ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
31.

Stresses that the internal rules of the European Parliament offer a sufficient margin of manoeuvre to organise specific forms of differentiation on the basis of political agreement within and among the political groups in order to provide for appropriate scrutiny of the EMU; recalls that Article 3(4) TEU states that ‘the Union shall establish an economic and monetary union whose currency is the euro’, and that Protocol 14 on the Eurogroup refers to ‘the need to lay down special provisions for enhanced dialogue between the Member States whose currency is the euro, pending the euro becoming the currency of all Member States’; points out that, if this supposedly transitory situation is to last, an appropriate accountability mechanism for the current euro area and the Member States committed to joining must be considered within Parliament;
G.

whereas many more journalists, human rights defenders and activists are facing legal charges brought against them in Azerbaijan, including Hasan Huseynli, head of the Intelligent Citizen Enlightenment Centre Public Union, sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment on 14 July 2014, and Rauf Mirkadirov, an investigative journalist with the leading Russian-language newspaper ‘Zerkalo’, held on pre-trial detention on charges of treason; whereas the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), a leading media rights NGO in the country headed by the well-known and internationally recognised human rights defender Emin Huseynov, had its offices raided by the police on 8 August 2014; whereas another recently arrested figure is the prominent opposition journalist Seymur Haziyev, charged with criminal hooliganism and held in 2 months’ pre-trial custody;
2.

Calls for an efficient monitoring of the implementation of the Youth Guarantee; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the challenges that have been identified in the 2014 Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) regarding the quality of offers and the lack of active outreach to NEETs, as well as the administrative capacity of public employment services and the lack of effective engagement with all the relevant partners, while at the same time identifying best practices that might function as a reference for programme improvements; calls for more transparency in the monitoring of the implementation and for more ambition with regard to addressing the Member States showing no progress in this regard;
6.

Is aware that the second of the aforementioned scenarios, applicable to those Operational Programmes not ready for adoption by the end of 2014, namely the rebudgeting of uncommitted amounts from 2014 in 2015 in accordance with Article 19 of the MFF, implies a revision of the MFF by 1 May 2015 which, albeit technical, must comply with the multiannual budget procedure; invites the Commission, therefore, to engage as soon as possible in discussions with Parliament and the Council in order to lay out a credible roadmap that ensures the adoption of the MFF revision as early as possible in 2015;
A.

whereas the Russian Federation, as a full member of the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the UN, has committed itself to the principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights; whereas, as a result of several serious violations of the rule of law and the adoption of restrictive laws during the past few months, there are increasing concerns about Russia’s compliance with its international and national obligations; whereas the EU has repeatedly offered additional assistance and expertise to help Russia modernise and abide by its constitutional and legal order, in line with Council of Europe standards;
5.

Agrees that plastic waste should be treated as a valuable resource by promoting its reuse, recycling, and recovery and by enabling the creation of an adequate market environment; calls on the Commission to make proposals by 2014 to phase out the landfilling of recyclable and recoverable waste by 2020, without, however, incentivising as a result the energy recovery option over recycling, and ensuring that environmental efficiency criteria are applied to all options; considers that, alongside the targets mentioned above for recycling, it is therefore essential to introduce appropriate measures discouraging incineration of recyclable, compostable and biodegradable plastics, in order to optimise the life-cycle of each plastic type while respecting the waste hierarchy; points out that this would also invert an unsustainable tendency that has until now privileged the use of virgin products over the more expensive recycled ones; stresses that the recyclability and repairability of products should be taken into account already at the design phase; calls on the Commission, therefore, to propose measures relating to design that improve the overall environmental impact of products, preventing excess waste and promoting recycling markets; believes that in any case plastic goods should be designed to maximise durability, taking into account the whole life-cycle of the product; points out, that in the context of new legislation on plastic waste, the Commission should consider establishing more extensive inspections as regards landfill waste acceptance up to 2020, as well as stepping up checks on incineration facilities;
C.

whereas Dr Medani symbolises a strong commitment to human rights, humanitarianism and the rule of law, having held high-level positions within a range of different national and international institutions, including the Sudan judiciary, the democratic transitional government of Sudan (as Cabinet Minister for Peace), and the UN; whereas he has represented victims of violations and has persistently spoken out against abuse of power, and was awarded the ‘Heroes for Human Rights Award 2013’ by the EU Delegation in Sudan for his local and international efforts in promoting human rights;
77.

