Richard Boyd Barrett: Condemns imperialism, warns EU will militarise
Richard Boyd Barrett spoke on 27 January 2026 about a proposed EU loan for Ukraine and its wider geopolitical consequences, condemning Russian imperialism while also criticising Western and US 'imperialist arrogance'. He warned the loan risks militarising Europe, undermining Irish neutrality and channeling funds toward arms rather than housing, health and humanitarian reconstruction.
Condemnation of Russian aggression and imperialism
Richard Boyd Barrett described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as imperialist aggression that must be absolutely condemned, citing the killing of tens of thousands, destruction of infrastructure, kidnappings and alleged war crimes. He linked that history to Russia's long record of subjugating neighbouring nations, calling back to the image of Russia as once the "prison house of nations." He also compared this to what he called Trump's national security strategy, which asserts US control over a continental sphere of influence.
EU motives and criticism of Israel policy
He argued the EU's motivation in supporting the loan has "zero" concern for self-determination or consistent principles. He said the EU continues to give favoured trade status to Israel "while it commits, and has committed, a genocide for the last two years," and accused leading EU states of continuing to arm that campaign while promoting escalation elsewhere.
Militarisation of Europe and Irish neutrality
Boyd Barrett warned the EU is using the Ukrainian tragedy to militarise Europe and ratchet up military expenditure, and criticised the Irish government for joining contact groups and attending NATO meetings in ways that, he said, undermine Irish neutrality. He contrasted NATO's combined expenditure of 1.5 trillion euro with Russia's 150 billion, and noted a call from the US to raise European defence spending from about 2% to 5% of GDP.
Spending priorities and the Sinn Féin amendment
He argued that the money would be better spent on housing, health, education and the humanitarian reconstruction of Ukraine rather than on weapons and arms manufacturers. Boyd Barrett said the Sinn Féin amendment is correct to insist the funds not be used to escalate military conflict and argued that neither the Irish government nor the EU can be trusted to prevent militarisation.
Double standards on self-defence and consistency
He challenged perceived double standards on the right to self-defence, asking why Ukrainian self-defence is defended while Palestinian armed resistance is condemned as terrorism. He said legal rights to self-defence should be consistent, and that support for Ukraine is driven by strategic self-interest rather than principle. He concluded by calling for Ireland to be a voice for peace against war, militarism and empire.
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The imperialist aggression of Russia in Ukraine is clear to see and needs to be absolutely condemned. The killing of tens and tens of thousands of Ukrainians, the destruction of infrastructure, the kidnapping of children, the commission of war crimes and the imperialist arrogance of the Russian Empire, of Putin's empire, and believing that they should control spheres of influence around Russia. And, of course, that's a long history of Russia being, as it was called in the days of the Tsars, the prison house of nations, subjugating those in its spheres of influence. And, of course, that then is mirrored by Trump's national security strategy, recently declared, where he also asserts the right of the United States to control the entirety of the American continent, the continent, Greenland, and so on. And, of course, we've had a long history with the United States of military interventions and what it considers its sphere of influence. Now, we need to condemn absolutely Putin's imperialism and all forms of imperialism, including Trump's imperialist arrogance, aggression, and assertion that he has a right to a sphere of influence. None of these imperial powers, military powers have right to spheres of influence, to subjugate the rights of self-determination of their neighbours, neighbouring countries, and we need to stand against that. So the question is, while we absolutely want to support the Ukrainian people's right to self-determination, support their attempts to reconstruct their country, to give refuge to people fleeing from this horrific war, where does this loan fit into all of this, and the attempt to bring peace and genuine self-determination and stand up to these imperial powers? And I think it is clear that the EU's motivation in this has absolutely zero, zero, to do with asserting the right of self-determination of anybody. It has no ethics, it has no principles whatsoever. How do we know that? How do we know that? Of course, because the EU continues to give favoured trade status to Israel while it commits, and has committed, a genocide for the last two years. So we know that the EU is not motivated by any concern for self-determination, for human rights or anything, because if it was, it would be consistent, and it would oppose a genocide. But it doesn't, leading EU states, continue to arm the genocide being committed against Germany, most notably, but other EU states and other people promoting the escalation of the military conflict with Russia. So, in that context, we need to be clear, what is Europe's motivation here? Europe's motivation is to militarise Europe, to exploit the tragedy of the Ukrainian people in order to militarise Europe, to ratchet up military expenditure. And the Irish government wants to be part of that, that's why it joins the contact, the Ukraine contact group, why it goes to NATO meetings, while it's trying to ratchet up military expenditure and undermine our neutrality. You can't separate these things. And it's important to say that all of that military expenditure does nothing, actually, to prevent the horrors that we've seen. That NATO's combined military expenditure is 1.5 trillion euro. Russia's is 150 billion. In other words, NATO spends 10 times more than Russia on arms. Did it prevent the tragedy and the terrible events of Ukraine? Not at all. Not at all. And Trump now is insisting that we more than double that expenditure in Europe, that we more than double it. He's saying we have to go from 2% of GDP spent here on arms and military to 5%. Incredible. That's money that should be going to housing, health, education, and, yes, the reconstruction of Ukraine. The humanitarian reconstruction. Instead, it's going to go to weapons to the arms manufacturers who want to profit from this horror and sell weapons to Israel to kill Palestinians. And you can add to that the various other hypocrisies of Western Sahara, which I mentioned earlier on, or funding other dictatorial regimes, selling them weapons and arms. So, the government cannot be trusted, and the European Union cannot be trusted with this money not to continue to ratchet up military competition, to escalate it, or indeed that it is to some degree concerned with its own spheres of influence. Certainly, I think that's true with Germany and other states who want to maintain their own spheres of influence as well. So, I think the Sinn Féin amendment is absolutely correct to insist that this money is not used in any way to escalate a military conflict. Ireland's role to undermine our neutrality, and the government can't be trusted, and the EU certainly can't be trusted in that area. They have no credentials when it comes to consistency on asserting the rights of human rights, or even self-determination. I mean, of course, you know, I just find it ironic when they talk about, what did the minister say? The inherent right of the Ukrainian people to self-defence and self-determination. Absolutely, absolutely. Do the Palestinians have any less a right to arm self-defence against an illegal occupier? None. Legally, absolutely not. They have absolutely the right to arm self-defence. Imagine the Palestinians. Well, we know, actually, when the Palestinians try and assert that, they're condemned as terrorists. Condemned as terrorists when they assert that right. But it's different with Ukraine. Why is it different with Ukraine? Because it's strategically in the self-interest of Europe. Nothing to do with principles, nothing to do with international law, purely to do with strategic self-interest. Exactly, in other words, guilty of the same kind of imperialist arrogance, self-serving logic that Putin is guilty of, that Trump is guilty of. So we should not be underwriting loans for the escalation of military conflict, which has been a disaster. It hasn't helped the Ukrainian people, and what we need is for Ireland to be a voice for peace against war, militarism and empire across the world. To show consistency and demand consistency when it comes to opposing militarism, war, imperialism around the world. From whoever it emanates, whether it's Putin, whether it's Trump, whether it's China, or whether, indeed, it is imperial powers within the European Union.
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