GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mauritania is preparing thoroughly for the elections in October. Political opponents of the regime are being neutralised. People are being arbitrarily arrested, excessive force is being used against peaceful demonstrators and the press now serves only as the president’s lackey. The judiciary is again entirely at the disposal of those with political power. Their Honours recently sentenced the principal political opponents of the president in a show trial to no less than five years in prison. The imprisoned politicians were kept incommunicado for a long period and then taken to prison 800 km from the capital, so that they can receive almost no visitors. It appears that no one can do anything to stop this. Independent human rights organisations can scarcely operate in the country. While Western countries are obliged to apologise in Durban for the slave trade conducted by their distant ancestors, slavery is still common practice in Mauritania. In the caste system, people become serfs at birth. They receive no education; no income from forced labour and are not allowed to marry without the permission of their master. According to an estimate by the American State Department a few years ago, there are still some 90 000 slaves in Mauritania. As recently as 1983, this country was the last on earth to abolish slavery officially, but still does its utmost to keep the gruesome reality hidden from the outside world. It is high time that the European Union opened the consultative procedure of Article 96 with Mauritania. We cannot continue giving aid and maintaining intensive trade relations as if there were no problem. We must prepare for pseudo-elections in a pseudo-democracy.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, I also wish to thank the Irish Presidency for its answer and also sincerely welcome Ireland as the new country holding the Presidency of the European Union. Specifically within the area of human rights, the EU can do significantly more than can be done by the governments of the individual Member States, for example those of Ireland or Sweden. I am therefore pleased about your commitment to human rights in Eritrea. From the Irish Presidency’s answer, I understand that no new information has appeared. I would appeal to you, before your Presidency ends at the beginning of the summer, not to spare any effort whatsoever when it comes to obtaining more details concerning the Swedish-Eritrean journalist, Dawit Isaacs. We have warranted, and increasingly deep, concern regarding his fate and fear that he may no longer be alive. I would appeal to you to do everything you can to ensure that Dawit Isaacs returns to Sweden alive.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, the European Union is often divided on the issue of foreign policy. This observation is made repeatedly and Iraq is further proof of it. Yet, everyone in Europe is united in condemning Saddam Hussein’s regime. Past experience has taught us that embargoes or blockades never work. The evidence of this can be seen in Baghdad, where the current regime is strengthened with each passing day, where each air strike is shown to have no effect other than to divide Europe somewhat further. Whilst Saddam Hussein may have cause for celebration, the Iraqi population, his people, are sinking further each time into crisis and poverty. Hospitals can no longer provide care. The number of deaths is rising at an alarming rate. Schools can no longer remain open. Most of the population is illiterate. Finding food is an achievement. Access to information is controlled. In short, everything is done for, apart from Saddam Hussein. So, let us admit it, the current measures are unsuitable; the air strikes are excessive, given the situation in Iraq – they change nothing and still solve nothing, here or elsewhere. We need to change the content of some UN sanctions now, if we are to help the people of Iraq. They need to be clarified and included in a timetable specifying when they can be lifted and that is as soon as we see that, under UN control, the Iraqi regime is respecting its commitments. Humanitarian aid should be encouraged, cultural and commercial exchanges should be developed, freedom of circulation for people and, thus, for ideas should be re-established, access to information should be restored, as these are all ways which could lead the Iraqi people down the path to freedom. For the time being, however, the Iraqi people can only consider how they are to survive against the West, who they hold accountable for all their problems, because of what they witness but mainly because they are manipulated. Nowadays, we can no longer make peace by waging war. The Iron Curtain and the Berlin wall were brought down by information provided by the international community and the consequent need for freedom. Let us put an end to the isolation instead of continuing with the blockades. Our principles of freedom and democracy will cross frontiers all the better when conditions conducive to dialogue are restored. Let us move in this direction. The Iraqi people will then be able to find the path to freedom.

