious concern to me – it is a EUR 200 billion budget. So my main message to you, Commissioner, is to defend this budget. It is really important that we do this. I very much support our decision to invest heavily in hard power for our security and defence, but we also have to recognise there is a collapse in the exercise of soft power by the European Union. This is creating risks for us. It's creating risks in health, in security, in in extremism, in irregular population movement. So what we have to recognise is yes, it is right to invest in hard power, but we have to reconcile that with soft power.”
“So net debt flows are going from poor countries to rich countries, and this is really a crisis that we have to address. We have to recognise that when we move from overseas development assistance to loans, this is exactly what happens, so we have to be very careful about it. 2-0638-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, as we all know, there is a massive change in our relationship with Africa evolving over the last decade, and it is embodied in the Global Gateway initiative, which is all about leveraging private sector investment, using European capital to try and create investment in energy, digital, transport, and, of course, also in health and education. That's all good and it's all positive, and I think it's really scaled up in the last few years under Commissioner Síkela. But I have two worries – first of all: debt. Debt is one of the most serious problems that Africa faces. Average bond yields in Africa are almost 10 %, compared to just 3 % in the European Union. And last year, developing nations paid USD 487 billion in external public debt – that's USD 25 billion more than they received in new debt.”
“Firstly, it must lead the humanitarian response, ensuring urgent access for all life-saving supplies to Gaza. Secondly, it must invest heavily in the political economy of reconciliation, including a major donor conference for reconstruction. And thirdly, we need to use all diplomatic and political channels to make it clear that it is inevitable and unavoidable that sanctions and a full trade embargo will follow if Israel doesn't follow through with an end to the illegal occupation and a pathway to Palestinian self-determination. 2-0032-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, peace is not just the absence of war. A true peace delivers justice, freedom and accountability. A true peace – as we know in Ireland – takes decades of patience, of careful nurturing, of reconciliation and investment. It's notable that the decommissioning of arms by terrorists in Ireland took more than a decade after the 1998 peace agreement. Last month, European leaders finally found their moral voice and began to see that they could influence global affairs. No one was more surprised than me to hear President von der Leyen talk about sanctions, or Chancellor Merz bringing an end to armed supplies in certain circumstances, and President Macron and others recognising the Palestinian State. So now the European Union must do three things.”
“It is the best of us and something that we should absolutely try to save. I am really pleased that we are having this debate and that we are keeping the women and girls of Afghanistan at the top of our agenda here at the European Parliament. 2-0449-0000”