GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, I am a newcomer to this Parliament, as an MEP. I have followed this debate with a great deal of interest and I believe it was a good debate. But still I have the feeling that there is something wrong with the way in which this Parliament organises its business. What are we achieving? The Commission has submitted a proposal concerning the establishment of the Agency headquarters in Pristina. The Parliament supports the Commission and there is a conflict with the Council. What do we see? The Council’s benches are empty. So there is no response from the Council. The Council appears not to have been invited to come here and tell us what it is going to do. I would therefore like to ask you the following question: could you please convey my wish to the Conference of Presidents that in future, when debates take place on subjects where there is conflict with the Council, the debate is organised in such a way that the Council attends so that we can enter into direct confrontation. I think this would benefit democracy.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Thank you for your reply. You referred to a mutually acceptable solution. I myself have visited the camps at Tindouf where this extremely difficult situation has been going on for 25 years. It must be noted, however, that one of the parties involved, Morocco in this instance, that has diplomatic weight and the wheels of state at its disposal, is making less of an effort to ensure that the peace plan, in other words the Houston agreements that it did, in fact, sign, is implemented. It continues to talk about the problem of territorial integrity, a term used by the King, particularly during his last official speech. Now, the issue relates to the self-determination of a nation and the implementation of United Nations resolutions. Whatever the result of the referendum – independence or annexation to Morocco – it seems to me that democracy is what will finally resolve this conflict most effectively. Otherwise, the exacerbation of current tensions and the possible return to arms would be dangerous for the region as a whole at a time when we are discussing – and we were even doing so earlier in this Chamber – the resumption of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. How can we even consider reviving this partnership without first resolving the conflict? We are well aware of the close links between the European Union and Morocco and, in particular, between France and Morocco, which is why I wanted to ask Mr Moscovici if he could inform us as to the content and nature of negotiations that he is currently holding with the Moroccan Government on the Western Sahara question.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I visited Iraq 12 days ago. I spent 8 days in the south, reviewing the public health situation in my capacity as the World Health Organisation's Special Envoy. I listened to the people. I met with 50 tribal leaders, upwards of 20 000 Marsh Arabs, and I reviewed and inspected extensively hospitals and primary health clinics in Basra, Al-Amara and other smaller towns and villages. I re-opened the World Health Organisation Office and I set up a clinic now dealing with 15 000 medical consultations a month. The people are relishing their freedom. Their joyfulness is tempered only by the continuation of the bitter legacy of Saddam. Their lives were malignly regulated down to the smallest detail. Saddam modelled his total control on Stalin, whom he emulated. The ordinary Iraqi family's purchase, even of one bar of soap, was politically directed and controlled. When sentenced to ear amputation, the prisoner had to seek out and pay the surgeon to perform the mutilation. The more money the prisoner was able to offer, the more ear the surgeon permitted to remain intact. A trade in human flesh, a cruel bargain with Saddam Hussein - for Saddam owned the Iraqi people's every movement from tear-sodden cradle to early and unquiet grave. These systems are still intact and throttling the Iraqi people. It is early days. The coalition forces are doing fine work, particularly in the south and in delivering public health to the people of Iraq. The United Nations - especially the World Health Organisation - is now fully engaged and is using its specialist skills to excellent effect. However, the UN can only do so much in such a complex and difficult political situation. Patience is needed, as is the continuing security provided by the coalition forces, to give the Iraqi people the time and space they need to unravel the evil web Saddam wove so skilfully around them. The task now is to help the people to enjoy their freedom and to entrench it constitutionally and politically for future generations. (Applause)

