GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, I too would like to congratulate the rapporteur on the result achieved in conciliation and I would like to thank the Commission for its contribution to the achievement of this agreement and for its support. The measures included in the decision we are discussing today are important funding instruments for achieving the strategic objective set at the Lisbon Summit, and the decision will, indeed, serve to increase cooperation between the Member States on labour market policies. The gamble of implementing the European employment strategy through open coordination in recent years has started to pay off. It is important to note, however – and we too see evidence of this every day – that there is a huge information gap between citizens regarding the existence of this strategy, its objectives and the procedures for implementing it. That is why the European Parliament persisted in calling for all the information measures aimed at raising public awareness, particularly the awareness of those who can benefit from this strategy, to be implemented and therefore to be set forth in this decision. A further point on which the European Parliament has insisted – and rightly so – is the involvement, association and participation of the local and regional levels in implementing the employment strategy. We know how important the role of the local and regional authorities is in promoting employment and high-quality employment, particularly for those people for whom it is most difficult to penetrate or re-enter the world of work – women, young people, people with disabilities, older workers – for they can involve all the social operators present on the territory and create favourable conditions for employment. To this end, I feel it is absolutely essential to introduce activities relating to awareness-building, best practice, cooperation and exchange of experiences. The partnership, which has already been used to implement other initiatives and has proved to be an extraordinary, effective involvement tool, must become a traditional, standard method of working in the field of employment too.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, Commissioner, often in the political arena there is confirmation that small policies, when applied, produce big results and that big policies, when announced but not applied, produce nothing. In this particular case, the Ottawa Treaty, which was essentially signed seven years ago and has been in application for a very short time, has proven its applicability and efficacy and is therefore a successful policy par excellence. The choice of holding the first conference to review this Treaty in Nairobi is particularly symbolic, because we all know that sub-Sahara is one of the areas which has the biggest concentration of anti-personnel mines, given that mines are considered to be the weapon of the poor. I should like to take this opportunity to point out that my country, which remained outside this Treaty several years ago, also recently agreed with and ratified the Treaty under the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Georgos Papandreou, and has applied it in connection with its border with Turkey where, for reasons which we all understand, there was a cold front of confrontation. The ultimate objective of the Ottawa Treaty is to overcome the problem of land mines through coordinated action against mines at international level within the next ten to fifteen years. This objective is considered to constitute a challenge, because over sixty countries have stated that they are facing problems on this issue and 20 of them are very seriously affected. The experience of Europe itself after the cold war, and recent experience in the Balkans, demonstrates that this huge problem even exists on our continent. Of course, in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where hundreds of millions of mines undermine health and economic development every day, the issue is even bigger. The United Nations plays the central role in organising and coordinating international efforts, while the European Union provides the greatest individual contribution. Since 1992, before the Ottawa Treaty even existed, the sums quoted by the Commission to date are significant but should possibly be increased. The European Parliament has undertaken a great many initiatives since 1992 in connection with a complete ban on this murder weapon, which exterminates human lives and prevents economic development. However, our greatest contribution has been in implementing these programmes in a great many countries of the world; in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in the Balkans, in dozens of countries in which both non-governmental and governmental organisations are involved in removing anti-personnel mines. Apart from neutralising mines, however, they need to pay greater attention to education, research and more general information in connection with the danger and how to prevent it. The conference in Nairobi will provide a huge opportunity to apply all aspects of the Ottawa Treaty which have somehow not been applied due to technical shortcomings, to supplement the Treaty, to complete it and to give the world a new Treaty, a highly effective, albeit small-scale Treaty for the peace and security of the developing and, more importantly, the poor areas of the world.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to return to the different stakeholders in this directive and to the parties affected by it, to whom the Commissioner referred – consumers, industrialists and artists. I do not want them all to be put on the same footing. Firstly, as regards consumers, I regret that the Commission proposal has not been kept as it was. I regret it has been broadened rather too far, in that it holds consumers, as – shall we say – citizens, every bit as responsible for piracy as industrialists. This is my first point on consumers. Treating all European citizens as consumers in this way seems simplistic. The second very important point is this: If this directive seeks to combat something that exists now, how will things turn out in the future? Over the last few years, discussions concerning intellectual property and industrial property have highlighted the difficulties relating to borders. Some say that intellectual property is the oil of the twenty-first century. They may be right. If intellectual property really is the oil of the twenty-first century, then of course it is important to talk about it. Nonetheless, the fact that this House has discussed such matters as the ability to patent living organisms or free software suggests how important the issue of borders will be in future. Even if this problem has not yet arisen, it definitely will in future. Not everything can become industrial or intellectual property. It is essential to raise this issue, but in a sensible manner. Borders will certainly be an issue in the near future and thereafter even if they are not yet one today. This leads me to speak on behalf of, or to speak for, those who use acronyms. I am of course talking about artists. Are artists happy to be equated with industrialists? As a member of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport, I do my best to listen to all those sectors. From what I have read and from what I understand, we would do well to take account of artists’ views on intellectual property. If we take account of the views of industrialists and consumers, should we not also consider artists, especially as they are always referred to in connection with the need to combat piracy? As regards artists, authors’ rights and intellectual property do not appear to be the only problem, and that – as music and music piracy are talked about so glibly – young artists and creative artists would like a different approach. It may be necessary to defend these artists appropriately in this regard. I do not believe that the House should allow all these various parties to be dealt with in the same way.

