GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, I wish I could also say Commissioner but Mr Verheugen has us very early and I am sorry about that, nearly all the political parties in Greece and the most important parties in Cyprus have come out in favour of the Annan plan. However, they share the concerns and doubts of the Cypriot people, who are not following the parties in this instance. The negative reaction which has developed in Cyprus is due, I think, to extreme pressure of time, which has not allowed the people to be informed calmly and analytically. But how could they be informed within a fortnight of the submission of the last Annan plan? They could not. On the contrary, the inciting of passions and misinformation have prevailed, thereby exacerbating fears and doubts. If the referendum were postponed, as proposed, then the people could be informed more calmly and more substantially and, at the same time, clear and persuasive guarantees could be given that the full text of the plan and the agreement would be respected and would not again be violated by some of the guarantor powers. Because that is where the problem lies, with the guarantor powers. It was they who caused most of the disasters in Cyprus. These guarantees must also be given by the Security Council and by the European Union and by the European Parliament which, with its resolution, improved by the amendments proposed by the , the party and Mr Papayannakis, will, I think, strengthen the tendency and desire of the Cypriots to say yes. The European Parliament must not appear to be exerting pressure. Blackmail, with threats of sanctions, which have, unfortunately, also come from official lips, have incited the negative stand of an uninformed and terrified people. That is why, in addition to security guarantees, the prospect of a second referendum must be open after the referendum in three days' time, which looks like being a no vote. Better informed Cypriots and stronger security guarantees could change the climate and thus, in two or three months' time, bring in a positive result, for which there is a great deal of hope. I do not understand why repeating a referendum, which other Member States of the European Union are allowed to do if there is a no vote, as happened in your country, Mr President, should not also be allowed for the Cypriots. Please vote for my amendments, which make the European Parliament resolution encouraging, reassuring and friendly towards the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots and will, I am sure, encourage them to give a more positive response to the Annan plan. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, last night the Working Group of Parliament set up by the Conference of Presidents voted very narrowly to send two contradictory reports to the Conference of Presidents on the issue of EU funding to the Palestinian Authority. Can I please ask the Conference of Presidents to act on these reports? I would also demand a full debate in plenary before the Commission and Council to draw some conclusions from these reports.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, I voted for the Heaton-Harris report, which deals with the movement of university students within the European Union. However, a survey has been carried out which highlights a factor which I consider to be extremely negative: precisely half the university students who had the right to benefit from the ERASMUS programme did not take up the offer. This means that there is definitely something which is not working properly! I would in any case like to stress that, in voting for the motion, I would also like to express the desire for a programme soon to be established in Europe, not just for the movement of young students between universities but also for the movement of elderly people who study at the university of the third age, who would welcome the opportunity to take part in exchanges with their sexagenarian, septuagenarian and octogenarian or even older peers from other States of the European Union.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development recommends that the request for urgent procedure be accepted. Firstly, this is an urgent matter which needs to be agreed this year. Secondly, we agree with the objective. The great majority of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development is convinced that the use of BST should be banned this year. (Parliament approved the request for urgent procedure)(1) Proposal for a Council regulation on Community financial contributions to the International Fund for Ireland (COM(99)0549 – C5-0285/99 – 1999/0221(CNS)) (Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism) President. – The Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism shall give its opinion on this request for urgent procedure.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Madam President, we still know very little about BSE, a disease that has shaken the whole European agricultural sector. We urgently need new research into what causes it and how it spreads. There is no reliable proof of the quality of the screening process. The call to lower the age of animals to be tested from thirty months to twenty-four months is hardly relevant. In most cases, the disease is still diagnosed in animals when they start to behave strangely. The possible connection between calf feed and BSE must be studied. There has been no clear explanation for recent individual outbreaks of the disease. It is nevertheless worth supporting the disposal of stocks of bonemeal and tallow. The disease must not be allowed to spread by accident as a result of contaminated feed. There must be unambiguous declaration of ingredients in animal feed, and responsible cattle breeders must be able to make the right choice on the basis of reliable information when purchasing animal feed. The wellbeing and health of animals must be safeguarded. There can be no transitional periods allowed for new Member States joining the Community with regard to food hygiene and declarations of quality and ingredients, as the new Member States will be joining a real internal market. The applicant countries must be given technical and financial support in the prevention of the BSE risk. We have to ensure that the measures will also continue after the enlargement process is over. A lot was done last year to bring BSE under control and this brought results: for example, consumer confidence in beef is starting to return. At this stage it is reasonable to remain cool, reinforce the measures that exist, and await the outcome of new studies.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, it is clear why our Group is going to vote in favour of the Klamt report and is not going to support its withdrawal. Yesterday I had a dream in this chamber: in the European Union there was a single executive, which was the Commission, and a single legislative body, which was Parliament, and Mr Vitorino woke me up from this dream during his last speech, by reminding me that the absent party did in fact exist. And not only did it exist, but it had also already adopted the majority of what we were discussing. Since I do not want them to have the excuse that they have not received Parliament’s opinion, we are going to vote in favour of the Klamt report, but I would ask the Council at least to show the minimum of loyalty.

