ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
11.

Suggests that when the Ombudsman presents his annual report in a meeting of the Committee on Petitions, not only representatives of the European Commission but also of the respective administrations of the European Parliament, the Council and other EU institutions, agencies, services and bodies that have been the subject of an investigation, a special report, critical remarks or other measures taken by the Ombudsman should be present to comment on the report and take part in the discussion; urges the administrations of Parliament, the Council and the other EU institutions, agencies and bodies concerned to be represented in future meetings when the Ombudsman’s annual report is presented and discussed; believes that their participation in such discussions and the sharing of their views on good administration and on the problems overcome as a result of the European Ombudsman’s recommendations and remarks could help to improve the service provided to EU citizens and interinstitutional dialogue and contribute to the establishment of a genuine service culture;
10.

Deplores the late start to the work of the IHRC, which should be playing a central role in coordinating reconstruction; is disappointed at the lack of information concerning its operation and effectiveness, and calls on the Commission, as a member of the IHRC, to intervene with a view to speeding up the implementation of the latter’s mandate and reviewing its operation and to submit a report to Parliament on the IHRC’s activities, its use of resources and the proportion of the funds pledged at the New York conference that has actually been committed to reconstruction;
37.

Considers that the EU should pursue the following objectives in Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) to which it belongs: — establishment, for all fisheries under the remit of the RFMOs, of registers of fishing vessels, including support vessels, that are authorised to fish, as well as lists of vessels that are identified as IUU (black lists), to be updated frequently, published widely and coordinated among RFMOs; — strengthening of RFMOs’ Compliance Committees to examine the performance of Contracting Parties and, where necessary, impose effective sanctions; — extension of the list of specified measures to be taken by Contracting Parties (CPCs) as flag, coastal, port and market States, and States of beneficial ownership, within individual RFMOs; — establishment of appropriate at-sea inspections and observer programmes; — bans on transhipments at sea; — development of catch documentation schemes, beginning with the major species in each RFMO; — compulsory use of electronic tools including VMS, electronic logbooks and other tracking devices where relevant; — compulsory and regular evaluations of the performance of individual RFMOs with a requirement that the recommendations be acted upon; — declaration of financial interests with respect to fisheries for heads of delegations to RFMOs where they could lead to a conflict of interest;
31.

Recalls that developed countries have committed themselves to providing new and additional resources from public and private sources amounting to at least USD 30 billion in the period 2010-2012 and USD 100 billion per year by 2020, with special emphasis on the vulnerable and least-developed countries; calls on the Commission and the Member States to honour their commitments and guarantee that resources for adaptation and mitigation come on top of the 0,7 % ODA target and specify how much of the commitment will come from public funding; further stresses the need to mobilise both domestic and international resources from all possible sources to contribute to achieving this goal and to identify a path for additional emissions reduction measures during the period from 2013 to 2020; calls, further, on the Conference of the Parties to define a framework for climate financing during the intermediate period from 2013 to 2020; also stresses the need for such funding to be provided on the basis of fair, transparent and non-discriminatory rules coupled with effective capacity-building, the reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers to environment-related goods, services and investment, concrete support for low-emission infrastructure and well-defined, predictable rules;
12.

Calls on the Council, the Commission and the EU High Representative to immediately re-apply the visa ban on the Belarusian leading authorities expanding it to the state officials, members of judiciary and security officers who can be considered responsible for the vote-rigging and post-election brutal repressions and arrests of the members of the opposition and to freeze their assets; points out the sanctions should remain in force minimum until all political prisoners and detainees are released and exempted from charges; welcomes the good example of the Polish Government which imposed its own travel restrictions to the representatives of the Minsk regime and at the same time simplified access to the European Union for the Belarusian citizens;
10.

