ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
6.

Observes that the financial and economic crisis and challenges posed by ageing populations have revealed the vulnerability of both funded and pay-as-you-go pension schemes; recommends a multi-pillar pension approach, consisting of combinations of: i. a universal, pay-as-you-go, public pension; ii. a funded, occupational, supplementary pension, resulting from collective agreements at the national, sector or company level or resulting from national legislation, accessible to all workers concerned; Stresses that the first pillar alone, or in combination with the second-pillar pension (depending on national institutional arrangements or legislation) should establish a decent replacement income based on a worker’s prior wages, to be complemented, if possible, with: iii. an individual third-pillar pension based on private savings with equitable incentives geared to low income workers, self-employed people and to people with incomplete contributory years as regards their employment-related pension scheme; Calls on the Member States to consider introducing or maintaining such or comparable financially and socially sustainable schemes where they do not yet exist; calls on the Commission to ensure that any existing or future regulation in the field of pensions be conducive to and in full respect of this approach.
19.

Notes that social investment in youth may take a wide range of forms, including: developing partnerships between schools, training centres and local or regional businesses; providing targeted quality training and high-quality youth internship programmes; vocational schemes in cooperation with enterprises; senior employee sponsorship schemes aimed at the recruitment and training of young people on the job or at securing a better transition from education to work; encouraging young people’s participation in society; and promoting regional, European and international mobility by means of further progress towards the mutual recognition of qualifications and skills; also stresses that social investment can go hand in hand with efficient incentives, such as employment subsidies or insurance contributions for young people that will guarantee decent living and working conditions, in order to encourage public and private employers to hire young people, invest in both quality job creation for young people and continuous training and upgrading of their skills during employment, and support entrepreneurship among young people;
33.

Urges the Member States to make pay trends more transparent, particularly by promoting collective bargaining, so as to avert continuing or widening pay gaps, including their implications for the accumulation of pensions in the Member State of origin and the host Member State and to take the necessary steps to bridge the wage gap; calls on the Commission to propose new measures to penalise and effectively reduce the pay gap between men and women and to monitor the correct application and effectiveness of Directive 2006/54/EC on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (5), as well as to revise the existing gender pay gap legislation (Directive 2006/54/EC) as demanded by Parliament in its resolution of 13 March 2012; strongly urges the Commission and Member States to develop policies, in cooperation with social partners to eradicate the gender pay gap, that focus on the integration of women in the labour market and promote equal opportunities for mobility;
8.

Notes the conditions of economic crisis and the social problems that are affecting many areas, particularly islands, above all in the Mediterranean and especially those which are very distant from the mainland; underscores that the remoteness of the islands in relation to the single market exposes them to industrial and economic stagnation and depopulation, which must be the target of specific measures on the part of the EU institutions; urges the Commission, therefore, to consider establishing free zones as a tool which, by reducing the tax burden and attracting foreign direct investment, could halt the downward spiral that is affecting island areas by driving growth and development;
4.

Urges swift implementation of the roadmap, in order to sustain the transition until the constitutional order and the rule of law has been re-established throughout the country through the organisation of democratic, free, fair and transparent elections in 2013; welcomes the commitment on the part of the Malian authorities to organise the elections on 28 July and 11 August 2013, as well as the declarations by leaders of the transitional government not to stand for election; acknowledges the challenges that the organisation of the elections pose, including tasks such as ensuring security in the northern areas, issuing biometric voter cards and registering refugees on the electoral rolls, and calls on the EU and its international partners to step up their support for the upcoming electoral process; welcomes, in this respect, the intention of sending an EU electoral observation mission, as requested by the Malian government;
23.