Calls on the Commission to improve considerably its appraisals of trade agreements, in particular the impact assessments carried out, by taking the issue of industrial competitiveness into account and carrying out ex post assessments, as well as analyses of the aggregate effect of all agreements already concluded or under negotiation; stresses the importance of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) undertaking for realising European reindustrialisation, growth and employment objectives, and which has the potential to simplify and increase the export of European industrial products, improve the competitiveness of industry by raising international production standards and reduce the import costs of raw and processed materials for manufacturing companies; advocates that the TTIP, as with other trade agreements, should include a chapter focused on such energy matters as those which could affect the internal market; calls on the Commission, by means of tariff dismantling, to make better market access possible in connection with services and investments, strengthen regulatory cooperation, ensure improved public procurement rules and the protection of intellectual property, and to pursue these objectives actively within competition policy and in connection with energy and commodities; stresses the need for streamlining regulations and reducing regulatory and administrative burdens as intended by the TTIP, to be implemented under the strict consideration and protection of high social and environmental standards and employee rights; underlines the fact that the eventual conclusion of the TTIP will create the prospect of a wide economic space which would in turn strengthen the EU’s relationships and serve as a multiplier for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the EU;
45.

Points out that in certain cross-border situations the right of national inspection authorities to carry out inspections within non-national companies has been severely restricted, and that this has endangered both the protection of the worker and the level playing field; calls for employee posting information, such as A1 posting certificates, not to be retroactive, and for them to be entered into an EU-wide register that should complement existing national registers and be made available to authorities throughout the EU in order to facilitate the control, at national level, of employment relationships among posted workers on a multilingual basis; states that, in this connection, more efficient cross-border exchange of information between the various competent authorities is of major importance; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that labour inspections can make full use of their right to non-discriminatory independent inspections in cross-border situations, regardless of the place of establishment of the company;
12.

Stresses the importance of energy security and the fact that the supply of natural resources should not be used as a political tool; underlines the mutual importance of collaboration in the energy field, which represents an opportunity for further trade and economic collaboration in an opened and transparent market, with full understanding of the EU’s need to diversify transportation channels and energy providers; stresses that the principles of interdependence and transparency should be the basis for such cooperation, together with equal access to markets, infrastructure and investment; calls for EU-Russia cooperation in the energy field to be based firmly on the principles of the internal market, including the Third Energy Package, in particular with regard to third-party access, and of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT); is convinced that full acceptance of the principles of the ECT by Russia would have mutually beneficial effects on bilateral energy relations; calls for close cooperation between the EU and Russia regarding the supply of raw materials and rare earths, especially those considered critical, and calls for compliance with international rules, especially WTO rules;
23.

Underlines that the principle of maximal harmonisation set by the Directive implies that national legislation cannot provide for stricter provisions than those provided under this Directive; stresses that the Court of Justice has interpreted that principle as requiring that bundled sales and other commercial promotions, which are treated by the Court as unfair commercial practices and which do not feature on the black list in Annex I, can only be prohibited on a case-by-case basis; stresses that for reasons of legal certainty, and to guarantee a high level of consumer protection, the Commission should specify, as part of its review of the guidance document, in what precise cases bundled sales and other commercial promotions should be deemed illegal; calls also on the Commission to reflect on the necessity of a new legislative proposal dedicated to commercial promotions;
35.

Takes the view that infringement proceedings should be considered to be a last resort, to be pursued only after attempts have been made to coordinate and correct the situation, and that the Commission should therefore promote the use of the EU Pilot and other proceedings before taking a Member State to the Court of Justice; insists, furthermore, that every effort should be made towards ensuring more effective use of infringement proceedings for breaches of Union law provisions in the field of the Single Market, and that the Member States and the European Council should continue the further development of infringement proceedings in the framework of future revisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
6.

