ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
15.

Regrets that, although the new cohesion policy has legally binding urban-related aspects, especially regarding involvement of cities in the programming phase, the actual participation of city and urban representatives in the shaping of the policy is weak, and believes it can be improved by an early involvement in the policy processes, for example through consultation, evaluation and exchange of best practices and experiences; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the application of the partnership principle (also taking into account the European code of conduct on partnership (Article 5.3 of the Common Provision Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013)) when implementing programmes and projects supported by EU funding, with particular attention being given to the involvement of cities, towns and functional urban areas in the preparation, management and governance of the programmes, including at cross-border level;
J.

whereas the draft law governing trade unions would violate the right to organise and would severely limit the rights of independent trade unions, including existing unions; whereas the draft law sets an unreasonably high minimum threshold for the number of workers who must join before a union can be formed (20 %); whereas the draft law gives sweeping powers to Labour Ministry officials as regards the approval of strikes and the suspension of union registration on flimsy grounds and without due process; whereas the draft law excludes domestic workers from the right to unionise, makes union leaders subject to literacy requirements which discriminate against women and non-nationals, prohibits contacts with NGOs, and sets ineffectively low fines for employers who violate labour law;
15.

Calls on the Council, the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to strictly apply the ‘more for more’ principle, with a specific focus on the situation of human rights defenders, in line with the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, the independence of the judiciary, democratic reforms and fundamental rights and freedoms, and to clearly lay down the consequences of lagging behind on reforms; calls on the Commission to review and suspend temporarily, if needed, all funding not related to human rights, civil society and grassroots level people-to-people cooperation granted to Azerbaijan through the European Neighbourhood Instrument, in light of the abovementioned incidents of human rights defenders being targeted for documenting human rights violations in Azerbaijan; calls on the Commission and the Member States to maintain funding for people-to-people contacts and cooperation in such areas as civil society, education and academia, as well as youth and student exchanges;
E.

whereas science is of key importance to Europe in economic terms and needs constantly growing teams that are capable, inter alia, of the ground-breaking research essential for increased productivity and competitiveness, and the existence of a sufficient number of individuals with STEM skills is an essential precondition for implementing the European Agenda for Growth and Jobs and the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy; whereas demand for STEM professionals is expected to grow until 2025, while the latest available statistics reveal an ageing research sector; whereas positive cross-fertilisation between STEM subjects and the arts and humanities (STEAM) holds enormous economic, social, and cultural potential, and women researchers and innovators are well placed to develop links from STEM to STEAM; whereas female researchers are an asset for the EU, which needs all available resources in order to recover definitively from the economic and financial crisis and be able to face the changes in society as a whole; whereas there is a need to promote and facilitate women's career development and a higher presence of young people, especially women students and academics, in STEM fields;
7.

Calls on the Commission to take the necessary steps — with a view to the next World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15), to be held in Geneva in November 2015 — regarding the allocation of the necessary radio spectrum band to support the future development of a satellite-based global flight tracking system;
B.

whereas in Spain civil society organisations are continuing to protest against the hundreds of thousands of evictions, abusive terms in mortgage contracts and the lack of protection for borrowers; whereas, according to one of those organisations, the Platform of Mortgage Victims (Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca — PAH), there were 19 261 evictions in Spain during the first quarter of 2015 (6 % more than in the first quarter of 2014); whereas PAH estimates that there have been more than 397 954 evictions in Spain since 2008; whereas more than 100 000 households have lost their homes;
21.

Urges that the provision of humanitarian aid follows international humanitarian law, and that EU humanitarian aid not be subject to restrictions imposed by other partner donors; expresses its concerns over, and condemns, the continued use of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls as a war weapon in humanitarian emergencies; emphasises that this violence, along with its physical and psychological consequences, needs to be addressed; calls for a global commitment to ensure that women and girls are safe from the start of every emergency or crisis by addressing the risk of sexual and gender-based violence, by raising awareness, by assuring the prosecution of the perpetrators of such violence, and by ensuring that women and girls have access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including safe abortions, in humanitarian crises, rather than perpetuating what amounts to inhumane treatment, as required by international humanitarian law and as foreseen in the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols;
13.

