GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, as rapporteur in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy on preparations for the accession of the Czech Republic, I have a request to make of you. It has come to our attention that a member of the Czech Parliament, Mr Ivan Pilip, has been arrested in Cuba. He has evidently been accused of spying. The truth is that he met civil rights campaigners and that his actions were quite normal for a member of a freely elected parliament. Mr President, I urge you to arrange for a request to be made to the Cuban authorities for Mr Pilip and those accompanying him to be released immediately, because the Cuban regime does not have any moral grounds for giving lessons in democracy to members of a freely elected parliament. I have all the more reason for asking you this given that in April this year a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union is due to take place in Cuba. How can one possibly justify holding a meeting of this kind in a country where members of parliament are arrested if they talk to civil rights campaigners?

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, Amendment No 1 in the English texts opens with the phrase 'Considers that there is a continuing democratic deficit in the European Union', and goes on to say that, 'we should democratise the institutions therefore...'. In some language versions, the English word 'continuing' has been translated as 'permanent' which, for example in Spanish, gave rise to some distress. English is the original text. Could the translation services please get it right in the other languages.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, anyone who has ever seen from the air the huge landscape around the Congo and its neighbouring great lakes knows that this is one of the world's most fascinating regions. It is actually a sort of continent within a continent, and so this cannot, alas, be considered as a normal internal problem; the extent of this war is comparable to something like the Thirty Years' War in Europe. Just as, in Europe's Thirty Years' War, religious motivations were exploited by tough political and economic interests, the ethnicity of people in the Congo region and in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being misused as a tool in the interests and for the sake of corporations, raw materials and the major powers. As in the age of the Thirty Years' War, the troops of neighbouring states have become caught up in this civil war, never returning to their countries of origin and themselves joining the marauding bands in this gigantic country. That is why this is, lamentably, a problem whose solution will take a great deal of time. We have to start, in the first place, by constructing a State structure for this gigantic land that the decolonisation process carved out. This can only be done step by step in a gradual process that must build on what was agreed in Sun City, but we must be clear in our own minds that it cannot be done overnight, that many, many small steps will be needed and that we will only be able to talk in terms of democracy when we have ensured that the State is able to perform its most basic functions. That will involve, above all, a minimum of administration and communications and the reinstatement of shipping on the Congo, which is this great country's lifeline, and without which it cannot be reconstructed. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I shall explain my vote However, may I submit a procedural motion? Previously, when Members were present for the vote and an explanation of vote was made in writing, it was possible to leave, as the President used to state that he had received such and such a written explanation of vote on such and such a report. Now, we have to wait. Yesterday I waited 40 minutes to say that I was submitting my explanation of the vote in writing! It is a waste of time. What we are doing is already somewhat inhuman: we vote from 12 p.m. to 1.30 p.m. and then we stay here until 4 p.m. to say that we are submitting a written explanation of vote! The parliamentary services told me that I had to be here. Perhaps you would have agreed...nevertheless, could we not clarify things? I understand that Members who are not taking part in the vote on a report or resolution cannot submit a written explanation, but why must those who have taken part in the vote, who are submitting a written explanation, stay here for another half-hour? Could you clarify that?

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I would like to say that I am pleased with the MEDIA Plus document. I believe that it has been very much improved by Parliament. Mrs Hieronymi, furthermore, has been very open to all suggestions and it seems to me that, in relation to other programmes, it contains an innovation which the Commission has also contributed to, that is, support for marketing and distribution. Nevertheless, I would like a further step to be taken because, in my view, the MEDIA Plus document follows a principle which is rather like that of arts cinema: it supports in particular the script and the production when these days we know that post-production accounts for 60%, 70% or 80% of good films. Furthermore, postproduction is the field in which the new technologies are working. It is much cheaper to produce special effects by computer than in reality. If we do not support post-production, editing, training in editing and the establishment of studios for dubbing, editing and creating sound tracks, in which post-production can be properly carried out, our cinema will lag behind. We have European directors who have worked with American companies, who have made fantastic films. We have the knowledge, but we do not have the support for the industry to allow us to compete in post-production, because to speak now of script-led cinema is to speak of times past, it is to speak of the theatre-cinema in which the camera follows the actor around. That system is completely obsolete. We should support this new industry in which, furthermore, there are new vocations, new forms of creativity, a creativity of images, pure cinema, the new cinema for the era we are living in. I would therefore ask that, when offering grants, these aspects should be taken into account and the industry should be opened up to the world. In the conciliation we should now finally be talking of a cultural industry.