Political group: GUE-NGL
I agree with the majority who reject the proposal, but my criticism goes even further than that of the majority. Each central bank takes important decisions on interest rates and exchange rates, with major consequences for incomes, employment, investments and the level of public services. It is precisely because of the importance of these decisions that banks that issue bank notes were brought under state control in the past. This meant that important considerations could be taken out of the hands of the banks and were made the responsibility of governments and parliaments. The European Central Bank is in danger of being cut increasingly loose from the Member States. There is a grave danger that the central bank of issue will eventually start to operate as an institution that is separate from society and cut itself off from all forms of control. A rotating system for the Governing Council means that members from the separate Member States are no longer involved in decision-making, while their countries do have to suffer the negative consequences of those decisions. The enlargement of the number of members of the EU and EMU must not be allowed to lead to a situation where the individual Member States no longer have any involvement in this institution which is so important to the inhabitants of all the countries concerned. Public control over the ECB should be increased rather than reduced.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the general plan adopted by the Council in 2002 on the suppression of illegal immigration and human trafficking in the European Union provided for the introduction of a new early-warning system, which is now to be further developed into a secure web-based Intranet site. The Commission’s proposal is good. That needs to be emphasised too. We were able to work very well with it in committee, and we regard it as a decisive step towards improved coordination and communication between Member States, which is the key to successful cross-border efforts to combat illegal immigration. Exchanges of information, of course, can only become an everyday reality if the Member States can be sure that the information they provide will be sufficiently protected. The CIRCA system proposed by the Commission is a commendable step in this direction. It meets the required security standard. In particular, it permits selective access to the information within the system. I wish to thank my honourable colleagues from the various parliamentary groups for their broad approval of this report, and I am pleased that we shall manage to complete this process before the end of the current parliamentary term. (Parliament adopted the text) *** Report (A5-0233/2004) by Othmar Karas, on behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 77/388/EEC as regards the place of supply of services (Parliament adopted the text) *** Report (A5-0222/2004) by Guido Bodrato, on behalf of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Framework Agreement between the European Community and the European Space Agency (Parliament adopted the text) *** Report (A5-0262/2004) by Carlos Coelho, on behalf of the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, on the proposal for a Council Decision establishing the Visa Information System (VIS) Before the vote:

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr Fischler, firstly a few comments on some of your answers. We should come back to the Attwooll report again in the Committee on Fisheries. I believe there have been some misunderstandings here, for example, where the database is concerned. Mr President, in discussing the Hudghton report, we have now come to an issue that is very sensitive to my mind, for it relates to health. At the same time, it is of vital significance in the true sense of the word, for as we have heard, diseases can endanger the stocks of many aquaculture enterprises overnight. We are a long way off having this under control. This report is about a disease termed infectious salmon anaemia. Although, as we have heard, there is no direct threat to human health, we all know that consumers react quickly, and often extremely badly in such situations, particularly in my country. The ultimate consequence of this is job losses. It is not just the Scottish delegates that have a sad tale to tell there. When a fish disease of this kind breaks out, the consequences are enormous. There was a premature fish harvest on account of the disease, which led to the collapse of the Community market, with corresponding repercussions throughout the Union. It is therefore in the interests of the Community to combat diseases of this kind. This proposal is heading in the right direction in this respect. I particularly welcome the flexible arrangements, i.e. the fact that a cautious approach is to be taken and enterprises are only to be shut down when this is truly justified. We must not throw the baby out with the bath water! At the same time, I must stress that this is only a step in the right direction. There is still much to do and to this end, I urge the Council and the Commission to take up further measures; in particular, to create incentives for research into a vaccine, and what is more, for research into the origins and causes of fish diseases of this kind.