GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Madam President, allow me to explain my vote on the Swoboda report. Although the problem of transalpine traffic to which Mr Swoboda refers in his report primarily affects Austria, it also relates to the entire Brenner corridor. That is where we have the problem, which derives from the fact that the proposal and the ideas presented by the Commission lose a very great deal of credibility as far as the area between Verona and Munich is concerned by seeking to amend a Protocol to the Act of Accession unilaterally. We are in favour of tighter ecological restrictions. We are in favour of measures if they respect the interests and equal rights of the people and companies that operate in the area in question. But it is absolutely imperative that contractual law be upheld, both now and in the future.

Political group: PPE-DE
Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would firstly like to thank Mr Whitehead for his good work and for his contributions to the Regulation. I would like to refer to two of the controversial issues of the Regulation: the procedure for the choice of headquarters and the criteria for it. The proposed regulation does not name any headquarters or any candidates. Article 63 lays down the criteria to be met by any nominee and also establishes a procedure for that choice. I believe that the rapporteur is right to propose that the decision on the headquarters of the authority should be taken by the Council after consultation with the Commission and the European Parliament. However, it seems to me inappropriate that, to the criteria of independence and integrity, scientific standards, adequate infrastructures and easy access, from a communication point of view, we should add the criterion that as an essential condition for election as the headquarters the number of outstanding cases of a Member State before the Court of Justice should be taken into account. I would like to know, Commissioner, what you think of this new criterion, which I believe to be discriminatory. It would rule out the candidatures of France, Italy and Barcelona from the outset. I believe that this new criterion makes no sense and is not in accordance with the objective of the future Food Authority which is, above all, health and consumer protection.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is being built and funded -including by taxpayers' money – through the World Bank, EBRD and European export credits, even though it does not meet international environmental and human rights standards. This report rightly demands the application of the EU Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. Now it appears the coating on pipeline joints is poor and likely to result in major oil leakage and pollution. BP apparently knew this a year before securing the backing of international funders. The credit should be suspended while an independent enquiry is carried out into the safety of the pipeline for local people and the environment, and also into its financial viability, if at least EUR 800 million needs to be spent relaying it. Turkey's guarantees to the BTC project regarding opt-outs from new environmental and social laws break its obligations under the EU Accession Partnership: they would be illegal if Turkey were already in the EU. The Commission has failed to act, so NGOs are now taking the matter to the European Court of Justice. We must help Turkey prepare to meet EU commitments, not break them.

Political group: ELDR
I am pleased to support this report which significantly improves on the Commission's proposal to harmonise consumer protection against unfair commercial practices. While I am in favour of the Commission's proposals for corporate governance its key policy objectives should include reference to promoting sustainable development, environmental justice and fair trade. They should also place greater importance on the involvement of other stakeholders, such as workers, consumers and community representatives. European corporate governance and Company law must include decent structures and practices for informing and consulting workers, and all European company law directives should contain obligations to inform and consult employee representatives where major decisions are at stake as regards the continuity of firms and jobs. Therefore the European Corporate Governance Forum which the Commission proposes to convene ought to be representative of all interests and trade unions and civil society ought also to participate in it.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, it is important that the common position clearly focuses on commercial activity and the work of professional criminals. Copying on a small-scale for personal use will then be left alone. We have no need or means to interfere when it is a matter of copying by private citizens. In the information society the invasion of people’s privacy is a most dangerous and mostly ignored problem. The counterfeiting of food products has risen by 75% and that of CDs by 15 000%, which is almost half of all musical recordings. Approximately 20 000 jobs are lost each year. It is important, however, that a distinction is made between conscious and unconscious infringement of copyright. This is also important because it safeguards product development in small companies by guaranteeing some sort of protection in the sea of patent legislation. I am happy that there will therefore no longer be interference in criminal law, an area which lies within the competence of the Member States. The different practices and laws that exist in the Member States would make it an especially awkward task. After all, the same package deals with patents and copyright. Piracy, the result of commercial crime, takes away jobs. Nevertheless, we should not interfere in the private lives of the innocent. Let us make additional improvements to the next directive.

