GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, the main phenomena that threaten democratic values, people and civil rights today are as globalised as our economy. Organised crime, drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings and terrorism are phenomena that no longer permit us to continue to think in national or regional terms. It is therefore by no means too late for the European Union to apply its policy on justice and home affairs to its external relationships. What is more, in the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs we have noticed that there are more and more reports relating to cross-border problems, and Eurojust is only one example of this. The reinforcement or even the preservation of the constitutional state and democracy in the European Union is determined to a large extent by the situation in the countries surrounding us and those further away. A significant factor in this is the visible and invisible corruption that is particularly problematic in a number of countries and which is undermining our democracy. Thus an efficient and responsible immigration and asylum policy cannot be achieved without appropriate efforts for the countries of origin. However, in order to achieve a good understanding of the causes of migration and asylum applications, we must match our development policy to the actual socio-economic and political context in the countries concerned. The proposal by the Council, in collaboration with the Commission, is an important document that is pointing in the right direction. The principle of the constitutional state is being reinforced, both in the area of enlargement and in that of the European Union’s collaboration with other countries, and we should now be aiming to achieve proper coordination in our external policy. With her report, Mrs Hazan has furthermore managed to reinforce the original text. Naturally, the objectives, priorities and measures being proposed will still have to be achieved and complied with. It is also important that Parliament be kept properly informed about progress in this regard, because we have to be able to answer the question that concerns the man and woman on the street: ‘What are you doing to solve all these problems?’

Political group: Verts-ALE
The resolution contains points with which I agree, specifically the aim of establishing ‘genuinely equitable cooperation’ in the Mediterranean, support for ‘those Israelis and Palestinians who are working for a fair and equitable settlement to the conflict’, ‘opposition to the practice of the death penalty’ and establishing a moratorium or the active commitment of the EU to ‘settling the conflict in the Western Sahara’. I must emphasise, however, that, amongst other aspects: - the resolution advocates a ‘policy of economic openness and of internal liberalisation in third countries’ and urges ‘extending the processes of South-South cooperation as the sole means of achieving a genuine free trade area’, which is the real dogma of neoliberal capitalism; - it defends the EU’s current repressive policy on immigration, when it suggests as a priority measure ‘stepping up efforts for readmission to countries of origin and of transit’, and rejects amendments tabled by my group condemning the recent creation of ‘European charters’ for expelling foreigners. Let us remember that such action is prohibited under the European Convention of Human Rights; - the resolution does not criticise the Israeli Government’s policy of occupying Palestine and of repressing the Palestinian people. Hence my vote against.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I too should like to congratulate Mr Sterckx on his sterling report. It contains many sound recommendations, and it is to be hoped that they will be followed, so that we will be able to prevent unacceptable accidents involving oil tankers even more effectively, something by which we have been confronted on a number of occasions during the past term. What matters most now is to deliver on what has been agreed. This can be done, above all, by investing considerably more in monitoring existing measures. We must invest in global cooperation, also in order to tackle international maritime safety problems that fall outside of the European Union. Another point of crucial importance is consultation with, and the tackling of, flag states that take safety measures rather lightly. I think that what we all want is for so much to happen in the next few years that we will never have to hold a debate of this nature in Parliament again and that the risk of accidents of this nature will go down considerably, partly as a result of what we in the European Union are doing. Needless to say, coordination and cooperation among Member States is of key importance. The report contains many proposals to that effect. We must learn from each other and we must try to apply the same procedures. Reference was made a moment ago to the experiences of, and the meeting with, the English coordinator. From that, it transpired that the United Kingdom has adopted a very clear line of command in the case of accidents. This must also be done at European level. As such, we support the proposal on the setting up of a European coastguard service. That is a fair objective. However, it is important for us to examine first how this can be done via research, projects and experiments. We are all in favour of giving the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), the new institution, an important role during the further development of policy in this field, including controls and suchlike.