Political group: PSE
Madam President, on the same subject of TV reception, as raised by my colleague Mrs Plooij-van Gorsel, I wish to express the hope that the technical problems currently preventing the reception of BBC1 and BBC2 can be resolved. I realise that we English-speakers are spoilt with Sky, CNN and BBC World, but it is not the same as having the domestic channels.

Political group: ELDR
draftsman of the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market. – Mr President, on behalf of the Committee on Legal Affairs let me state in very clear and simple terms the position of the committee as we voted; (a) to ban all phthalates and (b) as a consequence to delete all labelling, since if you prohibit all phthalates you do not need labelling. As the rapporteur, I share the concerns of the Members of Parliament in my committee. As elected politicians we clearly cannot afford to play fast and loose with children's health. We must ensure that they are not exposed to unnecessary and unacceptable health risks and acknowledge the public concern on this issue. In the interests of the single market we must achieve the highest common standards for product safety. We also need legislation which cannot be undermined or discredited by legal challenges. This debate has unfortunately been clouded by confusion and uncertainty fuelled by comments in Parliament from Scientific Committee members who doubted the need for any ban on phthalates and questioned whether the health risks are serious or immediate enough to warrant a ban. As politicians we need clear advice from scientific committees if we are to make rational judgements, take the necessary risk management measures and produce good legislation. In this case we have not been able to do that effectively because of the gaps in our knowledge, and so my committee understandably decided to go for a blanket ban. Nor do we have any information on substitutes to plasticisers which might have toxic or chronic effects. I believe that this legislation shows us that we need action on a number of areas: (a) we urgently need to continue work on migration testing and research into chronic toxicity and the behaviour of children; (b) we need to review and update this legislation periodically and as gaps in knowledge are filled, where necessary add new substances to the ban in the Commission's legislation. We need to formalise and accept the permanent ban which the Commission is proposing now and we need stringent health warnings and labelling to inform our consumers of the risks. We have to answer to the public on the legislation that we produce in Parliament, and we cannot afford to be complacent about risks to children's health.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, Zimbabwe really had all the qualifications for becoming a prosperous and successful country in southern Africa. That is why it is so incredibly tragic to see it heading straight for the abyss. Zimbabwe has been discussed by us many times in this House, as I know it has also been in the other institutions. We have often thought we have seen some small glimpse of hope or gleam of light. We have been wrong every time. There are no such glimmers. The situation is alarming. Zimbabwe is a lawless, economically impoverished country governed by a dictatorial old ruler who has completely lost contact with reality and with his own people. Robert Mugabe breaks promise after promise made to surrounding countries. He has not succeeded in stopping the illegal land occupations or in bringing about fair land reform. Human rights are infringed on a daily basis, and the opposition is harassed and persecuted in an unacceptable way. The regime is thoroughly corrupt and, in terms of democracy, the impending elections, in which election workers are threatened, harassed and imprisoned, cannot be called anything other than a joke. Freedom of expression is totally restricted. We must immediately break off all communication with, and suspend all assistance to, the Zimbabwean regime. All Mugabe’s foreign assets and all those of his family should be frozen. I really want to appeal to both the Commission and the Council to be crystal-clear in their condemnation of Mugabe’s regime and to state that our and the world community’s patience is at an end. We must establish a broad, international coalition and form of cooperation with the SADC states so as to put pressure on the regime and take measures against it. At the same time, it is of course important to find ways of supporting the opposition. There is a small number of courageous people who, at risk to their own lives, are fighting for democracy and human dignity. (Applause)