Political group: PSE
We abstained on the reports on the fisheries agreements with Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde because although they provide these states with a certain amount of revenue, the large-scale fishing by European countries merely formalises the plundering of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde’s natural resources. The only reason we voted for Amendment No 7 to the Lage report and Amendment No 5 to the Cunha report is because at least they have the merit of formally specifying the amount of financial compensation, without making any advance judgment on the question of whether this sum really makes up for the loss of this natural resource. - Gargani report (A5-0428/2001)

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I too, want to be brief. Tomorrow’s agenda includes a vote on a resolution on the liberal professions. The fact that Parliament was not sitting last week meant that it has not been possible to put together a compromise in good time, so I ask that the vote be postponed to the next Strasbourg part-session. Mr Medina Ortega and Mr Rothley have also agreed to this. Thank you.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, human rights are being infringed. There is no respect for press freedom and the rights to freedom of expression and of organisation, all of which are being ignored. This is something we know about. It is also known about in Tunisia, both by the authorities and the people. Naturally, we shall be taking up these violations and criticising them whenever we have the opportunity to do so. This is an extremely serious matter. It is a question of universal rights, not only inside but also outside the European Union, and there must be criticism when such rights are infringed. I think that the best way of levelling criticism is by means of dialogue. This means people’s real respect of one another, and if Tunisia and its leaders are prepared to respect our views on these matters, then I believe that we, in turn, should note that, in Tunisia, they take quite a negative view of the agreements we have in place. I cannot find it stated anywhere other than in point 7 of the motion for a resolution of the Confederal Group of the that all Tunisian organisations, within both the private and the public sectors, are in fact critical of the association agreement, a state of affairs which we in the EU should, of course, also take on board and respect.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, has the Council considered other means of achieving the same goals? We are probably in agreement on these goals. They are essential and necessary – they stabilise the global economy and the economies of individual states and dominate and control the transfer of wealth from the north to the south. In other words, if the Tobin tax is not the way forward, can you tell us what else has been done?

Political group: PPE-DE
The economic capacity and productivity of Europe's economy is to an ever greater extent dependent on efficient interoperable transport which can rapidly move freight and passengers within Europe and onward to international transport links. Nevertheless, we have failed to make significant progress on rail transport. Decisions have chiefly been made at intergovernmental level, with each country trying to defend its own interests, and this has undermined the creation of a European railway market. This situation is untenable, because we are reaching saturation point in road transport, which is imposing a very heavy burden on our economic and environmental systems. Political will and an appropriate level of funding are needed to tackle this problem. Furthermore, the problems of rail transport in the peripheral countries, such as Portugal, need to be taken on board in providing solutions at European level if the EU is to function as a whole and to be economically efficient. So the Council must follow the lead of the European Parliament by showing the required political will and by finding the finance needed to create an internal European market in rail transport.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, thank you for your answer and for the attention that is being given to this matter. However, I can remember a time when no one could discover how to replace asbestos. What in reality got things moving was the desire to ban the material. I can now understand people’s wanting to make collections. That is also all well and good. However, it is of course not only a question of what happens to the material when it is worn out but also of what happens to it while it is in use. The problem is that, when in use, it emits materials that are absorbed partly into our blood, partly into our layers of fat and partly into mother’s milk. Now that there has been an investigation indicating that the quantity of brominated flame retardants in mother’s milk is forty times greater than had previously been assumed, we would ask if it might not then have been a good idea to draw up a long-term plan for when these substances might also be banned in their two aforementioned forms, which I shall refrain from trying to pronounce.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, as Chairman of the delegation of the European Parliament for relations with Central Asia, I should expressly like to draw your attention to what is happening in countries such as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. These countries have been, and will be, the first to be affected by the refugee problem as a result of what is now happening in Afghanistan and in that part of the world. There is, therefore, an unqualified need for European consultation on the provision of emergency aid, something which Mr Morillon was quite right to point out. Central Asia is a vulnerable and very fragile region. It is a vulnerable region economically speaking, in terms of respect for human rights and in terms of the fabric of the civil society and democratic institutions. It is a region which, for years, has required our support in the fight against fundamentalism and the drugs trade. That is why we need to ensure that we lend sufficient support to that region. And what do we do? In the 2002 budget, we cut back the budgetary resources allocated to that region. I therefore urge the MEPs of the Committee on Budgets, together with the entire plenary session, to rectify that budget and to give Central Asia what it is entitled to. This is my urgent plea.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Madam President, my Group welcomes some of the changes that have been made in this report insofar as a distinction is now being made between money for fishing rights and money for development. This should be applied to all fisheries agreements and not just this one. We feel that we need a clear separation with regard to what the money is there for. In development, the money would go to surveillance and scientific analysis etc., and there should also be the possibility of an audit of how the money is spent. There is a major vacuum here in that European taxpayers' money goes to fund these fisheries agreements without the possibility of looking to see how the money has been spent, particularly when it is in the area of development and surveillance. We – and European citizens – would like to see guarantees that this is where this money is going, rather than taking it at face value. In many cases I do not believe that we have a guarantee that the money has gone where we expect it to go. Most of the access in this agreement is for northern countries, and in the Commission's proposal it says that this may be reallocated. Members in the committee wanted the wording 'shall be reallocated'. This idea that if it is not being used up then it has to be reallocated to other countries is a bad idea, as we need first of all to look and see how we can try to reduce capacity, and if it is not being utilised, there may be very good valid reasons. For example, maybe there is not enough fish. So why should we say that it should be reallocated regardless of the reasons for its not being utilised? We should be trying to reduce fishing effort because we know that the oceans do not have the capacity to deal with the pressures that are being put on them by the fishing industry in the European Union and elsewhere.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Commissioner, the word 'hope' appeared several times in your initial response. There seemed to be a certain amount of 'hope' rather than 'expectation'. Could you give your estimation as to what you think we can get from Syria as regards its relationship with Lebanon as well as its occupation of that country and its support for Hizbollah?

