GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the directive concerns the exhaust and noise emissions of petrol and diesel engines intended for recreational craft. We also have these regulations for cars and that certainly does not mean that if our cars meet these standards they too are permitted to be driven anywhere. At present, for example, there are rules limiting the number of boats on lakes to 100 or even 2 per lake. It is possible to ban recreational craft from lakes entirely. There are time restrictions, limiting the use of boats only to certain hours each day. In the end, this directive does not confer any right to operate recreational craft on all lakes at all times and under all possible conditions; all it does is allow free trade in boats and their licensing and it permits them to be used in authorised areas. All of us in the European Union value the principle of harmonisation, but only where minimum standards are set so that these technical products can also be used. As you know, we in Parliament – and in particular in the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy – attach the utmost importance to the principle of mutual recognition, and I believe that this directive makes boat licensing possible. We see it as very positive that the general standards in the European Union are being raised substantially here. This would also automatically have an impact on the market, because with higher standards proportionally more boats would be permitted on the waters of Member States. If the standards are very low, the Member States will quite certainly take matters into their own hands by prohibiting the use of recreational craft on certain lakes altogether or by imposing time restrictions, for example by only allowing boats to be used in May or June. There is therefore sufficient room for manoeuvre here. It is precisely from this point of view that it is necessary to alert individual drivers, as part of their training for their motorboat licences, to the environmental and noise problem, as well as to the problem of exhaust emissions. There are countless regulations here and these are of course very important in the individual countries. We should also observe how this directive develops in the future, because it is in all our interests – everyone in this House will agree – to have environmental regulations that are as good, rigorous and sustainable as possible. The sportsmen and -women who operate these boats are also keen to have the best possible boats, so the switch to a new generation of craft certainly has to be in all our interests.

Political group: PPE-DE
I would first like to thank Mrs Lynne for her report. It underlines the need to establish international legally-binding instruments to provide better protection of the rights of disabled people. This is an appropriate moment to point out that Member States are not making sufficient efforts to ensure that disabled people enjoy the same rights as non-disabled people. Essentially, what is at issue are the so-called access rights: rights to access a job, buildings, email and the Internet. These rights may exist on paper, but they are not a reality. Present European Union legislation on discrimination against disabled people only relates to employment. Discrimination, however, occurs in all areas of people’s daily lives. It follows that we must adopt a horizontal approach and integrate this factor into all political domains. The European Year of People with Disabilities is in full swing. It should mark the start of lasting change for our so-called invisible citizens. Its success will be measured in tangible results. These include increasing the public profile of disabled people and establishing more comprehensive measures to combat discrimination. We would like the Commission to enter into a firm undertaking in relation to disabled people. (Written statement abbreviated in accordance with Rule 120(7) of the Rules of Procedure).