Underlines the importance of developing integrated border management which should ensure uniform, secure and high-quality external border control while facilitating legitimate travel across external borders and promoting mobility within the Schengen area; welcomes the recent entry into operation of the Schengen Information System II and calls on eu-LISA to ensure high-quality operational management of the new system; expects the new European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) to be fully functional by the end of 2014 and believes it will be an efficient instrument which will contribute to the detection and prevention of, and the fight against, cross-border crime and irregular immigration, as well as to protecting migrants and saving their lives; stresses that the possible development of new IT systems in the area of migration and border management, such as the Smart Borders initiatives, should be carefully analysed, especially in the light of the principles of necessity and proportionality, and should eventually be developed only once the relevant legal instruments have been adopted; particularly welcomes the recent agreement reached on the Schengen Evaluation Mechanism and calls on the Commission to fulfil its new responsibilities in order to ensure a high level of compliance with the Schengen acquis throughout the Schengen area; stresses that the reintroduction of controls at internal borders should be an exceptional measure that may be used only as a last resort, taking into consideration not only the security aspects but also the impact on mobility and freedom of movement; highlights the fact that the migration of, and crossing of external borders by, a large number of third-country nationals should not, per se, be considered to be a threat to public policy or to internal security; reiterates its strong support for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area and calls on the Council also to agree to their accession, as this will boost mutual trust and solidarity, which are necessary preconditions for ensuring a high degree of security inside the EU;
22.

Demands, without delay, the full implementation of the third energy package, and notably the EU metering legislation, in order to facilitate prosumers’ activities on the grid, as well as effective distribution management; requests that it be made possible to transfer energy between producer and consumer on a small scale as well, for example in a neighbourhood or cooperative; calls on the Member States, where it is shown in the cost-benefit analysis to be in the consumer interest, to speed up the rollout of smart meters in order to help households acquire accurate data and full value for the energy produced on their premises;
33.

Acknowledges the importance of R&I in the area of individual mobility and stresses that the behaviour of transport users is decisive; calls for the creation of incentives to choose sustainable, physically active, safe and healthy means of transport and mobility, in order to develop innovative approaches that promote environmentally friendly public transport, walking and cycling, taking into account the needs and specificities of urban, peri-urban, interurban and rural areas; considers it important to improve interoperability between transport services, and believes that approval authorities will need to be particularly alert to, and deal promptly with, such technical or administrative problems as might arise, the object being to open up the market to new transport options matching the above characteristics;
6.

Notes that Chinese enterprises perceive the Union generally as a stable investment environment, but deplore what they see as the EU’s remaining export subsidies for European agricultural products and the existence of certain trade barriers to the EU market, such as technical obstacles to trade and barriers erected to block third-country investment in certain Member States, and that they are calling for the removal of the remaining unjustified barriers and the facilitation of investment in the Member States; recalls, however, that a security review mechanism to scrutinise foreign investments was recently set up in China and that the use of such mechanisms by both parties may be based on legitimate grounds; points out that the EU and China may have legitimate security concerns that justify total or partial exclusion of some sectors from foreign investment on a temporary or long-term basis;
23.

Invites the Commission and the Member States to exploit all margins of flexibility existing within the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) to balance productive and sustainable public investment needs with fiscal discipline objectives; considers that this could be done, for example, by excluding the aggregate volumes of national co-financing under the European Structural and Investment Funds from the limits imposed by the Stability and Growth Pact, by basing calculations for the purposes of the Pact on a Member State’s net cash requirements, as opposed to gross requirements, that is to say, net of the taxes payable on real expenditure (most importantly VAT), or by phasing the two sources of programme financing (European and national) according to different timetables, so that the funding would be wholly European during the first years of a programme and come entirely from national sources during the final years, on the assumption that the individual Member State concerned would, by that point, have managed to achieve tangible results in terms of the policy of containing the debt-to-GDP ratio;
3.

Points out that e-Justice systems, by their very nature, tend to decrease the costs of judicial and administrative proceedings, in particular through automation of the exchange of information, the service of documents and the translation of certain procedural acts; considers that this is in the interest of all stakeholders in the judicial system; believes that, in view of cost-efficiency considerations, projects should remain voluntary;
N.

whereas labour market needs are changing fast; whereas it is necessary to aspire to a quality education and individual development, and to examine closely future trends in labour market needs in order to adapt and modernise educational and training curricula so as to meet the need to provide a core of basic knowledge and lifelong learning strategies, and to offer the right skills for the right jobs, such as the use of new technologies and social networks, without detracting from the academic goal of passing on knowledge; whereas, as education models change, the teaching profession needs to adapt accordingly, in terms of skills and qualifications, and status and careers, for example;
M.