Political group: PPE-DE
In my question on a point of order, what specifically I pointed out was that, in my follow-up question, I had indicated that a whole new situation had arisen in Afghanistan and Kabul now that the Taliban regime had fled the capital. The situation was different when this question was put to the Belgian Presidency a month ago and when the Belgian Presidency prepared its answer. A new opening exists. I would therefore thank the Belgian Presidency for the follow-up answer it has given me, to the effect that it will take action on the new situation in Afghanistan.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, Commissioner Patten, I think that the infrastructure in this area in particular represents a very important opportunity for the future. We are discussing reconstruction in this area. We are talking about EUR 500 million or a billion, an enormous amount of money, which needs to be invested. What will you focus on? On restoring the railways, the roads, air traffic, energy, telecommunications? Does the Commission have a plan, if agreement is reached, on where investments should focus here?

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, on behalf of the Group of the , I welcome this reform of the 1996 Equal Treatment Directive and congratulate Mrs Hautala on her truly immense work to achieve a consensus in this House. The amendment of the directive comes at the right time now that we finally have a sound legal basis in the Treaty of Amsterdam, and it contains more detailed provisions to protect women from discrimination in their professions and in the workplace. In my view, this is a genuine building block and a contribution to the overall strategy of gender mainstreaming. With our amendments to the text proposed by the Commission, the directive's scope of application becomes broader and more specific. We put forward practical definitions of direct and indirect discrimination in the workplace. For the first time, sexual harassment in the workplace is recognised as discrimination on grounds of sex, and our amendments offer women workers various ways of defending themselves, including recourse to an independent body. We have also introduced a woman's right to return to her own job or an equivalent job under terms and conditions which are not less favourable to her after maternity leave. We are again tabling an amendment to protect fathers who apply for parental leave as well. They are still few in number. Europe-wide, just 2% of fathers claim this right, and these progressive fathers must not be excluded from our efforts. I hope that this proposed amendment will be widely supported by this House. In my view, this too is an essential building block for the gender mainstreaming process. We Social Democrats want to break open old and entrenched structures and ensure that role stereotypes are no longer perpetuated. The directive imposes an obligation on Member States to take action against discrimination. It is thus a move away from voluntary, non-binding provisions. I think that this too will encourage debate about this particular issue in Germany. The text also calls for the extension of the Equal Treatment Directive to the private sector. After the cases which we have witnessed, I hope that together, we can now finally make progress for women.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the regime of Saddam Hussein is a dictatorship of the worst kind. For years he has dragged his people into wars and sacrificed prosperity and social and economic progress to this cause. Let us remain mindful of this. The invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf War represented an all-time low. The Iraqi regime has survived it all, despite the suffering of its people, who, apart from an inhuman regime, have also had to suffer the effects of international sanctions. The sanctions, however, were opportunely used by Saddam Hussein to boost his popularity. In the eyes of many ordinary Arabs, he became a symbol of Arab opposition to American supremacy. We should remain mindful of all of this. We would also like to see four key elements retained when assessing the Nicholson report. The indictment against the continuous violations of democracy and human rights perpetrated by the Iraqi regime. Secondly, criticism of the sanctions, which do not affect the regime but the Iranian people. Thirdly, guarantees for the cultural minorities from the international community. Fourthly, a solution to the conflict between Iraq and the international community by non-military means in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations and the Security Council. War is not a solution. War not only means that there is a risk of new victims being created among the civilian population; even the Kurds reject it. The Arab countries dread an insurrection of their masses. Europe must adopt its own stance in this regard, and not blindly follow the American policy which poses great risks to stability in the world and only generates hatred and frustration.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, the original directive dating back to 1993 on the organisation of working hours was necessary for the health and safety of people at work. Also, the present additional directive tabled by Mrs Smet, which includes additional sectors and activities, is of great importance and we give it our full backing. In addition to a few previous minor remarks made by my group, I would like to make a few observations. In some EU countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland, employers in road transport have, within the framework of a strategy of contracting-out and more flexibility, rendered their wheels i.e. trucks and transport operators independent as it were. They hire these zelfstandigen zonder personeel (staffless own-account workers), as they are referred to in the Netherlands, to carry out the same activities. These own-account transport operators are no longer in someone’s employment but their role is virtually the same and the risks are to be borne by them. Both trade unions and employers’ organisations would like to see arrangements made for them. So they fall outside the scope of this new directive. Their health and safety is not protected because they are self-employed. They hardly seem to be involved in the consultation between the European social partners in this respect. In fact, this phenomenon can also be identified in other sectors, such as the building sector and a few others besides. The social issues which we are facing here seem to reflect to a certain degree some of the guidelines from the employment policy. We should think very carefully about what this means. As far as I know, a number of guidelines are being drafted behind the scenes but there are also barriers to these activities and their implementation. I would urge the Commission to raise this issue as soon as possible and make the necessary additional proposals.

