GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, what we are basically doing in today's debate on the Bonino report, an excellent report, is codifying measures to deal with an extremely serious international problem. The Titley report, which we voted on a few days ago, basically represents a second step forward on questions of common foreign, defence and security policy which will, I believe, slowly but surely build up into a global policy for the European Union with flesh on its bones in the form of uniform terms and uniform rules. I think that time will prove that those who took the initiative were right and we will stop seeing charity workers alongside children with their legs blown off, given that the policy should work as a policy of prevention rather than repression. It is no coincidence that most mines are to be found in crisis areas, i.e. in areas where a different sort of initiative could have been taken in order to resolve the crisis. Now to a question which was touched on in connection with my country, Greece. I am certain that the Greek Government will not delay in ratifying the convention in question, given that it has already signed it as a country. However, we must bear in mind that it will do so despite the fact that ‘neighbouring Turkey’ does not have the best of intentions vis-à-vis Greece. This is, unfortunately, a fact of life and was brought home to us again recently, last week in fact, during NATO exercises, which were seen as an opportunity for a different kind of policy in the form of a show of intransigence. But let us hope that the future will bring a solution to these problems. Be that as it may, I believe that the majority vote which this report will receive here in Parliament will strengthen it to the point at which even those who do not have eyes to see or ears to listen will see and will listen.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, on behalf of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy, I would thank the Commission for the proposal on upward convergence of excise on tobacco. Parliament requested this a few years ago and the Commission is now meeting this request. In our view, the proposal is an improvement on the current situation and also solves a number of problems, including that of continuing to allow for exceptions, as is the case for Sweden now and the accession countries in future. For that reason, we believe it is a considered proposal. We did, however, table a number of amendments. Firstly, there is the issue of VAT which Messrs Katiforis and Wieland also mentioned. I share their point of view on this score, and that is why my group has re-tabled the amendment that was already adopted in the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, namely to include VAT in the equation. Secondly, our committee was of the opinion that the issue should be clearly placed in the context of existing negotiations in the World Trade Organisation, for the latter plays a major role in this. Thirdly, we believe that a great deal must be done against smuggling. I do not subscribe to the rapporteur’s point of view that an increase in excise will, in itself, promote smuggling or, vice versa, that a reduction in excise will lead to a drop in the incidence of smuggling. I am of the opinion that completely different measures should be taken against smuggling, which are, in fact, the topic of debate in the World Trade Organisation. Furthermore, we have tabled an amendment on tobacco subsidies, a much-debated topic which is also relevant in this context. We have also tabled an amendment in which we state that, concerning products which are less unhealthy, we should be working towards a system, maybe not now, but in 2005, whereby the excise on those products would also be lower. We therefore support the gist of the Commission proposal, as well as the position which the Council has already adopted in this respect.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, Mrs McCarthy stated that it is up to the Commissioner to find such a compromise. I would take the liberty of proposing Amendment No 32, containing a simple system through which proposals can be submitted in English or another of the Community languages. Summaries of the applications would be translated into all the Community languages. I wish to emphasise that this amendment would mean citizens’ being given a glimpse of the monopolies that restrict their opportunities. I should also like to point out that there are other factors just as important as the Community patent when it comes to increasing the number of innovations within the Community. I believe, for example, that the inventions of universities and the latter’s opportunity to exploit these are pivotal. In Europe, we at present have rules which are difficult to interpret and which mean that the universities cannot make the most of their opportunities. I would urge the Commission to review this aspect which affects a relatively large number of countries, as well as the right of universities and researchers to their inventions. We are now in the process of creating a vigorously competitive system, and it is not necessarily only European inventors who may benefit from this. It is competing systems that are crucial when it comes to the Community patent.