GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Madam President, whoever has the honour, like myself, to chair the Committee on Culture, cannot fail to agree with the comments from various Members and can but congratulate the rapporteur, and Commissioner Reding, with whom he worked and who, even during the conciliation process, had difficult moments and opposed the Council – you have heard this said by everyone. I have noticed how the principle of a necessary culture at European organisational level has been firmly asserted, but there are few opportunities to address all the requests that the European States will make. I shall simply stress my own personal complaint because, in the end, we did not manage to adopt a review clause. However, Mrs Reding was certainly receptive and farsighted, and personally undertook to review the issue and carry out a comprehensive assessment within a few years, and therefore to change the situation. The cultural programmes launched in years past – Kaleidoscope, Ariane and Raphael – are being replaced by a single programme, Culture 2000, where – and I must stress this here very forcefully – the rapporteur censures a position which should give the European Parliament cause for reflection – as someone said this afternoon – but which still underlines the huge importance of being part of a vast community where cultural interpretation is a democratic factor. This is not rhetoric, but the new embodiment of a modern liberalism which unites the European States and constitutes a turning point for the European Parliament and the Commission. We agree with this approach and despite the lack of funds, this evening’s result will serve to greatly boost this strategy and this opportunity for Europe, which will then give rise to an economic factor and a growth factor; culture then, and an institutional aspect, the basis for structuring a vast community, a prerequisite for economic growth, and not the complete opposite, as Europe, in its cultural habits, has perhaps been used to viewing things in the past. Man and culture are priorities, and culture can result in economic growth. Let us contemplate this result, derive satisfaction from it and grant ourselves a licence to fully embrace this worthwhile strategy.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, I have an oral amendment which is in fact a clarification, because the passage concerned has been formulated differently in various translations. I hope the person who tabled the amendment will agree to this. The second sentence should read: ‘.., weshalb diese Hilfen’ (which is why we have this aid), then ‘ohne Bedingungen und’ (unconditionally and) should be deleted, and it continues as follows: ‘ohne Abhängigkeit von reziproken Anweisungen von seiten des Geberlandes gewährt werden müssen’. (and therefore that the aid must not be dependent on the reciprocal orders from the donor countries). This clarification would certainly meet with our approval.

Political group: PSE
Unemployment is constantly on the rise, followed by even faster rising underemployment. The aim of the ΕU's employment policies is not to reduce unemployment; they are a vehicle for abolishing wage, labour and insurance rights and they spell redundancy for workers in full-time, stable employment, the aim being to impose flexible forms of employment. This state aid represents net revenue to employers; it results in workers being replaced by the subsidised unemployed and permanent violations of collective agreements. It helps reduce labour costs and supports the interests and profits of big business. Priority for SMEs and proposals to draw up a list of the groups which will benefit from the measures merely sweetens the pill. The purpose of these proposals is not to help SMEs strengthen their defences against the onslaught of big business but to make use of SMEs, which have always had the most jobs but which also have the weakest trade union movement, and of the weakest social groups in order to support the drive towards labour market flexibility. The workers want full, stable employment, protected social rights, a higher standard of living, real social development and prosperity, unemployment benefits of 80% of the basic wage and a different sort of policy, which centres around man and his needs.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I will be very brief; I believe that Mr Rack’s work deserves our approval. He has done an excellent job, and has, in particular, been able to strike a balance between the costs connected with safety measures and the major safety measures which must be taken in tunnels in the next few years. I would also like to make a brief personal comment to the Vice-President and discuss her personal contribution. Madam Vice-President, for many years there has been an often very hard, but also very fair cooperation and debate. You have indeed not always made it easy for everyone. While not exactly being a person who radiates meekness and readiness for compromise from the word go, you are a person with whom it is worthwhile to argue and find a compromise. In that sense, I would like to say that I agree with you entirely: in the last few years in the area of transport policy we have taken a very large number of important decisions, in which you and your staff have played a very important part, and for that you have my warm thanks. I assume that you will remain in the Commission and continue to be politically active, and perhaps we will have a little bit of time to argue with each other. In any event, it is a pleasure to argue with you, when we are dealing with the real issue. Thank you for your collaboration. (Applause)