Political group: Verts-ALE
draftsman of the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy. – Mr President, it is a little difficult to give an opinion on this when half my colleagues seem to believe that there is no point in giving an opinion because we cannot alter the Convention text. However, for what it is worth, I would just say the following. In many ways the European Union already exercises maximum powers in the area covered by my committee: we have codecision and qualified majority voting. However, there are certain lessons we can draw from our experience. The main lesson that I would draw – which is not embodied in the Convention text – is that we need to be much more careful that we adopt legislation that is put into force. Therefore we need to build into the Constitution or Constitutional Treaty an absolute requirement for the three institutions – the European Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament – to provide cost-benefit impact assessments of the amendments which they propose for legislation. Unless we do that, we shall continue to adopt legislation which all countries agree with, but which in some countries is ignored and which a lot of countries cannot afford. This will become much more important with the enlargement of the European Union to include a lot of very poor countries. As it is, if we go on with the expectations that we are arousing but cannot fulfil, we will not do Europe or Europe's consumers any good.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, Mr Blak’s report discusses inter alia, living and working conditions in Europe. I have to say that, just now, when I was walking in front of the hemicycle, I met a crowd of pensioners and elderly people who were visiting the European Parliament. One of them recognised me and said: ‘Mr Fatuzzo, at last I have met you! I know that you often uphold the interests of pensioners and elderly people in your speeches and I really must tell you that I have a good life. I have an excellent standard of living because I travel, I visit places. I would like endeavours to be pursued – and you must call for this when you vote on the Blak report – to ensure that everyone, young and old as well, has as comfortable a life as we do, who are able to come and visit Strasbourg.’ - Langenhagen report (A5-0068/2003)