Political group: ELDR
Since the attacks of 11 September, the world has been on tenterhooks. People are shocked. They feel for the victims and those left behind, and their own sense of security has reached an all-time low. People expect their governments to guarantee their safety. They realise that this is not wholly possible but they are asking for efficient and conclusive action, and rightly so. Anyone who is responsible for security these days has a complex task to fulfil. The need for true, European integration and international coordination has been brought into focus more than ever, both in words and deeds. Mr President, I very much hope that you will be able to carry out your action plan of 21 September effectively, and that the Belgian Presidency will be able to take specific decisions in this connection. We have all asserted that the attacks were not so much directed at innocent victims as at the symbols of freedom, democracy and human rights, including the right to life. Nobody will deny that the European Parliament too is a symbol of these values. Of course, we do not want to proclaim ourselves as targets, nor do we want to spread panic, but many MEPs are worried, as already stated by group chairman, Mr Poettering. In Strasbourg, the entrances and the immediate surroundings of this building are under police surveillance. In Brussels, however, we are even denied the illusion of security. If, moreover, we infer from the words of the Belgian Minister for the Interior here that he sees no indication of a need for tighter security, then we have a real reason to worry. For terrorists do not give warnings, something which a Minister for the Interior should realise. That is why, Mr President-in-Office of the Council and Minister for Foreign Affairs, I would like to ask you to persuade your Minister for the Interior and the police in Belgium to think again. Not only in the interests of the safety of the MEPs of the 15 Member States, but also in the interests of their colleagues, their visitors, the safety of the city, which is the capital of Europe, and in the interest of the values for which we all stand.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I congratulate John Bowis on his excellent work. I have on many an occasion throughout this process thought that we were lucky when we chose him to draw up the report. He has withstood the pressures he has come up against in this emotional issue extremely well. I would also like to thank Commissioner Byrne for his cooperation. The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy followed Mr Bowis’s advice and decided not to adopt a position on the location of the Food Safety Agency. In my opinion, that was a wise policy. It is, however, important to define what we expect from the Food Safety Agency and what sort of criteria should apply in selecting its location. In the interests of the citizens of the Union as a whole, it is to be hoped that these criteria will be implemented. They include good reputation in the field of food safety, independence, and good scientific infrastructure incorporating the best available technology and good transport and telecommunications links. Amendment No 19, which I together with Mr Nisticò and Mr Fiori, as well as many others, tabled on behalf of the Group, states these criteria clearly without taking a stand on any particular location. These criteria will all be essential tools in realising the common aim to restore consumer confidence in European food safety as soon as possible. In talks, there has been a call for the agency to be located in a city in which one of our Institutions is located, as, otherwise, it could not be supervised. This sort of argument is puzzling and worrying and in fact removes the foundations on which the idea of integration is built. I do not think we can in all seriousness say that only an authorised body that is located in the midst of the Community can reliably carry out the task it is entrusted with. There must be other reasons for the euro’s low value than the fact that the European Central Bank is situated in Frankfurt. I myself do not think this way and trust in the strength and basic principles of European integration throughout the EU.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, football is a festival. This is the motto under which Belgium and the Netherlands staged Euro 2000 over the past three weeks. In sporting terms, it was indeed a festival, except perhaps for our Italian friends. However, the festival was, once again, overshadowed by the behaviour of some alleged supporters. Serious riots broke out, especially before and after the Germany-England match. In total, 173 people ended up in hospital, 1400 arrests were made and 500 English supporters were repatriated by C 130 aircraft. Some people, including certain delegates in this House, are trying to trivialise the issue. As far as I am concerned, Mr President, there are limits to the high social cost tied in with hooliganism. Surely a country cannot take on the appearance of a police state for days on end because of a football championship? In Belgium, an average of 1500 state police troops were deployed for each match, plus hundreds of local police troops. It is high time the national governments took preventive measures in order to keep the hooligan hard-core at home. Germany set a good example in this respect. In concrete terms, so-called football supporters who have been arrested previously on account of involvement in football violence should be issued with a travel ban. It is therefore not primarily a case of more or less border control, but of efficient and coherent police cooperation. Let us draw the right conclusions from the events in Brussels and Charleroi. There has never been a greater need for hard measures and sound cooperation in order to harness this mindless violence. Hooliganism has transcended all borders, both literally and figuratively speaking.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, in order to avoid competition arising between these two issues, would it perhaps be possible to discuss the situation in Algeria in the ‘human rights’ section, in which case, all the issues proposed could be dealt with.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, it is a little odd, for it sometimes sounds as if it is a question of being either for or against European parties. I think that is absolute nonsense, because we are at present in a situation in which we have no financial aid for European parties and yet we do in actual fact have European parties. It is not up to the Commission or the Council or the European Parliament whether or not we are to have European parties. It is up to those who are politically active in Europe. It is, moreover, up to the people of Europe whether we are to have European parties. Now, we are talking about whether they are to be given money into the bargain. I think that the view being taken, namely the belief that a European democracy or a European public can be brought about through European parties, is quite wrong in a democratic perspective. In my view, it is the other way around. The presence of European democracy and a European public gives rise to European parties. It is the ‘bottom-up’, rather than the ‘top-down’, mentality we should be adopting in this case. This proposal is unfortunately an expression of the ‘top-down’ mentality, and I shall not support it. (Applause)

