In this week’s episode Clare, Mick and Damien are taking a pitstop in Germany on their inter-rail tour of the EU member states. Mick tells us about his glory days selling light up necklaces on the streets of Munich.

They’re also talking us through the recent events in Belarus and the EU’s reaction to them, EU PESCO projects on military mobility and ever closer EU-NATO cooperation, and Afghanistan where the US is finally doing what it should have done years ago and getting out.

Finally there’s some talk about recent developments in the Environment committee- what did and did not get included in the recent biodiversity strategy and updates on methane emissions.

This week on the podcast Clare and Mick are talking about the massacre that is happening in Palestine and Gaza. Opinions voiced on this in the European Parliament last week ranged from the equivocal “two sides” school of thought, to out-and-out messages of support for the apartheid state of Israel. They discuss the falseness of this “two sides” idea and the reluctance of the EU to criticise Israel, a state which enjoys a particularly privileged relationship with the bloc.

This week was also plenary in the Europe Parliament- meaning votes on legislation- Clare and Mick take us through some updates on the TRIPS waiver, the Digital Green Certificate, counterfeit currency, climate change impacts in the Global South, data protection and access to environmental justice.

This week on the podcast the Eurotrip continues with a chat about the Netherlands, a small, densely populated country that rivals Ireland in its obsession with dairy and tax breaks for multinationals. Then on to some updates from the week: fishing, transport and foreign policy.

Finally we discuss the horrors unfolding in Palestine and Gaza- Israel is killing Palestinian children and there’s no real criticism coming from the EU.

It was all go in the European Parliament last week: with decisions taken on Brexit, arms funding, space, Russia, Colombia and more….

Clare and Mick are taking us through these latest developments before resuming their EU member state tour in France. Oh la la!

The EU’s proposed Digital Green Certificate- A travel certificate those who have been tested, vaccinated or recently recovered from Covid-19- has provoked strong reactions in Ireland. Many are worried about the implications of the certificate, while others see it as a potential lifeline for the tourism industry.

This week Clare and Mick are diving into the issue and talking us through the Digital Green Certificate- what is it? how will it affect people in the EU? and should we be concerned?

This week, Clare and Mick posed questions to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) over whistleblower reports of a cover-up around the chemical weapons investigation in Douma, Syria in 2018. 

On the podcast they discuss the Douma whistleblower testimonies and the need for the OPCW to meet with the dissenters. They’re also chatting about French MEP Nathalie Loiseau's reactions to their questions on the Douma report and the attention this all got in the Irish media.

Finally, there’s football… Mick talks about the cancelled Super League and we learn about how governments use football teams as “sportswashing.”

Ecuador has just elected right-wing former banker, Guillermo Lasso as president.

Clare and Mick were in Ecuador observing the elections.

In this episode they report back, giving us the lowdown on the political reality in Ecuador, the electoral process and the outlook for the country going forward.

Repeated US invasions, years of US occupation and the frontline of the fight against ISIS… Iraq is a country that has suffered some of the most severe consequences of foreign interference in the Middle East

Clare and Mick spent the past week in Iraq, meeting key decision makers on the ground, listening to them and learning more about the challenges that the country faces.

Here’s the real story of that visit, straight from the horse’s mouth

We’ve got something a little different for you this week. Justin Podur, Associate Professor at York University's Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, is joining Mick and Clare to discuss the recent agricultural reforms and the farmer’s protests that they have provoked in India.

See more of Justin’s work including his Anti Empire Podcast on his website https://podur.org/

This week China has hit back at EU sanctions by sanctioning some members of the European Parliament Committee on Human Rights. Mick and Clare give us the inside story on what is happening there and go in-depth about the EU’s invoking of human rights where and when it suits them.

They’re also talking about vaccine passports and EU exports of banned pesticides to third countries, before touching down in sunny Lisbon and chatting about Portugal’s role in the European Parliament.