Welcomes the proposal for a European Endowment for Democracy (EED), which is a timely response to the clamour for democracy by the populations of our neighbouring countries; underlines that it should be a flexible, fast and targeted mechanism for support and should complement already existing EU instruments and the exemplary work of longstanding European political or non-political foundations and civil society organisations, bearing in mind that tangible results should be an objective of this initiative; stresses that the Endowment should not hinder or duplicate the action already being taken by these foundations, or as part of existing European programmes, such as the EIDHR; stresses that its scope and organisation should be clearly defined and that its structures and procedures should be light and straightforward; calls upon the EEAS, the Commission and the (Polish) Presidency to present a clear demarcation of the competences of a future EED in relation to these instruments and frameworks; insists on a right of scrutiny and the involvement of the European Parliament in its governance structure, to help determine the annual objectives, priorities, expected results, and financial allocations in broad terms and to be part in the monitoring of activities; expresses some concerns about the fact that this future fund could be financed, fully or in part, outside of the EU budget and reaffirms the right of the budget authority to monitor and scrutinise the implementation of this fund; requests therefore, a clarification from the Commission and the Council on the issue;
29.

Calls, with regard to road transport, for: — another review, by 2013, of the regulatory framework governing driving and rest periods in passenger and goods transport and its implementation, and to harmonise interpretation of the implementation and enforcement, and taking account of the European Parliament’s position on the harmonisation of penalties in the road transport sector; believes that it is also necessary to harmonise the restrictions on goods shipments throughout the European Union, — the targets already set to be met and for fresh impetus to be given to the priority projects in the Trans-European Road Network, — an overall 40 % increase by 2020, as compared with 2010 figures, in the number of secure parking spaces for heavy goods vehicles on the Trans-European Road Network (TERN) and improvements in their quality (hygiene standards), — the Commission to support Member State initiatives to create a safe and environmentally-friendly fleet by means of tax incentives, — the Commission to draw up, by the end of 2013, a report on the state of the Community road transport market which contains an analysis of the market situation, including an evaluation of the effectiveness of controls and the evolution of employment conditions in the profession, and an assessment of whether harmonisation of the rules in the fields, inter alia, of enforcement and road-user charges, as well as social and safety legislation, has progressed to such an extent that the further opening-up of domestic road transport markets, including the elimination of the restriction on cabotage, could be envisaged, — an improvement in the initial and further training of persons employed in the transport sector, including those providing transport-related services for passengers, and in access to the professions concerned, in order to improve working conditions and salaries and to boost the attractiveness of these professions, — a standardised EU methodology to calculate the carbon footprint of transport and logistics operations, in order to avoid a proliferation of national approaches, and support for industry initiatives to promote carbon footprint calculation, especially for road freight transport;
16.

Calls on the Commission to clarify the application of competition rules in agriculture, with the aim of providing farmers and their inter-branch organisations with tools that will make it possible to improve their negotiating position; calls for an assessment of and changes to existing EU competition law, with a view to ensuring that greater account is taken of the harmful effects of vertical concentration on the entire food supply chain, instead of there being a narrow focus on the relative positions of various companies on the market and distortions of competition being viewed solely on the basis of their detrimental effect to consumers;
9.

Emphasises that, by virtue of its multifunctional dimension, the fisheries sector provides communities with common goods which benefit EU citizens in general, and not only those directly or indirectly involved in fisheries, a contribution which must be acknowledged and valued; notes, further, that considerable numbers of EU citizens, in particular those living in coastal areas, benefit from the multifunctionality of fisheries activities; considers that the multifunctionality of the fisheries sector should be fully taken into account in the financing of the CFP; stresses that the production of these additional public goods must not be used as an excuse to delay necessary reforms of the CFP;
76.

Proposes the setting up by sports federations of a non-public European register of sports agents, in which agents would list the names of the players that they represent, so as to protect athletes, in particular those below the age of 18 so as to limit the risk of conflicts of interest; takes the view that the payment of agents’ fees for transfers should be made in a number of instalments throughout the duration of the contract, which is entered into by the sportsperson as a result of the transfer, with full payment being dependent on that contract being fulfilled;
20.

Stresses the need to develop a coherent system for research into socio-economic processes in cross-border areas, including those in the regions located on the external borders of the European Union, together with statistics for macro-regions, in order to obtain a reliable, complete and accurate picture of the economy in terms of regional and macro-regional development, covering both the urban dimension and rural areas; believes that the research mechanisms connected with the balance of payments should be improved; notes, furthermore, that regional and national accounts should be closely monitored as part of a robust system of quality management for European statistics;
13.

