GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, I would like right away to enlarge on Mr Wijkman's analogy with Hans Christian Andersen's story of the king's new clothes. I do think that there are enough Members of this House, who, on finding the king totally naked, would say so out loud in the plenary. I believe it is very difficult to assess either the role of the European Union or the results of the Johannesburg Summit. None of us is satisfied with the results. We would, in various areas, have preferred results that went further. I would, though, like to say that I see the European Union's – Europe's – role as having been a good one and one that was also well coordinated. It should also be said at this juncture that, on the most important demands, coordination between the European Union and the candidate countries worked. I am of course not satisfied with the Commission's attitude towards us, or with the information policy. I want to address Commissioner Nielson directly in saying that we did not expect all our demands to be met, but it is sometimes the case that the tone is what matters in music, and at times our side was dissatisfied with the way the parliamentarians were negotiated with or spoken to. I took part in this delegation as a member of the Committee on Development and Cooperation, and one of the major topics in Johannesburg was of course the way in which development is financed. It was also clear that we will not go back to the way things were before Monterrey. One generally wonders whether it makes sense to stage UN summits of this sort at short intervals and then end up with little substance to the agenda at a summit on sustainability. That, though, is the responsibility not of the Commission, or of Parliament, but of the United Nations. The question I want to put to the Commission is a very straightforward one: how will we monitor the Monterrey undertaking to allocate an average of 0.39% of gross domestic product to development cooperation with effect from 2006? Will Parliament receive reports on development? I am from Austria, and on this point I am less than proud of my own country, which is among those at the bottom of the league as regards support for development cooperation. Now for the actual question. I know that you cannot draw up the national budgets, but what form will follow-up take, including as regards Parliament? Something I found quite absent from Johannesburg was the issue of population growth and that of reproductive health. I found the formulations in the final text to be woolly, to say the least. There is reference in them to health and to mothers, but not to reproductive health, which, along with family planning, I believe to be essential issues in sustainable development. I would, however, like to express my gratitude for the clear position that the European Union has taken up on these issues. We know that America, with the fundamentalist states, has stood in the way of progress of every kind and that the requirements of the Cairo Action Programme on reproductive health are far from being complied with.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I am grateful to Mr Bolkestein for his very careful answer to my question, but I am not quite sure that he has answered it fully. To make matters clear, as the Commission will know, this question was tabled before the protests began and it was prompted by complaints from people in my constituency. For example, there is a company on the island of North Uist which is engaged in quarrying and road maintenance. It seems a very good idea that there should be small- and medium-sized enterprises that are able to tender for and compete for road maintenance work on islands of that kind. It is good for employment and for social cohesion. If the fuel costs of a company like that are more than double those of multinational companies with other bases elsewhere in Scotland which can bid for the same contracts, obviously this severely distorts competition, to the disadvantage of outlying communities. I appreciate the points Mr Bolkestein made and I know that the principal rule in the treaties prohibits charging foreigners more than home companies, but the general law of fair competition in Europe ought to apply and where levels of taxation are totally disproportionate we should look at the effect competition law can have on the situation, despite the general rule that these matters are the prerogative of Member States.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, Commissioner, yesterday the inhabitants of Strasbourg forced decision makers to reject the well-known air courier firm, DHL’s, plans to set up a base at the Strasbourg-Entzheim airport. Now the company is trying to worm its way into the Nancy-Metz regional airport, which it has targeted because of its rural location where, due to the lower population density, there might appear to be less public opposition. But this is not the case at all. When it comes to noise pollution from aircraft and public health in general, it makes no difference whether an airport is situated in the town or the country: all citizens have the right to a peaceful night’s sleep. I could also mention the inhabitants of the areas surrounding Roissy, Satolas and Milan who are protesting. Milan has fallen into the clutches of Trans-European Networks which have failed to take into account the detrimental effect of their activities on local inhabitants’ standard of living. With air traffic booming and the new economy expanding rapidly, I can foresee a fresh increase in freight in the future. The Union must react and the Commission must propose tangible measures in response to the legitimate concerns of our fellow citizens. The entire transport policy needs to be revised in order to curb, or even reduce, air transport and related noise pollution. No research has been carried out into noise pollution from airports. It is essential to transfer short-haul air freight transport to the railways. And personally, I am in favour of banning night flights in order to respect the local inhabitants’ need for a peaceful night’s sleep, for they already have to put up with excessive noise all day long. These three matters genuinely require urgent consideration.