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, on behalf of our group, I wish to make a declaration of vote on the Caveri report. The Group of the regrets the fact that, eight years after Austria's accession to the European Union, no solution satisfactory to all parties – on economic as much as on ecological grounds – has yet been found to the problem of goods transport through the Austrian Alps. In the hope of a speedy solution and of greater planning security, acknowledging the positive efforts of the Danish and Greek Council presidencies, we call upon the Council to act upon the mandate of the Laeken and Copenhagen European Councils by promptly presenting a Common Position that will speed up the decision-making process involved in the joint enactment by the Council and Parliament of a solution accepted by all the parties involved. I wish to thank the interpreters for their excellent translation of what was far from being a straightforward text.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, Commissioner, many of the Members have already pointed out that enlargement is a major, ambitious goal. I would like to add that it is also a moral duty of Western Europe: 11 years ago, the Soviet system came to an end and the countries involved turned to us in hope. We must respond to this hope with generosity and farsightedness. Certainly, we must not disregard the difficulties involved in the project. For our part, we must implement the institutional reforms and they, on their side, must carry out major internal reforms respecting the Copenhagen and other criteria. In this respect, I would mention the amendments tabled by Mrs Oostlander to the reports on the Czech Republic and on Slovenia, calling for the issues regarding the minorities, which have not yet been resolved, to be tackled. I refer, for example, to the long drawn-out dispute involving the Italian community in Slovenia. In addition to the details and more specific issues, we must not lose sight of the historic import of this process. The debate which has been developing recently has thrown up four key issues: the date for the conclusion of negotiations, the accession date, the order in which the new countries are to join the Union and the transitional periods. My Group announced its desire to see the first negotiations concluded by 2003, making accession possible by June 2004. Certainly, the debate over the order in which the countries are to join the Union remains open, partly because the state of progress of their internal reforms will have to be assessed. I would consider it wise to adopt a solution which is a good compromise between an enlargement process which is not too spread out over time, which would certainly prove traumatic for our institutions, and an enlargement process which takes into account the legitimate timetabling expectations of the countries. As regard the transitional periods, I feel that we must be careful not to fall into the temptation to use them to reduce the impact of enlargement, thus detracting from the fact that the new countries belong to the European Union, in an endeavour to comply with the timetable we have set ourselves. On the other hand, it is true that these transitional periods can, if granted appropriately and in moderation, with great transparency, balance and a sense of accountability, prove to be in the general interest of all the countries.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, the Greek Presidency has come along at a crucial time for our planet, and not just because we are on the brink of at least one armed conflict. It is a crucial time because the only superpower, the United States, is doing all it can to turn its tremendous power into a global hegemony and, naturally, this is provoking a reaction. When we emerge from these vicissitudes, the entire world – and the European Union in particular – will be a different place, regardless of the outcome of the crisis. What is certain is that the post-war world order and its institutions will be the victims of the conflict and a different world will emerge from it. The European Union needs to have a view and an opinion about this new world. However, I get the impression that the prevailing mood in the institutions of the European Union is one of complacency, as if what is happening has nothing to do with us. I get the impression that many of us believe that we are living in a vacuum, in another world, immune from what is already happening and what is yet to come. In times such as these, a European Union presidency has to be able to rework the values which we say we stand for into a vision of the world to come, and to persuade the people of Europe that these values are worth fighting for. Only with this priority will a presidency be successful and worthy of the times we live in. Sittings come and go. So do programmes. However, the times we live in call for a return to the values of the people of Europe, as is only proper when we are fighting for peace.