Political group: PSE
Madam President, the cases of stoning in the States of Northern Nigeria, based on the application of Sharia law by Islamic courts, are a flagrant violation of human rights which we must condemn with all our energy, as Mrs Karamanou has done very effectively this afternoon, on behalf of our European Parliament. Firstly because we cannot accept the death penalty and secondly because the application of Sharia law affects defenceless women, accused of actions, such as adultery, which cannot be considered crimes; and thirdly because, furthermore, in the case of Amina Lawal, she has not received the least legal guarantees during the trial. The case of Amina Lawal is dramatic and urgent because, following several postponements, the sentence is imminent: 25 March. But it is not the only case, Sarimu Mohamed, Safiya Hussaini, Bariya Ibrahima and Adama Yunusa have also been sentenced to prison following a series of international campaigns to prevent these stonings. In none of these cases have any of the men involved in the adultery been punished. The vulnerability of women under Islamic criminal law, torture and the degrading treatment they suffer represent an unacceptable violation of human rights and this should be reflected in the European Union’s relations with Nigeria and with any other country that applies the Sharia. Nigeria has one of the highest rates of illiteracy in the world. There are ritual mutilations, there are millions of people displaced for religious reasons and Islamic law is applied in certain States, clearly discriminating against a section of the population, and there is no reaction from the central government. The European Union, in accordance with the Treaties, which clearly lay down the principles governing our relations with third countries, and despite Nigerian oil, must use all its diplomatic powers to prevent the application of the death penalty imposed on Amina Lawal and condemn all the consequences of the possible stoning. More than a million and a half people have protested to the Nigerian authorities and, thanks to this popular action, other stonings have been prevented, but the issue at the moment is to save Amina Lawal and to this end Sharia law must be abolished and, where necessary, hunted down.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I would like to bring to your attention, and to that of this House, something I regard as a very sad situation in Slovakia, our neighbour and soon to be a Member State. It would appear from television reports that the government has cut social security benefits for the Roma, which has prompted many women and mothers – and, appallingly enough, their children as well – to loot food shops in order to get food. I do not in the least want it to be thought that I approve of violence in any form, but the Roma must be in a truly tragic predicament, and I would ask you, Mr President, to seek information and an explanation of this. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
I welcome the accession, on 1 May 2004, of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, as well as of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the islands of Cyprus and Malta. This will put an end to the calamitous division of Europe. I rejoice to be able to be present at this historic moment. However much I may rejoice in the accessions, I continue to have doubts about the Czech Republic. Whilst I want the Czech Republic to join the EU, I cannot close my eyes to the fact that the Beneš decrees, which legitimised the expulsion of individual ethnic groups, continue to be in force there to this day. I cast my vote against the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union. I do not regard it as acceptable for the Czech Republic to continue, to this day, to fail to distance itself from the Beneš decrees in an appropriate manner and thus to acknowledge that the expulsions were an injustice. My vote is intended to be a signal. I especially want to draw attention to the so-called ‘Immunity Act’, which continues to give legitimacy to the gravest offences and crimes of the post-war period. Years ago, on the initiative of CSU/CDU MEPs, Parliament called on the Czech Republic to suspend the decrees and laws still in force, in so far as they related to the expulsion of specific ethnic groups from the former Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic did not comply; quite the contrary. In addition, in April 2002, the Czech Parliament even unanimously declared the effects of the Beneš decrees on law and property rights to be ‘unquestionable, inviolable and unchangeable’. I see that as clear evidence that the Czechs are not willing to make a gesture of political reconciliation. It is this background that makes it urgently necessary to complete this chapter of history. The European Union is a community of laws and values, and one of its elementary obligations is that of protecting minorities. This must be recognised by every country desirous of acceding to the European Union, and for the Czech Republic to ignore this fact is unacceptable.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, although we must have a European viewpoint, we are inevitably influenced by the situation in each of our countries. Specifically, in my own country, temporary work agencies – or at least some of these companies – are factories for insecure work. At the moment, in Spain, 33% of this work is insecure, more than double the European average, which stands at 13%. We therefore have difficulties with some of the amendments which my colleague, Ilda Figueiredo, has already mentioned in that they may possibly lead to discrimination. The rapporteur herself, in the explanatory statement, says that she is not very happy with those amendments that jeopardise the principle of non-discrimination. In the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, although it points out that these companies have contributed to improving the labour market, it is also stated that these companies, in certain countries of the European Union, employ illegal workers, and that they regularly violate the rights of workers. Therefore, as my colleague has already pointed out, if certain amendments mentioned are approved, it will be difficult for us to vote in favour of the report. At the Lisbon Council, there was discussion of the quality of work and employment rights. We are therefore tabling certain amendments - I am not sure if they are having much luck - inspired by a principle laid out in one of them: we advocate that this directive should be aimed at improving the quality of temporary work, guaranteeing respect for the principle of non-discrimination. That is what we are advocating, pure and simple. And we will support the rapporteur provided that certain amendments by the honourable Members seated opposite are not approved.