whereas if used paper, including multi-material waste paper, is granted end-of-waste status before it has even been properly recycled, then such material can be traded freely on global markets and the safeguards of the Waste Shipment Regulation with regard to environmentally sound management will no longer apply; whereas exempting waste streams with a high degree of non-paper materials — which moreover could go well beyond the 1,5 % threshold owing to the discounting of current multi-material paper — from the requirements of the Waste Shipment Regulation clearly risks violating Article 6(1d) of Directive 2008/98/EC, which states that use of the substance shall not lead to overall adverse environmental impacts;
A.

whereas there are an estimated 1.35 million foreign nationals in Qatar, making up nearly 90 % of the country’s workforce; whereas migrants are employed largely in construction, services and domestic work; whereas these figures give Qatar the highest ratio of migrant workers to domestic population in the world; whereas at least 500 000 more migrant workers are expected in Qatar to accelerate construction work in preparation for the 2022 Football World Cup; whereas the majority of migrant workers come from India and Nepal, but also from Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka;
—

having regard to Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning public health and in particular paragraph 7 thereof, which states that ‘Union action shall respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the definition of their health policy and for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care’,
15.

Recalls that, while a concentration of shops outside city centres can be convenient for some consumers, it can also have negative environmental effects and can be a challenge for other consumers, in particular for older people, people with reduced mobility or those without a car; calls, therefore, for local and regional authorities to a adopt a balanced approach, also taking into account the fact that in many regions, especially in view of the economic crisis, the saturation point has already been reached; emphasises that retail developers should continue to assume their shared responsibility to promote sustainability, true freedom of choice for consumers and access to the market for small shops; notes that rents in shopping centres outside city centres can be too high for smaller, independent shops and stresses the need to ensure a level playing field for these shops, for example by basing rents on a percentage of turnover, in cases where this is not already an existing practice;
22.

Expresses its deep concern as regards the catastrophic humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine, especially with regard to the upcoming winter; points out the urgent need to provide humanitarian assistance and relief to the population in the conflict-affected areas, internally displaced people and refugees; echoes the recent alert by the World Health Organization that eastern Ukraine is facing a health emergency, with hospitals not fully functioning and a shortage of medicines and vaccines; welcomes the Commission’s recent decision to mobilise EUR 22 million in humanitarian and development aid for Ukraine; calls for further urgent efforts under full EU branding and supervision, including a humanitarian aid convoy, to contribute to supporting the most deprived; recalls that the delivery of humanitarian aid to eastern Ukraine must be carried out in full compliance with international humanitarian law and the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence and in close coordination with the Ukrainian Government, the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); expresses its deep respect for the tremendous work done by groups of Ukrainian citizens in the field of humanitarian aid in eastern Ukraine, especially with regard to evacuation of children, healthcare and food supply;
8.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Quartet Envoy to the Middle East, the Knesset and the Government of Israel, the President of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Parliament and Government of Egypt, and the Parliament and Government of Jordan.
3.

Strongly condemns the murders of Shama Bibi and Shahbaz Masih and offers its condolences to their families, as well as to the families of all the innocent victims murdered as a result of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan; calls for the perpetrators of these acts to be brought to justice; takes note of the decision of the Punjab government to set up a committee to fast-track the investigation into the killings of Shama Bibi and Shahbaz Masih and to order additional police protection for Christian neighbourhoods in the province; underlines, however, the need to end the climate of impunity and for broader reforms in order to address the issue of violence against religious minorities, which remains pervasive in Pakistan;
1.

Welcomes the fact that, although Article 155(2) TFEU does not provide for Parliament to be consulted in relation to requests made to the Commission by the social partners, the Commission has forwarded its proposal to Parliament and has asked it to communicate its opinion to the Commission and the Council;
20.

