GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, the enlargement of the European Union is going to be the greatest project that Europe takes part in during the next ten years and we have to be careful, not only how we enlarge for the sake of the present Member States, but also how we deal with the countries that are coming in. I want to deal with the agricultural side because I want to see a proper reform of the common agricultural policy before enlargement takes place. What worries me is that we are not going to do that properly. We are going to get to a situation where the budget of the common agricultural policy does not fit the size of the new European Union. Then we will have to make cuts in places, which is perhaps not the right way to do it. I know the Commission is dealing a lot with this, but we also have to look at how we get the Sapard funds into enlargement states to help them build up their infrastructure, including their education systems. On a recent visit to Poland I found there were lots of problems with education, especially in the rural areas where very often young children were not going on to secondary school because they stayed at home to work on the farms. We must face up to the huge number of farmers in these enlargement states and we must find some way of helping them to restructure their agriculture as and when they come into Europe. I am also very concerned to avoid food coming into the European Union that does not meet the high standards of our production. We have to be very clear on this. With those reservations, much as I support enlargement, we must be careful how we do it.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, despite the progress that has been made, our relationship with Russia still seems to be burdened with mistrust, as we have heard in this Chamber. If we are seeking integration and a peaceful Europe, we will not be able to do it without, let alone against, Russia. Russia is and will remain an important political, economic and military factor in the world. We need cooperation, not confrontation. Russia could be an even more effective strategic partner and good neighbour if the EU states would look beyond supplies of oil and natural gas and if the EU would do more to help strengthen economic and social stability, which are essential if democracy is to take shape and develop in a country. The problem of Chechnya is a serious one, but there is only a political solution and we ought to show more commitment in achieving one. If the USA has a strategic interest in maintaining tension on Russia’s southern borders, that is its own affair. It cannot be in the interests of the European Union.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I welcome this very good report and congratulate the rapporteur. I will say, however and I do not say this to reproach Mr Moraes, or as a 'turf' issue that it is a sad comment on the perceived definition of justice and home affairs in the EU institutions – that is, law enforcement and tough borders – that it is the social affairs side which is given the full lead on issues of citizenship and non-discrimination. We must place these human rights issues within the justice framework, as well as the social policy framework. The insistence on local and European voting rights for legal immigrants is a key issue. How can we possibly expect them to integrate if they are denied civic and political participation? An active approach to integration is overdue. The controversies over the wearing of the hijab, the Muslim headscarf – or la voile, as the French rather confusingly say – show how acute the arguments can be. The fascinating difference between, for example, French and British attitudes shows that there is no one definition of integration. What we should be clear about is that it does not mean assimilation. Integration is surely a two-way street in which all parties have to adjust to a dynamic and changing society. It is not a soft option; hard effort is needed not only from immigrants themselves – such as language learning and equality – but also from indigenous communities in accepting and learning from differences. Finally, I hope all of us here and I know Mr Moraes does his best will try to persuade our national governments to stop populist and mean measures that only collude with media hysteria. For instance, if asylum seekers were allowed to work, they could escape the jibe of being welfare scroungers, which is unfairly thrown at them and which gives such a bad start to their eventual integration if they get legal status.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, given the time constraints, I shall omit the congratulations which I had in mind. Mrs Ghilardotti, I, too, had noticed that many women have been involved in these reports, both your report and that on working hours, and both during the Belgian Presidency and within the European Commission. This is a good result, in my view. Normally, I am not one for using big words, certainly not as long as a negotiation process is still running, but now that we have reached the end of it, I shall venture to use superlatives after all and refer to the achievement of both these agreements as historic. To start with, it is very good that, after a long time, European labour legislation is now being laid down again. This fits in with the pursuit of a socio-economically ambitious Europe, as expressed in the Lisbon objectives, a dynamic and competitive economy with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. It is useful to stress the latter part of these objectives once again on the eve of the Barcelona Summit. Historic steps are being taken in both areas. The directive on information and consultation of employees forms an essential recognition of the right of employees to be involved beforehand in a company’s important decisions, and this forms part of the mores and the traditions of the European social model. Innovation in terms of economic activity is necessary, but it also requires a pro-active approach which also takes employee participation seriously. In the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, this