ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
B4-0649, 0652 and 0680/95

Resolution on the crew of the Bulgarian ship 'Rotalia¨

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the International Convention of 1974 relating to the Safety of Life at Sea,

- having regard to the IMO Convention of 1978 on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch Keeping for seafarers (STCW),

A. whereas the crew of the Rotalia have been involved in an industrial dispute with the owners of the recently privatized ship since 12 January 1995 over non-payment of up to three years' wages,

B. whereas the plight of the Bulgarian crew of the Rotalia on strike and stranded in Lerwick, Shetland, is deplorable,

C. whereas the crew's human rights and democratic freedoms have been constantly violated since the beginning of the dispute through withdrawal of food supplies and through other forms of intimidation of themselves and their families in Bulgaria,

D. whereas the men have now been evicted from the ship by the new owners without any resolution of the dispute, despite their willingness to enter into negotiation,

E. whereas the refusal on behalf of the crew's employers, Oceanskly Ribilov, to supply them with food and medical supplies is a breach of their legal obligations as ship operators and an infringement of basic human rights,

F. whereas respect for democratic principles and human rights constitutes an essential element of the Europe Agreement between the European Communities and the Republic of Bulgaria,

1. Calls on the Commission to establish whether the conduct of the crew's employers is compatible with ILO conventions and to take the necessary action to resolve this situation immediately;

2. Calls on the Commission to convey Parliament's concern to the Bulgarian Government over the treatment of the crew once they return home;

3. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the Bulgarian Government takes no unjustified measures against the crew in response to their industrial action and that there is a negotiated settlement to the crew's wages claim;

4. Requests that the Commission's offices in Bulgaria monitor the men's treatment upon their return home;

5. Instructs its competent committees to conduct an inquiry into this case in order to inform it of the problems faced by the social partners in connection with the process of privatization in Eastern Europe;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Bulgarian Government, the ILO and the employers, Oceanskly Ribilov.
B4-0677/95

Resolution on the expulsion of Vietnamese immigrants from the EU

The European Parliament,

A. whereas on 6 January 1995, Germany and Vietnam reached a basic understanding on the transfer of approximately 40 000 Vietnamese immigrants back to Vietnam over the next five years, in exchange for DM 100 million in development aid,

B. whereas German-Vietnamese negotiations were broken off on 16 February 1995 because of disagreement over the use of 20% of the aid intended for measures to reintegrate the immigrants,

C. whereas negotiations have been conducted without any consultation with the immigrants concerned; whereas the joint declaration signed on 6 March 1995 explicitly states that extradition will not be dependent on the consent of those concerned, although imprisonment and punishment for staying abroad illegally are not excluded according to Articles 85 and 89 of the Vietnamese Penal Law,

D. whereas about 15 000 of the 40 000 immigrants described as 'illegal' by the German Government are contract workers employed by the former German Democratic Republic,

E. whereas in the past all attempts by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany to encourage the return of immigrant workers to their countries of origin took place in the framework of a reintegration agreement, on the basis of free choice, and in connection with incentives directly offered to those concerned,

F. recalling that the action programme for 1994 adopted at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in November 1993 and approved by the European Council intends to link EU association and cooperation agreements with third countries to possible reintegration measures,

The European Parliament,

1. Condemns any attempt by EU Member States to make the exchange of people for money a condition of a cooperation agreement with a developing country;

2. Calls for equal treatment of immigrant contract workers in West and East Germany;

3. Considers that development cooperation or financial aid cannot be used as commodities to be exchanged for the forced repatriation of persons to their country of origin;

4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States, the Government of Vietnam and the UNHCR.
B4-0880 and 0933/95

Resolution on human rights violations in Syria

The European Parliament,

A. whereas in December 1993 Parliament lifted its blockade of the 4th Financial Protocol to the EU - Syria Cooperation Agreement, but only after both the Syrian authorities and the Commission had confirmed that human rights issues would be entered on the Cooperation Council's agenda, while requesting an annual progress report by the Council on human rights in Syria,

B. whereas on the occasion of the 28 November 1994 Cooperation Council meeting, certain human rights issues were allegedly raised, albeit outside the formal session,

C. whereas no report by the Council on human rights in Syria has been forthcoming,

D. whereas human rights violations in Syria keep being reported, amongst others by Amnesty International in April 1995,

The European Parliament,

1. Deplores the fact that, six months later, the Council still has not submitted to Parliament a report on the results of the meeting of the Cooperation Council of 28 November 1994 and on human rights in Syria, and calls on the Council and the Commission to do so as soon as possible;

2. Regrets the continued violation of human rights and is disturbed at the evidence reaching it of disappearances, torture in prison, detention without trial and other violations of fundamental human rights despite reports suggesting that progress has been made;

3. Repeats its opinion that effective and durable progress will be accomplished with the establishment of general safeguards against human rights abuses, including