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, how many more innocent victims will be added to those who have already fallen? I am thinking in particular of those young Kurdish children, laughing and full of life, like the ones we met at the camp at Magmur, just south of the 36th parallel, only a few weeks ago. With the agreement of the Security Council this war would still have been illegitimate but now it is both illegal and illegitimate. It is also, unfortunately, barbaric. The power of the bombs dropped by the Americans and the British on that unfortunate country has doubtless already exceeded that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. President Bush has spoken of a crusade. This one will no doubt meet the same fate as the last one. I salute the courageous resistance of the Iraqi people. I ask my Kurdish friends not to place too much trust in American promises. They know what those promises are worth. I hope that one day those who are responsible for this war – Bush, Aznar and Blair – will have to answer for their actions before an international court. Finally, let me quote from the Basque language journal, Euskaldunon Egunkaria, a journal which the high-handedness of a judge and of the Spanish Minister for Internal Affairs has condemned to silence, ‘The people’s struggle for freedom does not recognise national boundaries’.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Commissioner, would you not agree that trade is a wonderful way of breaking through political quarrels? Surely it is not necessary to recognise the TRNC for a kilo of tomatoes grown in the north to be sold across the Green Line. I simply cannot see that our refusal to trade with the northern Cypriots squares with our express desire to see the complete island – north and south – fully integrated into the European Union.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, only two weeks ago North Korea announced its withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which it had been a party for 17 years. This decision was made in a climate of international uncertainty, especially when weapons of mass destruction are concerned. The threat of proliferation of nuclear weapons is grave and we are currently balancing on the brink of war in Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction in rogue states. The North Korean withdrawal is not only a threat to regional stability. Destabilising the Korean peninsula would have more far-reaching consequences. Neighbours in far-off countries alike have an interest in making North Korea change its mind. Besides displaying a lack of respect for international security, the North Korean decision also shows complete disregard for the well-being of an already impoverished population. Human suffering in North Korea is immense. Every human right is being violated, including the most fundamental of all: the right to live. In the past eight years, more than two million people have starved to death in North Korea. More will suffer the same fate if donors feel forced to restrict aid as a direct consequence of North Korean withdrawal from the NPT. A concerted effort by regional partners and international organisations is the best way forward. China, Japan and South Korea along with the United Nations, the EU and the United States should be active in seeking a solution. The recent resumption of talks between North and South Korea demonstrates that dialogue is possible. Some groups here have worked together to table a joint resolution expressing a reaction to the current situation in North Korea. Together we share the view that the North Korean position is untenable. Besides condemnation and calls for a change of course, we have underlined the need for dialogue and repeated our position on human rights. North Korea must change its decision for the sake of regional and international stability as well as its own people. Our joint resolution sends out a clear signal from the vast majority in the Parliament that condemns the current situation and state of affairs in North Korea, but at the same time suggests a course of action which, given the right amount of commitment, could remedy the problem.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, the three previous speakers have already articulated the significance of these proposals. We should also like to congratulate the rapporteur. She has done extremely well with the lion’s share of her amendments and the amendments which have been adopted by the Commission and Parliament at first reading. The question which remains is whether or not we want to go further than what has been accepted in the common position. In our opinion, the rapporteur’s arguments are convincing and we will give them our seal of approval. In the discussions we have had on this directive, a subject came up which could in fact have come up in other environmental issues as well, but it is important in my view to bring it to the fore in this context. The question we always need to ask ourselves as European institutions is: why is this one of our concerns? Why is it the case that a problem which can be very localised – this is, in fact, one of the very problems we are discussing at the moment – why is this something which we need to decide on in Brussels or Strasbourg and cannot delegate to national level? I am not talking about the legal dimension, because, legally, we are bound to deal with this. Eventually, it became clear to us that in this case, it would be useful if we, as European citizens, were to deal with this on the basis of a kind of equality before the law, offering the same level of protection to the same citizens. But I can imagine that other people would argue against this, saying: no, it is important to be involved in this as a Union. I would find it useful if the Commissioner, time-permitting, could comment on this briefly.