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, unfortunately, kidnappings in Sierra Leone are once again in the news. This time it is the kidnapping of eleven British soldiers by the West Side Boys militia. To this we must add the attacks carried out by this group of rebels with the aim of extending their area of influence, which have cost the lives of three members of the pro-governmental forces. These are actions that the Group of the European People’s Party strongly condemns and which the European Parliament should also condemn. At the same time, it should also demand the immediate and unconditional release of the soldiers who are being held hostage and show its support for the Government of Sierra Leone, and for the UNAMSIL and British army forces who are working to consolidate peace in that country. It is still a precarious peace, which is demonstrated by this kidnapping. That is why we cannot just stop at words of condemnation, but we must move on to action and also demand that the Lomé Peace Agreements are complied with and that all the militias are disarmed. However, as long as poverty continues to rule in Sierra Leone, until the trafficking of diamonds is put to an end once and for all and the arms trade is ended, there will be no chance of peace for this tortured country. The European Union must therefore use every means within its power, not only in order to help fund the peace process, but also, above all, in order to make it possible to establish living conditions that make peace irreversible. We therefore need a generous and coordinated policy of development cooperation, especially in the field of education. This is why a budgetary effort is being requested for this policy, as a policy that will contribute to ending the blight of poverty. But, above all, we need decisive action on the part of the European Union, the Member States and the whole of the international community in order to put an end to diamond trafficking in the area. As long as a country’s natural wealth is only benefiting warlords, that is, as long as diamonds enable the paramilitaries to have sufficient capital to provide themselves with arms and continue their activities, peace will be nothing more than an impossible dream. Without peace, development will only be a Utopia.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I, like many other Members, found it impossible to vote against the resolution arising from the Napolitano report, because the report, first of all, and then the resolution, are innovative texts with regard to the regional dimension. Unfortunately, numerous votes in plenary have damaged this remarkable work. Furthermore, as Mrs Berès pointed out so superbly, it is imprudent and dangerous to improvise at voting time by proposing, in plenary, the adoption of concepts which, as it happens, were neither discussed nor even raised in committee. Mr Méndez de Vigo replied that the concept of ‘people’ was outdated. That, in fact, is what the right has continually repeated in Europe over previous centuries and it is not convincing. Surprisingly enough, however, the text, which is presented as forward-looking, has the effect of strengthening the concept of States within the Union, which I am sure was the desired objective. That is why I abstained.

Political group: PSE
Thank you for that reply. When I tabled this question there was in fact a log-jam in the Council and there was no discussion, which was the purpose for tabling the question. But I welcome the fact that now there is movement within the Council and that we in the Committee on Foreign Affairs actually have a copy of your latest document saying what the compromise looks to be. Mr President-in-Office, you want Parliament's opinion and we understand you propose taking a decision next month in December. If I tell you that Parliament will be debating this in January, I should like to know if you will wait for our opinion before you take your decision?

