GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I too should like to join the House in thanking the rapporteur. It is amazing how calmly and composedly he has cut his way through this jungle of interests. The lobby has already been mentioned. It was indeed persistent but, on balance, it was, I think, a fair discussion and for that, too, I am grateful. A great deal has been said about the need for balance. I am afraid that the common position has not yet struck the balance needed. Parts of the directive penalise the internal market, parts penalise consumers and parts penalise innovation. The directive penalises the internal market because, at the end of the day, the harmonisation is only cosmetic and the Member States are defending their conventional payment systems tooth and claw, even though they are basically unsuited to the digital world. We want to prevent that, which is why we suggest in proposed Amendment No 12 that the Member States should at least submit new compensation systems to the Commission and obtain a recommendation. The directive also penalises consumers because it is quite possible that consumers will have to pay once when they buy a CD or a DVD and then again in the form of a levy. Then when they come to make a copy, the data is copy-protected and the Member States have not even undertaken to look at copy protection systems and legal copying. And the common position penalises innovation because it tries desperately to keep the global fee system alive in the digital age, despite the fact that new technology basically makes global fees superfluous, because copy protection allows the rightholder to be paid directly for copies and that is the fairest solution of all. That is a directive for a citizens' Europe. It offers the citizen security and fair freedoms in the digital world.

Political group: PPE-DE
The texts debated refer to the few immigrants who will manage to get past the controls of border guards and electronic records with new biometric data; not immigrants arriving on European charter flights so that they can queue up to become 'legal' immigrants. Even for these immigrants, the conditions for acquiring a resident's permit, in Greece at least, are prohibitive. In other words, people who have been in Greece for 10, 20 or 30 years will still be illegal. The ruling class wants them to be illegal so that they can hold them to physical and psychological ransom. The texts cynically admit that immigrants are useful as a way of dealing with the demographic problem of the ΕU, of meeting the needs for mainly unskilled labour and of implementing the Lisbon objectives. The resolution warns that 'managed migration cannot mean side-stepping the reforms of ΕU labour markets ... needed to increase employability and overall adaptability to economic change'. The objective is to overexploit immigrants, so that flexible forms of employment and the depression of labour costs for the benefit of the unifying monopolies can pass more easily into the working order of the EU and the repressive measures are more easily accepted by the peoples, in the name of fighting illegal immigration. For these reasons, the Communist Party of Greece did not back the resolution.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, you announced during yesterday’s part-session, 4 May, that in accordance with Rule 185 of the Rules of Procedure, written declarations that have not received the signatures of a majority of Members and written questions that have not received an answer, and so on, will be deemed to have lapsed. In this respect, you are basing your position on Rule 185, which states, ‘At the end of the last part-session before elections, all Parliament’s unfinished business will be deemed to have lapsed subject to the provisions of the second paragraph of this Rule’. The third paragraph of the same Rule states, ‘These provisions shall not apply to petitions and communications that do not require a decision’. What questions addressed by a Member of this House to the Commission and the Council require is an answer rather than a decision. We cannot therefore regard all those questions that have yet to receive an answer as having lapsed. Dismissing political questions out of hand, some of which are extremely important, makes life easier for the Commission and the Council. Politics abhors a vacuum. Parliament will continue to function until the new Parliament is up and running, and so will the Commission. There is no reason why it cannot answer all of the questions that have been asked today.

Political group: PSE
The MEPs of the regret that, because of the Danish reservation, the Danish Government has not been able to influence the directive and is the only government not to have the right of veto, just as we regret the fact that, unlike other countries, Denmark will not make more demands of immigrants to Denmark who wish to reunite their families and require them to be self-supporting and to have somewhere to live. The draft Directive’s proposal concerning the right to family reunification after one year would not be any problem if, in common with other countries, Denmark were to make such demands, as expressly laid down in the draft directive. In that case, it would not be the local authorities’ task to support and find homes for the people concerned, as it is at present. As matters stand, the one-year rule cannot, however, be practised in Denmark without significant problems. We therefore decline to vote on the report, regretfully because we should like to see a common policy, especially in the field of asylum.