Political group: PPE-DE
Thank you very much for your answer. I am aware of the fact that this matter falls within the Member States’ area of responsibility, but we nonetheless know that it is a shared problem which is not just a question of methods of treatment in general but precisely about the combination of substance abuse and mental illnesses. I know that the Finnish presidency has had mental health as one of a number of topics in its programme. I am therefore wondering now whether one might contemplate opening the doors to more explicit cooperation in connection with the problematic situation in which many people are diagnosed as having a combination of substance abuse and mental health problems.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, the Group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party welcomes the agreement reached in conciliation between Parliament and the Council on the directive on the organisation of the working time in the road transport sector and on the directive on information and consultation of employees. Given the delicate nature of the latter problem and the difficulties encountered in reaching an agreement, we believe that the adoption of the text under the conciliation procedure is a good solution. The directive on working time in the road transport sector aims to do away with situations where unfair competition and social dumping exist in the single market. Rules are also needed in order to guarantee suitable working conditions for drivers and thus prevent a decline in safety. Parliament asked for self-employed drivers to be included within the scope of the directive and demonstrated the need to treat all drivers equally, whether or not they are salaried employees. The inclusion of self-employed drivers is now provided for, seven years after the directive enters into force. After the Commission has looked into the matter, it can, of course, decide to re-submit the inclusion of self-employed drivers to the co-decision procedure, especially because the definition of a self-employed worker prevents the creation of new forms of false self-employed drivers. I agree that this is a good thing, Mr Hughes, but even so, I still feel that there is something lacking. The case of the lorry drivers stuck in Luxembourg – and I would also add, Mr Bolkestein, that they returned home last Friday with their earnings of EUR 1 000 – illustrates the kind of situation that can arise due to a lack of adequate Community legislation. As we have seen, there are unscrupulous and fearless transport entrepreneurs who have no hesitation in exploiting the gaps between, on the one hand, national laws and, on the other hand, national and Community legislation, who even go as far as breaking these laws and, most probably, rely on the lack of effective checks. Some governments are aware of this situation. Therefore, in 1999, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg reached an administrative arrangement known as Eurocontrol Route, designed to improve and strengthen cooperation between the control services. But in order to ensure the competition conditions of road transporters are equal in the single market, we firstly need Community legislation, and then the Member States must strictly implement a system for monitoring and imposing fines.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, I wish to begin by saying how delighted I am that the presidency is prepared to put some pressure on the governments which, in turn, I hope will put pressure on their parliaments to proceed with ratification. It is quite shaming that after well over six months there are eight Member States still to ratify. The Jordanians are particularly sensitive to the slow pace of progress. Commissioner Patten is determined to reinvigorate the whole Barcelona process and the European-Mediterranean relationship. I hope that the Council will follow that lead and ensure that this is transmitted down through the governments to the Member State parliaments. Could he give me some assurance that the Council gives Mr Patten its full support in what he is trying to do in the Mediterranean area?

Political group: PPE-DE
Commissioner, would I be mistaken in suggesting that perhaps the admirable arrangements at Doha had something to do with the relative success of that meeting compared with previous WTO meetings? Perhaps we are finding a way of having a more civilised relationship with the NGOs than was evident in Seattle and Genoa? Are you happy that we now have a more rational and civilised arrangement to deal with the representations of NGOs for the future?

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, as you know, I am the co-rapporteur with Mrs Buitenweg on this important directive on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. I hope that you will rule that the vote, as per our agenda agreed on Monday, will go ahead and I have two points to make to our colleagues in the in that respect. The first is this: since this directive was first proposed, the whole furore across the European Union because of events in Austria and elsewhere, where the extreme right has come forward, has caused us, as a Parliament, with the widest possible across-party support, to work with the Council and the Commission to agree an accelerated timetable to enable this directive to go through to provide the strongest possible response to the racist and extremist threats that undermine our combined values. That deal with the Council and with the Portuguese Presidency said that we would agree in this Parliament this week prior to the Council of Ministers’ meeting in June. If we fail to meet that commitment, what does that say to the racists? And my second point: we talk about the dignity of Parliament. What about the dignity of black and ethnic minority people subject to racial harassment, victimisation and discrimination? (Applause)

