GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, I welcome all measures designed to reduce pain and suffering in divorce cases, especially when children are involved. These Commission proposals help address some of the holes of the Hague Convention, which is badly in need of updating. As EU legislation makes it easier for citizens to live and work across Europe, so the number of cross-border marriages, and unfortunately divorces, is increasing too. I, like my colleagues, receive an increasing number of letters from constituents asking for help in divorce cases involving partners from different Member States. Often there are children involved and a seemingly never-ending custody battle ensues. Furthermore, rulings, when made, can often be difficult to enforce. Given the current legal jungle, some parents are even driven to break the law and, deplorably, snatch children from their ex-partners. These proposals, however, will begin to replace heartbreak with hope. By simplifying procedures and making judgements under EU agreements on matrimonial matters legally binding and directly applicable in all Member States, justice will be speeded up and an end brought to such long, drawn-out and heart-rending cases. MEPs cannot pretend they can put a stop to the pain caused by separation and divorce, but they can at least try to put a stop to the legal circus that can often accompany it. The welfare of children must come first, not the welfare of lawyers. ***

Political group: PSE
Mr President, with regard to the Kindermann report, many of my constituents are concerned about the unnecessary killing of dolphins and porpoises in Europe's seas. It is time for us to act swiftly. That is why the Kindermann report is so important. I am certain that these measures will make a real difference: a general restriction on the length of driftnets in the Baltic Sea from 1 July 2004, a further reduction in driftnet fishing by 1 January 2007; the compulsory use of acoustic deterrent devices and the introduction of a comprehensive system for monitoring the levels of dolphins and porpoises. These policies show why it is important to have a common fisheries policy and if these measures become part of that policy, we will then have the full force of the law across the 25 Member States. That shows just how important the EU and its enlargement into Eastern Europe are for all of us concerned about the environment.