Political group: ELDR
Madam President, our concern about the current state of transatlantic relations does not stem solely from the vicissitudes of the Iraq crisis or its possible consequences, but from deeper causes, and essentially the realisation that we are seeing a truly radical change, a truly extraordinary change in the United States’ foreign and security policy, under the neo-conservative banner. Leadership by means of multinational cooperation has been replaced by a global unilateralist approach, the strategies of containment and dissuasion by the doctrine of pre-emptive attack and the restrictions imposed by participation in alliances and multilateral institutions by the creation of made-to-measure coalitions in which a form of subordination based on the notion that ‘you are either with me or against me’ tend to predominate. Many of us in Europe believe that this way of thinking, rather than producing a Pax Americana, may actually produce significant American chaos in the world. Within this context, if Europe wishes to meet its responsibilities it must turn itself into an organisation capable of playing a significant role on the international stage and, in order to achieve this, European policy must permanently pursue the objective of multilateralising the United States – an objective which is not entirely out of reach if we consider that opinion polls indicate that almost two-thirds of the American public prefer multilateral approaches to unilateral ones. Within a renewed relationship we must accept clearly that there are significant discrepancies, that there are many differences of perception and approach but there are also many shared views and potential points of agreement. If we accept this contrasting situation we will be able to make progress. I would finally like to say that I believe that positions expressed by the High Representative and Commissioner Patten, as well as the specific proposals presented by the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, are aimed in the right direction and we will support them.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, this is a question of democracy. Democracy is transparency, public accessibility, rule by the people, and participation. The current European political parties do not represent transparency or public accessibility. It is a rhetorical question, but who of us knows anything about the European political parties? The only certainty is that some groups in the European Parliament have given financial support to the Europarties, contrary to the regulations concerning parliamentary funds. They have been discovered in the investigations conducted by the Court of Auditors. I suspect these abuses are now being covered up. The European political parties do not represent democracy. They are parties of parties and that means that the public does not have the opportunity to participate directly in their activities. For rule by the nation, you need a nation. Europe is not a nation; it is nations. We have no concept of supranational democracy. Now, supranational rules and regulations for Europarties controlled by the big countries are being drawn up, with the Commission’s support, by the big parties in the big countries. Parties of parties are not democracy.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Madam President, I would very much regret it if my report were to be taken off the agenda and if the vote were not to take place this week. We have an agreement with all political groups in this Parliament that we would accelerate proceedings for this directive. This is necessary to put through this directive swiftly and within the time in which the Portuguese Presidency, which has shown exceptional commitment in this respect, is in office. The Council will be convening before our next plenary sitting. This means that if we do not adopt a resolution here, the Council will be unable to adopt its position either, and everything will be shelved long term. I would like to point out that the group which has the most problems and seizes upon administrative issues as an excuse to postpone dealing with these, is also the group which voted against this report in the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs. I therefore do not rule out other motives which might be at play here. This has a bearing on the speed at which anti-discrimination can be translated into legislation in Europe and at which people can therefore be protected from racial or ethnic discrimination, and I do not appreciate the fact that Parliament is arguing in favour of postponing this protection.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, on behalf of the Labour members of the Socialist Group I wish to inform you that we were unable to vote in favour of the Tampere resolution in its final form. This is not because we do not sympathise with many of the things contained therein but we felt that some things were in danger of overloading the agenda of this summit and might cause it to fail. There are other issues that were examined in this resolution which should be more properly dealt with in the forthcoming intergovernmental conference to revise the Treaties. For these reasons we felt unable to support the resolution in its finally amended version.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I too would like to add my words of congratulations to John Cushnahan on this report. I envy him the opportunity of having been able to draw it up If I take issue with anything in this report, it is purely on a matter of balance and perspective. It is a question of whether one regards the glass as being half full, or as being half empty. Mr Cushnahan rightly points to the question of the three legal cases which have caused concern. He rightly points to the lack of progress on the introduction of universal suffrage for the elections of the Chief Executive, to discrimination against companies with trading links with Taiwan and to the decline in confidence of the political system. These are all indeed serious challenges and if we must be grateful that things have gone as well as they have, we must nonetheless be concerned that greater progress has not been made. If we believe, as I do, that the biggest challenge of the 21st century is the democratisation of China, then of course Hong Kong is a fascinating experiment. I should be interested if the Commissioner would report to us something of the summit that Mr Prodi had with the Chinese last weekend and whether Hong Kong came up in those discussions. Democracy and the rule of law will not be achieved and sustained unless the West is determined to make its voice heard. I believe that the record of the European Union falls far behind that of the United States of America in this area. I am aware that our Member States have concerns about standing up against the Chinese on issues of human rights because they fear trade sanctions in retaliation. But if there is one area where western Europe could stand four-square behind the European banner, it is surely in this area. We must have a record on human rights which is as good as that of the United States. The ASEM summit last week managed to agree a statement which included as a goal of Asia-Europe cooperation the promotion of human rights. That is progress but we must look to the Commission for much more active involvement in this area; the fruits of such an approach will be enjoyed nowhere more than in Hong Kong.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, I would like to thank the rapporteur, Mrs Plooij-van Gorsel, for her excellent work. Similarly I would like to thank the Commissioner for a very thorough presentation. These days information is the most important factor in production and what we are calling for is an improvement to the content of processed information. It is in this way different, therefore, from plain information. Technical innovation and technical lead are slowly receding into the background as the importance of content and the content industry is being stressed more and more. We are moving away from a sort of information society hopefully to one of education, culture and values, and these guidelines really do speak of a European Research Area. That, in my opinion, is only right, and they say it will be a way of revising the basic social structures. The situation being as it is, I will make two proposals. As a result of the change already under way, we should create a cluster of projects within the framework of the European Research Area, which would help develop content and the production of content. Europe would have much to do in such a project. Another cluster would be one that revised basic social structures; namely, the globalisation of commerce and communication. This is a major factor in the changes taking place today and an enormous challenge in terms of research. For that we would need a study undertaken, as it affects us all. We need information because commerce and communication have taken the place of politics, measured globally. For that reason, Commissioner, I would hope that the proportion of social research can be increased. Finally, I would like to ask what you intend to do to allow research into globalisation to strengthen and grow and give us politicians more weapons to use in debating this issue.