Political group: PSE
Mr President, Commissioner, firstly credit must go to Mr Hatzidakis for his proactive approach in his report. European bus measurements may seem a trivial matter, but it is no such thing. Our objective of a dynamic single market can only come about if all players comply with the same regulations. Competition, which is a prime mover in the arena of real development, will begin when transport companies can offer cross-border services. There are no Greek bus companies in our country, Finland, but the Scots have already got a firm foothold. Stinginess pays off. In order to continue the positive spread of competition we must harmonise bus standards. Uniform measurements will also mean cost saving for manufacturers, which will be reflected in fares and the pockets of EU citizens. The present directive is inadequate because it leads to too much diversity with regard to buses in the various Member States, which will make the drafting of safety standards difficult. The tragic news from Greece recently unquestionably obliges us to address the matter of creating and complying with safety regulations. The Commission is right in its proposal to allow 15-metre buses. The more people there are on the bus, the cheaper it will be to travel, to say nothing of the atmosphere that increases exponentially as the number of passengers grows. The use of long buses is furthermore recommended for environmental reasons. If we support group travel it will reduce congestion in built-up areas. A few half-empty cars take up the space of one bus carrying sixty people. The rapporteur, Mr Hatzidakis, is right that it would be unfair to call for the transition period with regard to buses already in operation in domestic traffic to end by 2009. People will not feel favourably disposed towards the EU if we start scrapping buses that are still in perfectly good condition, before their time. At the same time we would easily destroy the belief the entrepreneur and the man in the street have in the common sense of EU decision-makers.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I read about this case last year and did the only thing that I could do. I raised it in my group. We discussed it in the group and with other groups in this Parliament and passed a motion for a resolution on the plight of Amina Lawal. The motion clearly sets out what we believe the government of Nigeria must do, in accordance with its international obligations and the requirements of its own federal constitution. It must use its legitimate power to protect Amina Lawal and other Nigerian women in similar situations from this cruel, degrading and inhumane treatment under Sharia law. We recognise the sovereignty of the Nigerian people and their federal government and we are increasingly aware that there is a global community and every citizen of the global community is entitled to our solidarity and respect. I remember that when the Berlin Wall came down an African leader lamented the fact that the European Union had now turned to the East like a man looking at a gorgeous new girl that had appeared and Africa was going to be forgotten and left on the shelf. When we have completed the process of enlargement, we will be economically and politically more powerful. We can return our attention to Africa and, while recognising the sovereignty of the African nations, we have to say that there will be conditions attached to our development aid. We must remember this and similar cases and the plight of all women under Sharia law in the African continent. We are not trying to impose our will on any sovereign state, but we will tell them that there is a price to pay. Africa needs our help and we will give it generously, but Africa must reciprocate by treating its citizens humanely.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I would first of all like to thank the Commission for its reply. I am satisfied with it for two reasons. Firstly, it links the Charter of Fundamental Rights with the Intergovernmental Conference, which is the political objective of this Parliament expressed in the report by Messrs Duff and Voggenhuber. Secondly, because it is going to include it within this campaign. Furthermore, I was very pleased with Mr Lamy’s reply – which was inevitable, given that Mr Lamy knows these issues very well – concerning the decentralisation of the information campaign. I believe that this is an important objective because, if we want to reach the people, we have no choice but to go to where they are and, therefore, the decentralisation of the campaign is a priority task. As on other occasions, such as the Intergovernmental Conference of 1996, this Parliament must offer the Commission its support in order to monitor information activities.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, we are surrounded by chemicals in our everyday lives. Even natural products like the leather of these desks or wood are treated with chemicals; and of course we put chemicals in our bodies, both as food additives and as residues from pesticides; and we use cosmetics, some of us more than others, which come into intimate contact with our bodies. PVC has received a lot of attention and despite the fact that it has been around for over 40 years with no apparent health risks, the spectre of the risk of PVC has been raised. I wonder if it is maybe being unnecessarily demonised, to provide an enemy that the can use in their campaigns. Parliament has already discussed the problems of phthalates, the substance used to soften plastics, in the context of children's toys. The problem we faced there was determining how much of the chemical gets into people's bodies. No migration testing is available to test how much of these chemicals enters people's bodies. Of course that will also be relevant in the application of PVC to medical goods. Although I am sure I would not like a blood bag used for a transfusion I am getting, or a piece of pipe that has been put in my body, to contain poisons, similarly, I would not want a product which did not perform as well to be used in that application. Other PVCs are treated with stabilisers to prevent them being broken down by heat and light. In particular, window frames have been mentioned. Cadmium, which is being phased out, and lead have also been mentioned in this context. Lead is toxic when ingested as a compound, but no one would suggest that it is risky to be in a room which has PVC windows, this is an inert substance. It is when we get to the end of the life of the PVC that we have a problem, as Ms McKenna said. We must certainly try to recycle more PVC. PVC windows have a long life – in fact, none have been recycled yet because they have reached the end of their useful life, but only because buildings have been demolished or because fashion has changed. We are looking at a 60-year life cycle. If we ban the use of lead in new windows, we will not be able to recycle the old windows when they come into the waste stream. Technology is available to ensure that windows made of old lead-containing PVC are overlaid with new PVC so people do not come into contact with it. Before we ban something we should look at the whole picture. What are the real risks, in particular the risk of absorption when we use these products; and what are the risks of alternative products? My house has wooden windows and we have to paint those every three years, so there are risks even with wood, and of course some companies marketing alternative products will play up the risks. Lastly, we should be very careful how we use the precautionary principle because that can be dangerous: used correctly, it is a good thing but if it is used to justify actions for which there is no scientific basis, in politically motivated campaigns, it is a very dangerous principle.