Expresses its grave concern at the number of victims and cases of serious human rights violations reported since the beginning of the crisis; urges the competent authorities to undertake a rigorous and prompt investigation into the circumstances and motives behind these crimes and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice; reiterates that there can be no impunity for those responsible for violations or serious abuses of human rights; calls on the authorities to ensure that schools remain a safe haven for learning; calls on the ICC Prosecutor to closely monitor the situation in Burundi and supports her declaration of 6 November 2015;
7.

Recalls its invitation, in previous resolutions, to the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to propose practical arrangements and guidelines for ensuring an effective response in the event that a Member State invokes the mutual defence clause, as well as an analysis of the role of the EU institutions should that clause be invoked; considers it regrettable, however, that no analysis and no guidelines were available when the mutual defence clause was activated for the first time, leading to the current situation requiring ad hoc measures, ad hoc management and ad hoc cooperation;
E.

whereas the UN CRPD Committee encouraged the European Union to take all appropriate measures to ratify and implement the Marrakesh Treaty as soon as possible in the concluding observations on the initial report of the European Union on the implementation of the Convention;
9.

Notes that agriculture is a very sensitive sector and that a final, balanced outcome in the agriculture and fisheries chapters must give due consideration to the interests of all European producers, e.g. meat, dairy, sugar, cereal and, textile producers and those in the outermost regions, for instance by introducing transitional periods or appropriate quotas or not making any commitments in the most sensitive sectors; considers that only then can it boost competitiveness and be beneficial to both consumers and producers; calls for the inclusion of effective bilateral safeguard measures to prevent a surge in imports that would cause, or threaten to cause, serious injury to European producers in sensitive sectors and for the implementation of specific measures to protect sensitive products from the outermost regions, in particular the exclusion of special sugars;
18.

Takes the view that the constitutional reform process should develop into a secular, pluralistic, inclusive and tolerant society; underlines that a new Constitution should be based on widespread consensus across the political spectrum and in society as a whole, with full respect for the rights of minorities, irrespective of their cultural or religious background, thereby providing a solid base for fundamental freedoms and the rule of law; urges Turkey to fully respect the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms, in particular freedom of religious and ethnic minorities; emphasises the need to enact comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, including the prohibition of discrimination and hate speech on the grounds of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, and to include the prohibition of such discrimination in a new Constitution; underlines that this should not prevent Turkey from granting specific rights to citizens on the basis of ethnic origin, religion or language, so that they can preserve their identity; notes, in this connection, that further action is needed to address the problems faced by members of the Greek minority, in particular with regard to education and property rights; urges the Turkish authorities to take judicial measures against the people and bodies responsible for committing any sort of hate crime, including anti-Semitism, as was declared in the government’s ‘Democratisation Package’ in 2013; condemns the passive attitude of the Turkish Government towards the serious threats against Christians and their pastors in social media; expects the Turkish Government to treat every Turkish citizen without any prejudice towards his or her religious belief; calls on the Turkish authorities, given that Turkey has the world’s largest population of the Roma minority, to implement concrete and effective measures to achieve de facto equal rights for Roma in Turkish society and to improve the situation of Roma, with special attention to the situation of Roma children and the inclusion of Roma women;
9.

Takes note of the formation of the new People’s Assembly, and calls on it to review as a matter of urgency the repressive Protest Law of November 2013, which has been used to clamp down on all forms of peaceful dissent, as well as the Assembly Law of 1914; calls also for the review of all other repressive legislation adopted in violation of Egypt’s Constitution, including the Law on Terrorist Acts and the Law on Terrorist Entities, which could be misused for internal repression rather than to improve collective security; stresses its readiness, in partnership with the country’s authorities, to study the possibility of developing a capacity-building programme for the Egyptian parliament;
A.

whereas the international community has witnessed over the last few years a harrowing trend of attacks on hospitals and schools in armed conflicts around the world, such as the latest attacks on Doctors without Borders (MSF) health centres in Kunduz (Afghanistan) on 3 October 2015, in Razah (Yemen) on 10 January 2016 and in a number of Syrian towns throughout the ongoing conflict; whereas there has been an unprecedented increase in denial of humanitarian aid and access, the execution of civilians and humanitarian personnel, detention in dire conditions, and civilians being used as hostages or forced into slavery; whereas the growing needs and challenges, the lack of sustained commitments and the rising cost of humanitarian assistance have contributed to the current humanitarian system reaching its limits, and whereas this has forced a number of organisations to temporarily suspend food assistance, shelter and other life-saving humanitarian operations;
7.