Political group: GUE-NGL
The impending enlargement is one of the most important political events since the initial inception of the European Communities. This enlargement will heal a rift between Western, Central and Eastern Europe. This rift came about before the Second World War and was reinforced by an iron curtain and a wall after the Second World War. The healing of this rift is a jewel in the crown of the present European Union and also of the acceding countries. They have been adapting their democratic systems, their economies and their legislation since 1989, which has required major efforts. I therefore lend my wholehearted support to the ten accessions proposed by the Commission. A crucial debate on the topic of enlargement is taking place in the Dutch Lower House today. The Dutch Government is in support of enlargement despite the opposition of two coalition partners, namely the Liberals and the Fortuyn group. I regret this deeply, but there will still be a democratic majority in the Lower House today prior to the accessions, which means that the Netherlands will not necessarily put a spanner in the works. We may have our Social-Democratic friends to thank for this. If a number of conditions have not yet been met, however, the acceding countries will be required to make a final effort and, if necessary, introduce safeguards in areas such as food safety, the internal market and justice and home affairs. Incidentally, I am pleased that Mr Prodi has stated that these safeguards will actually be put in place should this prove really necessary. It would also be much better if a financial agreement were to be reached, so that there would be more clarity about the financial costs involved in the enlargement, as this is an area which our citizens are particularly concerned about. It would also be preferable if better agricultural agreements were concluded. These should not be a pre-condition, but I agree with those fellow MEPs who claim that they are required as a matter of urgency. I now have a question for Mr Haarder. Would it perhaps be possible for you to have a frank discussion with our Liberal colleagues in the Netherlands, who are your fellow party members, to ensure that this issue does not complicate matters at this time and that it is not misused in the Dutch elections? The Netherlands has always been a pro-European country. The political parties that are trying to turn the Dutch into eurosceptics are taking on a major responsibility. The enlargement receives the support of both the Christian-Democrats here and the Christian-Democrats in the Netherlands.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I too would like to thank Mr Schmid for his work. The Commission communication, which I consider to be extremely positive, follows the consultation process launched by the Commission in 2000 on “Acting locally for employment”, which involved a large number of actors at European, national and local levels and confirmed the opinion that Parliament had expressed on a number of occasions in the past. It also tallied with the positions of the Commission regarding the necessity and importance of making good use of local actors. If we want to achieve the goal set by the Heads of State and Government at Lisbon of implementing a European employment strategy which will achieve full, high quality employment while promoting social cohesion by 2010, there is no doubt that we need to give due consideration to, make use of and support the efforts being made by actors at local level, and to tailor our involvement to the sphere in which they are operating. To this end, we need to urge the Member States to follow the recommendations we have consistently provided at European level, namely partnership, support for local employment projects and support for all the actors – whether social bodies or non-governmental or ‘third sector’ organisations – giving primary responsibility to the public institutions. I feel that we really must continue, as we are doing with this communication, to call upon the Member States to ensure through the European employment strategy and the launching of national plans that the local actors are listened to, for it is local officials who have to respond in person to the daily challenges represented by the new demands for job creation and use of mobility instruments and life-long training instruments, which are crucial to the achievement of this objective. I will end by pointing out that the forum which the Commission has undertaken to organise for next year would appear essential. Secondly, in my own view and in the opinion of the Socialist Group, the amendments tabled are superfluous and run counter to the spirit of unity which characterised the vote on the Communication in committee. We would therefore like the text adopted in committee to remain in its current form.

Political group: PSE
I wish sincerely to thank the Greek representative of the Council for his committed answer and for the work that is being done. A very sincere thank you for that. What the Council is saying extremely clearly in this House is very important, namely that the human rights situation has deteriorated, that the prisoners and the long sentences have affected our future relations with Cuba and that the 78 prisoners must now be given the right to appeal. As a follow-up question, I wonder, then, if the European Council could take practical action by offering the winner of the Sakharov Prize, the Christian Democratic human rights activist Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, a formal invitation to Greece and the European Union. By doing this, it would also be encouraging the prime ministers and foreign ministers of the Member States in that way to emphasise the value of the Sakharov Prize.

Political group: PPE-DE