Paul Murphy MEP

VIEDO: Occupy Dame Street Interview

The Occupy Dame Street initiative has been an inspiration coming on the back of the highly significant Occupy Wall Street camp and protests which over the last weeks and spread across the US and the world. Here I post an interview one of my Socialist Party colleagues did with some of the protesters at one of the recent marches.

The camp in Dame Street has met with a very positive response from passers by who obviously identify with the sentiment of the campers. I welcome this protest movement and have participated in it regularly. There are lively and democratic debates about the type...

Videos: Bloated E.U expenses while workers laid off

The European Parliament met in Strasbourg this week, I had the chance to speak on a number of issues. Here are the first two speeches I made during the week. The first one is a response to the Commission’s statement on the massive job losses at Arcelor Mittal and Nokia. The second is an explanation of why I opposed the E.U budget for 2012.

Nokia plans to lay off 7,000 workers this year. Meanwhile Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest steel company, has announced the closure of 2 of its plants in Liege, Belgium with the loss of many jobs. Like multinationals in Ireland such as...

European Leaders fold to interests of bondholders

Yet again, another European summit designed to solve the eurozone crisis once and for all has managed to dramatically underwhelm in its results. The leaders of Europe are reminiscent of the mountain in Aesop’s fables, which laboured and laboured and produced … a tiny mouse. Here we have yet more of the same policies that have deepened the crisis all along – the bondholders have gotten off lightly while working people, particularly in the so-called PIIGS countries, are to have their living standards slashed even further.

Despite the tough talk of the European leaders, in...

Paul Murphy MEP visit to No Tav campaign in Italy

Paul Murphy MEP and others visit militarised zone at Maddalena

On the last weekend in August, Paul Murphy, Member of the European Parliament for the Socialist Party in Ireland, along with other members of the Committee for a Workers’ International (from Italy, Germany, Ireland and England) were in the Susa Valley, Northern Italy. They attended an international forum, under the title ’Opposing Unnecessary Grand Projects’, hosted by the ’No TAV’ campaign, and visited the occupied, militarised zone in the mountains at Maddalena. (See previous articles on CWI site...

Videos: The Six Pack rules will institutionalise austerity

Here are two speeches I gave in the European Parliament last week on what have been called the ‘six pack’ rules. These new rules give even more power to the un-elected commission and will in effect institutionalise austerity.

This legislation barely got a mention in the media even though it is extremely important and will have a huge affect on the lives of people across Europe. The media was so quiet that President Barrosso referred to the passing of the legislation as a ‘silent revolution’.

These new rules will see the creation of what amounts to a budgetary...

Solidarity Protest at International Football Match

A solidarity protest took place on Friday evening at the European Championship qualifying match between Belgium and Kazakhstan.

Oil workers have been on strike in Kazakhstan for the past five months. They are facing huge levels of repression which has resulted in a leading trade unionist being mudered, the daughter of another striker has been murdered and the trade union’s lawyer has been sentenced to six years in prison.

VIDEO: Grilling Commissioner De Gucht on murders of trade unionists in Colombia

In this video from the European Parliament I question Commissioner For Trade Karl De Gucht on trade deal with Colombia despite continuing murder of trade union activists by death squads.

In his speech, the Commissioner referred to the former government of Colombia, the government of Uribe, as “operating in good faith”. This government has just been found guilty of working hand in hand with death squads responsible for the killing of trade unionists.

In the video, I challenge the Commissioner on this statement, and put him under pressure to justify his bizarre statements.

Anti ‘Kettling’ campaigner takes case to European Court of Human Rights

I recently met with anti ‘kettling’ campaigner Lois Austin and her legal team before their case in the ECHR in Strasbourg to show his support for the case.Lois Austin is a member of the Socialist Party and was participating in the May Day demonstration in London in 2001 when Police ‘kettled’ her and 3,000 other peaceful protestors.

The practice of ‘kettling’ involves police holding demonstrators behind police cordon for hours, with no permission to leave. Lois was kept for over 7 hours in the rain, with no access to food, water or even toilet facilities....