Welcomes the adoption of the 2015-2020 public administration reform strategy and its action plan for 2015-2017, as well as the 2014-2020 public financial management reform strategy; stresses the need for a professional and transparent civil service in order to serve the interests of citizens, to provide better services to citizens and to prepare for efficient conduct of future accession negotiations; notes the efforts towards more citizen-friendly public administration; urges the government to pursue its efforts to enhance administrative capacities, depoliticise public administration, fight corruption in the civil service and improve recruitment procedures based on merit and performance; calls for full and effective implementation of the Civil Service Law and the new Law on Administrative Procedures; calls for the authority, autonomy, efficiency and resources of human rights structures, such as the Ombudsman’s Office, to be enhanced; calls for appropriate budget allocations to be made available to the two new Commissioners on Children and the Prevention of Torture; welcomes the adoption of the 2015-2020 decentralisation strategy and of the law on local self-government, which increases the administrative and financial capacities of local government units and provides for consultation between central and local government; notes the need to further clarify the functions and responsibilities of local government and to continue close dialogue with the relevant stakeholders, including representatives of civil society;
6.

Is convinced that, until China meets all five EU criteria required to qualify as a market economy, the EU should use a non-standard methodology in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into Chinese imports in determining price comparability, in accordance with and giving full effect to those parts of Section 15 of China’s Accession Protocol which provide room for the application of a non-standard methodology; calls on the Commission to make a proposal in line with this principle;
D.

whereas there are around 2 000 people in prison, under house arrest or on probation for political reasons, including important political leaders such as Leopoldo López, Antonio Ledezma and Daniel Ceballos; whereas on 30 March 2016 the Venezuelan National Assembly passed a law that would give amnesty to the abovementioned prisoners, thus paving the way for dialogue towards national reconciliation; whereas this law is in line with Article 29 of the Venezuelan Constitution, in spite of the declaration of unconstitutionality issued by the Supreme Court; whereas Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated publicly that the Amnesty and National Reconciliation Law was in line with international law and expressed disappointment at its rejection;
—

having regard to the declaration of 3 June 2016 by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, and the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E. Méndez, which has been endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Dubravka Šimonović, and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention,
5.

Notes that, in the 2014-2020 programming period, cohesion policy allows financial instruments to play an important complementary role, and recalls that financial instruments, as they are complementary to grants, have a leverage effect, which can increase the impact of financing for updating innovation in the market, for example through energy efficiency, and can contribute to a better absorption rate by providing the co-financing needed, in particular in Member States and regions with low national co-financing capacity; underlines, however, the fact that grants remain indispensable for certain projects such as R&I projects and those with a strong focus on societal challenges; recalls that grants and financial instruments do not finance the same types of activities and that those different forms of support target different types of beneficiaries and projects; stresses the importance of continuing with grant funding in future EU programmes; underlines the fact that the right balance between grants and financial instruments must be maintained in the future; recalls the need to further strengthen the accountability, transparency and result-orientation of financial instruments;
25.

Welcomes the entry into force of the new Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) (Regulation (EU) No 978/2012) on 1 January 2014 and the publication of the first GSP monitoring report for the period 2014-2015; takes the view that trade policy must be a way to encourage the EU’s partner countries to adopt higher social and environmental standards and therefore calls on the Commission to implement the following corrective measures: (a) to clarify, either through a delegated act or through the forthcoming revision of Regulation (EU) No 978/2012, the definitions of a ‘serious failure to effectively implement’ an international convention and ‘serious and systematic violation of principles’ contained in an international convention, (b) to seek the views of all relevant monitoring bodies in order to better assess compliance with the international conventions referred to in the GSP Regulation; in particular to focus its assessment on the views expressed by the ILO’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions, with respect to both granting and suspending trade preferences in accordance with the GSP Regulation, (c) to enhance, in the forthcoming revision of Regulation (EU) No 978/2012, the monitoring of commitments undertaken by beneficiary countries; social partners and CSOs should be given a formal role in GSP and GSP+ monitoring, in particular through a procedure to hear and respond to concerns addressed to the Commission, (d) to also include in the revision, as requested in 2010, CSR in the GSP Regulation in order to ensure compliance by transnational corporations with national and international legal obligations in the areas of human rights, labour standards and environmental rules, (e) to monitor and assess developments related to the implementation and effectiveness of the Everything But Arms (EBA) and standard GSP arrangements and to report back to the European Parliament;
56.