Notes that the current SVLK leads to timber operations being certified as legal even when land-use rights claims by indigenous peoples and local communities have not been settled and/or proper compensation has not been paid, where appropriate; calls on the Commission to urge the Indonesian Government to ensure that traditional community rights to forests, the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples and local communities, and compensation for lost access to forest lands, where appropriate, are taken into due account in the verification of legality, and that the verification bodies are given a mandate to assess whether undertakings have respected local land-use rights and whether land has been legally gazetted;
2.

Expresses its deep concern regarding the reported cases of human trafficking in Sinai and condemns in the strongest terms the terrible abuses to which the victims of traffickers are subjected; expresses its strong solidarity with the victims of human trafficking in Sinai and their families, and stresses again the responsibility of the Egyptian and Israeli governments to combat human trafficking in this area; notes the efforts of the authorities and underlines that any military and law-enforcing operation by Egyptian security forces in Sinai should include actions aimed at rescuing victims of human traffickers, protecting and assisting these victims, especially women and children, to ensure they do not become victims again, as well as arresting and prosecuting the traffickers, and any security officials colluding with them, in order to hold them to account;
38.

Supports the further development of universities in the ORs and the establishment of new centres of excellence, with a view to giving OR universities a higher profile and enhancing their drawing power in Europe; supports the development of partnerships between universities, not least as a result of the opening up of such arrangements to universities in non-EU countries with which ORs have a special relationship; calls for the additional travel costs arising as a result of the ORs’ remoteness to be under the Erasmus+ and Eures programmes, so that OR students may take advantage of European exchange and training programmes and that OR universities could seek to derive greater benefit from the Erasmus Mundus programme between the Member States and the rest of the world;
15.

Expresses great concern at the very limited coverage of the Gezi Park events by Turkish media and the dismissal of journalists who criticised the government’s reactions to those events; recalls that freedom of expression and media pluralism, including digital and social media, are at the heart of European values and that an independent press is crucial to a democratic society, as it enables citizens to take an active part in the collective decision-making processes on an informed basis and therefore strengthens democracy; expresses deep concern at the new internet law which introduces excessive controls on, and monitoring of, internet access and has the potential to significantly impact on free expression, investigative journalism, democratic scrutiny and access to politically diverse information over the internet; points to the serious concerns expressed by the EU and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and asks the Government of Turkey to revise the law in line with European standards on media freedom and freedom of expression; reiterates once again its concern at the fact that most media are owned by, and concentrated in, large conglomerates with a wide range of business interests, and points to the worrying and widespread phenomenon of self-censorship by media owners and journalists; is concerned about the dismissal of journalists from positions in the media as a result of their criticising the government; is deeply concerned about the procedures used to punish the owners of critical media; raises concerns about the implications of accreditation by state institutions, mainly targeting the opposition media; expresses deep concern at the particularly high number of journalists currently in pre-trial detention, which undermines freedom of expression and of the media, and calls on Turkey’s judicial authorities to review and address these cases as soon as possible; highlights the special role of public service media in strengthening democracy and calls on the Government of Turkey to ensure the independence and sustainability of public service media in compliance with European standards;
—

having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2012 on violence against lesbian women and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons in Africa (1), to its position of 13 June 2013 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement amending for the second time the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000, as first amended in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005 (2), and to its resolution of 11 December 2013 on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2012 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (3),
H.

whereas the High-Level Group on Own Resources aims to produce a first assessment of the current system’s shortcomings by the end of 2014, with a final outcome in 2016 to be assessed at an interinstitutional conference with the participation of national parliaments; whereas the High-Level Group should examine all aspects of the reform of the own resources system with a view to providing the Commission with the necessary means to assess whether new own-resource initiatives are appropriate in parallel with the post electoral review/revision of the 2014-2020 MFF (to be launched no later than the end of 2016) and to propose a successful reform for the period covered by the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework;
3.