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I wish to request a suspension of the sitting in accordance with Rule 69(2) and I wish to ask the Commission if their attitude towards the amendments has changed following this vote. No, it has not changed. In that case there is no need for us to hesitate any further. I therefore request that in accordance with Rule 69(2) the vote on the legislative resolution should be postponed. I am requesting this in my capacity as committee chairman and in agreement with the rapporteur and the various political group chairmen. (The matter was referred back to the committee responsible) *** Report (A5/0069/2000) by Mr Lagendijk, on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, on the communication from the Commission on the stabilisation and association process for countries of South-Eastern Europe [COM(1999) 235 – C5-0124/1999 – 1999/2126(CNS)] (Parliament adopted the resolution) *** Report (A5-0059/2000) by Mr García-Margallo y Marfíl, on behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, on the Commission communication on implementing the framework for financial markets: Action Plan [COM(1999) – 232 – C5-0114/1999 – 1999/2117(COS)] (Parliament adopted the resolution) *** Report (A5/0053/2000) by Mr Kuckelkorn, on behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, on the communication from the Commission “Towards a single market for supplementary pensions – results of the consultations on the Green Paper on supplementary pensions in the single market' [COM(1999) 134 – C5-0135/1999 – 1999/2131(COS)] (Parliament adopted the resolution) *** Report (A5-0098/2000) by Mrs Palacio Vallelersundi, on behalf of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, on the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: “The Strategy for Europe's Internal Market” [COM(1999) 464 – C5-0212/1999 – 1999/2167(COS)] (Parliament adopted the resolution) ***

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, I too would like to thank the Commissioner for this important directive, which, as he himself says, is intended to restore consumer confidence. The Commissioner is bound to be aware of the fact that Belgian public opinion has taken quite a knock and consumer confidence has fallen in the wake of the dioxin crisis. So much so, in fact, that a committee of inquiry was set up in the Belgian Parliament at the time of the crisis. I would like to ask the Commissioner a specific question about the rapid alert system. The said committee of inquiry accused the Belgian government, the authorities responsible that is, of being too slow to implement the system. This met with the response that the rapid alert system procedures are not very user-friendly, nor is it very clear as to when exactly the alarm has to be raised. Is the Commissioner able to provide assurances that these new proposals will overcome this problem?

