GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, it is appalling how women in many developing countries are still being treated. They often have to do the hard work, give birth to and bring up many children, and are scarcely remunerated for this. They have no, or poor, access to education. Women suffer heavily from domestic violence. Reproductive health care often leaves a great deal to be desired. Also politically speaking, women do not have a voice. Cultural, religious and socio-economic customs which are at odds with the humane and equal treatment of women must be broken down. To fight for this is not a form of neo-colonialism, it is a sine qua non of effective development. This is why the fight against structural injustice has to play a prominent role in European development policy across the board. It is very unfortunate that I am the only man to take the floor on this matter this evening. We men should not leave women to fight this battle alone. The situation is too appallingly unfair for this.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, this report seeks to harmonise supplementary pensions in Europe. In fact, it seeks nothing less than to open up all European pension schemes to the financial markets. Indeed, it recommends the development of a truly single pension fund market by referring to the inevitability of resorting to capitalisation. It should be noted, by the way, that when the financial interests of the most powerful are involved, they are not slow to forget the principle of solidarity and to propose a single model. This report puts forward cynical arguments and seeks to give credence to the idea that only capitalisation would ensure better protection of low incomes. The truth is that it is not an attempt to supplement state pension schemes, but rather to gradually empty them of all substance. Those who are employed know full well, however, that a pension is theirs by right. They fought for this right, which is based on intergenerational solidarity. That is why they do not, under any circumstances, want to see their pensions gambled on the stock exchange. In several countries, powerful social movements have already opposed similar attempts. Their threats have to this day prevented the French government, for example, from introducing pension funds. This is in perfect harmony with past, present and future struggles, and it is in support of them that we shall be voting against a report that reduces this Parliament to the level of a lobby for high finance. Retired people need an adequate, stable and safe pension. Pension funds and the stock exchange will never be able to guarantee that. On this issue, as on many others, a choice must be made between increasing the profits of a few or satisfying the needs of all.

Political group: GUE-NGL
I strongly support the decisions taken at Sintra. They constitute a significant step towards establishing an effective European Security and Defence Policy. The creation of the interim structures and the plans that are now being put into place to provide the military capacity for achieving EU policy objectives are positive steps in the right direction. The recognition that the 60 000 strong military force will be involved in both peacemaking and peacekeeping is also appropriate. However, while all these developments are indeed welcome, I would like to address a matter which I have raised in this House on previous occasions. I am anxious to know how effective the EU’s policy planning and early warning unit has been. While Commissioner Patten’s statement later this evening on the unfolding tragedy in Mozambique will be opportune, I would like to know if the policy planning and early warning unit provided advance information. Would the High Representative be prepared to say to what extent this unit, which has been strongly supported by the committee of which I and Mr Titley are members, assisted in providing early information, analysis and an indication of the policy planning options open to yourselves? I would also like to support Mr Titley’s comments on an effective role for the Parliament in this whole area. If we are to realise our ambitions in the field of foreign policy, then effective anticipation and preparation for all sorts of crises, particularly humanitarian ones, are essential prerequisites.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, this is a very naïve discussion by those who are always opposed to Strasbourg. And just what has been decided? More mini plenary sittings have been convened for the next session in Brussels. In other words, there are a few people who never miss a chance to turn everything against Strasbourg. There is something, however, which I consider to be far more serious: we were told we could not hold a topical and urgent debate this Thursday because we held one during the first session in September. Do you seriously believe that questions of world history, urgent questions should depend on whether or not we have the honour of expressing ourselves on current affairs? I would have thought it more important to use the time available this afternoon to deal with other urgent topics, which normally go by the board because we never have time for them. We would have had time today for anyone with any inclination to notice what we should have. Members of Parliament should be able to speak on important matters when the occasion arises. Today would have been a perfect opportunity. I therefore urge that urgent matters be allocated the time needed to ensure that human rights issues are not sacrificed just because a few people are in a hurry to get back to their constituencies. They can spend hours in their constituencies. But those who wish to speak because they think it is the right thing to do must have the chance to do so, especially on Thursdays. Thursdays do not end with a few 4 o'clock flights; they should end at 6.30. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, Commissioner, the floods which have affected various areas of northern Italy and other European countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland and France in recent weeks once again raise the issue for Parliament both of an extraordinary, urgent intervention to alleviate the distress of the people, communities and companies affected, and a longer term policy to prevent the repetition of natural disasters of this scale. Certain regions of Italy have suffered particularly badly for the second time in less than a month. The damage is considerable this time as well, people have died and the material damage has been enormous. In Liguria, in particular, entire plantations of specialised flower and fruit and vegetable crops have been destroyed and there has been a great deal of damage to seaside resorts, civil engineering works and factories, caused by storm surges as well as the floods. And given the remarkable scale of the disaster, the request made in the resolution which we tabled together with other groups is totally justified, despite the fact that these issues have been debated recently in this House – on 26 October to be precise – and that a Parliamentary resolution was adopted on that occasion as well. We call upon the Commission to set aside part of its budget for emergency funds, so as to incorporate the interventions envisaged by the national authorities in the areas affected, and, pursuant to Article 87(2) of the Treaty on European Union, immediately to grant fitting financial assistance to the sectors affected by the disasters and, in general, to take into consideration the fact that the majority of the disaster areas are eligible for assistance from the existing funds: the Regional Fund, the EAGGF Guarantee Fund and the LIFE programme, which can provide a genuinely substantial contribution to the reconstruction work and restore the normal lives of the peoples who have been the victims of these disasters as soon as possible, but, above all, which can contribute to preventing further such damage. It is vital that the Union does not restrict itself to making one-off interventions after disasters have occurred. Europe must remind the Member States to update their legislation on the environment, construction abuse, reforestation and the promotion of farming methods which seek not only to increase production quantities, but also to protect and replenish the land. Clearly, such large-scale action cannot be developed effectively at national level alone, due, primarily, to the amount of resources necessary but also because of the very nature of the natural disasters in question which, like those resulting from climate change, certainly have no respect for borders. With this resolution, we call for an urgent intervention contributing to repairing the damage and also for a longer-term policy to make Europe an increasingly safe and accommodating region for its citizens to live in.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, with all due respect, I cannot subscribe to your view. It is not the political aspect which bothers me. I should like to point out that when my press officer wanted to step into the Chamber, he was stopped straight away. And rightly so. But I fail to understand how three or four people who have absolutely nothing to do with this Parliament can simply walk in. Secondly: when foreign minister Cem was with us in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, we had a similar incident which only just stopped short of an actual attack on the minister. Irrespective of the country involved, it is no laughing matter for Parliament when the security bureaucracy in this House – and I use the word bureaucracy advisedly – stops members at every turn but is unable to prevent this sort of incident when Turkey is the subject of debate, when you would expect them to, given that there has already been one such incident. It is a scandal. This needs to be taken more seriously, not the political aspects but what can be done here. Next time it will a president who is interrupted or attacked while making a speech. I should like to know what that will do for the European Parliament's reputation. (Applause)

Political group: PSE
The 2004 Budget for an enlarged Europe is less than 1% of gross national income, the lowest since 1997. Commitments are decreasing; payments are decreasing. Structural funds, such as agricultural expenditure, are similarly decreasing. Funds from Heading 4 allocated to foreign aid have been reduced to a bare minimum: aid to Latin America has also been cut by EUR 35 million. There is great financial pressure on essential elements of EU policy, such as human rights or the duty to provide help to the most needy. Funds for development aid have been similarly hit by measures of devastating severity. In such conditions, how can we seriously believe that poverty will be eradicated by 2015? As for the question of funds for Iraq, it is not only a matter of finance. The occupation must end immediately. The Iraqi people need to recover their sovereignty as quickly as possible so that they themselves can identify their needs and arrange the means to satisfy those needs. Recourse to the flexibility instrument will release EUR 95 million. The solution proposed – to reduce funds from Heading 4 – is unacceptable. This Budget does not meet the challenges that the EU must meet today for a fairer, more caring world.