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Madam President, I voted on behalf of the Pensioners’ Party for this recommendation on introducing protection under criminal law of the Union’s financial interests. I feel that this is, and must be a first step towards the creation of a true European judicial area for civil and criminal matters. Otherwise, I would not have voted for the recommendation, since it is not in Europe’s interests to concern itself with the creation of a European judicial institution merely to punish its own disloyal employees, those black sheep that are found everywhere. I hope and request that people all over Europe really will be given a European civil code and a European criminal code.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I would like to start by congratulating both rapporteurs on this debate and on these reports. Speaking on behalf of the Committee on Budgetary Control, I would like to say that fourteen committees submitted opinions, so just reading all that and sorting through it was a great labour, Mr Corbett. Many congratulations on your achievement. For our part, we in the Committee on Budgetary Control worked on two issues. One has to do with the Court of Auditors, and you have taken it on board in its entirety, notably the appointment of the Court's members as carried out by us in the committee and in plenary, which has been customary ever since Mr Lamassoure and Mr Bourlanges produced their reports in 1992 and 1995 respectively. For the sake of the rules' clarity, that now has to be firmly established. The second issue has to do with OLAF, and gave rise to much controversy as to how members should be treated by OLAF or should act in regard to it. At the time, we in the Committee on Budgetary Control had delivered an opinion on behalf of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, which, however, found its way into plenary by another route. Our opinion was thus dropped at the time. This then resulted in a complaint. I think that now the time has come when we can consistently and properly put members in such a position as regards how they deal with OLAF and act in relation to it, that they are not lumped together with the administration. The Group of the has now tabled an amendment on this, and I wish to support it. In the final analysis, it covers the amendment by the Committee on Budgetary Control which you have been unable to deal with in your report. I would be happy if we could vote for it, and then we would no longer need the complaint and the appeal.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, what I would like to know is whether preventive programmes are being considered or whether the Council has given some thought to incentives for alternatives, so that young people who have already come into contact with drugs can come off them.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I believe that the successive interventions of our fellow MEPs in the show the complexity of the problem. It is difficult to understand why the Liberals want to do away with tax on e-commerce and to place a tax on the aviation fuel used in aircraft. I think it is important to establish some criteria. Aeroplanes are no less modern than e-commerce. Compact discs are not exactly antediluvian, and it would appear that these have to be taxed, whereas programmes circulating on the Internet are apparently to be exempt from tax. It is important to know, on the one hand, whether a very important aspect of economic activity assists the administration of public services and, from that point of view, taxation (like State funding) is absolutely unavoidable, and e-commerce cannot be exempt from this. On the other hand, taxation must be selected in such a way as to deter the consumer from choosing technologies which are the most harmful to the environment. That is the situation we are in at present, with the lack of a tax on aviation fuel scandalously boosting air travel at the expense of rail travel, even in circumstances in which, for other reasons such as noise and congestion, rail travel should be given preference in Europe. I am thinking in particular of the London-Paris-Amsterdam-Frankfurt quadrilateral. I believe that the position adopted in Mr García-Margallo y Marfil’s two reports, whereby both e-commerce and aviation fuel would be taxed, is excellent and we shall vote in favour of them. We would particularly congratulate the Commission for encouraging us to be bold when it comes to internal taxation of aviation. That being said, our collective view is that another tax should be contemplated, other than that relating to fuels, a tax affecting all airlines whenever their planes take off and land at European Union airports, so that we can circumvent international regulations and be in a position to tax our competitors too.

