GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, I would like to thank Mrs Dybkjaer for an excellent report on a subject which is important to everyone. At the Okinawa Summit a year ago in July G8 took the view that the most central challenge facing the world at the moment is the wide gulfs between north and south in terms of technical capacity and know-how, in other words the ‘digital divide’. There are areas in the world in which a total 2 billion inhabitants have become isolated. If this gulf in technical know-how cannot be bridged, globalisation will already have failed from the start. The rapporteur wisely stated that the development of digital know-how must not be based solely on the private sector but that the EU and other funding bodies must focus on the public sector. This is a realistic approach. The issue does not merely involve a technical problem but the combined effects of geographical isolation, poverty and disease. Therefore, the success of globalisation requires these isolated areas to be linked to the rest of the world as well as a real investment in the education and health of their inhabitants. If the situation is allowed to develop solely on the basis of market forces, there is a risk that the digital divide will widen to an unbridgeable extent. Although development cooperation in recent decades has largely been correctly targeted, the media has emphasised and public opinion has been influenced by a few sad examples of tractors rusting in the fields, in other words donations given on commercial terms without understanding the situation of the recipients or ensuring that they were prepared to receive them. Precisely the same nightmare scenario may arise today if we don’t take care that the information society of developing countries has a healthy foundation on which it can be based. This foundation is a guaranteed right for everyone to have a basic education and a worthwhile existence. The Group would like the European Union to work to ensure that, with its help, all countries in the world are able to take part in adopting information technology and develop their societies. If it is possible to follow such an integrated and complementary policy in the field of information technology and telecommunications, there is hope that information technology will promote partnership and reinforce all other development cooperation carried out in these countries. This approach is successfully reflected in the report now under discussion.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, a survey carried out by the Bilbao Institute shows in actual fact that the self-employed suffer occupational accidents, including fatal ones, more frequently than are those who are employed. We also know that there is very considerable under-reporting of accidents involving the self-employed. A survey in Britain reveals, for example, that only 5% of accidents involving the self-employed are reported, compared with half of those involving wage earners. It is also the case that the self-employed are more vulnerable to occupational accidents than wage earners because of their limited resources and perhaps because they do not have to comply with the health and safety provisions. The Commission must therefore be commended for raising the issue. Clearly, such non-compliance must be brought to an end. The self-employed must not be able to freewheel when it comes to the EU rules on the working environment. We should, however, have liked the Commission to have looked at some of the amendments that try to make the recommendations more binding. I am aware that there is no basis in the Treaty for doing this. If we are now all agreed that there is a problem in its not being possible for the self-employed to be covered by the legislation governing the working environment, is it not then time we tried to change the Treaties? Perhaps the Commission should be called upon to table a proposal on the subject to the Convention that is currently at work.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I see the Lamassoure report as a major contribution to the debate on the future of Europe, a key tool that will help Parliament to play a leading role in the impending creation of the Constitution. It certainly represents a step forwards that sheds some light on the sensitive issue of competences at exactly the time when this issue is at the centre of the Convention’s debate. The impending constituent Treaty, which we are convinced will be the basic standard for the new Europe, must encourage the development of a Union with a single foreign and defence policy at last, a Union which is, at last, able to take action and work for peace in the Mediterranean area and elsewhere, a Union which is highly competent in the field of security, immigration control, the internal market and monetary policy. I do not think the Lamassoure report prefigures a European superstate in the stranglehold of creeping bureaucracy; in other words, it does not provide for centralism but for a federation of nation States founded on the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, with competences distributed between the various institutional levels: European, Member State and regional. As regards the latter, Mr Lamassoure, there is, in all probability, a need for greater clarity. It would also be appropriate to go into the competences of the other local institutions, and by that I mean the cities themselves. The objective is to create a new Europe which will be increasingly close to the citizens. However, Mr President – and I join Mr Napolitano in his protest – how can we ask the Europeans to involve themselves and take the lead in building the new Europe if even we resign ourselves to holding almost secret debates on issues as important as those we are discussing in this House this evening?