Political group: PSE
Madam President, although we are in favour of completely harmonising European rail networks and making them compatible, since this is a necessity, and although we are in favour of developing this type of public transport, both on major international routes as well as on regional and local networks, we abstained from the vote on this report, since nowhere did it mention the need to operate rail networks as a public service, i.e. as a system designed and put into practice in order to respond to the needs of users and not to be a source of profit for private companies.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Madam President, I would like to thank the President of the Commission, Mr Prodi, and Commission Vice-President Loyola de Palacio, for having genuinely embarked on closer cooperation with Parliament in many respects. This spirit of co-operation is depicted very well in the agreement in those points which concern, for example, the right of Parliament to be involved when international agreements are being discussed, not only with regard to the end result, but at every stage of such talks. This we regard as a genuine step forward, and the same is true of the fact that the Commission is promising to do its best to keep the European Parliament informed on the intergovernmental conference. This symbolises the new spirit we are now creating with the Commission, and it is very important that the Commission and Parliament have mutual agreement. Unfortunately, however, Madam President, the Council has not approved of the process whereby these relations have come closer. My Group is very concerned about the developments that are under way in the Council. We hope and demand that the Council gives a public and open explanation about whether in future it intends to respect relations between Parliament and the Commission, or whether it intends to interfere in them in the future. The Council particularly seems to be aiming for secrecy in the matter of security and defence policy, and it would appear that not just the European Parliament – and via it, the public – will suffer from this attempt at secrecy, which entered the arena after these talks on agreements, when there was a call to amend the text, but also the European Commission will suffer as a result. We must support a strong Commission, and we must support the idea that in future the Commission will have a fixed role to play in the development of a common security and defence dimension, as these days no one area can remain exempt from the demand for transparency, and that includes a security and defence policy.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, in principle, the Committee on Budgets backs the Commission proposal too. It is still necessary to promote agricultural products, particularly as the price of agricultural products has fallen, and this price reduction has certainly not been fully offset. The opinion of the Committee on Budgets differs from that of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development on a number of scores. First of all, the Committee on Budgets is of the opinion that agricultural products not intended for consumption should be promoted as well as those intended for consumption. All agricultural products will need to be promoted. Unfortunately, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development has rejected this proposal. My group has re-submitted it under Amendment No 27, and I would like to recommend it to you warmly. In addition to the standard promotion activities, we believe that a number of aspects will need to be highlighted. Firstly, it should be pointed out how good agricultural products, such as fruit, milk etc. are for you. Another aspect to be highlighted is the animal-friendly and environmentally-friendly production methods used in Europe. How can we explain to European farmers that they are to be ever more restricted in their activities and that they should employ animal-friendly production methods, while at the same time our borders remain open to products from farmers who do not need to use these methods? We need to emphasise the European aspects to the general public. The Committee on Budgets already holds the view that if, in the context of the WTO negotiations in 2003 or later, a number of export refunds and other export amounts are reduced, the European Commission should ensure that a portion of those refunds and amounts are ploughed back into further promotion activities.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, the common organisation of markets in the banana sector has allowed this sector, which is fundamental to the sometimes fragile economies of the ACP countries and the outermost regions of the European Union, to function. Less than seven years have passed since the entry into force of the COM on bananas, and the Commission is now proposing a profound modification of its operation. Furthermore, this has been preceded by disputes within the World Trade Organisation which have generated uncertainties and which have led to difficulties in its correct functioning for Community producers. For us, a transitional period until 2006, as proposed by the Commission, is not acceptable, and we should wait at least until 2010 before deciding on possible reforms. On the other hand, an exclusively tariff-based system is not coherent with the achievement of the objectives of the COM, given that it does not guarantee access to the market or the survival of the Community and ACP producers. The Commission proposes a quota of 353 000 tonnes and a possible increase in the event of a rise in demand. Given that the additional tariff quota is not consolidated, its quantity should be capable of being adapted to Community demand, not only in the event of an increase, but also in the event of a decrease. In any event, we should safeguard the Community preference and prevent any marginalisation of Community production. Lastly, special attention should be given to the development of the situation of the Community and ACP producers, who are already in a vulnerable position and will be even more so in a context of intense and open competition. The Commission must carry out a report in advance assessing the consequences of the application of any modification of the system in order to provide the due compensation for its negative effects on prices and incomes as a result of the increase in the global income in question. I would therefore, Mr President, like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Mr Dary. We support his report. He has been generous with the amendments of the different political groups. Furthermore, I hope that the Commission will send a clear political signal which will take account of his points of view.