Political group: Verts-ALE
It is in the nature of things that the extreme right should put forward crass arguments to defend the right of 4 500 landowners of European origin to monopolise the best land in Zimbabwe. Yet the fact that the joint motion for a resolution calls for law and order to be enforced and condemns ‘the illegal occupations’ and accompanying violence is pure hypocrisy. We might have more faith in the sincerity of the authors of this motion in ‘deploring the recent murders, beatings and intimidation associated with the ...occupation’ if they at least deigned to recall the past massacres in which a handful of colonists dispossessed the indigenous population of its land and the decades of colonial violence and apartheid used to preserve this situation. The Mugabe regime is authoritarian and corrupt. Yet neither this authoritarianism nor this corruption bothered the defenders of the wealthy minority and the old colonial power until this authoritarianism was used to attack their interests and privileges. We have therefore not only voted against this motion but must also denounce the cynicism and hypocrisy of those who defend the interests of the privileged whites in Zimbabwe. It will be up to the poor population of this country to settle its account with Mugabe and his regime, and certainly not the political servants of those who have grown rich by pillaging this country. - Paasilinna report (A5-0094/2000)

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, our European Union is enlarging by bringing together, on the basis of its values and standards, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe liberated from decades of communist oppression. This harmonisation from the top down of the political and economic spheres, which is what the accession countries have called for and sought, maintains the stability and prosperity of this European area. Enlargement has, however, brought to light and made us see a new neighbourhood on the edge of Europe. Ukraine is one of the European countries that are working hard to extricate themselves from the negative effects of and practices carried out by last century’s Sovietism. The contrast with a Central and Baltic Europe, that is standardising and restoring rights, highlights the democratic deficits, the multiple restrictions and economic insecurities that remain throughout this new neighbourhood. Of course, this social, political and economic divide between the two poles of the same Europe means that the European Union must, within the context of its enlargement, activate its measures, means and initiatives, and its mutual assistance based on solidarity. This decoupling of the enlarged Union and its Eastern neighbours also, and above all, raises the issue of the European Union’s historic links with its Eastern cousins where Community interest is too restricted to making its border more secure and to its nuclear facilities. Instead of today calling for the Tacis programmes in Ukraine to be stepped up, in order to economically restore some sort of stability with this neighbour, why did we not make our solidarity, our programmes and our budgets more open to them after 1991? Nevertheless, Ukraine fully contributes to the European identity and its government stands by its claim, despite the reluctance of the European Union, to take its legitimate place there. The European Union has a political and moral obligation to the Ukrainian people to set to work to effectively restore the fundamental freedoms to their country: freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of political and union association. It is imperative that the European Union remains vigilant, as regards the places of detention, and that it should also be present at the next elections. However, as the current enlargement shows, there are no better foundations for the rule of law, democracy, human and environmental rights than those in the European Union, and not those on its doorstep. It will be at the cost of a new enlargement: this will be the price we will pay for the unification of Europe.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Madam President I would like to congratulate the rapporteurs warmly on their report, both in general terms and in specific terms because I believe that they have managed to address the points which we have raised in our opinion, albeit not always literally, within the confines of this reasonably concise report, which I hope will be adopted in this meeting by a large majority. It is very important to mention the social market economy, as already indicated by Mr von Wogau. It provides a kind of framework for internal policy which we need and renders a whole raft of discussions redundant. I believe that this results in satisfaction all round. The second major point is the Union’s legal personality. It has been formulated here as if it were only related to foreign policy but it also has enormous significance for internal policy. Indeed, it then becomes possible to ratify a number of Treaties, such as ILO Treaties and some UN Treaties in the social field, which will add legal clarity to this type of issue. There are nonetheless two points that are lacking. One of them is the issue of Article 137(6) which, in my opinion, should be repealed. There are also a number of amendments on the table which I hope will yet be added. I would like to finish off with a remark on the issue of the tax policy. The report, in fact, mentions very little about this. The tax policy, which also includes social security policy, is nonetheless of great importance, and not only to the Member States. The Commission too has given the matter rather a lot of attention and has devoted a great deal of thought to it. It is rather a pity, in my opinion, that we talk about it so little. Maybe we will do so in future. The policy is implicitly included in the report but I still think that, in a sense, not dealing with it now is a missed opportunity. That does not, however, detract from the deep appreciation which we have for this report.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy warmly supports the Council’s decision to grant a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under a lending action for environmental projects in the Baltic Sea basin of Russia. We feel considerable unease faced with the environmental situation in that area, which is in immediate proximity to the European Union. We believe that environmental investment in that area is required urgently and, in certain cases, even as an emergency measure. We note that the European Investment Bank has already begun negotiations concerning participation in projects for dealing with waste water from St Petersburg and Kaliningrad. It is important that the problems in these areas should be solved as soon as possible. There is also reason for pointing out that environmental investment in this area can be more effective than many other investments within the Community and that major positive effects on health and the environment can be achieved for people in the European Union. We, in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy, can therefore warmly support the proposal tabled.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, the speech by the Greek Communist Member who condemned the USA as an imperialist occupier of Iraq is a little rich from a party which in its day supported the USSR's invasion and crushing of the Hungarian uprising in 1956, the Czechoslovak 'Prague Spring' in 1968 and the Afghan invasion in 1979. The USSR would never have left these countries if it had not been forced to do so by the economic collapse of the Communist system. Unlike Baroness Ludford, I welcome tomorrow's state visit by President Bush to the United Kingdom, and his commitment to hand over power to a democratically elected Iraqi Government by the end of next year. I salute the courage of all the brave coalition forces in Iraq who are fighting for law and order and freedom and justice in that country, and against international Islamic terrorism.

