GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, Commissioner, Mr Lehne's proposal for a directive is genuinely relevant and well-structured, but I would like attention to be paid to three points of the directive: the extension of the definition of alleged money laundering offences, remote identification of clients and the confidentiality of information received. With regard to the first point, the joint document puts forward a text that defines organised crime, including in the definition of alleged money laundering offences those related to organised crime. I fully support this extension. However, I cannot support the further extension to other offences – fraud and corruption, at least serious – as the existence of seriousness is made clear insofar as these offences affect the financial interests of the European Union, if, therefore, they are covered by the provisions of Article 1(e) of the Second Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests. The reference to ascertaining the seriousness of the offence is, indeed, not very clear. Secondly: the text proposes, once again, a procedure for the remote identification of clients, now that the provisions introducing a complex procedure which is difficult to implement have been appropriately removed from the text of the previous common position. The new wording appears exaggerated, while the issue of standards to be related to the different practices in use should be the responsibility of the individual countries. On this point, the concern is that specific, binding European standards might be issued, requiring the application of rigid procedures which are difficult to implement. Thirdly: the confidentiality of information received. All too often, the information provided on suspect operations is not treated as sufficiently confidential, which is clearly dangerous for the person who has provided it. Therefore, stringent confidentiality rules on information on suspect operations need to be issued. In this connection, excessive passing on of data for information purposes, for example, in banks to intermediary bodies, or in the professional categories to auditors, is eliminated.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I am speaking to confirm the agreement of the various political groups that have tabled a motion for a resolution on the kidnapping of a Spanish Jesuit in Colombia and to inform the House that we have decided to withdraw it in view of the fact that the person has been freed. Two other Community citizens have also been freed today. Therefore, I am not going to discuss the draft resolution, as it no longer exists. Nevertheless, Colombia is clearly a country that deserves our attention. But as Mr Linkohr was saying, the problem with Latin America is that we only concern ourselves with these countries when there are problems. I think this is a good time to highlight the need for the European Union to draw up a comprehensive policy on Latin America which could perhaps prevent these countries from regularly going through the crisis situations that some of them have experienced.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, the proposal for a regulation to transfer cargo and passenger ships between registers comes within the more general anti-labour policy of the European Union. On the pretext of strengthening competition, it aims to increase the profits of the shipping industry by cutting back marine workers' wages and social rights and giving scandalous tax breaks to shipping companies in the Member States of the European Union. The recommendation in the explanatory statement of the regulation in question, that the Member States re-consider the creation of a European shipping register, is a strategically important choice by big business in order to increase its profitability. This proposal was submitted by the Commission back in 1989. Its implementation today, apart from new profits for shipowners, will result in lower safety standards in maritime transport, with new dangers to human life and the environment. This will create the conditions for new crimes at sea, such as the Erika, the Prestige and others. The proposal to strengthen the criminal framework for abolishing pollution from ships will do nothing to reduce crimes at sea, in that everything will be subjugated to safeguarding and increasing the profits of shipowners and big business in general, which controls the sources of energy and the means of transport and production. We take this opportunity to call on the European Parliament to intervene and to force the P[amp]I Club and the companies which own the Prestige and the Tasman Spirit to pay the fines for the two shipwrecks so that their crews, which are being held hostage as scapegoats in Spain and Pakistan respectively, can be released. Mr President, the Communist Party of Greece rejects wholesale all three proposals for regulations ... (The President cut off the speaker)

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the report of the Committee on the Transport of Animals, which is under discussion this evening, has borne out what is repeatedly seen on television: the brutal way that animals are treated, the disregard of limits on journey times, the overloading of vehicles and many other breaches of current regulations on the transport of animals, none of which has been an infrequent occurrence. This situation is no longer tolerable, and the European public is right to demand speedy measures to remedy it. I must, though, say quite clearly that European regulations on the transport of animals, when correctly enforced, already guarantee a high degree of protection to animals. As the Committee highlights in its report, the fundamental problem is that the regulations currently in force are applied only very inadequately in most of the Member States. Quite apart from the difficulty of transposing the directive into national law, this is attributable above all to Member States' defective control procedures and the far too weak sanctions imposed when breaches are discovered. Criticism arising out of these problems should therefore be directed mainly at the Member States. In my opinion, the Community control policy needs a thorough re-think here, as comparable problems exist in other areas of veterinary control. I would like, though, to enlarge on two further points. The abolition of export refunds for animals for slaughter, contained in this resolution, was decided on by Parliament in the course of the 2002 Budget procedure and has long been demanded by Social Democrats. In the past, Parliament has already given financially preferential treatment to meat as opposed to livestock for slaughter in paying export refunds, in order to remove the economic incentive from the export of live animals. At present, then, only about one-half in export refund is paid for livestock in comparison with meat. Even that, though, is not yet enough, and export refunds for animals for slaughter should be reduced to zero. The other point I would like to make is that the proposal for a resolution calls for a maximum transport time of 8 hours for animals intended for slaughter, and that, too, is an old demand from the Social Democrats. There is to be no general maximum journey time, and prime consideration was given to the situation of remote regions and islands. Here, too, there will be limited exceptions to the rules on maximum journey time, which we greatly welcome. In conclusion, I would like, on behalf of the Social Democrat Group, to thank Mr Maat for the constructive work we have done together, and I believe it will continue in future.

