Bacik to raise Gaza and housing at PES leaders meeting in Brussels
Bacik to raise Gaza and housing at PES leaders meeting in Brussels - The Labour Party
In advance of the European Council meeting tomorrow (Thursday 26th June), leaders of European Socialist Parties will meet in Brussels to discuss Gaza, Ukraine, tariffs, housing and a range of other issues.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik TD will call on PES colleagues to back sanctions on Israel.
Speaking in advance of the meeting, Deputy Bacik said:
“Europe can and must do more to stand together with the people of Gaza. Israel’s latest pivot to attack Iran cannot divert the attention of Europe and the world from the atrocities in Gaza, where Israel continues to wage war without impunity.
“Tomorrow, I will express in the strongest terms the need for drastic action at an EU level to peaceably force a ceasefire and the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, urging the adoption of a PES declaration for the Middle East that has a lasting peace for Palestine at its heart. In particular, I am calling for the full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement until Israel complies with its obligations under international law and for an end to the use of EU arms, technologies and financial instruments in the furtherance of genocide.
“PES leaders will also debate a declaration on housing, something Labour’s Dublin MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has placed at the heart of his work since his election to the European Parliament last June.
“Among the measures to be debated include the need to support all Member States in introducing tougher regulations to tackle vacancy, an issue of great importance in Ireland. Given the news emerging today that the Housing Minister is in no rush to publish an updated housing plan, the calls from Europe to the government’s of Member States are more crucial than ever.”