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, just a few brief observations – as Mr Salvador Jové Peres will be speaking next on behalf of my group – to say that this is an issue that is becoming extremely important and extremely relevant today, both in terms of what it means for fishing stocks, and in terms of the number of jobs that it involves directly or indirectly. And also in terms of the unpleasant incidents that would ensue from a possible stoppage of the fleets working in Moroccan waters, with all the inherent tension and social costs. And as far as this is concerned, I cannot fail to highlight the mistake made four or five years ago by establishing a fisheries agreement outside the broader framework of the cooperation agreement established between the European Union and Morocco. At the time we drew attention to the dangers that would ensue, and now we have new and inevitable consequences, specifically the demands for more Moroccan fishermen on Community vessels, fishing licences restricted to new, joint ventures, the obligation to unload fish in Moroccan ports, more concessions in the agricultural area etc. Of course we are in favour of and want to reach a rapid and efficient negotiation with the Kingdom of Morocco, which will be to our mutual advantage. But we think that it is vital that the negotiations about to start, which may prove to be difficult and slow, are directed towards certain key areas at Community level. Firstly, the fisheries agreement will definitely have to be incorporated into our overall cooperation agreement with that country. Next, we cannot make more concessions or give more compensation in the area of agriculture, and the current jobs in the fisheries industry must be guaranteed. And finally, but no less importantly, we must take every precaution and provide for appropriate compensation in case of a possible and undesirable stoppage of the Community fleet’s fishing.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Council's proposal offers refugees an opportunity to acquire refugee status under the Geneva Convention in accordance with uniform criteria which will apply throughout the European Union. This proposal guarantees rapid and reliable procedures for genuine refugees – who account for around 10% of all those who apply for asylum – and also ensures that unsuccessful applications will be rejected quickly. This applies to around 90% of asylum seekers who apply for reasons other than genuine persecution. That is better than being forced to wait for years before being informed of a negative decision. This proposal also puts an end to ‘asylum shopping’. However, we also need supplementary measures. These include the Dublin Convention, Eurodac, and rules on safe third countries and safe countries of origin. The European People’s Party therefore supports the Council's proposal. However, on behalf of the , I should like to make it clear that asylum law must not now be exploited for political purposes through all the amendments and proposals put forward here and used as a pretext for immigration on many different grounds. This ignores the reality. We must use these new European instruments for immigration, asylum or short-term help when refugees come from war-torn regions. We must not adopt any unrealistic measures. In future, it must be guaranteed that the right of asylum will be reserved for those who are politically persecuted and will not be extended to groups who some people might want to bring here for political reasons but who do not comply with the provisions of the Geneva Convention. Our aim must be to guarantee reliable and prompt support for genuine refugees, as well as follow-up measures to assist them with integration. At the same time, we must make it clear to everyone else that there will be other new instruments governing economic immigration into the European Union.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, more than two years ago, on the initiative of the Aznar Government, a new page was turned in Tampere with regard to European integration: to make a politically and judicially viable new common European area of freedom, security and justice, which would make the freedom and security of citizens compatible – and here is the great political debate – with the efficient functioning of, and access to, justice within this area. The events that have taken place over these last two years, such as the tragic deaths of Moroccan and sub-Saharan citizens in the Straits of Gibraltar and off the Andalusian coast, the death of immigrants in Dover or the recent incidents in Ireland, the repugnant traffic in, and corruption of, minors, and prostitution, combined with the horrific murders committed by ETA and the tragedy of 11 September, have caused an upheaval in the debate and have accelerated the need for the speedy implementation of measures to cope with such a dangerous and worrying situation. Ladies and Gentlemen, the work carried out by the Council, the Commission and Parliament in this field has its good and bad points. The good points include the fight against terrorism, where the important role which our President, Nicole Fontaine, has played in this area, as well as Commissioner Vitorino, deserve a special mention; the European arrest warrant and the definition of terrorism are the result of a difficult battle against terrorism that started in this House before 11 September. I would also like to stress what a good thing it has been to separate the debates on economic migration and asylum, which has helped us to clarify ideas, debates, and even approaches. However, in my opinion, there is still a long way to go. There are too many bad points and the most worrying of these in my opinion is the disorder caused by the hastiness and lack of agreement in the Council in areas such as the family reunification of immigrants, minimum standards on the asylum process, conditions for the reception of asylum seekers – to give but a few examples – where our work is sometimes ineffective due to the fact we have to chop and change what is carried out by the Council, which shows that the method with which we have to work is not ideal by any means and needs to be amended.

Political group: PPE-DE