Daly accuses EU of being defence union at campaign launch

Independent MEP Clare Daly has launched her re-election campaign, accusing the European Union of moving from being a peace project to a defence union.

A former TD, Ms Daly was first elected to the European Parliament in 2019.

Speaking at her campaign launch this morning, Ms Daly insisted that she will be a voice of “reason and of peace”.

She described the arming of Ukraine by EU countries as a “waste of time”, insisting that Ukraine “cannot win this war militarily”.

Clare Daly accused the European Union of serving a military industrial complex and enriching the arms industry.

Asked about controversy over her stance on Ukraine, she said that she has only ever advocated a peace deal.

“We have been labelled as Russian agents even though a word has never been found anywhere where we endorsed Putin or any Russian leadership,” she said.

In recent months, Ms Daly has been a vocal critic of Israel and the war in Gaza.

She accused the EU of seeking to prolong the wars in both Ukraine and Gaza.

Asked about the possibility of an increase in far-right MEPs in the next parliament, Ms Daly said that the rise in support for such candidates was due to the failure of the “European establishment” in areas such as housing.

Ms Daly was supported at today’s campaign launch by Galway West TD and Leas-Cheann Comhairle Catherine Connolly, who said Europe has “completely lost its moral compass”.

Civil rights campaigner Bernadette McAliskey also said she was supporting Ms Daly to counter the “rise of the right and the rise of militarism”.