- arrests being supervised by the judiciary,

- arrested persons being promptly brought before a judicial authority and given access to lawyers, family and doctors, or released;

4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the Syrian government.
B4-0878, 0890, 0892, 0909, 0914 and 0925/95

Resolution on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre

The European Parliament,

- recalling its previous resolutions on China,

A. recalling its condemnation of the harsh repression by the Chinese authorities of the pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing, Chendong and other parts of China in June 1989,

B. drawing attention to the report of Human Rights Watch on forced exile and the fact that on 31 May 1995 several dissidents were persecuted in the approach to the sixth anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen Square and noting that another, Mr Canton Wang Xizhe, has since been imprisoned for speaking to foreign journalists,

C. noting the growing activity of pro-democracy movements, and the continued repression of such activities,

D. having regard to the petition signed by numerous personalities calling for the release of political prisoners in China, and to the open letter sent to the President of the Chinese Parliament by Qiao Shi and 53 other political prisoners,

E. recalling the European Union Treaty's references to human rights and to democracy in the world and the priority attached to them,

1. Condemns the continuing violation of human rights in China and reaffirms its support for the democratic forces in China which defend fundamental human rights, including the right to free expression, the right of association, press freedom and political pluralism;

2. Calls on the Chinese Government to release all those held for their opinions or for attempts to express them and especially to amnesty those in prison for their participation in the manifestations of Tianenmen in 1989;

3. Calls on the Chinese Government to publish the names of those who were killed during the events of June 1989 by the police, the army and other agents of repression, as demanded by the mothers of the victims;

4. Calls on the Commission and Council to stress their attachment to respect for human rights in their diplomatic and commercial dealings with the Chinese authorities and to stress to the Government of China that the development of EU relations with China will largely depend on the attitude of the Chinese Government to human rights;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and to the government of the People's Republic of China.
B4-0424, 0429, 0450 and 0472/95

Resolution on Western Sahara

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the UN resolution on a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara,

- having regard to the interim report by the United Nations Secretary-General of 14 December 1994 on the implementation of the peace plan in Western Sahara,

- recalling its earlier resolutions on the situation in Western Sahara,

A. having regard to its support for UNMIRWS, the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, created in September 1991 to monitor a cease- fire in the war between the Polisario Front and the Moroccan forces and to conduct a referendum on the future of the area;

B. having regard to the insufficient numbers of UNMIRWS personnel and concerned about its role as an independent mission and especially in preparing the referendum,

C. deeply concerned about the fact that the referendum, originally scheduled to take place in 1992, is now planned for November 1995 after having been postponed on several occasions,

D. concerned about the alleged irregularities in procedures relating to voter application, registration and identification,

1. Calls on the Moroccan authorities to comply with their undertakings and put an end to their stalling tactics which are designed to hold up the implementation of the peace plan;

2. Warns that failure to resolve the conflict could jeopardise the security of the entire region;

3. Appeals to the UN Secretary-General, as a matter of urgency, to step up his efforts to ensure that UNMIRWS takes effective measures to promote a free and fair referendum on Western Sahara;

4. Calls once again on the Polisario Front, and in particular the Kingdom of Morocco, to enter into direct negotiations with a view to the proper implementation of the peace plan until a fair and free referendum is held;

5. Calls upon the Conference of Presidents to consider the desirability of designating an appropriate delegation of members to carry out a fact-finding mission to Western Sahara in the immediate future for the purpose of investigating the preparation of a referendum and calls on the Moroccan Government to facilitate access to Western Sahara for this delegation;

6. Also calls on the Moroccan Government to drop its ban on access to Western Sahara for foreign observers, in particular parliamentary observers, legal experts and journalists;

7. Calls on the Union's authorities and the governments of the Member States to do everything in their power in the context of their political, economic and commercial relations with Morocco to ensure that the Moroccan Government complies with its undertakings and implements the UN peace plan in its entirety;

8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the Moroccan Government, UNMIRWS, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the OAU and the Polisario.
B4-0414, 0457 and 0474/95

Resolution on the drought in southern Europe

The European Parliament,

A. whereas the serious cyclical drought of a structural nature from which Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal have been suffering for several years is seriously jeopardizing the survival of agriculture, stockfarming and the processing industries for these sectors,

B. whereas the huge losses caused by the drought are resulting in a substantial fall in the level of farm incomes,

C. whereas in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal millions of hectares of crops on irrigated and unirrigated land have been affected by the rainfall shortage,

D. whereas the drought is causing irreparable and unavoidable damage to Spanish agriculture and stockfarming and whereas the processing industry is in difficulties with regard to supplies of specific raw materials at competitive prices,

E. whereas contacts between the Commission and the competent authorities have allowed a preliminary assessment of the problems arising from the drought and its effects on the application of the CAP to be made in situ,