Political group: PSE
Madam President, I too should like to ask in what capacity you made this statement. Secondly, in speaking of subsidiarity, I meant points in the report which referred to areas of intervention in the rights of nation states which, according to the Treaty, clearly come within the remit of those states. My third comment, if you will allow, is addressed to you, Mr da Costa: what happens in one country of the European Union is of interest to the other countries, that is perfectly obvious. That is not least precisely why we are members of this European Union and it is to be commended that we obtain information and evince an interest. But evincing an interest also means, in my view, obtaining objective information about a country and levying criticism where criticism is due and then taking measures when transgressions have taken place and not preventatively or, where possible, on the grounds of political persuasion. Minister, I should like to call on you on behalf of the Austrian delegation to obtain this information, which neither you nor many or, presumably all of the 14, have, in situ. If you want to know who elected this party which forms part of the coalition, namely the Freedom Party, then the answer is that 50% of the workers who used to vote for Socialism have now voted for this party and that half the youth of Austria voted for this party. It was not right-wing extremists, although, of course, we do unfortunately have them in Austria, perhaps in the order of 3 to 5%, just as other countries do. The motives here were different, however, and voters simply overwhelmingly voted the old government and Socialism out in favour of an alternative. If you wish to pass value judgements here, please ensure that you are in possession of all the facts first and then levy criticism where it is really due and not on the basis of supposition or suspicion.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies, gentlemen, and our erstwhile lady colleague, I believe that any framework directive or Green Paper should take into account our previous experience with services of general interest. That being so, I want to give an example of how we in this House can bring some influence to bear. If we were actually to manage to at last make some progress with the legislation on local public transport, we would have done a substantial chunk of Parliament's and the Council's work. Here, for once, I would like to give the Commission credit for submitting a very specific proposal for a regulation on local public transport as long ago as 2000. We in this House delivered an unambiguous opinion on it in 2001. And what is the Council doing? It has shoved the draft in a drawer, done nothing with it, and still does not want to do anything with it. I believe that we have to make it clear to the Council that we will not put up with further delays on matters as fundamental as the right range of services provided to people in towns and in the regions, but may well have to consider bringing proceedings against the Council in respect of its failure to act. Why, ladies and gentlemen, is this issue of legislation on local public transport so important? The law on the situation we are in is unclear. We have the option of awaiting rulings from the ECJ, but we want the decisions on what public transport systems should be like to be taken politically, and so we, the towns, the communities and private enterprise, need legal certainty as to how local public transport is to be organised. The second point I want to address is as follows. I believe that a slip of the tongue has crept in here. Services of general interest and competition are not mutually exclusive, but are, in my view, mutually complementary, something that we see particularly clearly in local public transport. If, in the exercise of its responsibilities for public services, the city or the region makes the right decision and defines what is required of local public transport – its accessibility to disabled people, the timetables, the intervals between services and the fares; you can add all the social factors you want – then, Mr President, it must be put out to tender, and then the best offer must be accepted, whether it be from the public or private sector. It is competition that decides, and the public that benefits.

Political group: PPE-DE
Thank you very much, Mr President. Mrs Redondo is presenting, under the general heading of forest protection, a report on two proposed regulations. One refers to atmospheric pollution affecting forests, and the other refers to the prevention of fires. I would like to tell Mrs Redondo that the delegation of Spanish Socialists is going to support her amendments. We are going to support them because we agree with all the arguments which Mrs Redondo has put forward, and for other reasons which she has not had time to explain. The basic regulations date from 1986 and 1992, and now the budget for implementation is lower, despite the fact that, since the accession of the Nordic countries to the European Union, the area of forest is greater. Furthermore, however, atmospheric pollution has worsened as a result of acid rain, and of greater concentrations of dangerous products in the atmosphere. We are also in a much worse situation in terms of fire prevention, because of climate change and the drought which we are suffering in many parts of Europe. I would like to give just two recent examples. This week there has been a Mediterranean forest fire on the border between France and Italy, a fire in the Ostia pine forest, near Rome, a fire in the Region of Valencia, where I live, and furthermore there has been one death, of a farmer who was trying to put out one of the numerous fires which have occurred this week as a result of drought and heat. All of these arguments more than justify Mrs Redondo’s amendments, and our support for them. I wish to tell the Commission – and I am sorry that Mrs Wällstrom is not here at the moment – that one of the European Union’s priorities with regard to the environment should not only be the fight against pollution and fires, but also, above all, a policy of caring for the forests. That is why we are going to support her.

Political group: PSE