Urges the EU and all the Parties to support the adoption of decisions proposed by the CITES Standing Committee which lay down strict conditions for tiger farming and trading in captive tiger specimens and products, as well as the proposal made by India encouraging the Parties to share images of seized tiger specimens and products, which would assist law enforcement agencies with the identification of individual tigers by their unique stripe patterns; calls on the EU to consider providing funding for the implementation of these decisions, and calls for the closure of tiger farms and for an end to be put to the trade in captive tiger parts and products at the CITES COP 17;
48.

Supports ‘smart working’ as an approach to organising work through a combination of flexibility, autonomy and collaboration, which does not necessarily require the worker to be present in the workplace or in any pre-defined place and enables them to manage their own working hours, while nevertheless ensuring consistency with the maximum daily and weekly working hours laid down by law and collective agreements; underlines, therefore, the potential of smart working for a better work-life balance, in particular for parents returning to or entering the labour market after maternity or parental leave; rejects, however, a shift from a culture of presence to a culture of permanent availability; calls on the Commission, the Member States and the social partners, when developing smart working policies, to ensure that these do not impose an additional burden on the worker, but rather reinforce a healthy work-life balance and increase workers’ well-being; stresses the need to focus on achieving job outcomes to prevent abuse of these new forms of work; calls on the Member States to promote the potential of technology such as digital data, high-speed internet, audio and video technology for smart (tele)working arrangements;
1.

Affirms that ACP-EU cooperation is a valuable and unique achievement that has strengthened bonds between ACP and EU peoples and countries and their parliaments throughout the last 40 years; underlines — in light of the ACP countries’ demonstration of their commitment to taking joint action as a group — that in order to improve the effectiveness of cooperation and adapt it to new challenges, a new structure must be adopted that maintains those parts of the ACP-EU acquis that are universal in nature, such as a commitment to human rights and gender equality, human development, good governance and democracy, the objective of the rule of law, and exchange of best practice in a common framework, while the main work must be carried out in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, that is, it must take place in regional agreements that are tailored to specific regional needs and to the mutual interests existing between the EU and the respective region;
—

having regard to its previous reports, recommendations and resolutions on Russia, in particular its recommendation to the Council of 23 October 2012 on establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case (1); its resolutions of 13 June 2013 on the rule of law in Russia (2) and of 13 March 2014 on Russia: sentencing of demonstrators involved in the Bolotnaya Square events (3); its recommendation to the Council of 2 April 2014 on establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case (4); and its resolutions of 23 October 2014 on the closing-down of the NGO ‘Memorial’ (winner of the 2009 Sakharov Prize) in Russia (5), of 12 March 2015 on the murder of the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and the state of democracy in Russia (6), of 10 June 2015 on the state of EU-Russia relations (7), and of 10 September 2015 on Russia, in particular the cases of Eston Kohver, Oleg Sentsov and Olexander Kolchenko (8),
42.

Proposes that training and information for fishermen be improved, both of which could be incorporated into their professional organisations and the coastal action groups (CAGs), with a view to improving their understanding of the purpose and general importance of the regulations and thus inculcating a culture of understanding and respect for them; recommends effective consultation with the advisory councils to this end; proposes that online databases be created for documents and information relevant to fisheries (including the penalty point system), as far as the data protection provisions in force permit, making the regulations accessible for all to read and understand; asks the Commission to assess existing training courses for future fishermen in Europe and to make its conclusions known by means of a communication;