We're back from the summer holidays, ready to bring you the latest from the plenary week in Strasbourg. Clare and Mick talk to Bethany about Ursula von der Leyen's State of the European Union (fitting name, if you ask us),  the EU throwing taxpayers' money at the arms industry (again), their clash with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the EU-Tunisia migration deal and the heated debate about criminalising sex work.You can click here to read the article Clare mentions about Zelensky.

This week we’re wrapping up for the summer. We discuss the Latin American People’s Summit where Mick and Clare had the chance to hear leaders from across the Latin American left. We also discuss a visit to the parliament by Dominic Óg McGlinchey who is seeking a proper investigation into the murder of his parents in the Republic of Ireland in the late 1980s and 1990s in connection with the troubles.

This week Mick and Clare are in Strasbourg. They discuss the small victory in the passing of the much-weakened Nature Restoration Law by the parliament. They discuss what is next for that major piece of legislation as well as the scandal that is the new children's hospital in Dublin.

This week on the podcast we're reflecting on the question of Irish neutrality, Michael Martin's laughable consultative forum and the event Mick and Clare hosted in Dublin.

This week we’re sharing the recording of the event we held in Dublin on Saturday 24th June, Neutrality: Who Cares? *** note that this is part 2, if you haven’t yet listened to part 1, we recommend you go back and listen to that first *** Speakers featured - Clare, Mick, Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK, and British-Iraqi hip hop artist, academic and political campaigner Lowkey Medea Benjamin is the co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK. She is also co-founder of the human rights group Global Exchange, the Peace in Ukraine Coalition, Unfreeze Afghanistan (which advocates for returning the $7 billion of Afghan funds frozen in U.S. banks), ACERE: The Alliance for Cuba Engagement and Respect, and the Nobel Peace Prize for Cuban Doctors Campaign. Medea has been an advocate for social justice for 50 years. Described as "one of America's most committed -- and most effective -- fighters for human rights" by New York Newsday, and "one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement" by the Los Angeles Times, she was one of 1,000 exemplary women from 140 countries nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the millions of women who do the essential work of peace worldwide. Lowkey is a British-Iraqi hip hop artist, academic and political campaigner. He is a patron of Stop The War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and The Peace and Justice Project founded by Jeremy Corbyn. He has a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies from SOAS university and is an advisor to the website Declassified UK which investigates the activities of the British Intelligence Services and the Ministry of Defence.