Clare Daly Abstains, Calls EU Enlargement a 'Rich Boys' Club'
Clare Daly spoke on 23 November 2022 and abstained on the report on EU enlargement, arguing the process has become a "rich boys club" tied to neoliberal reforms. She criticised the report for framing enlargement as a geopolitical strategy against Russia and for treating candidate countries as instruments in a wider game.
Abstention and core critique
Daly explained she abstained on the report and described EU enlargement as conditioned on sweeping neoliberal reforms. She accused proponents of promoting enlargement to boost NATO and to provide a pool of cheap labour for the West.
Accession and the Balkans
She said candidate countries in the Balkans have been left in "accession purgatory" for the last 20 years, while the EU has "lorded over them through one thing or another." Daly argued the process has been selective and damaging to those countries' sovereignty.
Enlargement as geopolitical strategy
Daly condemned language in the report that explicitly links enlargement to an EU geographic strategy against Russia, calling the report "infected with megalomania." She warned it amounts to treating neighbouring countries as chess pieces and invoked Ukraine as an example of how such framing affects working people.
Democratic principle and closing remarks
She urged a different approach to enlargement, saying the EU should welcome those who want to join and respect those who do not. Daly closed her remarks with the words "Herzlichen Dank."
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Thanks, President. I abstained on this report. To the spotless minds in Europe, EU enlargement is about growing our happy family of democratic nations, prospering together in a brotherly paradise of enterprise and free trade. But the truth is, it is a rich boys club which membership hinges upon sweeping neoliberal reforms. The last batch about boosting NATO and a pool of cheap labour for the West. And for the last 20 years, we have left candidate countries in the Balkans in accession purgatory while we have lorded over them through one thing or another. And now we are going in the opposite direction for all the wrong reasons. The report is infected with megalomania. Enlargement is now explicitly described as part of an EU geographic strategy against Russia. Wow. What a proposition to put to the working people in our neighbourhood. We want your country as a chess piece. You too can be like Ukraine. The world isn't our chess board and the EU shouldn't have an enlargement strategy. We should welcome those who want to join, respect those who don't and stop ending this message. Herzlichen Dank.
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