Political group: PSE
Madam President, I would like to thank both rapporteurs for their conscientious work and also the Ombudsman and his team for their hard work in ensuring that the rights of citizens and residents are upheld and good practice is pursued, if not always attained. We also appreciate very much the work of the Ombudsman in developing the network of ombudsmen across the whole of Europe and in other countries. This leaves a very sound basis for his successor and my group would also like to add their thanks for his work. I should like to draw attention to Conclusions 9 and 16 of Mr Wyn's report on the work of the Ombudsman, and to the lack of progress in one particular case. Some people have already referred to this and I was Parliament's rapporteur. This case raises serious issues of what happens when Parliament upholds the Ombudsman's view on a case, this one relating to data protection and access to information, and the Commission does not agree. It raises questions of institutional balance, as well as issues surrounding the application of data protection itself. The lack of a conclusion so far certainly means that the complainant is left in limbo, not quite understanding what it means when elected Members can come to one conclusion and the Commission another. What is the way out? We need to look at that as well as to consider the future role of the Ombudsman and the Committee on Petitions, especially with the development of competences in the field of justice and home affairs and also with enlargement. While we are looking at the role of the institutions I would also like to reinforce Conclusion 11 of Mr Koukiadis's report which mentions the Council's 'lack of enthusiasm' – very tactfully put I felt – with regard to the Committee on Petitions. Mrs Thors has already mentioned issues about the mutual recognition of qualifications. One of the other big problems we have in making progress in certain cases, especially those relating to the environment – such as waste disposal, water quality, etc. – are the delays at national level in providing information to the Commission. Despite some of the criticisms of the Commission, at the level of the Committee on Petitions we generally work very well together. That brings us to Conclusion 18 of the Koukiadis report, which has already been mentioned by Mrs González Álvarez and talks about the possibility of introducing interim protective measures which suspend actions. We do not say this lightly, but sometimes we get the impression that delaying tactics are put in place by Member States and authorities to allow projects to go past the stage where they might be halted. That needs very serious consideration in future.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Madam President, first of all I would like to thank the rapporteur for this report, Mrs Fraisse, for all her efforts. Ladies and gentlemen, times have changed a lot. Just imagine, in 1912, when the legendary Pierre de Coubertin was asked about the possibility of organising Olympic games for women he replied as follows: ‘This is impracticable, lacking in interest, anti-aesthetic and incorrect. The conception of the Olympic games must be based on the following formula: the solemn periodic manifestation of male sport based on internationalism, on loyalty as a means, on arts as a background and the applause of women as a recompense’. One hundred years is not so long ago. We women did not then participate in the Olympic games, but now we make up more than 40% of participants. And if we bear in mind that there are continents for which participation is extremely low, I believe that we have truly made great progress. However, as a person who has dedicated 20 years of their life to sport, first as an amateur and then as a professional, I believe there are two fronts on which we still have an awful lot to do and a very long way to travel. The first is the media. In Spain we have sports newspapers, which only cover sports, and they are some of the most widely read newspapers in our country – even more than the national newspapers – and they hardly dedicate 4% of their content to women's sport, and what is more, the content relating to women's sport often consists of news of a sentimental nature or on the postures or clothing of our sportswomen. This is not just a Spanish problem. In France, the daily L'Équipe dedicates a maximum of 5% of its news to women's sport. It is therefore a problem which affects the whole of the European Union. The second front consists of sporting bodies. In the world of politics, we often complain that women’s participation is too low; nevertheless, I must point out that women’s participation in politics is light years ahead of their participation in sporting bodies. In view of such a dramatic situation, in 1996 the International Olympic Committee decided that, by the end of 2000, 10% of all posts in all decision-making structures should be reserved for women, including in the international federations and bodies belonging to the Olympic movement, with a view to raising this quota to 20% by 2005. These are ridiculously low quotas, but what makes the situation even more serious is that these quotas are not being achieved. Ladies and gentlemen, at the closing of the First Conference on Women and Sport, in October 1996 in Lausanne, Juan Antonio Samaranch stated that the twenty-first century should be the new era for women’s participation in the world of sport. Amongst all of us, men and women, we must do everything we can to make this statement by Juan Antonio Samaranch a reality.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, we have already expressed our views. We reject the request for urgent procedure.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I want to express my thanks for a good report. It should be obvious to everyone that men and women should have the same opportunities to participate in decision-making at all levels, but unfortunately this is not the case. So what can be done? We need greater equality in the home, access to good child care, shared parental responsibility, more encouragement within educational systems to break with traditional gender-linked roles, and flexible working hours in order to accommodate individual requirements. In addition to this, we also need working methods in politics, industry and trade unions which are not based on men’s priorities. Despite the fact that politics continues, to a far too great extent, to be a male domain – in some countries more than in others – the problems are greater still in industry and trade union organisations. This is unacceptable and needs to be the focus of more attention. Equality is not a women’s issue and can only be achieved through cooperation between both sexes. Therefore, men must be involved – in a totally different way than at present – in working towards equality. For instance, more men should be actively involved in working towards equality within this Parliament. We need more women in decision-making positions, but – and this is where I agree with Mrs Theorin – not because they are women but because it is unacceptable for so much skill and experience to go to waste.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, Commissioner, road accidents are the most frequent cause of death and serious injury among children and young people, in fact generally among EU citizens under the age of 45. We must no longer accept this as a stroke of fate but must do something about it. The condition, however, is that we stop believing that road safety depends primarily on how well road users behave or remain in control of themselves. Apart from setting out a clear obligation, Articles 41 and 94 of the EC Treaty also provide us with the legal basis which some Members of this House doubt for a great number of effective measures to improve road user safety. It is up to us finally to attach adequate political priority to this issue. In fact, there is perhaps hardly any policy area in which the common responsibility of the EU, the Member States, regional and local authorities and the appropriate organisations is recognised so clearly. Subsidiarity is, therefore, particularly applicable here. That is precisely why we should not underestimate the added value of EU measures versus Member State efforts. Calculations of the economic costs of traffic accidents show that they are considerably higher than the costs of preventing traffic accidents. So that justifies the call for increased financial resources even in times of economic austerity. But beware, let us make no mistake. It is not always the case that the more money we put in, the higher the level of safety we can achieve. This can be demonstrated by information campaigns on best practice in the EU states and binding measures to reduce the causes of accidents, such as alcohol, drug-taking and the use of medicines, as also a directive on expanding safety tests which will make the car industry take a more creative approach and promoting the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP). I congratulate the rapporteur, Mrs Hedkvist Petersen, on her excellent report and urge you to endorse it.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we too can answer yes to the question whether Croatia deserves a Stability and Association Agreement. Croatia is increasingly becoming a factor of stability in the region. It is making positive progress towards democracy. However, let me emphasise that even though we welcome this progress, this does not mean we think Croatia has reached its goal. It must now take the next steps towards legislative reform, especially in relation to minority rights, freedom of the press and an independent judiciary. It is up to the Commission to take a very critical look at precisely these aspects now in preparation for the Stability and Association Agreement. Let me also stress that Croatia is endeavouring to put its relations with neighbouring states in good order. That means it really has made quite positive progress here. It is particularly important to show Croatia that we regard it as quite crucial what role it takes on with regard to stabilisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federation there. Indeed, that is the precisely the yardstick by which we must measure Croatia's progress towards stabilisation. I think it would be a disaster for the EU to tie economic support to an agreement on the return of the refugees in the Association and Stabilisation Agreement. That issue must be based on other conditions, namely whether access to asylum in Croatia is compatible with international standards and whether it is a humane access to asylum. I believe this question has to be treated separately and must not be part of the agreement.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Madam President, the Presidency has already declared the result of the vote. There is no room for amendments. (Applause)