Political group: GUE-NGL
Madam President, Mr Maat may wish to make the same comment as me. You see, we spoke again this morning. Amendment No 929, tabled by the Budget Committee, concerns two lines in heading 1b. They relate to young farmers and environmental measures. I should now like to propose an oral amendment to change these lines. We give the young farmers an additional 10 million and take the 10 million to finance this from the environmental measures. The effect on the overall budget is neutral, but we would accommodate the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

Political group: PSE
I thank the President-in-Office both for her detailed reply and her cooperation over the past six months. Good cooperation is sometimes marked by a degree of tension. Thank you very much, it is just that I need to study your reply. I should like to ask a supplementary question, now that Nigeria has just starting producing AIDS drugs which are, however, old generation drugs of very dubious effectiveness. You referred in your reply to the transfer of more modern technology for use in particular by the countries of Africa which have been struck by mass epidemics; how can we achieve this?

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, as rapporteur I cannot but agree with that. Not being myself a lawyer either, I would be interested to know what the Commission's position would be in the event of Nice not being ratified before the Treaty expires, for then, or so my reasonable human understanding tells me, a legal vacuum results, and that is something we should have looked into. In that respect I would like to support Mrs Ahern in what she has said. Having already, however, been called to speak, I wanted to point out to you that Amendments Nos 1 to 5 are founded on a misunderstanding. We did not vote on them at all in committee. They may well be substantially included in the Turchi report – there is no need for anybody to worry about that – but I recommend that we should not vote on them today, and, insofar as I am entitled to demand such a thing, I demand that.

Political group: PSE
Madam President, I would like to thank you for your skilful and impartial management of the sittings. My remarks concern Mr Schleicher’s report on the financing of European political parties. It states that parties’ own funding amounts to just 25%, and, thus, 75% is from subsidies, which is why I did not think the support of companies was necessary. We have to accomplish things through being active and, furthermore, support must be obtained from members. For this reason I voted against donations by companies. In any case I think that the excessive use of money has started to distort elections, an excellent example of which is the Italian elections. It might distort elections in the future too, and for that reason a limit must be found to the use of money in elections.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I was in Parliament in the summer of 1995 when the appalling crimes of Mr Dutroux were exposed. It was as a direct result of the horror expressed in this Parliament at those dreadful crimes that we began on the path we are still moving along now towards improving legislation for the protection of children. I should like to congratulate both our colleagues on their excellent reports. I would also like to express my great regret that six years after those heinous crimes were exposed, this man has still not been brought to justice. That perhaps demonstrates that the extent of the crimes was unbelievable to us at the time and that the law was not adequate to deal with them. Yet it remains an absolute disgrace that this man has not yet been brought to justice. I should like to make a few technical remarks about the report. The strong transnational dimension of the problem requires the establishment of high standards of Community law in relation to child sexual exploitation, standards that also apply to the CEEC countries where the problems are even greater than within the Union. The age of consent varies between countries: 13 years in Spain and the Netherlands, 17 years in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. So a child abuser can move quite easily between countries where the legislation provides for a lower age of consent. They can do this purely to avoid criminal sanctions. This also presents a considerable obstacle to developing common standards and comparative data protection. Article 5(1) of the Commission text proposes that the penalties for abusing a child under the age of 10 years should be more severe. We reject this because any abuse of children is a criminal offence. Finally, acquisition and possession of child pornography with the aim of handing it over to the law enforcement authorities should be made an offence. It is a criminal offence to own this pornography, and very often the people using it are only pretending they are collecting it for the police. I do not think we can believe that.