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in the long run, we cannot swim against the tide of free and fair world trade with the common organisation of the market in bananas. We ourselves also have to observe the rules that we signed up to when the WTO was founded. By infringing them and thus triggering sanctions, we are already blocking access to the major US markets – and also increasingly to Latin America’s markets – for whole sectors of our economy. We will be jointly responsible for large numbers of lay-offs in these sectors if we as the European Union do not change our stance. That is why we – and I am now speaking on behalf of a significant minority in the Group, which could be a majority the next time – support the Commission’s position. Following a transitional period, a tariff of EUR 275 per tonne is to be introduced for bananas from third countries, from which bananas from ACP countries would be exempt. This will protect the essential interests of the ACP producer countries. However, the Achilles’ heel of the Commission’s proposals is the lack of sufficient protection for the interests of banana producers within the European Union, essentially in the peripheral regions and the overseas departments. They are up in arms about this omission – particularly our French colleagues, and I assume the same applies to Portugal and Spain. Commissioner Fischler, things are not as the officials in your directorate-general perhaps claim – and I would also like to address this comment to Mr Lamy. The arrangements for EU banana producers are not as good as they might be. There is still a need for a political compromise here. The structural measures envisaged in Title III of the Regulation on the common organisation of the market in bananas need to be considerably strengthened. If we made just 10-20% of the total punitive tariffs of EUR 400 million, that is to say EUR 40-80 million, available as agriculture budget appropriations, instead of diverting it for other purposes, we could help our banana producers a great deal. I call on the Commission to improve the structural measures and so open up the way for a compromise which is fundamentally in accordance with your proposals.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I belong to and represent the Basque Nationalist Party, the party which has been governing the Basque Country uninterruptedly for more than twenty years. It is a party which, while calling for an independent personality, sovereignty and a right to self-determination for the Basque people, nevertheless firmly rejects and condemns the use of violence and terror as instruments to achieve any political objective and, even more, condemns the unacceptable State terrorism, which we Basques have also suffered, perpetrated by the apparatus of the Spanish State. Our society and Spanish society clearly have a special sensitivity in relation to the issues dealt with by Mr Watson in his complex report on the role of the EU in the fight against terrorism and, in general terms, we agree with the content of the report and also with the amendments presented by the Confederal Group of the United European and my own from the . Northern Ireland was lucky enough to enjoy the decisive support of US Senator Mitchell, which led to the Good Friday agreements and a genuine peace process, despite the ups and downs that it is suffering along the way. How long will we Basques have to wait for Europe to realise that peace is in its hands, that it must stimulate, promote and oversee a sincere and democratic dialogue between the opposing sides? That would be the best recipe the European Parliament could recommend against terrorism and in order to achieve peace. I particularly value Recital O of the report, which makes it very clear that democratic dialogue based on mutual respect and non-violence is the best means of resolving conflicts, thereby rectifying previous resolutions by this very European Parliament. What I regret is that the attempt to reflect this same idea in the final recommendations has failed. I must, therefore, consider this document to be incomplete and insufficient. However, despite this insufficiency and having reflected on it, I am going to vote in favour of the Watson report in order to give an opportunity to Recital O, that is to say, to democratic dialogue as a means for resolving our conflict.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, of course I want to make an oral amendment if that is required. I want to make sure you understand that the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs was almost unanimous in its opinion that this proposal be rejected. That is why we should not have to vote on the amendments beforehand: we can vote on them if the proposal to reject does not get a majority.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, as Mr Cohn-Bendit has referred to me, I will gladly respond in this House to what he has said. The Conference of Presidents confirmed the majority vote of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and also proposed the runner-up, who had also received a large number of votes, so that there are three nominations. I would also like to tell you, Mr Cohn-Bendit, that you can not only reach me at any time by telephone, but I am also available for private discussions whenever you wish.