Political group: PSE
Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Mr President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, it has been said, and rightly so, that the Copenhagen Council put an end to the post-war division of Europe. We also need to put an end to a much older division, by which I mean the difficulties preventing eastern Europe from moving from the Middle Ages to the present day, difficulties which condemned it to a period of endless stagnation and cost it dearly in terms of both money and blood. It is time we paid our respects to the people of eastern Europe for their persistence and for their faith in the concept of progress, which I hope will be vindicated today. There has been a parallel achievement in southern Europe. It does not have the same material dimensions as eastern Europe, but it does have similar moral dimensions. Look at Cyprus, an ancient European people, a Hellenic people, which found itself in the grip of a nineteenth century colonial regime and finally – and rightly – rebelled against it in the middle of the twentieth century. As in numerous other instances, the consequences of that rebellion were – in English for the benefit of my British colleagues – an ‘independence of sorts’, but an independence accompanied by the partition of two nations, with the colonial power playing one off against the other on the basis of the classic principle of divide and rule. Today’s Europe, with the admission of Cyprus and the call for the island’s two nations to be reunited, will remedy the tragic consequences of the colonial adventure in - or rather the retrogressive order which governed - this European country. This is what is important, Mr President, Mr President-in-Office, Mr President of the Commission, not the fact that no agreement was reached. Of course, the Greek side responds fully to your call for an agreement to be reached by 27 February and, if there is a similar response on the Turkish side, an agreement will be reached. But what you should really be looking at is the response in the hearts of the Turkish-Cypriots, whose demonstrations show exactly what they think of their reactionary leaders. This is the real response and the real brilliance of Europe in the hearts of its people, when Europe sticks to its principles, and we must rely on this brilliance to move forward and build the future.

Political group: PSE
Despite my serious misgivings, I voted to approve the reports on the applications by Cyprus, Malta, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. My misgivings have nothing to do with these countries, but with the fact that the Treaty of Nice has not made the European Union sufficiently capable of enlargement. As we do not yet know the outcome of the Convention or of the Treaty amendment resulting from it, any decision on enlargement is basically premature. I abstained from the vote on the Republic of Poland, as this country is currently playing an active part in a war that is contrary to international law.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I basically want to state my views on two proposed amendments in the Schnellhardt report, namely Amendments Nos 129 and 82, and to confirm that I voted in favour of them. On balance, this is a very even-handed report and I congratulate Mr Schnellhardt on his hard work. I think it is clear from Plenary's acceptance of these two amendments that a sensible compromise can be found between the need for European rules and the use of common sense where small quantities are involved. In addition, subsidiarity can also be sensibly applied to hygiene rules for hunting and I trust that the provisions in question will find their way into national regulations.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, first of all I would very much like to congratulate Mrs Karamanou on her excellent report on the situation of women in south-east Europe. Indeed, equal opportunities between men and women in this region deserve our utmost attention in light of the problems caused by all types of exploitation of women. Human trafficking in south-east Europe is giving us the greatest cause for concern and worry. I am sorry to say that women are, in large numbers, the main victims of this terrible trafficking. The countries of this region too are called upon to take all measures necessary in order to put a stop to this modern slavery. For my part, it is true that combating the trafficking in women is an absolute priority, in line with our European values based on the principle of respect for fundamental rights. The horror of testimonies from Romanian, Moldavian and other women who have been sold for a handful of dollars is intolerable. The marketing of women must be very strongly condemned. Some Balkan countries that persistently hammer on the door of the European Union with the aim, of course, of becoming Member States should make it their absolute priority persistently to target these mafia-like organisations, break them up and severely punish those guilty of this horrendous trafficking. I would reiterate that we cannot tolerate the exploitation and abuse either of women or, especially, of girls, who are slaves of unscrupulous networks. Nor can we tolerate any longer the indifference of governmental authorities that all too often tend to close their eyes and ignore what is not only a problem but also a curse.