Stresses that the ongoing war in Syria and the recent threat posed by ISIL/Daesh constitute a serious danger to the people of Iraq and Syria, and to the broader Middle East; calls for the EU to adopt and implement a comprehensive regional strategy for defeating ISIL/Daesh and to contribute to joint efforts to mitigate the humanitarian crisis and end the conflict in Syria and Iraq; recalls that a cohesive response is needed in order to coordinate all aspects of engagement and to support host countries, including with security, humanitarian, development and macro-economic assistance; commends the role of neighbouring countries in accepting refugees; emphasises that the EU needs a strategy that complements UN and counter-ISIL/Daesh coalition activities and is aimed at engaging with regional partners in order to address terrorism financing, the supply of weapons and the flow of transnational foreign fighters;
A.

whereas the Russian Federation, as a full member of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and a signatory to the UN declaration, has committed itself to the principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights; whereas, as a result of numerous serious violations of the rule of law and the adoption of restrictive laws during the past months, there are grave concerns about to Russia’s compliance with international and national obligations; and whereas the EU has repeatedly offered additional assistance and expertise, through the Partnership for Modernisation, to help Russia to modernise and abide by its constitutional and legal order, in line with Council of Europe standards; whereas there are a multitude of judicial cases in which politically constructed reasons are used to eliminate political competition, threaten civil society and discourage citizens from participating in public rallies and protests opposing the country’s current leadership;
9.

Calls on the Venezuelan authorities, in view of the upcoming parliamentary elections, to use this period to establish an inclusive political process based on consensus and joint ownership, through a genuine national dialogue with the meaningful participation of all democratic political forces in the framework of democracy, the rule of law and the full observance of human rights; calls on both sides, moreover, to discuss the most serious problems facing the country in order to undertake the necessary economic and governance reforms; calls on the Venezuelan authorities to secure the holding of free and fair parliamentary elections in a fully inclusive process with the participation of all democratic actors; calls on all political actors to keep political struggle within the bounds of constitutional order, resisting any pressure to exacerbate their actions;
7.

Recognises the problems that the introduction of a TAC would generate, particularly as regards the calculation of historical catches, the distribution of quotas at national level between the different activities and the difficulty of covering recreational fisheries, but, in the light of the absolute necessity of dealing with the state of sea bass stocks, stresses that such a measure must be considered;
7.

Welcomes the release by the Commission of immediate emergency funding to the sum of EUR 2,5 million for UNRWA’s operations to deliver life-saving assistance to Palestinian refugees in Syria; commends UNRWA for the important work it is doing and expresses its strong commitment to continuing to work together with UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl and all other partners to help alleviate the suffering of those in greatest need; stresses the need for the EU and its Member States to increase their support for UNRWA for the emergency relief effort for civilians in Yarmouk and other parts of Syria, ensuring that all Palestine refugees, host communities and others have the assistance they need; urges the EU to participate in the funding of the USD 30 million UNRWA emergency appeal and to provide diplomatic and political support for UNRWA;
6.

Expresses its grave concern over the abuse of religion by the perpetrators of terrorist acts in several areas of the world, and its deep concern at the proliferation of episodes of intolerance, repression and violence directed against Christians, particularly in some parts of the Arab world; denounces the instrumentalisation of religion in various conflicts; condemns the increasing number of attacks on churches around the world, notably the attack that killed 14 people in Pakistan on 15 March 2015; strongly condemns the incarceration, disappearance, torture, enslavement and public execution of Christians in North Korea; confirms and supports the inalienable right of all religious and ethnic minorities living in Iraq and Syria, including Christians, to continue to live in their historical and traditional homelands in conditions of dignity, equality and safety; notes that for centuries members of different religious groups coexisted peacefully in the region;
D.

whereas despite the arrests and charges made against FIFA executives and the crisis engulfing the organisation, Joseph Blatter was re-elected on 29 May 2015 as FIFA President for a fifth term; whereas the re-election of Joseph Blatter as president and the decision not to publish the findings of the Garcia report into the selection of Russia and Qatar as hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively show that FIFA has been acting in an irresponsible and unaccountable way and has remained unwilling to reform or to make the changes needed to improve the governance of international football;