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I would like to say that it was with conviction that I voted for this report, for I hope that it will enable us to respond adequately to the demands of the people, the producers and all the consumers too. I feel that we have erred in the past in that we have failed to implement and monitor the existing directive adequately. In my opinion, the transportation of animals is a major issue and that it is something which almost all of us feel to be important. It is no longer just an economic issue; it has taken on an ethical dimension. Therefore, I welcome the increase both in regionalisation and controls, and I hope that, in the future, the contributions for the export of live animals will be abolished.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, between some people’s euro-scepticism, some people’s arrogance and the stubbornness of others, the governments of the Member States and their leaders are endangering the adoption of the Constitution that the peoples and the citizens want and need. Their fight solely over the right of veto not only caused the Brussels Intergovernmental Conference to fail, which is what happened three years ago at Nice, but also managed to obscure the positive aspects and the shortcomings of the draft Constitution, stifling real debate in European society and in our various States and Nations. These factors have obscured the extraordinary value of the existence of the Constitution, the progress made in external policy since the crisis in Iraq, the leading role given to Parliament and consequently to the citizens, and the shortcomings of our policy for social and territorial cohesion, the failure to recognise national political diversity in Europe as well as in the Member States, which I wish to highlight as a Member of the European Parliament for Galicia and as Chairman of the Intergroup on Stateless Nations. Mr President, I wish to make it quite clear, since most of us are citizens of the Spanish State - that we are not judging the Constitution on the basis of our State Government’s potential power of veto and that we do not share the stubbornness of the current Prime Minister, José Maria Aznar, who distinguishes himself now and then by his talent for making enemies and by obstructing the solution to all problems. There are many more of us who wish political and social union to progress, united in diversity.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, I would like to congratulate Mrs Malmström on her very balanced and illuminating report. From the relevant debate within committee, it appears that Parliament supports the human rights principles unanimously, which I can only applaud. I also back the rapporteur’s decision to deal extensively with the women’s rights issue. With the sharia on the up in various parts of the world, this issue is more topical than ever. The situation remains extremely alarming in Afghanistan, where, since the Taliban have taken over power, women are no longer allowed to go out to work, are beaten in public for wearing indecent clothing and have hardly any access to medical care. According to reports which reached me over the past couple of days, the number of suicides among female intellectuals has risen dramatically over the past couple of weeks. The example of Afghanistan illustrates that discrimination against women is not a cultural but a political phenomenon. Moreover, Afghanistan is not the only country where the rights of women are violated on a massive scale. Millions of women throughout the world are still being circumcised or married off. In many African countries, women are not allowed to own any possessions or open a bank account without the permission of a man. Other practices, such as polygamy or the inheriting of widows, have become untenable in an AIDS era. It is hardly surprising that in Africa, more women than men are infected with the AIDS virus. We must condemn all practices which lead to the mutilation or death of women. Within the European Union, female circumcision must be made a punishable offence. This is not a matter of tradition or culture, it is one of the basic human rights. But the atrocities in the rest of the world should not blind us to the atrocities in our own countries. Domestic violence is still a huge problem within the European Union. We must take a firm stance against this, which also involves prosecution. Just as serious is the problem of white slavery: 500 000 women and girls per annum are imported to Western Europe alone. A business which is estimated by the UNDP to be worth USD 7 billion. A powerful and concerted effort is needed from all Member States to fight this outrageous form of trafficking in human beings. Mr President, this report sends a powerful message to the Council and Commission. I urge both institutions to turn it into something tangible, something concrete, and to do something constructive with it. In any case, we will judge them on their actions, not their words.

Political group: PPE-DE
Commissioner, how do you see the agricultural negotiations develop in the WTO? The European Union and America have drafted a common framework in this respect, a so-called joint approach on agricultural questions. Do you anticipate the developing countries, including China and Japan, simply accepting this framework? Are America and the EU prepared to make concessions in the agricultural field? Are they in a position to do so? Secondly, I should like to ask you how you feel about a larger parliamentarian dimension to the WTO? Do you consider a clause on this subject in the final declaration of Cancún possible, or is this premature at this stage?