Political group: PSE
Madam President, I believe that enlargement should mainly be a procedure of resetting and renewing the objective of a Europe of democracy, solidarity and peace. The question of Cyprus, a new Member State of the Union but with the political problem unresolved, is a typical example of the achievement of this objective. The European Union, while respecting the results of the referendum and implementing the Act of Accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union, needs to step up its efforts in order for there to be a solution in the form of reunification of the island and reconciliation of the two communities, a solution in the form of a twin-community, twin-zone federation, without foreign troops and permanent referees. First, such a solution will prove that the dynamism of the European Union is not restricted solely to personifying the expectations of the European nations for a better future, but that it also constitutes a framework for the resolution of differences, which can guarantee the application of international law and, at the same time, respect for the human and democratic rights of its people. Secondly, let us not forget that the resolution of the Cyprus question will contribute to the security and stability of and peace in the wider area of the Middle East, which is suffering acutely following the military invasion by the United States of Iraq and the continuing policy of Sharon, who refuses to respect the rights of the Palestinian people.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Group supports the Hatzidakis report. Community policy in the field of trans-European networks is of major importance because it is not possible to have a common transport policy without a convergent infrastructures policy, as is stressed in the Maastricht Treaty. Efficient transport infrastructures are essential for economic growth and employment, as they are for the competitiveness of companies which depend on the movement of persons, goods and resources. According to this debate, Europe, first and foremost, is that political Europe towards which we are striving, but it is also the result of economic and social cohesion. It is true that the European Union’s budgetary resources are insufficient and need to be increased, and it is also true that we need to increase the contributions of public bodies as well as public/private partnerships. In this regard, my Group has drawn the Commission’s attention to the fact that the report does not contain information on sources of funding other than the Community budget and the European Investment Bank, and it has also stressed its concern that as many as seven Essen projects have not been given a guarantee that they will be completed within the timeframes envisaged. We, too, say ‘Yes’ to the Brenner Pass and we, too, say ‘Yes’ to the use of new technologies. However, the Member States must respect the pledges made, and the Commission must also take into account the guidelines established for the B5-700 budget line – a major budget line established in 1998 – promoting more environmentally friendly models and, above all, taking the different factors into consideration where a trans-European link passes through densely populated areas or highly industrialised regions. For this reason, we also consider that appropriations set aside for these projects must not exceed 50% and that, after due analysis, the amounts still available for projects on which little progress has been made could be recouped and used for other projects with the same priorities, including environmental priorities.