Political group: PSE
Madam President, since I am entitled to do so, I should like to respond, as I cannot let some of the observations and even complaints, directed at me in my capacity as rapporteur by Mr Färm, go without comment. I shall refrain from commenting on his own rather contradictory statement. If the policy of high excise duties, at 17 times higher than the Community minimum for beer, had indeed been successful, then what need would there be to request further restrictions? It has been clearly demonstrated that this policy is not successful. Why else would Finland be complaining about the increasing amounts imported from Russia and Estonia in spite of the exorbitant excise duties. So I would advise Mr Färm, who has unfortunately left the building, to check back over his reasoning and try to come up with something better, since he is subject to rather a lot of contradictions. He even suggested that I had reduced excise duties. That would be a fine thing, if only I could. (The President asked the speaker to conclude) I have the right to reply, and I shall finish soon. As I was saying, I mean to make the most of my right to speak. Mr Färm also criticised me for defending wine producers. I am proud that I did though! Must I remind you that wine is an agricultural product and a foodstuff which, consumed in moderation, has therapeutic and preventative properties, and I would like to see those citizens that get drunk on beer and vodka on Friday and Saturday drinking a couple of glasses of wine every day instead. It would be much better for their health. I should like to see these citizens in a position to purchase these two glasses of wine, for this is not possible due to the excessive excise duties applied by this country. It would even be good for the social security department in Finland.

Political group: PPE-DE
Although visas should only be granted at borders in exceptional circumstances, common procedures must be established in the Member States for the transit of seamen, a professional category that is subject to enormous labour mobility. This initiative is intended to update, clarify and streamline rules for granting visas to seamen in transit. The major legislative innovation consists of the possibility, provided that certain conditions are met, of issuing collective transit visas to seamen from the same vessel who are travelling in a group of between five and fifty people, provided that the period of transit is limited. They must not be required to have the same nationality, however, because in practical terms, this would basically nullify the effects of this proposal. It is also important to make the shipping agent and the shipping line responsible for visa requests. The need for the exchange of information must also be emphasised to ascertain, for example, whether an individual has been arrested, whether he has a criminal record, whether he is suspected of being involved in trafficking or in illegal immigration. This initiative, with the amendments tabled by the European Parliament can contribute to making the complex Schengen acquis a little more comprehensible and bring solutions which, although perhaps not the ones we would wish to see – such as the introduction of more thoroughgoing reforms of the Schengen acquis – are solutions that are possible.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I would ask you to call my question again, and for the following reason: I was here at 5.30 p.m. and the debate was still in full swing. I then went to another meeting. As soon as I saw that Question Time was starting and Mr Prodi had finished speaking I rushed here from that meeting, but the first part – which according to our documents was supposed to last 30 minutes – was already over. I really would therefore crave your indulgence. In such cases it is extremely difficult, even for someone like myself who endeavours to attend Question Time on every occasion, to be here on the dot ready for this procedure. I would therefore ask you to call my question again. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I voted for the accession of all these Eastern and Central European countries and the accession of Malta and Cyprus because I hold out great hopes of having, in the future, a Parliament with a greater number of representatives of pensioners and pensioners’ parties from these Member States. I was therefore disappointed to see that there was a great demonstration of protest during this vote from European Union employees, whose future pension payments are to be reduced. Therefore, while I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to them, I hope and pray that the future Parliament, including the Members from the Member States, will guarantee the citizens, starting with European Union employees, a peaceful future in which the elderly are duly respected.