Political group: PSE
Thank you, Mr President-in-Office, for the information which you have given me. It became clear during my recent visit to Georgia and from what was said by representatives of the Georgian Church during the recent meeting between the Patriarchate and the European People’s Party that, in the eyes of the people of Georgia, European policy is ineffectual because, apart from humanitarian aid, it has not helped to solve any of the problems. The problem of refugees, which include many Georgian citizens of Greek descent, has not been solved. And I should like to ask you what additional measures you feel need to be taken and extended, as you have just said? And one more question: do you believe that the conflict to which you referred is part of Russian policy in this region? Also, has the Council taken account of this possibility in its policy in the region?

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, in the last few weeks, we have switched between hope and despair almost on a daily, even hourly basis. Nonetheless, we – and by that I mean Europe and the USA – must remain faithful to the implementation of the Roadmap. It is as much an American plan as a European one. Indeed, we pressed hard – and I thank Mr Solana and Mr Patten for this – for the publication and then for the implementation of this Roadmap. Now, as some speakers have already said, there is a chance of achieving peace only if we both adopt a joint approach. I do not take the view that Europe is acting unilaterally if it puts appropriate pressure on both sides – on Israel and the Palestinians. We need a viable and secure state both for Israel and for Palestine. That needs to be recognised. We do not want violence from the other side – and Mr Nordmann, if I recall the debate in committee, what else is the settlement activity, which is illegal under international law, but violence? The construction of the wall is appalling violence, profoundly affecting people's living conditions and even their lives. Of course, the same applies to the horrifying acts of terrorism, for which I have no sympathies whatsoever. We made it clear to the Iranians with whom we spoke yesterday in particular that any form of sympathy with, or indeed, acceptance of terrorism cannot be tolerated by Europe. Above all, however, terrorism is one thing: it is self-destructive. Any society based on terrorism already bears the taint of violence within itself. What we certainly need is support for Palestine's security. The Palestinian Authority will be unable to resolve the security problem on its own. What we also need – and even if the Israelis are opposed to this, we must exert constant pressure to achieve it – are international troops as observers, but also with the option of intervening. We also need Abu Mazen to be successful. The Commissioner takes the view that we need elections, and I think he is right, but elections can only take place usefully once Abu Mazen has had a chance to prove that his course is better and more successful for the Palestinians than the terrorism perpetrated by Hamas and other movements. Over the last few days, a young Israeli doctor came to visit me. She spent two years in the military and now she is providing medical care in a mobile clinic in the Palestinian territories. Day after day, this young Israeli goes into the Palestinian territories and helps to ensure that the Palestinians have a modicum of basic healthcare. As long as such people exist in Israel and on the Palestinian side, we must do everything we can to press for peace in the Middle East with hope and confidence. (Applause)