is recognised as a fundamental right. This directive elaborates upon this as a right for all companies in the Union. A third step is required for, if we take this employee participation seriously, it should also apply to restructuring and changes in companies. The Commission issued a document on this subject recently. I welcome Commissioner Bolkestein’s presence this evening, for it is particularly important in my view for this discussion also to be held concerning other areas and for the matter of employee participation to be raised in other areas too, for example in the case of take-overs and mergers of companies, and also in Commissioner Monti’s competition policy. In my opinion, this should be a very important discussion in future for, there too, employee participation should form a part of the tradition and routine. As for drivers’ working hours, I should like to concur with what Mr Hughes said about the case which is running in Luxembourg. I should like to emphasise once more that a definition of the pseudo self-employed, devised at European level, can play a vital role in solving problems of this kind, because we do not have a European definition of this at the moment. However, the Member States, including the new countries, use their own definitions.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, this paper from the Commission was an extremely sound document as it was but Mr van Velzen has managed to improve on a number of points in what was already a welcome paper. I would like to congratulate him on having done so. But it is pointless to make liberalisation an end in itself. Hence political objectives must be fulfilled. Liberalisation should benefit subscribers and competition. There are a few points that we definitely still need to address. There has certainly been a drop in prices, however, this has happened in the business sector and there is little or no evidence of it in the case of local calls, roaming, or calls between the fixed network and mobile phones, and vice versa. Therefore this is a clear example of market imperfection. Perhaps it is not cost-effective for new firms to work at this level. Consequently, there is a need for regulations here, otherwise the citizens in more remote regions will be at a disadvantage because they will not be connected, i.e. they will not be part of the universal service. Therefore we are calling for the state to be given the right to intervene. Secondly, we demand a more flexible formulation of universal service, for e-mail and the Internet used to be considered a luxury. These days, people who do not have these services are almost being discriminated against. Accordingly, Internet access ought to be counted as one of the universal services. Thirdly, needless to say, drops in price must not be to the detriment of quality of service. Furthermore, we are agreed on transparency and on the matter of choice. Pre-selection is restrictive for the subscriber and is something they should be able to sue over. Like you, we are in favour of having transmission obligations. You have also taken account of health in recital E, which is a matter particularly dear to the heart of the . By and large, we support your report, however we cannot support 8a or 8b, both of which are new. 8a is contrary to the Amsterdam Protocol No. 32 and to the ‘Television Without Frontiers’ Directive. I have only this to say about 8b new: the ‘television without frontiers’ directive is not the object of this dossier. The guidelines for a common audiovisual policy are discussed in the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport, and specifically in the Veltroni report. This discussion has only just begun and we must not prejudge the outcome. Last but not least, I would like to issue a rebuke of the Commission for failing to wait for Parliament. It is continuing to work on an independent basis. I just felt that this needed to be said.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, Mr Belder has graphically accounted for the dreadful situation facing people on the borders of Guinea where warriors from neighbouring states, rebels against their own government, come and go across the border creating problems of refugees, problems of human suffering, death and destitution. We must do all that we can to bring this to an end. Our resolution says that we must urge all the countries in the region to refrain from activities directed against a neighbouring country, and so we must. It says we must ask all the neighbouring countries to refrain from supporting groups that fight the Conkary regime or make incursions into Guinea's territory, and so we must. We want to see the speeding-up of the process that will lead to reintegration of displaced persons and the return of refugees to their country of origin. West Africans themselves are doing great work in this direction. We in the European Union must put our voice, and whatever weight we have, behind them to help them.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Whitehead, the Regulation that is before us is ground-breaking, in my view. I am indeed of the opinion that something good can come out of a crisis situation. We often see this in the food industry too. Crises can lead to headway being made in the legislative field. The Regulation that is before us constitutes one such step forward. I should like to underline a few aspects which were important to my group in particular, and which we have also adopted. Firstly, the Regulation will ensure that it will no longer be possible for infected food to be exported to third countries, often Third World countries. Secondly, the diversity of food is highlighted. It is also pointed out that traditional products exist, that we should recognise this and that food has a certain cultural role to play. Thirdly, we as Parliament have ensured that we have turned the proposed food authority into a food safety authority, which is quite an achievement for our Parliament. Thanks to Parliament and you, Mr Whitehead, we have been able to play a role and have been able to underline the significance of transparency in this respect. It is indeed true that we need transparency in order to restore consumer confidence. We, as Parliament, have also ensured that we have gained more insight into the make-up of the management board and into the appointment of the executive director. Finally, we have also called for more objective criteria for the location. When we came out of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy at second reading, we noticed we had 28 amendments, 28 amendments which the Council struggled to accept at times. We carried out a kind of pre-conciliation exercise, one with which I am delighted, because the rapporteurs, along with the co-rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs, made certain that we, as Parliament, were able to take a united stand at the Council, a Council where we heard one voice, where Mrs Aelvoet listened to us, and I am really very pleased about that.