Political group: PPE-DE
We MEPs of the Communist Party of Greece voted against the motion for a resolution on the 60th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights because, generally speaking, the resolution proclaims the ΕU to be the 'honest' judge of respect for human rights but says nothing about the blatant violations of human rights within the ΕU: persecution of trade unionists, electronic files, monitoring personal life on the pretext of combating terrorism, infringement of the rights to housing and work and equal access to health care, education and social welfare, taking away physical integrity and life in the workplace for greater profit etc. And: - the resolution criticises the Commission on Human Rights for becoming highly politicised, obviously implying that the refusal by the majority of its members to satisfy the demands of the ΕU and the USA to condemn states and precisely serving their ideological and political expediencies (Cuba, China, North Korea, Vietnam, Belarus etc.); - it avoids firing on the USA, where executions and blatant violations of human rights are a daily occurrence; - it proposes a 'fair' trial for Saddam Hussein, while not only does it not propose a trial for Bush, Blair and their accomplices, it also proclaims them as guarantors of justice; - human rights are again being 'exploited' to pave the way for the CFSP, in other words military intervention.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, Algeria has a turbulent history. Colonial rule, which destroyed the country's traditional structures, was followed by a brutal war. After this brutal war, a one-party system was established which finally collapsed as a result of corruption. Today, the country of Algeria – this large and important country – faces two major challenges. Firstly, there is a youth revolt in progress, for Algeria is a young country, and its young people are rebelling because they feel that no one cares about them and they have no future. When social exclusion is combined with national sentiment, the result is powerful and explosive. Secondly, there is the danger of Islamism, which is systematically fomented by certain groups. We must therefore give the country our support, but we must proceed very sensitively. President Bouteflika has taken steps towards opening up Algeria. He has moved towards reform. A few weeks ago, he held a landmark ceremony to honour St Augustine. We might regard this as gesture politics, but he wanted to show that St Augustine's origins lie in what is now Algeria. In doing so, he also wanted to tell his people that as Algerians in an Islamic country, they have cultural links with Europe and therefore also with the Christian world. These are signs of openness, and they are important. This kind of gesture politics, however, is not enough. Real and substantive reforms are required. They must include press freedom, the rule of law, but also tolerance towards different nationalities and ethnic groups. Traditionally, Berbers have cultivated their own culture and identity and have maintained a substantial measure of independence in Kabylie. This third major revolt among the Kabyle people sends out an alarm signal, for it is a revolt by young people who feel marginalised by the Algerian state. What is required, therefore, are sensitive reforms, respect for diversity, respect for freedom, and strengthening the rule of law. However, we must also ensure that measures are taken which we must support through dialogue based on equality and an absence of tutelage.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I thank Commissioner Busquin for presenting this opinion. I believe that Commissioner Busquin bears a heavier burden of responsibility than anyone else in Europe at the present time. The main objective in the context of the BSE crisis is to restore consumer confidence, which we can only achieve by means of objective research, by means of evidence from scientists that the foodstuffs we consume are absolutely safe. For that reason, I believe that the whole question of BSE, which covers biotechnological and genetic research, is an important and central issue. As a member of the Committee on Budgets, I am even in favour of our making a special allocation without delay for BSE-related research, because I believe that research is the only truly important contribution that we can make to the clarification and solution of this problem. Secondly, small and medium-sized businesses are one of my main areas of concern, and I can only endorse the rapporteur’s view that we should move from 10% to 15% and that funds should be earmarked for companies with fewer than 250 employees. I would also add, however, that provision should perhaps be made for a second threshold for cooperation between large and small companies, research establishments and university institutes. We should insist that the knowledge of large companies and the research findings of scientific foundations and institutions be passed on to the universities and recycled from there into the business world through incubators in order to create new jobs and new businesses. We know that the market is particularly keen on small and medium-sized businesses that are innovative and produce highly marketable products. We should, however, work hard to shift responsibility for the achievement of the aforementioned aims to the national level, because another aspect of the research guidelines is, of course, the idea of dividing up large projects and making them accessible to small businesses too.

Political group: PPE-DE