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, rapporteur, ladies and gentlemen, it is important to reinstate market confidence. It is, however, still more important to restore citizens’ confidence in the food they buy and eat – in actual fact, it is perhaps in that way that the market will be strengthened. The crucial factor is that it should be possible to trace with certainty the origins of what we eat. Amendment No 29 is very important for producers, above all perhaps for small producers in vulnerable areas. This Amendment would entitle producers to provide information on the label in addition to the name of the nation where the goods concerned originate. There would be the option to state, for example, the particular area from which the meat comes or the fact that a particular breed of cattle or special breeding methods have been used. However, there should be no legislation on this matter, other than a ban on lying. I am very pleased about Mr Whitehead’s remark about minced meat. I fully and wholeheartedly support Amendment No 30 from the rapporteur. For me, the most important aspect of this whole issue is that no exceptions should be made for cheap food. We who sit in this Chamber, for the most part middle-aged and well-to-do, know perfectly well that it is young people and families with children who buy and eat the cheapest food – sausages, hamburgers etc. In all social systems and at all periods in history, the most vulnerable groups have had the least purchasing power. It is our absolute moral duty first and foremost to make cheap food safe before we do the same for fillet of beef.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, Commissioner, first I shall look for and I intend to find those responsible for the third generation mobile communications recession. The guilty parties are the governments of those countries that organised radio spectrum auctions and transferred the money companies in the sector had invested to themselves. The action taken by the public authorities to alleviate this slump in investment has not been sufficiently effective. Authorisation has been granted for installations of equipment to coexist side by side for common use, but that is all. Consequently, the slump in investment in third generation mobile communications continues, and the pious hopes for the ambitious targets set in Feira, Lisbon, Barcelona and Seville are not realised. More realistic targets should be set. Now I have made my protests I would like to say thank you. Mr Paasilinna’s report has focused attention on an information society for all, and on the important reason for the Action Plan: the information society must be brought within the reach of everyone, and I mean everyone. That is democracy. This democracy must be promoted through public investment. In addition to the technical tools and fast connections we have to give attention to user instructions and guidance, because equipment is no use if the information society actors cannot use it. I would like to remind Mr Van Velzen of something in the explanatory statement of his report, which mentions that for the work of public institutions to continue it is essential that they can also calculate a charge for information provided, to offset the investment needed to produce certain databases. Basic information services must be free of charge or at least inexpensive, but historical investment must also be taken into account in the production costs involved in the re-use of, for example, land register, museum, university and research institute databases. Our group supports the amendment tabled by the Group of the which takes this matter into consideration, and we hope than Mr Van Velzen can show his support for preserving general use services with user charges without them having to be financed out of taxes.

Political group: GUE-NGL
I thank the Commissioner for his reply. In the last Commission this was a priority, it was an agenda being driven forward by Commissioner Bangemann, supported by Commissioner van den Broek. Do I get the impression that this Commission has really lost interest in pursuing this initiative and that the Commission as a whole would prefer not to take this forward? It seems to me ironic, at a time when we are reconsidering our defence capacity, that we seem to have lost impetus on the restructuring of the defence industry. In particular, is the Commission, despite its role as guardian of the Treaty, afraid to take on Member State governments over Article 296 in order to enforce the fact that many defence items should be subject to the single market? Will the Commissioner reassure me that he intends to take the initiative in this area and not run away from it?