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, Commissioner, for some time the populations living close to Barajas Airport in Madrid have protested every time there has been an extension of the airport, for various reasons, but mainly because of noise pollution. I imagine that other populations living near any airport in any large city will have the same problem. I know that in the last two months the Government of Madrid has proposed a reduction in night flights, after 11.00 p.m., but I also know that the measures that have been taken have not had any significant effect on the quality of life of the population. Let us hope that it will improve. Hence the opportunity for this debate, which we should thank Mr Lannoye for. From the joint motion for a resolution, I would like to highlight some of the proposals – please excuse any repetition – which I believe the European Commission should take note of if it wants to reduce noise pollution: a global and integrated framework for reducing noise pollution which should lead to a framework directive with concrete and binding measures; the uniform application of those measures in all Member States so that there are no distortions; a Community framework for the classification of noise which will allow measures to be taken with the rigorous allocation of slots and a reduction in flights; and progress towards the establishment of a common air space, which is not in conflict with local and regional measures. In the fifth framework programme for research it would be necessary to carry out an investigation into the design of aircraft, with a view to reducing its influence on noise pollution. We should also work towards the reduction and disappearance of night flights and the promotion of the railway. In truth, Mr President, if everybody disliked aircraft as much as I do and travelled by rail as much as I do, perhaps we would have fewer problems. All of this work should be done in conjunction with the populations and residents’ associations which are already pushing, throughout the whole of Europe, as in Spain, for a reduction in noise pollution, other types of pollution and a reduction in the enormous demand for air traffic. We should also cooperate in the creation of a noise map in local areas which would lead finally to a serious piece of work on the part of the European Community in favour of a reduction in noise pollution which is increasing as a result of demand.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, thank you for the reply, but let me ask you this, briefly and succinctly: are you prepared to ensure, are you prepared to intervene, so that the thirteen persons – the delegation of human rights activists whose passports were confiscated in Casablanca – are given back their passports and are able to resume their journey to the 59th session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva? One member of the delegation is a laureate, Mohammed Dadash, who spent nineteen years in prison and who was awarded a human rights prize by the Ravdo Foundation in Norway.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, the object of the Stability and Growth Pact is to achieve lasting stability in the financial markets, which have remained a national responsibility since the beginning of the single currency. This means that the Stability Pact is a necessary counterpart in financial policy terms to the policy of monetary union and it is a financial policy substitute for political union, which did not come into being at the same time as monetary union. The objective of the pact is to ensure that there is sufficient leeway in budgets when times are good and to make provision for bad times. Some Member States, including Germany, have failed to do this recently. However, no sooner have the first difficulties appeared than people have started talking about how the criteria are interpreted. The usual criticism is that although the pact promotes stability, it also acts as a fiscal straitjacket and thus exacerbates weakness in monetary growth. This criticism fails to take account of the facts. The commitment made is to balance budgets in the medium term and to limit deficits, and it cannot therefore be thrown up in the air as soon as growth subsides. That is why a clear signal is needed from ECOFIN, especially after the discussions that have taken place. With just three months to go before the euro comes into circulation, as Mr Karas mentioned, we need a sign of stability. The problem is that we have failed to achieve the Lisbon objective of becoming the region with the strongest growth in the world. But we can only achieve that objective if the Member States do their homework. They cannot blame this on the European Central Bank. I would also like to take issue with Mr Tannock for suggesting that the ECB has not met its objectives during this period of crisis. The ECB in particular has reacted very well since 11 September, and the euro has held up. However, the fact that we were already discussing the Stability and Growth Pact before 11 September meant that we were playing with fire, as Mr Karas put it, and causing uncertainty. If we had not done that we would be able to debate the future of the euro in a far calmer way now.