Political group: ELDR
As we have come to expect from Mrs Hoff, she has drafted a very balanced and expert report on Kaliningrad. I have to say that I have a great deal of admiration for the way in which she has done this and for the tact with which she also continuously underlines Russian interests, so that we, in our concern for Kalinigrad, do not meet with any distrust from Moscow. Mrs Hoff is extremely skilled in this area. In fact, Kaliningrad is one of her specialist areas, and I have therefore always listened with great respect to her reports and her judgment, in particular, and we have always been quite happy to cross swords in the past. Kaliningrad is not Konigsberg any more. Anyone who has ever lived there will recognise very little and will no longer feel at home there. We would have hardly paid any attention to the region if it were not for the fact that it will be forming an enclave in the European Union. Proximity brings with it responsibility, and I believe that this has also been an important motive for the rapporteur. We should take an interest in the future of the people who live there. This is why it is right that the rapporteur not only considered the macro aspects, but also the practical day-to-day needs of the citizens of Kaliningrad. Our main concern in this respect is not to allow them to be left in isolation. The roads to the other parts of the Russian Federation must be easily passable, as must those to the future EU Member States. The latter are possibly considered to be more important than the former. In my view, travelling to the European Union unhindered takes priority. Hence the pressure to solve the visa issue, albeit within the Schengen framework – we should not kid ourselves – in a flexible manner. After all, many of the restrictions are man-made. The problems at the borders are all too often caused by sluggishness on the part of the staff, time-consuming, bureaucratic habits and suchlike. It is therefore of major importance for a mentality to be instilled which befits the rule of law, democracy and a social market economy. Needless to say, developing contacts between civil-society organisations in the European Union and in Kaliningrad and elsewhere in Russia could also prove crucial, because these particularly deal with day-to-day actions. I should like to thank Mrs Hoff for accepting my amendments from the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, and particularly for the humour with which she has responded to the ploys which I have used in the process. Many thanks and I wish her all the best.

Political group: PPE-DE
I have voted against the report. Regions bordering the candidate countries will experience the effects of enlargement more quickly and more directly than the present Member States. The therefore see nothing wrong with the Commission’s proposing to appropriate special resources for improving the infrastructure and, for example, encouraging youth exchanges with adjacent regions in the candidate countries. We do not, however, believe that resources additional to those in the Commission proposal need to be provided. Nor do we see any reason why small and medium-sized enterprises should be allocated additional aid to enable them to cope successfully with the competition from the candidate countries for a long time to come. On the contrary, these enterprises should see enlargement as a positive challenge. Given the possibility of reaching agreements with trade unions and local enterprises, the do not support the report’s demands for temporary transitional periods with regard to freedom to provide services and the free movement of workers. In practice, that would create a second-class membership of the EU. Finally, we question whether the need for aid for this total of 23 regions in Finland, Germany, Austria, Italy and Greece really is greater than the corresponding need for aid for the border regions between the candidate countries and their eastern neighbours. - Turco report (A5-0202/2002)

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, images of Mongolia, this distant country, which has only 2.7 million inhabitants, spread across an immense territory of 1.5 million square kilometres, swept by icy winds, with its population of nomadic shepherds who have lost hope and who expect the worst, and with its flocks dying of cold and hunger, these images that we see on television are striking and moving. It is crucial and pressing that we support and help this slightly mythical country that has achieved the miracle of establishing democratic life in an environment which is seen to be so hostile. In addition to the intrinsic value of development aid and of immediate assistance to Mongolia, both to its human and animal populations, we must cherish an extraordinary democratic experiment which proves that democracy knows no boundaries, be they physical, geographical, religious, cultural or of lifestyle, given that many of Mongolia’s inhabitants live a nomadic existence. This is a good cause, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, for the Commission and the European Union to adopt.

Political group: PSE
If Parliament wants to offer real help to the Indonesian population, and, in particular, to the poorest social strata, it is not enough to send a few funds which will inevitably be misappropriated by the men in power. The European Parliament should at least adopt a firm stance against the scandalous fact that major Western companies, including a number with their head offices on European Union territory, are paying salaries more akin to derisory handouts. It does not even take the trouble to talk about the issue. Looting by Indonesia’s corrupt wheeler-dealer ruling class unquestionably has a major role to play in the poverty of the masses in Indonesia, just as the army and the militias play a key role in their oppression. However, the low salaries paid by the major companies which, moreover, often have recourse to child labour, either directly or through subcontractors, constitute another, equally serious and inhumane form of plunder. We have therefore abstained from voting on this text.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I understand our Danish colleagues’ concern about this air traffic problem. Yesterday was quite catastrophic, but I would remind you all at the same time that when the Danes’ problems started, I myself had already been travelling for five hours on my way to Strasbourg. I took the shortest route possible from a European capital to Strasbourg via another European capital, and the journey took fourteen hours. I have always cast my vote in favour of Strasbourg’s special status, including on Friday. But things cannot go on like this. I am gradually coming round to the opinion that we must assemble in Brussels, which does not take fourteen hours to reach.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Madam President, Commissioner, do you agree with me that it really is astonishing that Member States are now seeking fresh explanations and clarifications when this has been the subject of discussions with the same Member States in the Standing Veterinary Committee for over a year and a half, and do you agree that Member States still imposing a ban on imports should present fresh scientific evidence, failing which it simply gives the impression that they want to push the internal market still further into some distant future? Do you also agree with me that you should make it compulsory, immediately – or rather in the next four weeks – for those Member States and all others to universally apply the newly evaluated BSE tests. No doubt the two Member States who still have an import ban will support you in this! Lastly, do you agree with me that even if there were – were, that is a subjunctive – if there were such an agency of the kind that Mr Prodi would like and which has not yet been fully discussed in this House, even if that were the case, a situation like this could recur again and again? The reason being, of course, that there would still be national agencies that could, at any time, claim that there was new scientific evidence. Would you therefore agree that your hope that a European agency could avoid such a situation is quite simply an illusion?