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, Commissioner, we have discussed this issue on many occasions in the past and views have been exchanged. Account has even been taken of recent developments. I should therefore like to stress just a few points once again. First, politics means shaping; politics means shaping the habitat and coexistence of people. Secondly, the book trade is more to us than simply a sales network for books. It creates identities and books create identities. Thirdly, the question at issue for me is not merely cross-border trade between Austria and Germany, although that is the starting point; it is the question of the role of language areas and the role of cultural areas. For us the relevant market is the market to which the book relates and it cannot be reduced to national borders. For us it is, in this respect, the language and cultural area, hence the importance of cross-border fixed book prices. It is obvious to us Austrians that a national regulation alone is not enough and that we also need an import clause and an export clause and to use the French model as a basis, because the language area and the cultural area transcend our national borders. Commissioner, you said that you had never seen the need for conflict between culture and the market. I share this view, provided that we state clearly what we mean by market and what we mean by the purpose of competition policy. You said at your hearing that you were striving for competition policy and the market to further develop into a social market economy. A social and ecological market economy includes protection for cultural assets and signals market definition. This is precisely our debate, which is why I appeal to you to define clearly the relevant market in this context as a language and cultural area, to clarify import clauses together with the possibility for national regulation and to apply the French law to your judgement and considerations. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
I am very pleased with Mr Zissener’s report, which will allow everyone to have their qualifications and competences recognised within an enlarged Union. I am all the more delighted since on several occasions, by means of amendments, I have emphasised lifelong learning and training, and have proposed that we map out and identify a genuine European pathway of learning enabling young people to optimise their training in several countries of the Union, so acquiring a greater diversity of skills and adding a European dimension to their career path, which will be a ‘plus’ on their CV and in the performance of their work. While this report is a very good example of what we can put in place for training young people and stimulating employment in the Union, I would, however, like to draw attention to the fact that standardisation ‘at any cost’ is a mistake. Applying this policy to the curriculum vitae would once again illustrate the Commission’s regrettable tendency to want to interfere in even the smallest details of our daily lives to the detriment of individual peculiarities and originality that are sources of mutual enrichment.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as far back as a few months ago, we debated an absolutely excellent report by Mrs Korhola concerning access by the general public to environmental information. This time, we are debating public participation in drawing up environmental plans and programmes. What these reports have in common is that the Commission’s proposals are based on what is known as the Aarhus Convention. According to Article 8 of this Convention, every country must endeavour to promote a situation in which, at a time when it is still possible to influence the decisions, the general public is given an effective opportunity to participate in the public authorities’ work on such rules. According to Article 9 of the same Convention – and this is something I want to emphasise – each country undertakes, within the framework of its own national legislation, to give the public concerned the opportunity, through the courts, to have the validity of the authorities’ decisions tested. For me as a liberal, it is obvious that the decisions made and the proposals drafted by the public authorities must, as far as possible, be made accessible to anyone interested and affected. Anything else would be unthinkable in a democracy.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, let me repeat what I said yesterday, namely that the French Socialists will not take part in the vote because they believe that this is not the correct procedure, since the only environmental directives referred to are those on wild birds and on Natura 2000 and a more balanced approach should have been taken. My second point is that we do not believe it is in the remit of the legislative authority to decide whether the laws have been transposed. That is up to the Commission and also the Court of Justice.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I should like to thank the Presidency. I did not participate directly in the New York conference, but the reports I have heard, from participants and in other ways, have really praised the European Union as being very much a motor of progressive change. I think that, happily enough, we can declare the Beijing platform for action a success. If there is anything which really has had a very secure foundation, it is very much this platform that has been adopted. We saw this from the assessment, showing a host of committed women around the world working not only on a small scale but also on an extremely large scale where, for example, violence against women is concerned. I should also like to thank Mrs Smet. I do not belong to any church and come from a country which has now also separated the Church from the State. I want to thank all practising Catholics who are dissociating themselves from the Vatican State, which is behaving as it is. If we cannot enter into dialogue with the Vatican State in the future, we shall probably have to question its basis for existence.

Political group: GUE-NGL