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I am going to focus on an aspect of the common strategy for the Mediterranean region which is not being taken into account in all respects: the South-South dialogue, which is an important driving force within the strategy for relations between the European Union and the Maghreb countries. The creation of centralised authorities and mechanisms which thoroughly monitor the most pressing problems is essential. The management of projects on specific points and on common aspects is a need which has become a real one in relation to cases in which, on a private level, citizens and cities from both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar have been cooperating with wonderful results and without Community patronage. For the purposes of this local management, it would be necessary to create a new body which, as a decentralised and permanent mechanism, would bring together all the institutional, political and social leaders of these territories which are so close and yet so far away. The 14 kilometres which separate the European Union from the Maghreb are real, but let us ensure that this does not become an insuperable distance which prevents the closest possible cooperation. Immigration, its causes and consequences – which are sometimes terrible and irreparable – business, agricultural and fishing exchanges, social, technical, educational and university exchanges, aspects of common development, such as those in the energy sector, and the essential democratising political aspects which the European Union must promote in those countries all require the creation of new mechanisms and instruments which, in a decentralised fashion, would respond to these needs, which are local but which have widespread repercussions.

Political group: Verts-ALE
The proposal, as Mr Goodwill has said, has two important aims. First to ensure the traceability of beef, second to allow consumers to make a fully informed choice. Unfortunately, although the two aims are compatible, there is some tension between them where the details of the regulation are concerned. This is particularly the case in relation to Article 13 and Article 13(2) primarily serving the first and Article 13(5) the second aim. Amendments Nos 26 and 28 to 13(5) therefore seemed rather confused – one seeking less and one seeking more detailed information for consumers. For this reason, whatever the final form of Article 13, I regard Amendments Nos 15 and 29 as being of the first importance. Amendment 29 in particular will allow areas of the EU that are justifiably proud of the quality of their product to identify it as such. For my own constituency of course, Aberdeen Angus beef is already justly renowned throughout the world but I am sure the same is true for other regions in the rest of the UK and other Member States.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, Commissioner, allow me to begin by telling you in public what I have already taken the opportunity to tell you in private, namely that I profoundly admire the courageous and direct manner in which you are facing up to your responsibilities in the Eurostat case. Allow me also, however, to say to you just as directly that I would describe the way in which the Commission is hiding the internal audit report from Parliament, and especially from the Committee on Budgetary Control, as a deeply irresponsible act. I must alert you to the consequences of that act as of now. We required that report as part of the discharge procedure, as the essential condition on which discharge was to be granted. The Commission itself, as a body, must consider where the responsibility lies here. I would also like to let you know, Commissioner, that I fully agree with what Mr Heaton-Harris has already said about the cuts in the amounts for both OLAF and Eurostat. I also believe that it is essential that the principle of political responsibility should be implemented, in practical terms. I believe that Commissioners should assume their responsibilities and be given the means to do so. I believe, in particular, that each Commissioner should have at his or her disposal an inspection, an audit, or whatever else they need in order to address the questions asked of them.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, Commissioner, the Commission’s report on the state of the Union economy in 2000 and, in part, the von Wogau report itself, do not fail to underline how the halting progress of the euro has been, even in the perception of the financial markets, attributable at least in part to the absence of sufficiently coordinated action by the eurozone governments to promote a policy of economic growth and development in the field of employment. Nor can the Central Bank take all the blame for not including the stimulus of growth and the pursuit of full employment amongst its priorities in setting interest rates, in addition to the containment of inflation. It is now becoming clear how urgent it is to bring into being a genuine form of closer cooperation between the twelve countries of the eurozone, so as to make a qualitative leap in the coordination of financial, economic and social policies, and overcome – as was called for at the Lisbon Summit – a rigidly sectoral approach which, ultimately, confines social policies to a role of mere assistance. That might also be the way to establish a coordinated presence of the monetary Union as such in institutional decision-making forums like the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank and, in addition, the relations of the eurozone with third countries, in particular with the producer countries of raw materials and energy sources. For example, a long-term agreement with oil producers with a controlled price in euro would be not only possible but desirable.