Political group: PSE
We are entirely in favour of aid for overseas territories, which centuries of colonisation and exploitation by European countries have kept in an underdeveloped economic situation. We must, on the other hand, express our reservations about the way in which the European Union is planning its aid for these regions, which it calls ‘outermost’, because the aid is not intended solely for the poor communities of workers and country folk but is also intended to support interests, whether or not they are native to these regions and which have no need of aid, by promoting ‘the spirit of enterprise’ as well. We are in favour of aid, but under different conditions. This is why we abstained, but voted in favour of the amendments likely to promote the interests of the working classes in these regions.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, regretfully we have learnt that exactly one month after an earthquake devastated El Salvador a similar tremor struck this Central American country again yesterday. I am sure that our Delegation for Relations with the Countries of Central America and Mexico will set all the machinery in motion to urge the Community authorities, starting with the Commission, to renew their efforts of solidarity with this country.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I would like to present an oral amendment to the first sub-paragraph of paragraph 135, which says the following: ‘calls on the institutions to provide access to opinions of the Legal Services, respecting the principles established by the Court of Justice’. I believe that this amendment would resolve the small problem which had arisen.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, in relation to the second Alyssandrakis report, I must mention my daughter. When I met her this morning – I did not see her last night for I was here, in this Chamber, speaking on this report – she asked me: “But Daddy, is it true that you want to become an astronaut and go to the moon? That is what they told me when I arrived here this morning.” I had to reply: “Yes, it is true”, for when I took the floor yesterday – and I repeat the request again now – I called for progress to be made in European space research and I mentioned the fact that, in the United States, there was an astronaut, a politician, who went into space at the age of 69, that is when he was a pensioner. I would like there to be a European astronaut, also a politician, who will become an astronaut in 15 years’ time at the age of 69. I therefore put my name forward to become the first European Union astronaut.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ‘from problem child to model pupil’, that is how we could characterise the determination of the Slovakian government and the Slovakian parliament to swiftly tread the path to EU membership, and to spend the past two years making every available effort to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria. We hope that the Slovakian parliament and the government will pursue this course resolutely and find the patience they need to overcome opposition and strengthen the Slovakian people on their way to Europe. It follows from this though, that there must also be privatisation and restructuring of the economy. The banking and financial sector must be completely reformed, and fiscal consolidation must be continued. The dialogue between the social partners, the other groups within civil society, the government and parliament will play an important – and as we see it – positive part in the process. The small and medium-sized enterprises must be the main beneficiaries of economic diversification. In the long term, Slovakia should earn an ever-increasing amount of its foreign currency from economic sectors that have nothing to do with the processing of oil, or weapons production. We welcome the fact that there is now close cooperation between Hungary and the Slovak Republic. We are particularly delighted that Slovakia has made a start on granting the Hungarian and the other minorities rights, which are gradually approaching the standards prescribed by the Council of Europe. It is important for this condition to be fulfilled if Slovakia’s membership of the European Union is to proceed smoothly. Incidentally, the Slovakian government is making remarkable efforts to modernise the state apparatus and to bring on the peripheral regions. We have noted with satisfaction that the Slovakian parliament is conscious of what needs to be done for Slovakia to be able to accede to the EU, and has set about trying to accomplish this systematically and rapidly. We are also aware that, being a transit country in Central Europe for those on their way to Western Europe, the Slovak Republic has a special duty to take a pro-active stance against trafficking in human beings, and to fight corruption and organised crime with even more determination than before, and we have noted that the executive judiciary has been further strengthened by recent changes in the law. On a final note, allow me, on behalf of the Group of the European People’s Party, to thank our rapporteur, Mr Wiersma, for his excellent and comprehensive report, and to assure him of my group’s support.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I would like to thank Mrs Stenzel for her very effective and useful report. I cannot claim to be a close observer or to have very detailed knowledge of the operations of the agency and therefore I find her report very valuable. As someone who for the last three years has been on the delegation to south-east Europe and more recently a vice-chair, I feel it is essential that we keep up and develop the financial assistance to allow the Balkan countries to aspire to the eventual goal, which must be membership of the European Union. I was one of those who was not convinced by the original decision to site the headquarters of the agency in Thessaloniki. It was the rather traditional story of doling out prizes to Member States. I may have slightly changed my view because Greece is playing a very valuable role in leading and in coordinating regional cooperation. Yet I think we need to reconsider whether this is the most effective way for an agency that has several different bases to operate. The agency is doing a good and essential job. It will be important over time to rationalise and if possible to expand our assistance to the Balkans. This assistance must evolve from reconstruction to development, just as it evolved from emergency aid to reconstruction. The network of agencies that are perhaps in danger of tripping over themselves in south-east Europe is a challenge we have to resolve. It is a very complex scene – a kind of alphabet soup. It is very difficult, even for someone in my position, to understand who does what and I am not sure what the impact is on the local citizens. Mrs Stenzel makes several valuable points, among which is the need for agreements with other donors on 'sharing' out who is responsible for what sector to avoid overlaps. She particularly mentions that the agency should take the lead on energy in Kosovo, with which I would agree. She also emphasises the need for a strategy on the future of the agency's relations with EU delegations. I wonder from my experience in Skopje whether we have not gone too far in bypassing the competence of the local Commission delegation. I felt there was a danger of the agency taking a slightly imperialist tone towards the local delegation. In view of the upcoming elections on 15 September, I am still not sure that we have reconstructed enough houses there.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, on the subject of the use of the European Parliament's own resources, I would like to say, both on behalf of the Pensioners' Party which I represent and on behalf of the associated French, Dutch, Spanish, Swedish, Slovenian, Bulgarian and Lithuanian Pensioners' Parties, who have authorised me to speak on their behalf, that I openly support the proposal that the European Union should levy its own taxes and that this should not mean an increase in taxation for the citizens but, on the contrary, a reduction in the taxes that the citizens pay in their own States. Only in this way will the citizens see Europe in a positive light.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, personally I like you, but I have to say that I do not like the Greek Government, especially concerning its stance on employment. The results speak for themselves. And I think that what you have said thus far also speaks for itself. How can anybody shape employment policy when they do not know what employment is, when they do not know how many people have found work thanks to training programmes? I want to focus on one thing. I want to ask you a specific question so as not to have a long discussion about this. Specifically on training, what do you believe and what do you propose asking the Greek Government to change in the 2000-2006 period by comparison with the previous period, during which we all have the impression that things were not going well, despite the fact that the statistics were not accurate? The information that does exist even shows that things are getting worse. So what will change in the 2000-2006 period?