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as the two rapporteurs, Mr Hatzidakis and Mrs Sbarbati, have already explained, both the competent committee and the Committee on Budgets wholeheartedly endorsed the Brenner project, a project that came at the top of the Essen list of priorities. However, the original project did not set out a list of priorities, a major shortcoming. I therefore consider it essential for the Commission to accept the points laid down in this report, and which have been explained by the rapporteur, as they stand. The Brenner Pass covers a region that includes three countries and, as such, it is a very environmentally sensitive area to which we need to devote particular attention. At present, 1.2 million lorries cross the Brenner Pass every year. The growth in the transport of goods far exceeds earlier rates of increase. The free movement of persons, one of the freedoms in the European Union, cannot be achieved properly either. Good Friday saw extremely lengthy tailbacks on the Brenner Pass. We, Mr Jarzembowski, Mr Swoboda and I – as pointed out in the explanatory statement of this motion in the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism – tabled a motion in which we justified this initiative as being a means of achieving an innovative model and approach to project development. It breaks new ground and can set an example to the European Union. Under the Prodi government, the Italian legislature had already considered the possibility of cross-financing road – i.e. road tolls – and rail transport and indeed approved it. I believe that can act as a further model and pave the way to an innovative approach. That is an absolute must, especially in an environmentally sensitive area, and I hope the Commission will exhibit the necessary sensitivity. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I would like to say that fishing relations between the European Union and Mauritania go back a long way, to 1987, and it is clear that – since the disappearance of the fisheries agreement with Morocco, to whose demise we all contributed – it is now the most important of all the European Union’s agreements in terms of volume of catches and budgetary allocations. As previous speakers have said, it is one of the so-called Southern agreements, an agreement under which shipowners contribute to the economic costs by paying for licences. As you know, in the Northern agreements, the shipowners do not pay. As the rapporteur says in his report, four Southern States (Spain, Italy, Portugal and France) are going to be the beneficiaries of this new five-year protocol, although it is also the case that, if fishing opportunities are not utilised – as the rapporteur says – other European countries can use them, which is also something which happens in Southern agreements, but not in Northern agreements. As always, I would like to stress to the Members of this House – and not only those of the Committee on Fisheries – the importance of fisheries agreements with third countries, the importance of continuing to sign up to them and to sign up to new ones. I stress their importance for those third countries and for European regions which are highly dependent on fishing such as my own, Galicia, and I stress once again that this agreement is mutually beneficial.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, on behalf of my colleagues in the Socialist and the Christian Democratic Group I would like to make an oral amendment to paragraph 9. It should read as follows: '...welcomes the fact that the Commission came forward with the announced packet of the three climate change proposals'. The Commission came forward the day before yesterday with the three proposals, we have to correct that. I also want to congratulate the Commission for doing this before the very important climate change conference in Marrakesh, COP 7. (The President noted that there was no opposition to considering the oral amendment) (Parliament adopted the resolution) *** Recommendation for second reading (A5-0326/2001), on behalf of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, on the Council common position on the adoption of the directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing harmonised requirements and procedures for the safe loading and unloading of bulk carriers (7193/2/2001 – C5-0292/2001 – 2000/0121(COD)) (Rapporteur: Mr van Dam) (The President declared the common position approved) *** Report (A5-0327/2001) by Mr Vatanen, on behalf of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and departing from Community ports (COM(2001)46 – C5-0051/2001 – 2001/0026(COD)) (Parliament adopted the legislative resolution) *** Report (A5-0338/2001) by Mr Lamassoure, on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, on the proposal for a Council regulation on pre-accession financial assistance for Turkey (COM(2001)230-C5-0219/2001 – 2001/0097(CNS) (Parliament adopted the legislative resolution) *** Report (A5-0343/2001) by Mr Lamassoure, on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, on the 2000 Regular Report from the Commission on Turkey’s progress towards accession (COM (2000)713 – C5-0613/2000 – 2000/2014(COS) On Amendment No 8