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, to begin with I would like to congratulate Mr Maaten on a splendid report. I also think there is reason to thank Mr Byrne for a very clear presentation of the legal basis. When I listen to Mrs Palacio and also to Mr Lechner I am reminded most of all of the reports we are receiving from American courts right now. A serious mixture of law and politics, which, in any case, does not increase legal certainty. I believe that reducing the limit values for the tar content and reducing some of the limits for how much nicotine and carbon monoxide cigarettes may contain will have an extremely significant effect on health in Europe. It is important to insist that the Commission draw up a proposal for a common list of additives by the end of 2004 at the latest. The secrecy on the part of industry surrounding additives which we have witnessed so far should naturally be brought to an end. I also consider it important that, independently of this common list, a ban is imposed on the use of ammonia and other similar compounds used for the express purpose of making cigarettes more addictive, to increase dependence on cigarettes. This is also something we must put a stop to in an effective way. Finally I would like to make a single comment concerning the matter of exports. I simply do not understand why a majority here in Parliament want to propose more lenient rules for exports than those proposed by the Member States' own governments – the governments which, however, also represent the many industries referred to. Like Mrs Thyssen, I feel that it is absolutely unethical for us to sell cigarettes outside the area of Europe which, for health reasons, we consider to be unsuitable for use by citizens in our own area. It simply cannot be ethically justifiable to act in this way, and I therefore hope that on this point we arrive at the responsible line which I believe the Council and the Commission have proposed.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I voted in favour of the Jonckheer report, as we now need to make it possible to at last give favourable tax treatment to non-food crops. We should welcome the European Union’s declaration that the increased use of renewable sources of energy is one of its objectives and the Commission’s definition of binding objectives and timetables in its ‘Renewable Energies’ White Paper. The right conditions and instruments are needed, though, if these objectives are to be achieved. If the European Union wants to discharge its obligations under international law to reduce greenhouse gases in line with the Kyoto commitments, this directive on the taxation of energy can be only one of many steps that will end up taking us in the right direction. Not only is the use of renewable energy sources CO2-neutral, but it also makes for added value in the regions and creates new and modern jobs in rural areas. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, now that we have this report – for which I should like to thank Mrs de Sarnez – the time is right for the European Union to reflect on what it means by the right to education, and more specifically higher education, and how it intends to implement this right. The twentieth century has seen human rights universally accepted as the main guiding force behind what we do. Our responsibility has to be to see them fully respected and put into practice, because education is not only an individual right; it is also an essential means of promoting peace – a crucial issue today – and ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in general. If its potential for building a world of peace is to be realised, education needs to be widely available and made equally accessible to all. It is a huge task, but let us not forget that even today we live in a world where there are more than 800 million illiterate adults and almost 100 million children of secondary school age who do not have access to a school. Moreover, millions of those in school today are not able to benefit from high-quality teaching that meets their basic educational needs. It is therefore increasingly urgent for us to meet these needs in a world where the upheaval caused by globalisation and by the revolution in information and communication technology is marginalising entire peoples, who have been plunged into the most extreme poverty and who are easy prey for extremists of all kinds. Making the right to education a reality is now less a question of access to education than of access to adequate training programmes for everyone so as to meet basic needs. From this point of view, the right to higher education is – on our own evidence – not yet a reality, in particular for women. Higher education shall, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit, but in Africa and Asia fewer than one person in ten in the age group concerned is in higher education, and the gulf is continuing to widen between these regions on the one hand and Europe and North America on the other. There is no doubt that considerable progress has been made in the last 50 years towards making the right to higher education a reality throughout the world, but we should not forget that this vision, which is laid down in Article 26, is not only quantitative but also qualitative because it encompasses the aims and objectives of education and thus its content. Mindful of the task which remains to be accomplished – and with repeated thanks to Mrs De Sarnez for her report – I therefore think that it is essential, as far as those who are still excluded from any form of education are concerned, for us to be aware that it is not a question of choice, but that a great many people do not even know that they have a choice. If we are talking about dignity, demands, and equal and inalienable rights, I hope from the bottom of my heart that this report will enable the European Parliament to continue to fight for these things and that it will not stop fighting when the battle is only half won.

Political group: PSE
Unaccompanied minors seeking asylum (paragraphs 51 and 96 of the resolution, page 69 justification): The report is defective in this respect. In Sweden, an unaccompanied child sent back to his or her home country must always be accompanied by someone who will make sure that they are received by a relative or someone else responsible for their care. Before a child is sent back to his or her home country (or another country), a careful investigation is made into who is to assume responsibility for them and receive them upon arrival. Unaccompanied children must always be assigned reliable people. The problem is that, at present, it takes a long time to appoint such people, who are then assigned to too many children. Better account must be taken of the child in such investigations. Sometimes, not enough is found out about what happened to the child in his or her country of origin. Discrimination (page 48): Contrary to what the report says, the Additional Protocol to the UN Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women of 6 October 1999 was ratified by Sweden on 24 April 2003 and entered into force on 24 July 2003. Trade union rights (pages 65, 101): Sweden does not have – nor has ever had – a trade union monopoly. (page 97): In Swedish legislation, strikes without prior warning are forbidden and referred to as unlawful or wildcat strikes. The Swedish labour market is regulated by collective agreements. A strike is forbidden during the period of an agreement.

Political group: PSE