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, as this debate comes to an end I would like to thank all the rapporteurs – Mr Bösch, Mr Perry, Mrs Almeida Garrett, Mrs Sbarbati, Mr Camisón Asensio – and all the Members who are committed to the institution of petitions. I also would like to thank the European Ombudsman who carries on the fight in defence of the citizens from his observation post. We are working together, of course, and we too are working for the citizens of Europe, because they have a champion in this Parliament, the most authoritative institution in that respect. Thanks to the European Commission’s particular sensitivity, as demonstrated by the preparation behind the officers’ explanations of their reports in the Committee on Petitions, we have made great progress. However, more and more European citizens are presenting petitions on personal, social and environmental problems. It is our duty give them increasingly relevant, detailed, and satisfying responses. Their petitions illuminate the path the Union still has to travel to ensure peace of mind for our citizens. Of course we do not want dull and amorphous standardisation in the European Union, rather we think above all that cultural differences should be harmonised by turning those differences into the true wealth of the institutions. We have entered a season of reform, defence and strengthening of the institution of petitions and we believe that season of reform will give us the power to defend the citizens and, at the same time, make the European institutions better known to our ever-growing population.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, I call upon you, our President, but also upon the Council and the Commission to clarify certain questions, raised by the events of the last few days, with the Turkish government. Firstly, the existence of a blacklist of Members of Parliament and representatives of NGOs whom the Turkish government deems undesirable. Secondly, the arrest, which took place at the very time when a delegation from the European Parliament was visiting Turkey, of Akin Birdal, a human rights campaigner who, apart from anything else, was in a very poor state of health when he was taken back into custody. In addition to this, there has been a marked return to suppression of journalistic activities, which has been documented in a report by other sources as well. We feel that these actions taken by Turkey against Members of Parliament are cause for very serious concern. I would like the Turkish government to be asked to clarify whether blacklists also exist for European countries other than Italy.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I congratulate Mr Haarder whose excellent work I would describe as well-balanced, measured and well thought out. Furthermore, since I have had the honour of working with him on previous annual reports on human rights, I know how difficult it is. I hope that he receives the broad support of this House that he has asked for. He deserves it. Mr President, at the beginning of his first intervention, Mr Haarder said that Europe did not invent human rights, and that is true. However, what does characterise Europe is the fact that, having moved them from the private realm into the public realm by making them actionable, it has made human rights the flag, the distinguishing mark which characterises us as Europeans. We have talked about the defence of these human rights and I would now like to insist that if we proclaim human rights, it naturally follows that we must ensure that those rights can be exercised. I support all the points that have been made and I would like to add another. I am talking about those people who cannot exercise their rights because they are under pressure from certain quarters, certain organisations. I will give just one example. Recently, the members of the Foro de Ermua [Ermua Forum] visited us and I would like to remind the House that these members come from all sections of the political spectrum, ranging from left to right. They are intellectuals, they are men and women who live in the Basque Country and who cannot exercise their rights, their right to freedom of expression, because they constantly feel under pressure from Herri Batasuna, the political wing of ETA. Just one more example: last Sunday the Basque people received an intimidating invitation not to turn out to vote. Fortunately, Basque society voted en masse, displaying the courage which is so essential in that environment. Mr President, I will end as I began: this House must state loud and clear that the most important element of respecting human rights is the defence of the exercise of those rights – in full – in all cases and particularly in the face of those forces and organisations which hinder freedom of expression.

Political group: PPE-DE
Commissioner, I am very interested in what you said. You said, first of all, that you should not get involved in telling people what you will do if the Irish people vote against and that, if there was an alternative, the Irish people would want to know what that alternative was. So you are saying you would keep the Irish people in the dark and bully them into voting 'yes'. It is interesting to hear the Commission say that they should not get involved. We have already had Commissioners such as Patten, Byrne and others telling the Irish people they must vote 'yes'. Mr Prodi said that the Treaty of Nice is not legally necessary for enlargement. Giscard d'Estaing said the same thing and that if the Irish people vote 'no' other solutions will be found. But really the strategy here is to pretend that there is no alternative and to try to force the Irish people into saying 'yes' to something they have already said 'no' to. As you said yourself, you do not want to propose alternatives because you do not want the Irish people to ask what those alternatives are. How democratic is that?

Political group: Verts-ALE