Political group: PPE-DE
This European Parliament and Council directive, which aims to bring together in a single text all the regulations on the organisation of working time drawn up by the EU over a number of years, is an even clearer illustration of the desire to allow bosses to organise working time as they see fit. That is why we are taking this opportunity to reiterate, in particular, our outright opposition to night working where this is not socially indispensable, as it is then merely another way to increase profits at the expense of workers’ health. As for the length of working time, the considerable number of pages devoted to exemptions authorised for a transitional period of five years, beginning on 1 August 2004, certainly illustrates the extent to which this is less of a question of organising employees’ working time than of allowing bosses a free reign so that they can exploit workers as they wish. This is what one of these many scandalous exemptions stipulates: ‘The Member States shall ensure that the number of weekly working hours does not, under any circumstances, exceed an average of 58 hours during the first three years of the transitional period, an average of 56 hours during the following two years, and an average of 52 hours for any additional period.’ We are obviously unable to endorse a directive of this nature. - Westendorp y Cabeza report (A5-0413/2002)

Political group: GUE-NGL
For many years the European Parliament, the Member States and a whole range of organisations, by virtue of various legal bases, agreements and resolutions, have been tackling the issues of child protection, children’s rights, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, sex tourism, trade in children and women and child pornography on the Internet. The initiative of the Republic of Austria with a view to adopting a Council Decision to combat child pornography on the Internet will place an obligation on the Member States, and obligation is the crucial word here, to take measures to combat child pornography on the Internet. This obligation must have legal implications. The importance of the Internet is obvious to us all. It has come to be indispensable as a modern communication tool. We need it for exchanging information, for learning and for all sorts of operations. However, increased use of the Internet also means increased access to violence and pornography, not least child pornography. Children themselves have access to violence on the Internet, which must be objectionable to us all. Parents are powerless in the face of this phenomenon because they cannot keep up with this technological progress. We are extremely concerned, especially in the new MEDIA 2000 programme which is being drawn up, as to how we should deal with this problem in the future. Consequently, an urgent need has arisen to combat child pornography on the Internet effectively. This requires efficient software to determine the country of origin, to trace the images and to catch the perpetrators and those producing the images. This in turn requires extremely advanced technology. We need specialists who can develop access codes, which will also necessitate certain restrictions being placed on media freedom. We need to network all the relevant organisations, the welfare organisations and NGOs, to facilitate rapid action and effective procedures. However, we must not forget one thing: the main reason why children are forced into this is poverty. We must combat poverty and intolerance and take this as our starting point. This is the key to prevention. It means that we must understand the children, but also that we must protect the victims, offer them assistance in reintegrating and help them to rediscover a normal life. We must not, therefore, simply act in a preventative fashion; we must offer long-term help to those children affected.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, many of us have repeatedly called for the European Refugee Fund to be established. The persuasive examples of what happened in Kosovo – and on a smaller scale, in East Timor – proved necessary, in order to support the evidence that this fund was needed. The entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam has facilitated this new approach to European policy on asylum and migration, which, as Mr Oostlander has already pointed out, requires a degree of solidarity between Member States, and there should therefore be mechanisms designed to contribute to finding a balance between the work undertaken by Member States who receive these refugees and their being able to bear the short- and long-term consequences of welcoming these people. We feel it is right that the fund should have an emergency component, which would apply to cases of a massive influx of people in a situation where they need international protection, but which, at the same time, guarantees that structural policy measures will be financed. In other words, there must be a component which will enable us, under a multiannual programme, to provide effective support for measures designed, firstly, to improve conditions of reception, secondly to promote integration, thirdly to facilitate voluntary repatriation and fourthly to facilitate reintegration. The experience of Kosovo has proved that most displaced people, including those who have been granted refugee status, were willing to return to their country of origin as soon as the necessary conditions were met. I would therefore like to emphasise something that Mr Pirker has already mentioned, and that is the difference between migration and temporary refugees. What must in one case be met with policies of support for integration must, in others, in the interests of the refugees themselves, be met with policies of support for a return to the country or region which they were forced to flee. The two situations are quite different and require different responses. To confuse them would be to give way to populist rhetoric. I would also like to stress the need to speed up the establishment of legal instruments which will facilitate the mobilisation of funds that have already been earmarked for this purpose. Specific rules will also have to be laid down covering the criteria and organisational provisions for the allocation of these funds and for activating the respective monitoring mechanisms.

Political group: PPE-DE