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, seldom have we encountered such a brief proposal with such potentially far-reaching effects. The CAP aid schemes needed simplifying. Despite the simplifications, we must guard against the risks of spoiling them or reducing their effectiveness. In this context, what is surprising in the Commission proposal is the lack of detail in the scope of the measure and the fact that the Commission is relying on the accounting network to evaluate it. The value of the Graefe zu Baringdorf report thus deserves recognition. I would recall that I prepared a report and later Mrs Redondo prepared another which proposed statistical treatment of the EAGGF (Guarantee Section) payments to provide us with accurate information about the implementation of the CAP. The Commission did not accept it at first, but then agreed to move in that direction. I believe that if we had done that we would today have much more precise information about the subjects we are dealing with. Returning to the subject in question, I think there are certain finer points that have to be taken into account with regard to the Commission’s initial proposal: the granting of aid without making it conditional on keeping up the activity runs the risk of deteriorating the economic fabric and creating a system of patronage in the sector, which over the last ten years has seen the loss of 30% of holdings and over 25% of jobs. There may also be problems with this system regarding its ability to differentiate between aid for small-scale holdings and that for part-time farming. In these conditions I believe that what Mr Graefe zu Baringdorf has done is of enormous value and has the support of my political group, and I would just like to say that we should have liked even more to support Mr Graefe zu Baringdorf’s initial proposal in its entirety and not as it ended up, as a result of the vote in the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. In any case, we shall be supporting his report.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Belarus has cut itself off from the international community because of the autocratic policy followed by its regime. This policy involves persecuting the opposition, restricting the freedom of the press, restricting trade union freedoms, imprisoning, mistreating and doing away with political opponents and applying the death penalty. Belarus needs to start democratising if it is going to be in a position to ratify the partnership and cooperation agreement between the ΕU and Belarus in the not too distant future. It goes without saying that the European Parliament’s call for democratisation must not conceal any attempt by the EU to challenge the right of Belarus to decide its own foreign policy.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I greatly welcome the ARGO action programme. It is my firm conviction that it is only through greater cooperation between the authorities of individual States that the existing discrepancies in the application of Community regulations can be removed. Proof that the inequality of treatment in the Member States has to be done away with is provided above all by the great number of petitions addressed to Parliament. In recent years there have been 468 petitions alone on the subject of inequality of treatment in this area. It really is time to do more about this issue. Another improvement in comparison with the present Odysseus programme is the explicit inclusion of the visa issue, another area that has seen the submission of numerous petitions. The electronic exchange of data is of particular importance to cooperation across Europe, and I call for the creation of a common database for the whole of Europe, a database that must be accessible to the competent authorities in the Member States – if need be, to third countries as well – and also to the competent agencies of the European institutions. In this context, the protection of privacy and the confidentiality of information must be safeguarded unconditionally and to the fullest extent. Alongside that, we must ensure that the authorities in the individual States provide information within an appropriate period of time when asked to do so by the Committee on Petitions. This obligation is the sole protection for the petitioner's legitimate expectations. Delays in passing on information, which have occurred up to now, cause petitioners unacceptable detriment, something which can, in my view, be prevented only by the Committee on Petitions being enabled, in cases of urgency, to bring negative conduct by the authorities to the public's notice. Bad publicity is no doubt something that every public body wants to avoid.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I do not believe there was any need for further deliberation. There was in committee when we asked for an expert opinion, or rather, a cost-benefit analysis, on this report to be drawn up, something that you, Mr Kronberger, opposed. Now that it has been produced, and makes perfectly clear in what direction policy must go, I cannot see any reason to hold over the vote rather than have it today or this week, quite simply because we already have far too many reports to deal with in the other Strasbourg sittings. If Mr Kronberger joins us, he will be on the right side. I do ask, though, that the vote should take place.