Political group: PPE-DE
This part-session has produced a rich crop of reports on transport. I must, unfortunately, observe, however, that this sector is examined only from the Liberal point of view. Mr Atkins’s report on the European Commission proposal on the single European sky goes along with this rationale of liberalisation at any price. This was the cause of the French air traffic controllers’ strike last week. This was how they expressed their concerns about a purely commercial view of their profession. I understand their action, and I can certainly not say as much for Mr Atkins, whose report urges the Commission to encourage Member State governments that currently tolerate a situation where national labour disputes disrupt air traffic to tackle the problem as a matter of urgency”. It is pathetic! No one can deny that the air traffic situation has deteriorated. Air traffic corridors and airports are at saturation point, delays are common, with one in three aircraft behind schedule, and the whole business is accompanied by a trail of environmental and noise pollution. I wish therefore to pay tribute to the determination of Mrs de Palacio, the Commissioner responsible for transport, in tackling the problem head-on in order to achieve the creation of a single European sky as soon as possible. I disagree entirely, however, with the means she puts forward and with the report’s proposals. The report proposes to introduce competition among air traffic control centres, taking away the link between regulatory authorities and operators. The supervisory function would be carried out within separate companies whose capital would be open to air companies or private partners. Such liberalisation would serve to jeopardise air transport safety, and this, of course, is unacceptable and contradictory to the EC Treaty, according to which improvement of transport safety is one of the chief objectives of common transport policy. France would certainly seem to be the odd man out in Europe, where, in most countries, air traffic control is administered by agencies, under state supervision but open to private capital. France wishes to keep these activities in the public sector. The principle of subsidiarity must be applied here, and each Member State must retain control of the organisation of air traffic control. This is essential, especially as the problem with delays is not caused by air traffic control, which is responsible for less than 25% of all delays! In conclusion, I support the proposals to strengthen the role of Eurocontrol, the pan-European agency responsible for the management of the airspace of European states, be they members of the European Union or not, in its capacity as regulatory authority. The report is wrong to underestimate this agency’s potential, but I have voted against a report which is completely unacceptable.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, the question of harassment in the workplace relates directly to respect for fundamental personal rights, the right to dignity and the right to participate in economic and social life on equal terms. In his initiative, Mr Andersson has revealed new aspects to us which need to be borne in mind when it comes to the material application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and to a more integrated approach to policy on employment standards. Most importantly, we should welcome this initiative because it gives us an opportunity, with an issue which is played down and which is usually included in our interests as an afterthought, to see how important it is if we are to issue a successful series of policies, such as a policy against discrimination and exclusion, a policy for the disabled, a policy for unemployment and employment standards. Only once all employees feel safe in the workplace from harassment from colleagues and superiors, once all employees, rather than being ridiculed for their disadvantages, feel comfortable in the work environment, then the groups – and there are a lot of them – which fall victim to harassment will choose to enter the labour market and the fruits of their labour will far exceed any weaknesses they may have. If we bear in mind that, according to the statistics, the number of people which make up these vulnerable groups is over 8%, the political dimension is easy to see. At the same time, there are numerous groups which fall victim to harassment, from women and the disabled to foreigners and people of a different faith. This gives us an idea of the size of the problem. We must use this report as a springboard to draw up a plan to combat all levels of harassment, which starts as simple sarcasm and disdain, coupled with intimidation, humiliation and undermining, and ends up in more violent acts, a plan which will be applied irrespective of whether it is top-down harassment of an employee by a superior, bottom-up harassment or horizontal harassment. In addition to measures to ban harassment, the action plan must require employers to foster a climate of non-harassment between colleagues, accompanied by mutual encouragement between colleagues in the workplace. And because no one is deliberately bad, it must be flanked by measures to abolish distrust and superstition towards the people which make up these groups.

Political group: PSE