Stresses the importance of promoting and protecting at all levels human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the principle of no -discrimination on any grounds; welcomes the adoption of the Anti-Discrimination Strategy and underlines the fact that its implementation is key; welcomes the progress achieved so far, but continues to be concerned about the level of discrimination in the country and calls for respect for all minorities, as regards nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and in terms of securing socio-economic and cultural rights; points to the fact that special focus should be placed on the categories most exposed to discrimination and discriminatory practices, such as the Roma, women, persons with disabilities and children; calls on the proper implementation of Serbia’s Roma strategy; calls for better protection of women’s rights and gender equality policies and stresses the need for full implementation of the UN Security Council resolution 1325 and the inclusion of gender perspective in all relevant government policies; strongly condemns the authorities’ decision to ban the planned September 2013 Belgrade Pride Parade as in the previous two years, and calls for political support to be given to human rights for LGBTI persons at the highest political level; insists that the right to public assembly must be ensured for all citizens and minorities, including the LGBTI minority; calls on the Serbian authorities to develop a proactive approach to more effective inclusion of the LGBTI population; urges the government to step up efforts throughout the year to combat in a comprehensive manner the violent groups that have sought to disrupt and attack peaceful demonstrations by the LGBTI community, in order to prevent these groups from undermining the rule of law and the exercise of human rights in Serbia; calls also on the Serbian authorities to address the problem of the traumatic aftermath of the 1990s violence as part of a long-term strategy to prevent the recurrence of hooliganism and lawlessness;
8.

Stresses the need to examine the overall strategy on cooperation with third countries, including Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, as regards humanitarian, financial and political assistance, including in the field of law enforcement where appropriate; furthermore seeks clarification on the role of regional protection, resettlement and returns policies, including migration management agreements of both countries of origin and transit countries, in order to address the root causes of migration; stresses the need for third countries to respect international law with regard to saving lives at sea, and to ensure the protection of refugees and respect for fundamental rights;
19.

Is of the opinion that, for this process, appropriate structures and efficient administration need to be in place, and that administrative authorities and ministries must establish a culture of cooperation between themselves and in dealings with businesses and other actors; calls on regional and national decision-makers and authorities to modernise their internal procedures in line with the needs of the new ‘entrepreneurial discovery process’ and, in particular, to enter into a more intensive, long-term dialogue with the relevant actors; encourages SMEs, especially in regions with a high share of such enterprises, to collaborate through suitable platforms in order to strengthen their role in the smart specialisation process; recommends that, if necessary, resources available for capacity building should be used to empower administrations and stakeholders further;
2.

Believes that such an agreement with Switzerland is necessary, considering Switzerland’s strategic geographic location for the EU, the presence of many EU companies in Switzerland and vice versa, and the number of parallel investigations conducted by both jurisdictions in the recent past; believes, furthermore, that implementation of the agreement will be facilitated given the high degree of compatibility of EU and Swiss substantive competition rules; hopes that the prosecution of international cartels and punishment for cross-border offences of a serious nature will be more effective under this agreement; hopes, also, that duplication of the work of the competition authorities in taking decisions on similar cases, as well as the risk of diverging assessments in both jurisdictions, will be reduced; calls on the European Commission and the Swiss Competition Commission to remain strongly determined to fight cartels, given that they are detrimental to consumer welfare and innovation, and have a negative impact on the competitiveness of both economies;
F.

whereas violations of fundamental freedoms and human rights remain widespread in Egypt; whereas violence, incitement and harassment against political opponents, journalists and civil society activists further increased in the run-up to the referendum; whereas many political and civil society activists, including Alaa Abdel Fattah, Mohamed Abdel from the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights, and Ahmed Maher and Ahmed Douma, leaders of the April 6 movement, as well as members of various political parties, were arrested and convicted over the past weeks; whereas on 12 January 2014 the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights released a report after having visited the aforementioned prominent activists in Tora prison, criticising their conditions of detention and calling for an end to their mistreatment; whereas the Committee for the Protection of Journalists has reported that since July 2013 at least five journalists have been killed and 45 assaulted, 11 news outlets have been raided, and at least 44 journalists have been detained without charge under lengthy pre-trial procedures; whereas on 29 January 2014, 20 Al-Jazeera journalists, of whom eight are now in detention and three are Europeans, were charged with belonging to a ‘terrorist organisation’ or ‘spreading false news’;