Political group: GUE-NGL
The safety of ships, crews and the environment cannot be effectively addressed with fragmentary measures, however important they are, such as the mandatory precondition of double hulls for tankers using ports in the Member States. A real safety policy needs to combat the unaccountability of shipowners, apply substantive measures against infringements of the law, adjust operating positions to today's enhanced requirements and help improve crews' living and working conditions by safeguarding their rights and giving their trades union the power to intervene decisively. Any arrangements must be introduced within the framework of the IMO and the ILO, which should play an essential role in international shipping, without accepting the philosophy of compromise with shipping interests. A typical example of how such interests are served at the expense of the environment are the long transitional periods, without any real justification in terms of security of supply, and the exemption from the double hull requirement for ships over 500 – 600 tonnes. The ΕU is serving the unaccountability of shipowners in the best possible way. One example is that the ship repair industry in Greece, a country with one of the biggest fleets in the world, has almost been wiped out. Positive results against this policy will only be obtained by decisive fighting on the part of workers, seamen and interested regions, especially coastal regions.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, on a point of order. I should be grateful if the ashtrays could be removed again from outside the Chamber. The President asked for them to be removed and they were removed. People stopped smoking out there and they have now been returned. I understand that somebody has ordered their return, against the President's wishes. As I keep on having asthma attacks, I hope they will be removed again.

Political group: ELDR
I abstained on the amendments and voted against the final report because I am deeply concerned about the lack of balance within this report. Implicit in this report are western cultural values which make a presumption against the rights of women in Islam. I would question the wisdom of this parliament in producing this report and in doing so pass judgement on other cultures and their values. I believe this report was based on an external view and with very narrow and limited experience of Islamic lifestyle. I am deeply committed to equal opportunities for women everywhere, however, I believe it is crucial that women in different parts of the world can establish their own concept of freedom which takes into account the variety of different cultures and values they hold.

Political group: PSE