Political group: PSE
Mr President, Commissioner, we have in our hands a huge programme of reform, one that right now is unavoidable. Our committee has, in a spirit of positive cooperation, drafted a large number of amendments to the Commission proposal. These amendments will serve to hone the reform to make one that is good for the farmer. As the lower limit for modulation is being raised to EUR 7 500 and less-favoured areas are being treated with special care, agriculture in the Union will also be able to continue in the poorest regions: in the north, in the south and in mountain areas. Unfavourable conditions must be taken into consideration when distributing funds earmarked for rural development, and for that reason my group has tabled an amendment proposing that the number of LFA areas be added to the criteria for distribution. We should not race ahead in the matter of milk production if the market situation does not demand it. We must remember that milk production is of particular importance in the less-favoured areas, and in those areas reduced prices can be a serious threat to motivation with respect to production. Commissioner, in Finland rye is very special. Very high quality rye is used there in the production of functional foods. The Commission should also take such special circumstances as these into consideration. For us rye is not just a mediocre crop used as fodder, but an appetising daily breakfast food and a staple in our traditional food culture.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, instead of standing in judgment as a politician, I would like to quote two paragraphs from one of the reports which speak for themselves. Highly placed generals were extremely alarmed about the sexual intimidation to which nuns were subjected in certain regions. One mother superior from a diocese where several nuns became pregnant by priests was unable to find a suitable solution. In another community, 20 nuns had to be dismissed because they had become pregnant, in many cases by priests. Secondly, nuns have been harmed in various countries. When one sister became pregnant by a priest, she had to leave the community, whilst the priest involved could carry on with his calling. Is this social justice? The sister is being abandoned in a situation in which she has to raise the child as a single parent and is for the most part subject to considerable stigma in deplorable social circumstances. Examples have been quoted of certain countries where they were obliged to become second and third wives in a family as a result of losing their social status in the local culture. The alternative, in order to survive, is to walk the streets as prostitutes and to expose themselves to the risks of HIV, if they have not already been infected by the priest.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, John Purvis’s report is a particularly good – by this I mean complete and well balanced – review of the situation surrounding the biotechnology industry in Europe. This is shown not least by the very large majority in support of the report in committee. In particular, the call for a coordinated European action plan was backed on all sides of the House and evidently also fell on fertile ground in the Council of Ministers and the Commission. Thank you very much, Commissioner. At its meeting this week, the European Commission reaffirmed its desire to develop a consistent overall strategy for supporting and developing biotechnology in Europe and to present it to Parliament and the Council by the end of this year. I am particularly pleased that it is Commissioners Liikanen and Busquin who have stressed the importance of this technology for our economic and scientific future. At the same time or more or less at the same time, Heads of Government Tony Blair and Wim Kok sent a joint letter to the Swedish President of the Council calling for an economic action plan to promote the European biotechnology industry and giving due emphasis to that call with a raft of suggested measures. Mr Liese has already said that we are dealing with other issues besides economic matters, and as a Parliament we shall be following all these actions closely. It is an important, essential prerequisite for the success of this action plan that all decisions should be taken on the basis of the best information available. We are therefore particularly anxious that full use should be made of the various advisory and scientific committees through which scientific and economic expertise is fed into the preparation and taking of decisions. I therefore most especially welcome the report’s call for greater use to be made of all these committees and would like to call on the Commission to make greater use than before of all the possibilities for consultation and groundwork, as we should do, too.

Political group: PPE-DE