Reiterates its call on the Investigative Committee to lead a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the death of Sergei Magnitsky, with no taboo areas, to promptly present concrete conclusions and to take all steps required to bring those responsible to justice; calls, in the event of further inaction by the Russian authorities, for the Council to take into consideration actions such as an EU-wide travel ban and a freeze on the financial assets of those found guilty of the torture and death of Sergei Magnitsky, as well as of covering up the case;
A.

whereas the goals of the Bologna Process – to enable compatible systems of higher education in Europe and to do away with the barriers which still prevent people from moving to another country in order to study or work and make higher education in Europe attractive to as many people as possible, including young people from third countries – are still valid and the continuation of the process, through a dialogue between the different levels of the educational system in order to develop curricula to be built on each preliminary level, is serving the goals of growth based on knowledge and innovation within the Europe 2020 strategy, particularly in the current economic crisis; whereas an assessment is needed in order to establish the evolution of the Process and to take account of the success stories, problems, lack of understanding and opposition encountered;
19.

Welcomes the initiatives of the Turkish government in reorganising the system of shelters, in consultation with all stakeholders; notes that the official number of shelters for women who have been victims of violence, according to the General Directorate on the Status of Women, is 81, which is still very low and does not meet the needs of a population of approximately 70 million; calls on the Turkish government to set up shelters spread evenly throughout the country in sufficient numbers, in line with the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention of 11 May 2011 on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, thereby meeting the goal it set for itself with the Law on Municipalities, and to create a shelter in every municipality with at least 50 000 inhabitants; notes that shelters must be spread throughout the country, with a proper balance between rural and urban areas; emphasises the importance of introducing mechanisms for increasing security, capacity and supervision in the existing shelters and for imposing sanctions for non-compliance, of employing well-trained and well-paid social service personnel and ensuring, by means of professional training courses and other services, that women in shelters acquire adequate capabilities to build a new life for themselves and their children; stresses the importance of non-disclosure of the location of these shelters for the safety of the victims;
26.

Calls on the Member States, the Commission and the Council to use, in close cooperation with social partners, every opportunity to ensure that every young EU citizen can start work or training after a maximum period of four months of unemployment by implementing the European Youth Guarantee; believes that Member States should make the Youth Guarantee legally enforceable in order to effectively improve the situation of young people who are neither in employment nor in education or training and to gradually overcome the problem of youth unemployment in the EU; stresses that the Youth Guarantee needs specific European financial support, especially in the Member States with the highest youth unemployment rates;
21.

Reiterates its serious concern over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian and food crisis and calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase and speed up the delivery of humanitarian supplies to the populations in need; notes that the Commission is giving an additional EUR 9 million in response to the new humanitarian needs in northern Mali; points out that urgent efforts are needed in order to open up the humanitarian space and allow food and medical supplies to reach northern Mali; is concerned that, unless such measures are taken rapidly, a major humanitarian crisis may develop which could also have a negative impact on neighbouring countries;
19.

Urges the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU to appoint a special coordinator with a mandate to report regularly on Tibet in order to advance respect for the human rights of the Tibetan people, including their right to preserve and develop their distinctive identity and its religious, cultural and linguistic manifestations, to support constructive dialogue and negotiations between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and to provide assistance to Tibetan refugees, in particular in Nepal and India;
18.

Notes that discrimination against women which stands in the way of their full participation in political life is continuing, despite the fact that the principle of equality between men and women and gender parity in the various decision-making bodies is enshrined in the Constitution; proposes that all necessary measures be taken to ensure the integration of women in political life and that the electoral law be amended to ensure the principle of gender parity;
29.

Expresses concern about the high youth unemployment figures observed in a number of Member States and the negative employment prospects; notes with concern the European Union’s limited ability to attract high-quality human capital while there are significant human capital flows towards third world countries; recognises that the European Union holds vast potential in terms of high-quality human capital and calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up action in order to tackle youth unemployment through programmes and concrete action at European and national level; welcomes in this regard the statement of the European Council calling on the Member States to introduce national schemes akin to the Youth Guarantee and urges the Member States to back up this plea with swift and concrete action at national level so as to ensure that young people are either in a decent job, education or (re-) training; considers that the European Union should step up its efforts to achieve the employment objectives of the EU 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, including reduced taxes on labour aimed at attracting more investment in the labour-intensive sectors of the economy;
50.

