GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, I invited the supporters, the fans, and the enthusiasts of my explanations of vote for dinner. There were more than 300 of them. In the kitchen, Mr Fatuzzo was preparing the meal: spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chilli. What a wonderful aroma there was, Mr President! Right at that moment, however, the gas ran out and there could be no more cooking. That was a bit of a problem, and I wondered what would happen if there was no gas across the European Union. The Mombauer report is therefore welcome and I voted in favour of it for this very reason. Who knows how Europe would be affected, when it took so little to spoil a meal!

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I would like to reiterate the thanks to the rapporteur for the extremely cooperative manner in which he has embarked upon this important report and I am pleased to participate in the intimate gathering of renewable fanatics so late at night. Three points – firstly, the whole issue of a level playing field. It seems to us essential that if we are going to give renewable energies the breathing space and the momentum that they merit, it is right to try and aim for a level playing field. That requires, above and beyond everything else, downward pressure on the unacceptably high and legally dubious levels of subsidies which continue to flow to fossil energy sources in the European Union, notably, but not excusably, the coal industry in a number of large Member States. As long as those market distorting subsidies to fossil fuels continue we cannot realistically talk about a fair or level playing field in the European Union. In that context we join with the rapporteur in feeling that some kind of special provisions concerning subsidies are merited as long as those market distorting subsidies continue elsewhere. On targets, I very much side with Mr Linkohr. We cannot be serious about this without trying to add teeth in some form, moral, financial or otherwise to the concept of targets. We were not very happy with the early versions from the rapporteur because we felt the targets were there to almost micro-manage the market in renewable energy sources. That is neither viable nor desirable, but a mixture of the pressure towards targets, combined with competition between effective renewable energy industries, seems to us to be the long-term approach we should all adopt. Finally, I would make a plea on behalf of my group: let us not set up yet another agency. Paragraph 22 of this report calls for the establishment of a European sustainable energy agency. This Parliament and the European institutions have been spawning a blizzard of new agencies all over the European Union. It does not necessary help us to follow the policies which we wish to follow – it could actually have the effect of ghettoising the policy altogether.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, I would again like to straighten out something that has been said here. When I look at the Austrian Member who spoke of a basic right to health that we are all trampling under foot, yes, ladies and gentlemen, then I would like to call for an immediate stop to night journeys by freight trains, because people’s health is affected when railway trains travel through cities and villages at night making a tremendous amount of noise. Or I would call on the Austrians to close all their skiing areas, because I can assure you I can find enough experts to show you that what you are doing in tourism in skiing areas is bad for human health and the environment. You must be careful not to exaggerate with what you say. We are always looking at balanced legal situations where there is one legal asset and another legal asset and we have to find a balance between them. I believe that this compromise, which we have reached after long discussions, is a balanced solution. Because the compromise bans the transit of the dirtiest lorries; if the compromise is not adopted, then not only Greek lorries, which funnily enough you want to allow and which are the dirtiest on the road, but all dirty lorries will be able to drive through Austria. That is just an example to say, firstly, that your own position is not as glorious as it seems and, secondly, that this compromise does have advantages. My final comment is that one must always be careful what high horse one gets up on. Remember that in 1994 the Heads of State or Government called for the construction of the Brenner base tunnel as one of the 14 priority projects. Up until a year ago, your own Austrian planning envisaged that the Brenner base tunnel should be completed in 2021. And in response to pressure from this Parliament and others, Austria has now decided to bring forward the construction of the Brenner base tunnel to 2012. People who claim justice is on their side should be careful and consider whether they are really the saints they think they are. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, first of all I would like to express my thanks for the solidarity expressed by other colleagues due to the recent assassination by the terrorist group ETA. I can inform you that, at the beginning of this afternoon’s session, a minute’s silence was kept in his memory, and I would also like to point out that he was a councillor from the Partido Popular, who, like so many other activists and many other servants of the State, can be counted amongst the people murdered by ETA.. My Group, like this Parliament, is particularly sensitive about the human rights situation in Tunisia and in the rest of the world. This concern is behind the fact that, in recent weeks, I have met twice with the chairman of the Tunisian human rights league. I have also, Mr President, had the opportunity to visit the country – which I did not know – and during this visit, I have been able to observe that Tunisia is a country that has made considerable progress in the economic sphere and in fighting poverty, promoting the emergence of a prosperous middle class. There have also been considerable improvements in the access and incorporation of women into political, economic and social life, and I also do not think that we should forget the element of stability and moderation that the country represents in the face of fundamentalism. All this does not mean, of course, that this economic progress should not be followed by more progress in the political sphere and that there should not also be progress in the uncompleted reform process, particularly in terms of rights and fundamental freedoms. The reforms announced by President Ben Ali in November are precisely in the spirit and the letter of the last resolution adopted by this Parliament, and what is needed now is for them to become a reality. For all these reasons, Mr President, as well as our irrevocable and undeniable commitment to human rights and to the Tunisian league, I would like us to also be capable, in a balanced manner, without being overly positive or negative, of considering the general situation of the country in an objective manner, and of comparing the situation with what other African countries are experiencing, and in particular, its immediate neighbours, Algeria and Libya, which are not exactly a model of respect for human rights.

Political group: PPE-DE
In this debate on the Herzog report on ‘the Green Paper on services of general interest’, which was watered down by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, we reiterate the need to adopt proposals that acknowledge the importance of high-quality public services, which guarantee all citizens the right of access to these services whilst respecting the specific characteristics of each country. The consequences of the liberalisations are already evident in the sectors affected, not only in the shape of redundancies and greater job insecurity, on the railways, in energy, postal services and telecommunications, but also, in some cases, in more expensive tariffs and prices and in lower quality of services provided. This situation is gradually affecting larger and larger spheres of activity, particularly in Portugal. Despite acknowledging the role of public services, known as services of general interest, submitting them to the rules of competition devalues the social role of public services that are essential to the population, to combating poverty and exclusion, to guaranteeing human rights, to the regional development of afflicted areas, to environmental protection and to economic and social cohesion. We insist that we should adopt proposals that promote the protection of public services and a democratic and pluralist evaluation of the impact of the market and competition, taking account of the need for high-quality public services and the damaging consequences of the liberalisations and privatisations that have already taken place in various areas.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I withdrew my motion in spite of my conviction that we are mistaken not to take the opportunity to intervene, now that it is time to do so and we have the possibility of achieving a general consensus on the matter. I would stress that this is the second time that the adoption of this motion has been deferred and I hope that events do not reach crisis level before we are able to attempt to influence the situation to bring about peace.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, the second item on this morning’s agenda is the recommendation for second reading on cocoa and chocolate products, for which I am the rapporteur. Quite by accident I learnt yesterday, at 8.30 p.m., that the vote was to take place at noon today. It was however initially scheduled, I thought, for noon tomorrow. I have therefore been caught completely off guard by this, and have not even had the chance to draw up the lists of votes and to see whether there are any roll-calls or not. You know as well as I do that this matter is quite controversial and well reported in the media. I have been a Member of this Parliament for ten years and I have always been given notice, in my capacity as rapporteur, of any changes to the order of voting. I should prefer for this vote to be held tomorrow. It would suit me, personally, and I do not think anyone would have any objection, since it is a relatively brief vote.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to inform you of the concerns of all those in the Republic of France who fight for the survival of indigenous languages. As you know, France has not yet ratified the European Convention on Human Rights, unfortunately, and recent decisions adopted by the Council of State have condemned the intensive teaching of indigenous languages and equal teaching in state education, in state schools. These decisions are extremely serious because they undermine more than 20 years of work by campaigners of linguistic causes such as Breton and Alsatian. I reiterate that, here in Alsace for example, there are bilingual schools which are called community schools (ABCM). I hope that Parliament acknowledges that the rights of minorities are being breached and I appeal to the common sense of our Members so that the experiment undertaken by these schools can continue.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President, we must be aware that this is a proposal for a directive which only establishes minimum application criteria. That means that its greatest merit is certainly the great flexibility it gives the Member States in allowing them to apply part of their national legislation and part of the Community legislation. However, it could be said that this directive is a case of shutting the door after the horse has bolted. In many countries, particularly Italy, indeed, this type of action has been in use for a long time now in the face of what is in fact a genuine immigration crisis. In this regard, I feel that, once again in a debate of this kind, not everyone has a clear understanding of the distinction between the three types of asylum application and therefore between the persons lodging the applications: in actual fact, there are political exiles, refugees fleeing emergency situations and the usual immigrants seeking work. Clearly, these are three very different cases and the solutions needed to regulate these situations will therefore also be very different. This directive also refers to ARGO and Odysseus: two programmes, father and son, with the same goal, programmes which combine – successfully I am glad to say – legality with a rigorous approach. I have heard some decidedly excessive views expressed in this debate. Someone even went so far as to say that we could move towards a police state. Quite frankly, this is not so: I heard no such fear was expressed in the debate before that. However, it must be said that if a rigorous approach means not a police state but, first and foremost, a guarantee of the proper implementation of procedures for granting asylum; if being rigorous means first and foremost distinguishing between irregular immigrants and illegal immigrants and criminals, distinguishing between honest immigrants and drug smugglers and slave traders, well then, if this is the case, I welcome the rigorous approach, a carefully considered rigorous approach; not least because the well-meaning people have nothing to fear from us being rigorous and asylum seekers will receive only a welcome, understanding and help.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, when analysing what you, President Prodi, called the state of the Union and the related budgetary guidelines, we must take care, as you also said, to avoid two pitfalls. The first would be to exaggerate our differences, while the second would be to consider them negligible. If we are to establish a Community foreign policy, if we are to provide this enlarged Union with the means to defend its values, we must not be afraid of debate and, if we may, ladies and gentlemen, perhaps for the first time at this stage, let us discuss the financial resources that we will have to agree to release for this purpose. As the rapporteur, on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, for a report on the new architecture of the European security and defence policy, which will be voted on in committee at the end of this month, I welcome the opportunity to introduce this subject without further delay, just as I welcomed the information and signals received over the past few weeks, both from the Commission and from the Council. With regard to the Council, first of all, at its meeting of 27 January last, the General Affairs Council, in deciding to take charge of the military operation in Macedonia, simultaneously decided to establish an operational financial mechanism designed to cover the share of related spending that will have to be cofunded by the European Union. This initiative is entirely new and will certainly begin to give some credibility to the stated objectives, which you have just recalled so clearly, President Prodi. We must now hope that this instrument, which was swiftly drawn up in accordance with Parliament, can be extended to all future EU operations. With regard to the Commission, I was equally interested to note the account of the recent meeting between you, President Prodi, and the Greek Defence Minister, Giannos Papantoniou, who apparently suggested including a new heading to fund research into defence within the EU budget. That is precisely one of the new proposals that should certainly be endorsed in a few days by a majority of my colleagues in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy. Might I ask you, President Prodi, what your own reaction was to this proposal and when you think it could start to be implemented? In conclusion, Madam President, President Prodi, unless the Union provides itself with the necessary institutional, operational and financial means, it will be doomed to remain on the sidelines of the international playing field for a long time. I am sure that this is not what the majority of our fellow European citizens want.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, I rise to speak on the same matter. We have just learnt that the brother of Taoufik Ben Brik has been sentenced to three months in prison. Everyone here realises that this decision makes the situation critical as the Tunisian journalist had announced his intention to continue his hunger strike until he died if his brother were imprisoned. I have just read the piteous appeal that Taoufik’s young brother has made to the Tunisian journalist to urge him nevertheless to end his hunger strike. I therefore feel that the immediate future could be decisive in terms of reminding the Tunisian authorities of their responsibilities. That is why I join my friend, Mr Barón Crespo, in urging you, as I did in a letter yesterday – and the situation has become even more urgent given recent events – to use your influence and your authority to obtain a fair and speedy solution to this tragic case of the violation of human rights and freedom of the press.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Could the President-in-Office of the Council say something more about the ratification of the border agreements between Latvia, Estonia and Russia? I specifically asked for that.

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, I would like to express my support for the decision of the Conference of Presidents, and, since I publicly criticised the presidency in January, I would like to take this opportunity to say, both for myself and on behalf of the Socialist Group, that we now find the presidency’s statements on this issue to be appropriate, and we agree on their basis, their importance and their form. (Applause) Madam President, it would really be very difficult to imagine a debate which is more in accordance with Rule 50 of our Rules of Procedure. This debate is topical, exceptionally important and urgent. We therefore believe that the agenda should be amended to include it. (Applause)

Political group: PSE
Mr President, the proposal for a Council directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation extends the ban on discrimination beyond reasons of race or ethnic origin to other reasons which are used as a motivation for discrimination and which are mentioned in Article 13. The directive under consideration covers the gamut of salaried employment and independent occupations and professions. The report by Mr Mann was adopted almost unanimously by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. This was due both to his consummate preparation and his willingness to cooperate on the necessary amendments. For that, I congratulate him most sincerely. The first positive aspect of the directive is the comprehensive way in which it tackles discrimination, which is especially important for the proper implementation of the directive. The directive has a second advantage in that it revalorises the experiences gained from the ban on discrimination on grounds of sex and uses the same tools and concepts, for example direct and indirect discrimination, effective legal protection and shifting the burden of proof. What is more, it revalorises the tradition of urging positive action aimed at compensating for disadvantages in order to integrate specific persons into the labour market. These aspects of the directive, together with the fact that, a short time ago, Directive 2000 was adopted, are proof of the avowed will of the European Union to guarantee an open society, free from predetermined categorisations and, most importantly, from the stigma of racism, which has its roots deep in European history. It is not by chance that the Action Programme gives priority to understanding the phenomenon of arbitrary discrimination, thereby seeking to tackle the issue at its very core, which is covert racism. This arises partly from fear and partly from a well-established tradition, which, it must be said, is one of the negative aspects of European civilisation and one of the main causes of unrest, both civil and between nations. That is why this directive must be incorporated into our cultural development.

Political group: PSE
Mr President, Commissioner, allow me to start by thanking the rapporteur, Mr Brok, and the rapporteurs of the individual reports on each candidate country for their extremely thorough and balanced work. In particular, I trust and hope that, understandable difficulties notwithstanding, the negotiated procedure with Bulgaria and Romania will proceed smoothly and without delay so that, once the necessary conditions are in place, these two Balkan countries can join the European Union, thereby consolidating progress, security and peace in south-eastern Europe as a whole. Finally, I would especially like to congratulate the rapporteur, Mr Poos, and to express my satisfaction at the success of accession negotiations with Cyprus, which have advanced further than with any other candidate country, with 16 chapters already dealt with, which doubtless augurs well for an auspicious final outcome. Naturally, we all hope that the Cyprus question will be resolved in the meantime in accordance with the UN resolutions and the summit agreements, so that all the indigenous – I repeat indigenous – population of the island, Greek-Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot, can enjoy the benefits of membership. If, however, the universally-acknowledged constructive stand of the Cypriot Government notwithstanding, this proves to be impossible due to unwavering refusal on the Turkish side, then I believe that the European Union should not allow the integration of Cyprus to be held hostage to Turkish intransigence and that, on the contrary, it should immediately accept the Republic of Cyprus as a member of the Union pending integration of the island as a whole at a later date, as happened with one of the founder members, the anniversary of the unification of which we are celebrating here today. Finally, I should like to take this opportunity to endorse the thoughts and concerns of many of my fellow members regarding the need for an assiduous and long-overdue examination of the question of the borders of Europe and, consequently, of the extent of enlargement, and the need, if any, for a special report on the subject by the European Parliament.

Political group: PPE-DE