Political group: PPE-DE
President Cox, you have been elected by a majority. There are different voices at the bottom of the ballot box, and I would remind you of something. I know that, when a person belongs to a minority group – you belonged to a minority group for a long time, yourself – he gets used to offering advice to all and sundry. Well then, I remain faithful to your custom and am going to offer some advice to the President of this House, whose status far surpasses that of the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of a tiny little group. Therefore, I would draw your attention to the wisdom of an old rabbi. In difficult situations, when he was told that he had two options, he used to reply: ‘In that case, I choose the third.’ Mr President, today, you must forget who voted for you and who voted against you. You represent the institution that must work in the interests of the Community as a whole. You represent the European ideal, and it is this ideal that is being attacked by a politician from one of the families of those who voted against you: as chance would have it, coincidentally, Mr Haider, and, quite coincidentally again, of course, Mr Berlusconi. Your role is to act not in the interests of those who elected you but in the interests of Europe as a whole, irrespective of who voted for you or why. This is what we expected from Mrs Fontaine and she almost always delivered. Moreover, I know that no-one will ever totally live up to the institution’s expectations. However, Mr Cox, there is a moral challenge before you, and that challenge is to free yourself from the enormous power of those who supported and voted for you. It will not be easy, and if you ever need independence or allies to defend the pluralist approach, the Group of the , both those Members who voted for you and those who did not, is at your disposal. Do not let yourself be pinned down by one or the other: uphold the freedom that comes from pluralism. That is your task as President.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, the omens have never been good before any Intergovernmental Conference. Unresolved issues have predominated, and the common ground has been narrow. Now, very few days before the ministerial meeting of the present Intergovernmental Conference, the signs are once again unpromising. This time, however, it is paradoxically the prospect of an emerging consensus that is causing us political headaches. As the days go by, it is becoming ever likelier that the agreement the ministers will reach, while not representing the lowest common denominator, will be a rather low common denominator, indeed a very low common denominator. Many of us therefore fear that what Nice will offer in the way of institutional reforms will not really enable the Union to implement a major enlargement process involving the accession of twelve or more new Member States, unless further, more extensive reforms are implemented. I venture to doubt whether consensus will be easier to achieve in the new extended family than it is now. One can but hope. Besides, the overall result of the coming IGC ministerial meeting, another small but unfortunately far from delicate detail is causing me some concern. In the resolution on Nice that we are discussing here, the last clause in point 6 says in essence that Parliament too should have a right of initiative in procedures under Article 7 of the EU Treaty (breaches of the principles of democracy, respect for human rights, etc.). In general terms, this would impinge upon the central role of the Commission. The fact that the Commission has the sole right of initiative is an essential element of our Union. Granting the European Parliament a right of initiative in this highly sensitive domain would throw the door wide open to party-political despotism. Do the European s, who tabled this proposal, intend to react to every election in which the loses its majority by initiating a campaign of European ostracism against the new government? I advise the House to beware of such a move and ask you to vote against this clause tomorrow.

Political group: PPE-DE