Political group: Verts-ALE
I share the report’s preliminary approach, which stresses the need to take the external costs of charging into greater consideration. Obviously, infrastructure needs to be meticulously maintained and modernised. But what funding must be sought? The report stresses that nothing must hinder the development of the market in Member States, i.e. that business profits must not be made use of. The social dumping practised by the road industry or the scandal involving motorway concessions, for example, are not challenged in any way. Not wishing to increase taxation also entails preventing state intervention so as not to obstruct the sacrosanct rule of competition. On the contrary, the rapporteur advocates pursuing “the aim of phasing out distortions of competition between Member States”. Nowhere does the report make any reference to a state response to social needs, yet, on the other hand, the only response to the “all market” solution is to appeal to private companies, for both the construction and the management of infrastructure. As a result, the only parties to pay that are clearly identified in the text are road users, and that is why I shall not be voting in favour of this report. - Karamanou Report (A5-0373/2000)

Political group: GUE-NGL
I would thank Commissioner Fischler for that answer and note that, on the issue of meat’s place of origin, the places in which the animals concerned were born and bred will, as from next year, have to be stated. In that case, will the name of the individual farm be stated, or just the name of the district? I ask this question in view of the lack of confidence in agriculture felt by more and more consumers. That applies especially with regard to the meat industry here in Europe at present. It is therefore important that this information concerning the origin of meat and other agricultural products should be available as soon as possible. Allow me to inform Commissioner Fischler about a company in my home district of Mora in Dalarna. The company, which is called Siljanet and whose innovator is Anders Lindberg, has introduced a form of data labelling for which a patent has now been applied and which enables meat to be traced back to the individual farm. It was showcased at a conference on 6 March in Brussels.

Political group: PPE-DE
The general public is particularly concerned about the link between the depleted uranium used in weapons and public health. At the moment of impact, these weapons unleash chemical reactions, whose effects upon soldiers, civilians and the environment are still not known. Moreover, uranium, even the depleted variety which is 20% less radioactive than natural uranium, is still a form of nuclear waste and dangerous to use. There may be a link between the cases of leukaemia found in soldiers who have served in the Balkans and the use of such weapons by NATO. Even though conclusive proof has not yet been brought forward, and even if there is no consensus among scientists, what we have today is more than mere suspicion, as is shown by the results of various enquiries. This concern is therefore well grounded and should not be treated lightly. Until we obtain conclusive proof, we should apply the precautionary principle and impose a moratorium on the use of such weapons. This is the very least on which we can decide today, before a total ban is imposed, should the studies confirm the danger. NATO should be totally open about the use of these weapons and about the conduct of its operations in general, and the European Commission should itself begin an independent scientific enquiry. We owe it to all the people who are currently suffering or living under this threat to demand truth and transparency. At a time when international law is tending towards the obligation to intervene legitimately on humanitarian grounds in defence of human rights, the civilian population cannot be put at risk by the armed forces supposed to protect it.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, we are currently experiencing a particularly worrying economic and social situation and, despite all the declarations about the priority that should be given to social policy, the reality of the situation shows that unemployment and the standard of living are growing worse for a significant proportion of the population. The situation is now being made even worse in some countries by the drought and the disaster of the forest fires, particularly in Portugal. It should be noted that, in order to achieve the employment targets set by the Council in 2000, more than 15 million new high-quality jobs with rights will have to be created by 2010. What we are seeing more of, however, is unemployment. Poverty also remains at scandalous levels: more than 15% of the population, or around 56 million people, is now in danger of falling into poverty. This situation should sound the alarm for changing Community and monetarist policies, in order to attach the greatest priority to public investment and to other measures for promoting employment and social inclusion. This is why, in our proposals, we insist on the need for the Stability Pact to be revised. I hope, moreover, that the investment and spending that have had to be made as a result of the disastrous forest fires and droughts are at least factored in when calculating the budget deficit. Before the vote on Amendment No 15:

Political group: GUE-NGL