Address to Seanad Éireann by Members of the European Parliament
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-18
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

Reference has been made to the Draghi report, which has been used in the EU and by Ursula von der Leyen to set a deregulation agenda. I was deeply concerned about the vote on the omnibus I package last year on the corporate sustainability due diligence directive, which saw members of the European People's Party, EPP, for the first time in the history of the European Parliament, vote with the far right. The forthcoming digital omnibus will again strip away fundamental digital protection rights. The omnibus I package stripped away fundamental human rights and environmental standards, no longer making it mandatory for companies to implement their environmental plans. All of that is hugely concerning. We often hear the term "simplification", which is being used increasingly as a synonym for deregulation. Where do the MEPs stand on this issue? What does this mean for the future of the EU around deregulation? We hear the word "competitiveness", but we can compete while also setting high standards for the rest of the world when it comes to human rights, digital protections and the environment.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:39+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-18