GwendalTsang/DEFT09-parquet huggingface dataset:
Mr President, Commissioner, I must first congratulate the general rapporteur, Mrs Haug, the President of the Commission and my colleagues who have been involved in negotiations on the excellent work that they have done. The final outcome of the negotiations is positive, which shows that in order to achieve some objectives, what matters is not getting there alone and early, but getting there altogether and on time. We wanted a budget that would combine our efforts with those of the Member States to contribute to economic growth and increasing employment, and therefore the agreement that has been reached on the multiannual amount for the small businesses programme is a good thing. However, sustaining this and Parliament’s other political priorities needs to be compatible with budgetary stability in spending. It is true that the Union is in its most favourable economic situation for 10 years, as is proved by the fact that the net balances have improved a great deal. But, precisely for this reason, I think that the agreement reached on payment appropriations is reasonable, because it combines efforts in the right direction for sustained growth. Parliament’s budgetary strategy marks a before and an after at this start of the millennium. Because the negotiations not only lead to the final amounts and their distribution, but also to the implementation of instruments which are going to enable us to measure to what extent the political will of this Parliament translates into facts. And I am going a little further, because it is not enough to have strict and transparent rules for implementing the budget, such as the cancellation of commitments if they have not been implemented after two years. This should go hand in hand with a commitment from the College of Commissioners to a fair and efficient distribution of human and material resources for the management of the various policies, that is, they must remember the political priority of Parliament and the management priority of the Commission.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, introducing competition within the air navigation services will not reduce delays to flights, nor will it harmonise Europe’s skies, as the Commission claims. Competition would, in fact, compound these difficulties, as competition hampers cooperation. Applying productivity criteria to what is merely a question of commercial profitability cannot improve the service provided to air transport users. More importantly, though, attacking the public and integrated character of air traffic control services and, therefore, breaking the safety chain that this service provides, only increases the risk. Unfortunately, the air disaster that occurred at Lake Constance in July served as a tragic reminder of this. Air traffic controllers are quite right to reject the so-called ‘Single Sky’ project, a message reinforced during their Europe-wide strike on 19 June, and the risk that it involves. My colleagues, Mrs Laguiller and Mrs Bordes, and I condemn the breaking up – planned by the Commission – of this public service in preparation to hand it over to private greed. The shareholders of the airlines, of the aeronautics industry and the information technology sector are already calculating the profits that they will make from the break-up. If you strip the draft text of the pretexts put forward by the Commission, the reality of this project becomes all too evident. We therefore reject the project outright, and we shall vote against the Fava and Sanders-ten Holte reports as privatisations and the pursuit for profit are harmful and incompatible with progress, with the concern for safety, with the possible and necessary renationalisation of human activities, on land as well as in the air. (Applause)

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Madam President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, ECHELON exists, as has already been stated this morning by different speakers. But do you realise that it only managed to surface thanks to the tenacity of this Parliament? For when I questioned the Council and Commission about this in 1997, my questions were not at all taken seriously. This situation is now very different. The Dutch government has issued a report in which a reasonable case is made for the existence of ECHELON and the Council has also said that it supports our findings. In the United States too, it has been openly admitted that 5% of all information the US collects for economic purposes originates from non-open sources. According to an estimate, this translates for American industry into more than 7 billion dollars in the way of contracts. That is why agreements must be made globally, preferably in the context of the World Trade Organisation. Cryptography is a crucial point in the debate on protecting citizens and businesses. The protection of privacy via legislation is only effective if the law is enforced. Enforcement is much more difficult if cross-border espionage is involved. That is why it is necessary to encrypt information, and people must be equipped to protect themselves against espionage. That is why, Mr President, I should like to hear from Commissioner Liikanen as to what his proposals for additional legislation or measures in this field are. For whatever is technologically possible will be implemented.

Political group: ELDR
Mr President, d'abord, chère Madame, je dois vous féliciter pour votre rapport! However, there is a worrying undercurrent in the way human rights and terrorism have been addressed. While I share some of the sentiments that have been expressed by my colleague Mr Van Orden, I am also worried from another point of view. Centralised government, whether national or international, is very quick to take powers and set up mechanisms that may help them in the fight against terror but which certainly erode the established rights and liberties of the citizen. There is therefore a supreme irony that the counter-terrorism policies, which we all support, may do as much to restrict our freedoms as the terrorists do themselves. Mr President, unless there is an electoral miracle in June, or a mass self-sacrificing resignation among my colleagues, this is the last occasion on which I shall have the pleasure to address this distinguished and honourable House. May I, with your indulgence President, take this opportunity to put on record my sincerest thanks to the Members of this House, the staff here and in Brussels, and above all my colleagues in the British Conservative delegation for the generosity, kindness, help, sympathy and often-needed support that all have given me over the past five years. It would be a lie if I said I was happy with my lowly position on my party's list in the South West region of Great Britain, but it would not be a lie to say that I have enjoyed these five years, perhaps more than I can say. So Mr President, thank you and farewell. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
Madam President, sadly, there was another incident of violence in Italy yesterday: a teacher who is Christian by religion but of Jewish origin was attacked and beaten up by a group of skinheads in Verona. Incidents of this nature must be condemned immediately by Parliament and others, for it is unthinkable that any hint of anti-Semitism and xenophobia should still be allowed to exist within our Union. I therefore feel that, laying aside political differences, this House should send a signal, a message expressing our solidarity, to the teacher who was attacked simply because he is of the Jewish race. Madam President, I would like to thank you, and indeed all the Members of Parliament, in advance, for your message of solidarity. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE
I would thank the Commissioner for his answer. I am delighted with this, and my feeling is that we think the same way on this question, which was framed before we had seen the preliminary budget. I agree that the Commission’s draft budget provides openings which might make that document particularly interesting. There are a number of areas I should like to draw attention to, in addition to those of regional, research and development policy, etc that the Commissioner himself mentioned. One important area is that of educational initiatives, and it is perhaps especially important to prepare for the enlargement of the Union towards the East. This is an incredibly important question when it comes to creating solidarity in Europe, not only among the present Member States but also among the candidate States, which are otherwise at great risk of falling behind in this context. There is also, of course, the risk of rifts of this kind opening up within the European Union. Where Parliament is concerned, we have used our Budget guidelines in order very clearly to designate this area as being one of high priority. For this reason, I should like quite simply to put this question to the Commissioner: could we set up a very specific dialogue between the Commission and Parliament so as to try to come up with these resources no later than in next year’s budget?

Political group: PSE
Mr President, I should like to make a few comments on the joint resolution that we too have signed. First of all, there has been a range of considerations and requests in relation to the unilateral decision of the United States to suspend imports of Spanish clementines into the US. For this reason, the resolution states that the unilateral decision of the United States is in breach of World Trade Organisation agreements because, as stated in the resolution, restrictions to trade must be proportional to the risks, non-discriminatory, and must not be imposed without scientific proof. Everything suggests, therefore, that the United States’ ban on Community clementines is simply an excuse for a trade barrier to prevent Community clementines from entering the United States’ market and, therefore, to prevent the introduction of non-Community citrus fruits into the United States. This is unacceptable and I wish to point out that, in the resolution, parallels are made with the issue of steel products, because the United States is breaching WTO rules. Secondly, there is a series of problems or consequences that the resolution analyses in relation to the major losses suffered by producers and exporters in the current citrus fruit season and, as stated in the text of the resolution, an indication is also given of the delay that occurred in the Community’s taking action. I also wish to quote some dates given in the resolution: on 30 November, the United States suspended imports of clementines and definitively ratified this decision on 5 December and, on 14 February 2002, the Spanish Government asked the Commission for its help in this dispute and to use its power to intervene. To conclude, there is a range of actions that the Commission has been asked to undertake: to rapidly put forward proposals to compensate those affected; secondly, to seek to resolve the dispute with the United States as quickly as possible, because we cannot start the next season with this problem unsolved since that would have extremely serious consequences; and, thirdly, in the event that a solution is not found, the United States must be called to account before the WTO. I wish to conclude by thanking the Commission for the way in which it has acted to date, because it attended very promptly when the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development asked it to. The Commission gave a commitment to inform us rapidly and, since they have done so, I think it is only fair that we thank the Commission for everything it has done so far.

Political group: GUE-NGL
I would have preferred a different wording for paragraph 9. Paragraph 9 – which deals with Turkey and the Kurdish question – is, in my view, far too weakly formulated. For decades, the Turkish State has persecuted the Kurdish people and denied them their self-evident entitlement, as a minority, to political, social and cultural rights, as well as the right to their own language, their own schools and their own culture. The death sentence upon Öçalan is one more proof that Turkey still does not comply with the EU’s requirements of a candidate country. It is also important to emphasise that the KLA must cease engaging in violence and terrorism in order to support a peaceful and political solution to the Kurdish question. Turkey may not be regarded as a sound candidate for accession to the EU for as long as basic human and humanitarian rights are not respected. I therefore refrained from voting in the final vote. – Middle East Peace Process

Political group: ELDR
The proposed directive establishes prudential rules (capital adequacy requirements and supplementary supervision) with regard to financial conglomerates. We believe the aim is the socialisation of these sectors (credit, insurance and investment) because the purpose of these rules, in our view, stems from a public service approach. In a rational economy, funding should be granted according to social need for investment, and insurance should be integrated into social funds for investment and social protection. This directive is a feeble attempt to regulate the financial markets, the chaotic workings of which are now seen to be the cause of financial crises and social catastrophes throughout the world, as the Enron affair has illustrated. I voted in favour of the directive without any illusions, if only to curb the ambient ultra-liberalism and because we are not in favour of making things worse in order to further our own ends, which would amount to waiting for faults in capitalism to result in a final crisis. Social campaigning alone will put a stop to the erring ways of an uncontrollable system. - Goebbels report (A5-0069/2002) Fatuzzo . – (IT) Mr President, on this occasion too, as I left Milan airport for Strasbourg, this time flying via Lyons, I met a pensioner, Mrs Antonella Rossi from Bergamo, who, aware that I was going to debate and vote on the Goebbels document on the regulation of the manipulation of securities quoted on the stock market, ran after me, shouting, ‘Mr Fatuzzo, Mr Fatuzzo!’ ‘What is happening?’ I asked her. ‘Help me! I have speculated on the stock market and lost all the money I am going to receive from my pension during the next six months!’ ‘Too bad!’ I replied. ‘Who told you to speculate on the stock market? You know, speculating on the stock market is not exactly like gambling in a casino but it is almost the same thing.’ I therefore voted for Mr Goebbels’ document: I look forward to the introduction of regulations which restrain this part of the economic and financial activity of stock markets, for stock markets must not – and I repeat – must not be like casinos.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, as the darkest time of the year approaches it is heartening to speak of summer, or even summer time. However, I would like to focus attention on this ritual of changing the clocks every spring and autumn, the purpose of which may be controversial. Farmers have told me that the welfare of dairy cattle is a priority, and their protection is also important for milk production. The peace of mind of ruminants is already being disturbed by mad cow disease. Additional stress should not now be caused them through having them deviate from their normal rhythm. Cows do not adjust to a change of rhythm in the space of just a day or two. It also causes problems for agriculture when during autumn threshing the morning dew ought to have disappeared according to the time by the clock, but, wonder of wonders, nature has not been following the directive. An additional problem is that not only is the natural rhythm of animals disturbed, but people’s alertness, which is partly dependent on daylight, is also affected. I think that the Commission’s arguments in its communication in favour of the necessity of summer time are by no means watertight. In my opinion, whether or not the arrangement is continued should therefore be re-examined as soon as possible. It is also questionable as to whether summer time should end just before November. In snow-white Northern Europe the memory of summer has already cooled by then. It would be reasonable to end summer time at the end of September, approximately six months after it starts. I am by no means totally opposed to summer time, as it also has its advantages. Nevertheless, I would ask the Commission to deliver a critical assessment of whether summer time is necessary in the future. I certainly believe that we could get along without it, although I am not prepared to give up the warm summer weather. But that is something politicians fortunately cannot make decisions about.

Political group: PPE-DE
I believe that it is sensible to freeze the bank accounts of organisations or individuals who perpetrate or support acts of terrorism such as those which took place on 11 September 2001. What has been submitted here, however, is a list of individuals and organisations who are merely assumed to have been involved in some way in the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. However, it is possible to proceed against them, even without a judicial process or final proof. Such a measure would be comparable with being remanded in custody, when suspects have not yet been found guilty in a court of law. If no evidence of guilt is found, prisoners on remand are released and paid compensation. No such provision is envisaged here. Moreover, the clause contained in Article 2(2) enables other unpopular persons and organisations to be included on this legally dubious list. Given that the Justice and Home Affairs Council has already talked about urban violence in connection with terrorism, I fear that this will make it possible to freeze the bank accounts of individuals or organisations who demonstrate against the EU's policies at European Councils, for example. Had I voted in favour of this resolution, I would have given my support to a questionable and arbitrary act. I therefore voted against the resolution despite my sharp condemnation of terrorism.

Political group: Verts-ALE
Mr President-in-Office, if there is one thing that worries me about the situation in Europe – and we have had a few examples this morning – it is a type of politics that all too often appears to be self-referential. I am therefore sure – and the facts will confirm this – that your commitment to respond to the expectations of your European citizens every single day will mark out your Presidency. The rule in our speeches is to try to make a contribution to the reports. There is a great difficulty here, Mr President-in-Office, because the subjects dealt with have covered all our expectations. There is just one point to which I should like to call your attention: during the six months of the Italian Presidency the new rules on cohesion policies will be drawn up. In this context, I think the Italian Presidency should remind the European Union of a number of specific responsibilities, which are: to strengthen economic and social cohesion; to reduce the disparity in the development levels of many regions, which is still present in our Union and will be even more accentuated with enlargement; and to implement ideas of geographical solidarity, and in this respect we are thinking of the remoter regions. This is based especially on three principles: that without resources the cohesion policy will be difficult to implement; that the sectoral policies that the Union is developing – just think of the effects of the reform of the agricultural policy – should contribute to a great ideal of European cohesion; and that the new idea of European cohesion should also include the flexibility criterion. One last point, which my colleague Mr Tajani has already touched upon: all these policies will come together in the work of the IGC, confirming the Convention. Well, I believe a reference to the founding values of Europe, an explicit reference to Christian values, would be a contribution to our history.

Political group: PPE-DE
I voted in favour because, following the shipwreck of the Prestige off the coast of Spain and the huge ecological disaster, immediate protection is required from single hull tankers by imposing an immediate timetable for withdrawing them from circulation. The governments of the 15 should support these measures and ignore the pressure from any shipowners who are opposed out of self-interest to a necessary regulation to protect seas and shores.

Political group: GUE-NGL
Mr President, I would like to begin by congratulating my colleague Anders Wijkman for an excellent report which took him seven months to complete, but he battled his way through it and I am very proud to be associated with him in this work in the Development Committee. We have called this report 'Diseases on poor countries' and we have focused on Africa, where 28 million people are HIV positive, and on the potential increase in these dreadful diseases in India and China, as well as TB and hepatitis B. But these are no longer diseases of poor countries because of our global inter-dependence and the fact that, for example in the United Kingdom alone, 115 000 settlers are now coming and living in our country and we are allowing 100 000 asylum seekers to come into our country. HIV rates have increased by 100% in the United Kingdom in the last year to 5 000 cases. TB has increased by 200% to 7 300 reported cases. The London Borough of Brent now has a higher rate of TB than China and twice that of Brazil. 26 300 hepatitis B infections were reported in the last four years in London alone. One person in 50 in east London has hepatitis B – the same level as in Nepal. So why the reference to poor countries? No: this is a global epidemic where we are inter-dependent, and what we do to help the people in the developing countries to eradicate and stop these diseases is also going to have an enormous impact on how we and our children are going to live in Europe. I think we need to establish the connection between development and what happens in our own countries, and I now want to ask the Labour Government to act on this before it is too late.

Political group: PPE-DE
Mr President, I understand Mrs Hautala’s point of view and I would like the maximum possible number of Members to take part in the debate, but Mrs Hautala’s proposal does not seem relevant because, at the moment, it would appear that many of our fellow Members are on their way here by bus. We do not know when they will arrive and when they arrive they will probably be absolutely exhausted. You do not even know whether they are going to take part in this debate. If the proposal was for the debate to take place tomorrow, I would agree, but leaving it until last today, when these poor people do not even know what they are going to do, does not seem appropriate to me. I therefore believe we should either hold the debate now or leave it for another day this week.

Political group: PSE