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, on behalf of my Group, I would like to request that the vote on Maaten report be postponed until July.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the African continent, which, for far too long, has been synonymous with tragedies and loss, recently wanted to present a new face to the international community. The foundation of the African Union as an off-shoot of the OAU and as a role model to the European Union is a promise of the future for this continent and a homage to the institutions that make up our own. As well as providing a model of political structure and a single project for the continent, the European Union must also protect the rights recognised by the international conventions. The tragedy of another age, however, currently being suffered by Amina Lawal, is threatening all these promises and signatures ratified by her country, Nigeria. The extreme distress experienced by Mrs Lawal and Mrs Husseini before her and so many other ignored voices, is evidence of the ludicrous gap between commitments and political and legal practices in certain countries of Africa. It is difficult to understand that, in this day and age, a sentence of death by stoning could be passed down. It is difficult to accept such a barbaric act could be carried out for the mere fact of having had a baby after a divorce. Above all, it is difficult to accept regional laws, in a federal state which denies and flouts a national constitution. Admittedly, it is the primary responsibility of the federal authorities of Nigeria to establish conformity and respect of its national laws and international commitments throughout its territory and the jurisdiction of its state. However, it is also the moral and political duty of the Union, many of whose Member States share a common history with the African continent, to oppose criminal abuses, such as certain interpretations of the Sharia law and to support, using every effort and every means at our disposal, those who are fighting for the rule of law, for rights and for real justice for all. If we are satisfied with a token statement each time a Kafkaesque crime befalls a citizen of the ACP countries, we are essentially becoming accomplices and are upholding, due to our diplomatic inertia, the return to obscurantist ways. That is why my group and I are calling for a working group to be set up on the question of Sharia law and women’s rights as part of our forthcoming ACP-EU delegation. The stability of Nigeria is under threat and the stability of the whole country could be affected by what is happening in Nigeria, the most densely populated country in Africa. The shockwaves created by Amina Lawal’s case have just reached Europe; let us take action to prevent further shockwaves in the future.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, we have had a treaty against biological weapons and weapons containing toxins for a very long time now. It cannot be applied and its application cannot be monitored without a protocol setting out how this is to be done, something we have been trying to achieve for years. We have not succeeded. The United States sabotaged the protocol, do not ask me why. I read papers by American analysts who say that they have not had time to complete various biological warfare programmes which are up and running. Be that as it may, following the awful events in New York and the anthrax attacks in the United States, we need to get back to the concept of monitoring and applying this treaty as quickly as possible, come what may. I was astounded to hear the Commissioner say that the position of the United States has not changed and that we are unlikely to have a protocol with provisions on monitoring and applying the treaty in the foreseeable future. We obviously need to withdraw what we say in the joint motion before you, honourable Members, about welcoming the change in the position of the United States. We have made a mistake. We must change it tomorrow in an oral amendment. Secondly, Madam President-in-Office of the Council, you have not told us how you intend to exert greater pressure on the United States, given that the whole business is down to them. Will discussion alone suffice, I wonder? Thirdly, new factors have come into play, Mr President. It has been proven that genetic engineering can be used for this sort of weapon of mass destruction by applying research into vaccines and other forms of treatment which are easily hijacked for military purposes. I have tabled an amendment for tomorrow's vote. I think that we should adopt it and that the European Union should include this issue in the debate. Finally, if it turns out, ladies and gentlemen, as the FBI is saying, that the anthrax was made and supplied in the United States, are there any Members here who propose that someone, do not ask me who, should bomb the United States?

Political group: GUE-NGL