Political group: ELDR
Following Monday's statement by Mrs Christine de Veyrac, Deputy Mayor of Toulouse, I want to express the sympathy and solidarity of the entire French delegation of the Group towards our compatriots struck by disaster at the AZF factory in Toulouse, and, in particular, towards the victims and their families. Let me also pay tribute to all those who responded with such extraordinary courage and provided help, medical care and assistance to all the many victims. Information to date suggests that this was an accident, although it is too early to be entirely sure. If that is indeed the case, we will have to check whether all the necessary safety measures and precautions were taken, given that this factory was classified as presenting a major industrial risk. The real question is to find out whether the provisions of the 1982 and 1986 Seveso directives, which provide for all the necessary procedures and all the danger scenarios, are being observed on such sites in the European Union and to check whether the risk reports are updated on a regular basis. We also need to check whether the plans are operational and tested, whether the national administrations have the means of inspecting all these installations and whether the no-construction zones are being respected. Above all, we must learn from this tragedy that has struck the inhabitants of Toulouse, to ensure that in future the people of the European Union are protected once and for all from such terrible explosions. - Evans Robert J.E. report (A5-0304/2001)

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I hope that my speech will not cause the President-in-Office of the Council to miss his flight. Therefore, in light of the response he has given me, I would like to reformulate my question and ask two that are very specific. The first refers to the proposal from the Presidency-in-Office for a Euro-Mediterranean Development Bank. Is the Presidency-in-Office able to guarantee the success of this proposal or will we have to be content with a simple line of facilities or with the promise of the optimisation of the MEDA programmes? My second, also very specific, question refers to the presence in Valencia, not of third Mediterranean countries, but of Ministers for Foreign Affairs from EU Member States. Are you, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, able to guarantee that there will be no repeat of the scandal of the last Euro-Mediterranean Conference, where, out of fifteen Member States, only four Ministers for Foreign Affairs bothered to turn up?

Political group: PSE
Thank you, Mr President, and congratulations to the Commissioner, who has conceived the educational programmes along very ambitious lines. I hope that we, working together with the Commission, will be able to budget for them. I would remind you that Erasmus aimed to include 10% of students in the programme. Let us hope that we succeed in doing that. Let me now turn to the new programme. Our agenda simply describes this as a debate on the education and cultural programmes. My fear is that young people will end up footing the bill if their concerns are thrown into a single package along with everything else. We, I think, must ensure – and you, in your proposal, must specify – that the youth programmes must be properly funded, that the informal system of education will continue to be valued as it needs to be in the future, and will be able to be extended in order to prepare people for active citizenship. If all these things – youth, culture, audiovisuals, media, and films – end up in a single package, my fear is that young people will end up paying the bill and losing out. That must not be allowed to happen.

Political group: PSE
I congratulate my French Conservative colleague, Mme Hermange, on her imaginative and constructive report. Conservatives in the UK have voted in favour. Member States need to be much more proactive in recognising the special needs of the disabled, and we hope that they will very much take on board the thrust as well as some of the specific ideas in this report. However, we urge that the report must not be used as a lever to try and harmonise social security benefits across the EU: this has to remain a Member State competence. We particularly applaud two firsts today – the appearance of the report in Braille in three languages, and the use of sign language in the debate. The EPP/ED Group is not just talking about the needs of the disabled: we are actually doing something positive about it.

Political group: PPE-DE
When Mr Mugabe became the first President of Zimbabwe some 40 years ago, that land-locked country in Africa was a rich nation that could feed its population and export food to neighbouring countries. About 1000 white farmers, owning most of the land, produced the food and the surplus. After independence in Zimbabwe, the Lancaster House Agreement between Britain, as the colonial power, and Zimbabwe allowed for land redistribution to black families and appropriate compensation to white farmers without any loss of production. Mugabe has failed in implementing these reforms. He has failed to settle the poor black families. Since independence, Mugabe has had much time to establish real democracy, rule of law and prosperity for all. Instead, he has enriched himself, his friends and destroyed his country's economy. He has made the poor even poorer. He has intimidated, looted and deprived the white farmers who produced so much wealth for his nation. Zimbabwe needs a free and fair election now. Mugabe should not fear. He will be judged on his record. If he is a statesman, like Mandela, then he should step down with dignity and let someone else from Zanu-PF contest the election. If he is still a Catholic, then he should listen to Archbishop Ncube of Zimbabwe who has also condemned him regularly without fear. Mr Mugabe cannot and will not be remembered in Africa unless he gives his countrymen a chance to breathe, walk without fear and seek opportunities to enhance their quality of life. I have a simple message for Mr Mugabe – be an African elder and retire gracefully to your village.

Political group: PPE-DE