Notes that, although there are increasing numbers of women using computers and surfing the internet in an elementary way, the digital divide in terms of skills remains very wide, restricting women’s access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), thus hampering their ability to seek and find skilled work and, consequently, intensifying inequalities within households, communities, labour markets and the wider economy; calls, therefore, for efforts to promote women’s access to the use of new technologies by giving them priority access to free training courses; invites the Member States and the regions to set up free computer training courses through projects financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), providing women with the chance to acquire new technical skills in the fields of technology and computer science and leading to greater opportunities for female employment in the service sector; calls on governments to implement policies (such as promotion campaigns and specific scholarships) aimed at increasing the level of enrolment of female students in information and communications technology courses;
4.

Notes that in over 65 % of the complaints dealt with by the Ombudsman, he was able either to open an inquiry or to refer the complainant to a competent body, such as a member of the European Network of Ombudsmen, which includes Parliament’s Committee on Petitions, the Commission or another complaint-handling body (e.g. SOLVIT); notes that in 2011 the Committee on Petitions received 59 complaints from the Ombudsman;
5.

Welcomes, furthermore, the commitment to make the EU budget a tool for growth; notes, in this connection, that no tangible progress was achieved at the June European Council meeting towards striking an agreement on the next MFF, i.e. for 2014-2020; urges the Cypriot Presidency to step up its efforts on this matter, with full involvement of Parliament in the MFF negotiations, including full respect for its codecision rights; insists, however, that own-resources reform is an essential element, without which no agreement on the multiannual financial framework will be possible; reiterates its conviction that an agreement on both the revenue and the expenditure sides of the MFF, which should correspond to the actual needs and ambitions of the Union for the next period, would need to be reached by the end of this year;
6.

Urges the Iranian authorities to release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, including Nasrin Sotoudeh, co-Sakharov Prize winner together with Jafar Panahi, and to allow them to come to the European Parliament in December 2012 to collect their prizes; expresses its concern about the deteriorating health condition of Nasrin Sotoudeh; calls on Iran’s judiciary and prison authorities to end the mistreatment of Nasrin Sotoudeh; expresses its sympathy and full solidarity with the requests of Nasrin Sotoudeh; calls on Iran’s authorities to allow all prisoners access to lawyers of their choice, necessary medical care and family visits, to which they are entitled under international human rights law, and to treat them with dignity and respect;
G.

whereas the free movement of goods is a cornerstone of the EU, and the Union has introduced a uniform type-approval system and harmonised registration certificates for motor vehicles; whereas, therefore, buying a car in or transferring a car to another Member State has become much easier; whereas European citizens who move to other Member States and intend to take their car with them are faced with onerous and complex procedures, requiring documentation that does not exist in their own Member State and payment of additional taxes; whereas European citizens intending to purchase a car in another Member State experience similar difficulties, whereas Parliament receives numerous complaints from citizens faced with cumbersome formalities, very often relating to the re-registration of their vehicles in another Member State and the associated additional costs; whereas at the same time the Union and the Member States need to ensure that the re-registration of stolen vehicles with falsified registration certificates does not occur;
Y.

whereas Regulation (EC) No 814/2000 aims to help citizens understand the European model of agriculture and to raise public awareness of the issues; whereas ignorance and misunderstandings about farming and rural life are probably stronger today than during any other period in Europe’s history, and whereas one of the relevant factors of which the public is least aware is a significant rise in the cost of agricultural production resulting from the obligations imposed by the EU in relation to food security and hygiene, social welfare for workers, environmental conservation and animal welfare, which are often not practised by the EU’s direct agricultural competitors; whereas one of the relevant factors that is most misunderstood by the public concerns the lack of awareness of the significant contribution that agriculture makes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and of the long list of public goods it provides;