​The European Elections in Context: ​EU Complicity in Genocide in Gaza
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This is a series of public talks by​ Niamh Ní Bhriain (Transnational Institute), hosted by Research in Ireland for Transformation (RIFT) and organised with AfP. See detailed description below.

Monday 27th May, 4 to 6pm ​
MUSSI Seminar Room, Iontas Building, Maynooth University
(organised with Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute)​

Tuesday 28th May, 6 to 8pm
Robert Emmet Lecture Theatre, Arts Block, Trinity College Dublin
For this talk, Niamh will be joined (online) by David Broder, Jacobin, ​speaking on The European Right and the Meloni Model​ (see description below).

Wednesday 29th May, 3 to 5pm ​
Great Hall, Queen’s University Belfast 
This event is free and open to the public. Please register here at this link.

Tuesday June 4th, 2 to 4pm ​
Boole 1, Boole Basement, UCC ​
For this talk, Niamh will be joined (online) by David Broder, Jacobin, ​speaking on The European Right and the Meloni Model​ (see description below).
(organised with the School of Applied Social Studies, UCC)​

​‘The European Elections in Context: ​EU Complicity in Genocide in Gaza’
This June as voters take to the polls for the European Parliament elections, they will do so against the backdrop of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. For years, European public money has been used to fund Israeli arms companies, universities and other entities involved in the research and development of security and military technologies, while EU member states export arms and military equipment to Israel. The EU, and its member states, also import weapons and surveillance technology from Israel, which are marketed as ‘battle-proven’ having been ‘tested’ on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for years.

In this seminar, Niamh Ní Bhriain will explore the longstanding relationship between the EU and Israel, looking in particular at the arms trade. She will also discuss events in Brussels since 7 October 2023, including how European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen overstepped her mandate and green-lit Israel’s genocide on behalf of Europe, as well as the various attempts by the European Parliament and the European Council to call for a ceasefire. Niamh will also ask why an arms embargo has not been placed on exports to Israel.

Niamh’s presentation will be based on research for a forthcoming report, Partners in Crime: EU complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which will be published by TNI & Stop Wapenhadel in advance of the European elections.

The European Right and the Meloni Model
As the European election campaign unfolds, there has been very little attention paid in the Irish media to one of the most significant developments in European politics: the collapse of the ideological boundary between the mainstream right and the far right. Leading members of the centre-right European People’s Party such as Manfred Weber and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen have extended an open hand to parties once considered beyond the pale.

The parties of the Dutch right have agreed a coalition deal with the ultra-nationalist Freedom Party of Geert Wilders as the largest political force. The Spanish conservatives have formed several regional governments with the neo-Francoist Vox party and are hoping to take power in alliance with the far right at a national level after falling short in last year’s election. In Rome, far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has been serving as prime minister since 2022 and is becoming more and more influential in the politics of the EU.

From immigration to environmental policy, the ideas of the far right are becoming part of the mainstream conservative consensus in Europe. These developments have grave implications for Ireland that should be more widely discussed.

David Broder is an historian and Europe Editor for Jacobin magazine. He is the author of two books about the rise of right-wing nationalism to power in Italy: First They Took Rome: How the Populist Right Conquered Italy (2020) and Mussolini’s Grandchildren: Fascism in Contemporary Italy (2023). David is a regular contributor to publications such as the New York Times and the New Statesman. You can read his article about the growing political influence of Giorgia Meloni here: