ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
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having regard to its resolutions of 1 December 2005 on preparations for the sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation in Hong Kong (1), of 4 April 2006 on the assessment of the Doha Round following the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong (2), of 1 June 2006 on trade and poverty: designing trade policies to maximise trade’s contribution to poverty relief (3), of 27 April 2006 on a stronger partnership between the European Union and Latin America (4), of 12 October 2006 on economic and trade relations between the EU and Mercosur with a view to the conclusion of an Interregional Association Agreement (5), of 23 May 2007 on the EU’s Aid for Trade (6), of 12 July 2007 on the TRIPS Agreement and access to medicines (7), of 29 November 2007 on trade and climate change (8), of 24 April 2008 on the Fifth Latin America and Caribbean-European Union Summit in Lima (9), of 24 April 2008 on ‘Towards a reform of the World Trade Organisation’ (10), of 20 May 2008 on trade in raw materials and commodities (11), of 25 March 2010 on the effects of the global financial and economic crisis on developing countries and on development cooperation (12) and of 5 May 2010 on the EU strategy for relations with Latin America (13),
19.

Considers that the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour proposed by the Ombudsman and approved by Parliament in its resolution of 6 September 2001 serves as a guide and resource for the staff of all Community institutions and bodies; welcomes the fact that the Code of Good Behaviour has been approved by the European Economic and Social Committee; welcomes the fact, also, that a Memorandum of Understanding has been concluded with the European Investment Bank concerning the handling of complaints; calls on the Ombudsman to consider revising the Code of Good Behaviour on the basis of the experience gained in the past 10 years and in that way to promote and exchange good practices;
10.

Recalls the mass gang rape that took place from 30 July to 4 August 2010 in the eastern Congo mining district, that at least 8 300 rapes were reported last year in eastern Congo and that at least 1 244 women reported being raped in the first quarter of 2010, which is an average of 14 rapes per day; urges both EU missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo – EUPOL RD Congo and EUSEC RD Congo – to make the fight against sexual violence and the participation of women the main priorities in the context of the effort to reform the Congolese security sector;
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having regard to its resolutions of 1 December 2005 on preparations for the sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation in Hong Kong (1), of 4 April 2006 on the assessment of the Doha Round following the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong (2), of 27 April 2006 on a stronger partnership between the European Union and Latin America (3), of 7 September 2006 on the suspension of negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) (4), of 12 October 2006 on economic and trade relations between the EU and Mercosur with a view to the conclusion of an Interregional Association Agreement (5), of 23 May 2007 on Economic Partnership Agreements (6), of 12 December 2007 on Economic Partnership Agreements (7), of 24 April 2008 on the Fifth Latin America and Caribbean-European Union Summit in Lima (8) and on Towards a reform of the World Trade Organisation (9), of 9 October 2008 on the suspension of the WTO Doha Round and the future of the Doha Development Agenda (10), of 25 March 2009 on the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Cariforum States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part (11), of its position of 25 March 2009 on the proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Cariforum States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part (12), of 5 May 2010 on the EU strategy for relations with Latin America (13) and of 21 October 2010 on the European Union's trade relations with Latin America (14),
37.

Encourages Croatia to continue its efforts to maintain and further develop good-neighbourly relations and to remain an important and proactive promoter of regional cooperation on all levels; commends the Croatian President for paying deep respect to Bosnian victims of war crimes on his official visit to Sarajevo in April 2010; sees this initiative and gesture as a commitment on the part of Croatia to solve historical issues with its neighbours in a fair, sincere and dignified manner; welcomes also the joint statement by the President and Prime Minister of Croatia on support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its accession to the EU and NATO; notes that progress in regional cooperation has been uneven and therefore urges the Croatian Government and the governments of the neighbouring countries to intensify their dialogue aimed at reconciliation among the citizens of the region and at reaching definite and mutually acceptable solutions to all outstanding bilateral issues, in particular as regards final agreements on state borders, missing persons, property restitution and refugee return as well as the extradition of citizens in cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity;
22.

Stresses once more that events in Libya, and in other countries in the region, have highlighted the urgent need to develop more ambitious and effective policies and instruments, and to strengthen their budgetary basis, in order to encourage and support political, economic and social reforms in the EU's Southern Neighbourhood; stresses that the ongoing strategic review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) must reflect current developments in north Africa and must come up with new, improved ways of meeting the needs and aspirations of its peoples; insists that the review of the ENP must prioritise criteria relating to the independence of the judiciary, respect for fundamental freedoms, pluralism and freedom of the press and the fight against corruption; calls for better coordination with the Union’s other policies vis-à-vis the countries involved;
AH.

whereas the recent increase of volatility in agricultural commodity prices has raised major concerns about the competitiveness of the European livestock sector and its high dependence on protein crop imports; whereas the EU needs a genuine strategic development plan for plant proteins and their specific role in responding to the new challenges of the CAP (climate change, better management of natural resources); whereas reducing the protein deficit also needs major efforts in improved research and breeding, as well as measures which enhance adequate infrastructure for protein crop production, storage and processing; whereas also by-products of oilseed and agrofuels production could be considered for animal feed, provided that strict rules are met to ensure that the precautionary principle is fully applied and that there are no risks to animal and human health,
2.

Urges the authorities of Bahrain, Syria and Yemen to refrain from the use of violence against protestors and to respect their right to freedom of assembly and expression; condemns the interference by the authorities in Bahrain and Yemen in the provision of medical treatment and the denial and limiting of access to health facilities; stresses that those responsible for the loss of life and injuries caused should be held accountable and brought to justice; calls on the authorities to immediately release all political prisoners, human rights defenders and journalists and all those detained in relation to their peaceful activities in the context of the protests;
5.

Calls on the VP/HR, Catherine Ashton, to continue to raise the issue of human rights violations at the very highest level in her contacts with the Chinese authorities, - including the recent sentencing of Liu Xianbin to 10 years and Liu Xiaobo to 11 years as well as, for example, the cases of Liu Xia, Chen Guangcheng, Gao Zhisheng, Liu Xianbin, Hu Jia, Tang Jitian, Jiang Tianyong, Teng Biao, Liu Shihui, Tang Jingling, Li Tiantian, Ran Yunfei, Ding Mao and Chen Wei, noting also with concern the repressive conditions under which their spouses and families are living - and report back on those cases to the European Parliament after the upcoming high-level political dialogue between the EU and China, which the VP/HR will participate in;
A.

whereas the youth unemployment rate is now 21 %, which is twice as high as the general rate of unemployment at EU level and is one of the most pressing challenges in Europe, and is thus one of the goals being pursued to reduce the school drop-out rate below 10 %; whereas another goal is to increase women’s participation in the labour market by 70 % by 2020; and whereas education and training are key factors for successful participation in the labour market and the ability to make life decisions, given a situation where more than 5,5 million young Europeans are without work, are at risk of social exclusion and face poverty and a lack of opportunity after leaving school, and many young people are forced to accept precarious jobs, with low salaries and reduced social insurance cover, which affects their health and safety in the workplace,
38.

Points out that, despite the existence of empirical data on young children from some Member States (compiled by, inter alia, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, UNICEF, the International Early Years Education Journal and the OECD), there is still a need for a better understanding of childhood development in early years education; calls for further investigation and research across the EU, and for an EU-wide exchange of results, taking into account the cultural diversity of the Member States;
39.

Notes with concern that existing legal instruments are not being fully used, especially by SMEs, to uphold their rights, due to economic dependency and concern about losing business; asks the Commission, Member States and business federations to identify ways to restore confidence and facilitate access to judicial systems, including the possibility of anonymous complaints and the establishment of an EU Ombudsman in this area; is convinced moreover that it is necessary further to develop the conceptual framework so as to ensure fair competition in both vertical and horizontal B2B relations, thereby paving the way for a genuine level playing field for businesses;
4.

Reiterates its support for the Partnership for Modernisation; welcomes the initiative to issue a joint progress report but also stresses the need to agree on the next steps in line with results achieved so far in the context of the four European Union-Russia Common Spaces as well as with remaining gaps; supports especially the cooperation in the field of research and development and stresses that the four Common Spaces rely on the principle of reciprocity; calls therefore on the parties at the upcoming EU-Russia summit to take action to formulate concrete goals; stresses the importance of tackling the issues of an effective, independent functioning of the judiciary and stepping up the fight against corruption; stresses that the EU is prepared to contribute in every possible way to improve the effectiveness of an independent rule-of-law system in Russia; welcomes the fact that Russia has announced that it will sign the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials;
6.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President, Government and Parliament of India, India's Minister for Law and Justice, India's Home Minister, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.
7.

Supports - particularly in the light of the existing protein deficit in the EU - the Commission proposal to lift the provisions banning the feeding of processed animal proteins to non-ruminants, provided that this applies to non-herbivores only, and that: — the processed animal proteins are only derived from species which are not linked to TSEs, — the production and sterilisation methods used for processed animal proteins comply with the highest safety standards and with the rules laid down in the animal by-products Regulation and use the newest and safest technology available, — the existing prohibitions on intra-species recycling (‘cannibalism’) remain in place, — production channels for processed animal proteins derived from different species be completely separated, — the separation of these production channels be controlled by the competent authorities in the Member States and audited by the Commission, — before the lifting of the feed ban is implemented, a reliable species specific method is in place to identify the species origin of the proteins in animal feed containing processed animal proteins so that intra-species recycling and the presence of ruminant processed animal proteins can be excluded, and — that the production of processed animal proteins from category 1 or category 2 material be prohibited and that only category 3 material fit for human consumption be used for the production of processed animal proteins;
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having regard to the EU Convention drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union on the protection of the European Communities’ financial interests (3) and the EU Protocol drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities’ financial interests (4) criminalising fraud and corruption affecting the EU’s financial interests,
53.

Calls on the Commission to establish equal competitive conditions for all firms operating on the auditing market and to simplify the rules governing auditing at European level; takes the view that easier access to the market and the removal of obstacles for firms wishing to enter the market are vital if a larger number of participants is to be attracted on to the auditing market; considers that audit committees and not the boards of companies are best placed to select the type of audit that best meets the audited entity’s needs and to monitor the effectiveness and quality of that audit, and that particular emphasis should be placed on the auditor’s independence; believes that the Commission should explore ways that will allow public-interest entities, the public sector and European institutions better to judge the quality of audit services provided by audit firms, irrespective of their size;
8.

Takes into account the Commission’s efforts to present viable solutions with a view to reducing the length of the application and mobilisation procedure to a maximum of six months between the application date and the transfer of funds to the Member State concerned, in accordance with the legislative and budget procedures currently laid down for the EGF; notes, however, the lack of progress made in the four years in which the EGF has been operational, and urges the Member States to speed up its operation by front-loading the measures within its scope without disadvantaging those Member States facing budgetary difficulties;
56.

Reasserts the importance of beach tourism as a feature of some European coastal regions; calls on the Commission to examine whether the Directive 2006/123/EC is having a negative impact on SMEs in this sector and, if deemed necessary, to propose measures to alleviate this impact and ensure that the specific characteristics of this professional category are taken into account in the application of the Directive; calls, moreover, on the Member States to examine, in cooperation with the competent authorities, the introduction of compensatory measures to alleviate the damage inflicted on tourist operators by the introduction of new legislation resulting in the loss of acquired rights and losses linked to unamortized investments in refurbishing facilities or ensuring they conformed with the legislation previously in force; takes the view that these actions are required in order to safeguard investments made by operators and to improve the quality of customer services;
58.

States that the present education and training systems are not sufficient to prevent a high drop-out rate of people with disabilities without additional public policies offering specific learning support, since the figure relating to the Europe2020 objective represents a reduction to less than 10 %; stresses that this leads to significant social and employment disadvantages, and resulting poverty, among people with disabilities, especially during the present economic crisis; stresses, given the high drop-out rate of persons with disabilities and in the light of the Council Conclusions of 11 May 2010 on the social dimension of education and training, the need to invest in and promote effective (including alternative) educational and (vocational) training programmes that are tailored to the needs, attributes and abilities of persons with disabilities, and notes that this calls for the availability of an adequate number of qualified and motivated professionals with sound and suitable programmes, as well as the availability of such programmes in the curricula of all vocational education and training and higher education establishments, including in extra-curricular programmes for people with disabilities, in order to combat negative attitudes towards children with disabilities and for them to obtain adequate qualifications for the modern and open labour market; calls on the Member States and the Commission to enable persons with disabilities to have better access to information about existing mobility and education programmes as well as equal access to Lifelong Learning programmes; notes, this being the case, that mainstreaming of anti-discrimination in Europe2020 and its flagship initiatives is needed in order to fulfil Article 24 of the UN CRPD;
54.

Notes that, since the G20 Summit of 2 April 2009, offshore financial centres have committed to OECD standards on transparency and exchange of information; notes however that the harmful structures of tax havens still prevail; calls once more for action beyond the OECD framework to combat tax havens in view of their various shortcomings; in this respect, reiterates its concerns about the fact that the OECD international standards require exchange of information on request but that there is no automatic exchange of information along the lines of the Savings Tax Directive; likewise criticises the fact that the OECD allows governments to escape its blacklist merely by promising to adhere to the information exchange principles, without ensuring that these principles are effectively put into practice; considers also that the requirement to conclude agreements with 12 other countries in order to be removed from the backlist is arbitrary as it does not refer to any qualitative indicators for an objective assessment of compliance with good governance practices;
54.

Welcomes the EU’s and individual Member States’ financial and logistical support for the ICC thus far and recommends that current forms of support, either through the regular budget of the ICC funded by States Parties’ contributions or through EU funding such as the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), are continued, especially in the following fields: outreach activities aimed at helping victims and affected communities; legal representation; witness relocation; the participation and protection of victims/witnesses, with special consideration for the needs of women and juvenile/child victims; the provision of support enabling the Court to cover urgent operational needs stemming from new investigations; calls on the EU and its Member States to support the Court’s efforts to enhance its field presence, recognising the importance of the ICC field presence for promoting understanding and support for its mandate, as well as involving and assisting communities victimised by crimes falling under the Court’s jurisdiction; expresses its concern that the lack of resources remains an impediment to the optimal functioning of the Court;
6.

Supports the adoption of the ‘home’ country principle – whereby policies written by an insurer, regardless of location of sale, are covered by the ‘home’ IGS – recognising (a) that under Solvency II the cross-border provision of insurance services will increase, and (b) that the failure of an insurer will be linked to the inadequacy of supervision by the ‘home’ supervisor, so that the burden of responsibility for failure should be borne by the ‘home’ IGS, which should provide last-resort protection to consumers only when insurance undertakings are unable to fulfil their contractual commitments owing to insolvency; calls on the Commission to conduct an impact assessment and public consultation with stakeholders on the inclusion of life insurance as a matter of priority and on the practicality of including non-life insurance in a cross-border IGS to ensure an appropriate level of consumer protection and a level playing field between Member States; believes that a rationale should be established by the Commission and the EIOPA in order to ensure that the additional costs of an IGS are weighed against the objective of consumer protection; notes that the current EU regulation on deposit guarantee schemes and investor protection schemes covers only savings products;
60.

Believes that the use of ever higher fines as the sole antitrust instrument may be too blunt, not least in view of the job losses that may result from an inability to make payments, and calls for the development of a wider range of more sophisticated instruments covering such issues as individual responsibility, transparency and accountability of firms, shorter procedures, the right of defence and due process, mechanisms to ensure the effective operation of leniency applications (in particular to overcome the interference caused by discovery processes in the US), corporate compliance programmes and the development of European standards; favours a ‘carrot-and-stick’ approach with penalties that serve as an effective deterrent, in particular for repeat offenders, while encouraging compliance;
5.

Calls on the Commission to prepare a set of clear indicators, and a better methodology based on economic and social indicators, which can be used to assess whether there is a clear justification for extending the total or partial restrictions imposed by Member States to counter the negative disturbances on their national labour markets that could be caused by Romanian and Bulgarian workers, and also to employ this approach when a Member State requests authorisation to implement the safeguard clause;
1.

Welcomes the conclusion of the accession negotiations with Croatia, bringing to an end almost six years of negotiation and several years of preparation that have significantly altered the country’s socio-political, economic and cultural landscape; stresses the need to keep up the reform momentum and considers that this process is not complete, but should continue with the same vigour and hard work after the conclusion of the negotiations and beyond accession; is confident that the positive results of this process will strengthen support for EU membership among Croatia’s citizens, and their trust in it, and will encourage people to participate in the EU referendum and support the Accession Treaty; supports the signing of the Accession Treaty and calls on EU Member States to complete its ratification in a timely manner; looks forward to receiving parliamentary observers from Croatia;