Political group: PSE
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on 11 October the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market adopted my opinion on the White Paper on Strategy for a future Chemicals Policy. Harmonisation of chemicals policy across the EU is especially important, but the following three aspects are no less significant. First, the practicability of the registration system. The amount of data to be collected means we must keep a sense of proportion in order that the system is not congested from the start. The principle of proportionality is also to be applied to the required definition of use, so that the manufacturer of a product must be able to restrict the definition to actually intended purposes. Secondly, a clear definition of the substitution principle. The definition of this principle varies from one Member State to another, if they have one at all. If it is to be laid down in Community law, it will have to be formulated in a consistent and unambiguous way. Thirdly, appropriate protection for test data. Insufficient account is taken of the need to guard commercial confidentiality. At the same time, the security data document should be under copyright in order to protect the applicant against misuse of the data obtained. Mrs Schörling's report is to that extent unbalanced. It takes too little account of the interests of medium-sized chemical businesses and of the industry as a whole, something that can lead to distortions in competition. I therefore recommend adoption of the amendments resulting from the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, which contribute to a better balance of the interests of all interested parties.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, I would like to inform you that in July this year, in accordance with Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union, I tabled a question to the Council of Ministers with regard to the Sahara referendum and also to some statements made by Mr Solana, the European Union’s representative for Foreign Policy. A few weeks ago some EU Member States in the United Nations debated the common EU position on the Sahara. Curiously, France distanced herself from the Belgian presidency’s proposal and demanded that the line be adopted as set out in the response that the Council of the European Union gave me personally on 10 October. To date, I have received no such response. There was even talk of a diplomatic incident, of a crisis between Spain and France, and between Spain and Morocco. I would like to say two things for the record: firstly, it has never been my intention to create a diplomatic incident between Spain and France, nor between Spain and Morocco. And secondly, I would like to express my concern at the lack of transparency shown by the Council to this Parliament, for I have had no official answer to my question.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to thank Mrs Corbey for addressing these issues and writing this own-initiative report. We really need to discuss packaging. I nonetheless think – and I say this following 30 years’ experience of environmental issues and environmental debate – that, as usual, we have an incredible talent for running after problems and battening upon them. To discuss packaging solely from the perspective of waste, as we are doing now and have always done, is completely wrong. I address the Commissioner with responsibility for environmental issues directly and appeal to her to allow us to discuss the whole chain. We have to discuss logistics, transport and the packaging that eventually becomes waste. Above all, the amount of consumer packaging must and can be reduced. You and I come from the same country, and we know that experiments led to a 30 per cent reduction in the quantity of material in consumer packaging over approximately three years. It is possible. I might perhaps be allowed to appeal for the forthcoming White Paper on Integrated Product Policy to address the whole of the logistical chain, something which did not feature in the Green Paper. That would be a merciful answer to our prayers.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the communication we are debating today contains the strategy by means of which the European Union attempts to make a contribution to social development. It is positive that this is being done. Many fear that in the era of globalisation, social development will be compromised. These days, the bodies that reach agreements are further removed from the average citizen, and become anonymous for that reason alone. This anonymity leads to discomfort and unrest. Indeed, the citizen who is positively disposed towards this society has no way of gaining an overall picture. The Commission has mapped out the relations between the different players in the global society in a clear and readily understood format. It has listed the mechanisms whereby the European Union, the ILO and the WTO, commit themselves to the promotion of fundamental labour standards and to improving social governance. As draftsman of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities, I have to tell you that, in our view, the communication does not specifically consider the gender dimension as part of fundamental labour standards and of the acquisition of social sustainability. It is true that gender forms part of the ILO’s core labour standards because the non-discrimination principle and the principle of equal treatment are, after all, enshrined in it. However, we know that the best economic and social development is that in which women are definitely involved 100%. This is, in fact, the reason why the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities proposes to incorporate studies on the gender dimension as an instrument. I should also like to draw your attention to the fact that, where the topic of social partners is discussed, the role of women’s organisations is not considered. This is a failing, because not only within the EU, but also outside it, women are still not being involved enough via the traditional routes to be able to help shape policy. By way of conclusion, I want to make an urgent appeal to the Commission to improve the excellent communication that is before us with the studies on the gender dimension. This will give a better insight into the important role to be played by women in social development, and I want to thank Mrs Gillig warmly, not only for her sterling report but certainly also for the way in which she has joined forces with the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities.

Political group: PPE-DE