Political group: PPE-DE
To participate in peacefully reuniting a once fractured Europe is a remarkable privilege. I voted for this with great satisfaction today. As a representative of the Scottish National Party, I was also very conscious that many small countries, which only recently re-established their independence, were among those we voted in today. By contrast, however, Scotland, one of the most ancient small nations in Europe, remains no more than a 'region' of a Member State as things are viewed from Brussels. In this new enlarged Europe, Scotland must surely aspire to more than that. The people of Scotland will pass a judgement about that on 1 May in the Scottish Parliamentary election. Enlargement from the outside is taking place. It may also take place from the inside. As the European Convention proceeds towards its conclusion, it seems clear that a future constitution will place no barrier in the way of internal enlargement. I hope this process will commence soon.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, Commissioner, rapporteur, ladies and gentlemen, European space policy is becoming the spearhead of European policy as a whole, due to the hopes it engenders for cutting-edge research, for the new technologies, for the economy and for development. It must be realistic; in other words, it must make sense in the context of US and Russian space policy and act as a driving force for the European Union. I congratulate Mr Bodrato on his report, which has the merit of expressing this desire. We feel, however, that it focuses too much on military applications, which are not the intended aim of this policy. This is why we are proposing Galileo, which will be a purely civilian organisation, as opposed to the USA’s GPS system or the Russian Glonass, which are under military control. We propose to support Article 150 of the Convention under discussion, so that space forms part of European policy as a whole. A joint organisation must be set up at European level and the European Space Agency (ESA) must be more a tool of this integrated policy than an intergovernmental body. Work in the space sector must form part of the context of the European research area and the bulk of resources allocated to this field should be shared by the Union’s Member States. All players involved in space policy and in particular the European Parliament which supports our space policy must sit down at the same table. Our group will set great store by these proposals and will pay close attention when the White Paper on space, which is due to be submitted to us by the end of the year, is adopted.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, I do not refute your own personal convictions. It is just that we get the impression, and your answer testifies to this somewhat, that the Council Presidency is not being very proactive in dealing with this issue. You mentioned the uncooperative attitude of the tax havens. Do you not think, by analogy with what the European Union is proposing to do concerning the tax havens adjacent to it or within it and on which the Commission and also the Council have the means to exert pressure, particularly in order to put an end to money laundering, do you not think that the European Union should, within international fora, be at the forefront of a movement for a code of conduct seeking to eliminate or at least restrict the operations of tax havens at the international level? I think this is within the realms of possibility and we should like to see the Presidency of the European Union adopting a clearer stance on this issue.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, I am pleased indeed that Commissioners Lamy and Fischler will be going to Tokyo for the mini-ministerial with an approved position. I agree with you, Commissioner Lamy, that the agriculture negotiations will be very important in determining whether or not the meetings in Cancun are a success. I am pleased too that you have defined for us ‘modalities’, it is a word strange to the English language, but of course, once you come to rules and numbers you are then beginning to be so clear that certain vested interests begin to take fright, so these negotiations will be difficult. The European Union certainly has a world responsibility in terms of negotiations on agriculture. As Mr Cunha has just said, the volume of trade alone would make us significant. However, we do not have sole responsibility, and countries such as the United States should be reminded that they have a responsibility too. I am sure in your discussions with Bob Zurlik you will remind him of that. However, you said quite clearly that the European Union can and will negotiate, so let us look at what that means. Naturally we have the interest of European producers and consumers in higher food quality, rural development, environment protection and animal welfare. Some of those issues need clarification, and at the same time, the raison d'être of the development round are the needs of agriculture in developing countries where, proportionately, it is of far more importance than it is in the European Union. It is the principal source of income and employment in developing countries and a major tool in the fight against poverty and indeed in the improvement of food security. So our aim is multi-faceted, we need a better deal for agriculture in developing countries, but we also need to strengthen targeted support for certain aspects of European agriculture. We have a certain margin of manoeuvre within which to do it. There is some feeling within the Socialist Group that the proposal is somewhat lacking in ambition. We expect to be offering to the developing world a bigger and an earlier reduction in all agricultural tariffs and in getting rid of restrictions of imports from the developing world. We want more insistence on the importance of the greenbox and more attention to special and differential treatment. You will need to consider whether the current CAP reform goes far enough. The Socialist Group would probably think not. We will leave it to you to push the agenda forward as quickly as you can.

Political group: PSE