F. whereas in the past (in the case of Portugal, Council Regulations (EEC) No. 3311/92 ((OJ L 332, 18.11.1992, p. 1.)) and (EC) No. 787/94 on special measures to assist farmers affected by the drought ((OJ L 92, 9.4.1994, p. 1.))) Community measures have been adopted to deal with this problem,

The European Parliament,

1. Calls for the drought in Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal to be declared 'structural' in order to enable amendments to Community legislation with a view to maintaining the incomes of farmers and stockbreeders;

2. Calls for the base area for the purposes of Community compensatory payments to be reviewed, both for irrigated and unirrigated land, with a view to an increase in total payments;

3. Proposes adoption by the Commission and the Council of urgent measures with a view to remedying as far as possible the near-disaster affecting the agricultural sector;

4. Proposes the drafting of a joint plan by the Commission and the Member States affected with a view to the rational exploitation of water resources and the modernization of supply networks and irrigation systems in order to optimize the utilization of those resources including measures of an environmental nature aimed at saving the water used in irrigation;

5. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to reach joint agreement to endow the exceptional measures with adequate funding to guarantee their effectiveness;

6. Calls on the Community institutions to consider drought as a special situation which can have extremely adverse repercussions on the development of certain areas of the European Union, and that it is ceasing to be a transitory, cyclical situation and is well on the way to becoming structural;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, Commission and Committee of the Regions and the governments of the Member States.
B4-0687, 0697 and 0706/95

Resolution on the attack on an Italian fishing vessel by the Croatian coastguard authorities

The European Parliament,

A. whereas the Marisella I, an Italian fishing vessel sailing out of Giulianova, was seized, with a crew of four on board, on 23 March 1995 by a cutter of the Croatian coastguard after a dramatic chase complete with bursts of submachine-gunfire,

B. whereas the Marisella I was not engaged in fishing and was sheltering from a storm,

C. whereas the captain of the vessel, who sustained serious injuries to his shoulder and neck, almost lost his life, but was saved thanks to complex surgery carried out at the hospital in Sibenik, where he was taken after being arrested,

D. whereas this incident has caused a great deal of tension amongst people who make their living from the sea, for whom the safety problems associated with navigation in the Adriatic have increased,

The European Parliament,

1. Calls on the Council and the Commission to investigate the incident through diplomatic channels;

2. Calls on the Commission, in conjunction with the professional bodies concerned, to tackle the problems of the safety of maritime activities, and possibly to review the protocols concerning fisheries cooperation, if such incidents involving attacks on a Member State of the European Union were to be repeated;

3. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States and the Government of Croatia.
B4-1362, 1363 and 1391/95

Resolution on Hurricane Tanya, which has struck the central group of the Azores

The European Parliament,

A. whereas in the night of 1 to 2 November 1995 the Hurricane Tanya struck the central group of the Azores islands, with violent gusts of wind, causing widespread damage, especially on the islands of Faial, Pico, Terceira and S. Jorge,

B. whereas the winds reached 170 km/h in some areas, one Spanish fisherman was drowned and several people were injured,

C. whereas the damage to this most remote region of the EU has not yet been fully evaluated, but has been enormous: boats and ships have been damaged and sunk, equipment has been destroyed, communication, electricity, telephone and water supply networks have been damaged, streets and roads have been blocked, housing and educational establishments damaged, in particular the Ocean and Fisheries Department of the University of the Azores, people have been left homeless, and enormous harm has been done to crops (fruit and vegetables), pasture land, and the stockbreeding sector,

The European Parliament,

1. Expresses its solidarity with the people of the Azores, and in particular with those who have lost their homes or livelihood;

2. Calls on the Commission, in collaboration with the regional and local authorities, to put in hand emergency action as soon as possible to help the worst hit areas, with a view to helping to repair damage to infrastructures, housing and public buildings affected, and to providing help for fishermen whose vessels have been sunk and damaged, and for the neediest victims;

3. Draws the attention of the Commission and the authorities of the Member States once more to the imperative need to provide the disaster prevention and relief services with technical and human resources;

4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council, to the Government and Assembly of the Azores Autonomous Region and to the Region's Chambers and Municipal Assemblies.
B4-1270/95

Resolution on the murder of peasant farmers in Guatemala

The European Parliament,

A. whereas on 5 October 1995 an army patrol attacked the Guatemalan village of 'Aurora 8 de octubre' in the district of Chisec, leaving eleven peasant farmers dead, including two children, and seventeen wounded,

B. whereas the President of Guatemala has assumed responsibility for the events in question and the Minister of Defence, Mr Mario Enríquez, has resigned,

C. having regard to the general agreement on human rights concluded in March 1994 between the Government and the guerrillas,

D. whereas the community concerned formed part of the almost 45 000 peasant farmers who fled and are now returning to the country,

The European Parliament,

1. Condemns the murder of the peasant farmers, demands a full investigation and calls for those responsible to be brought to justice;

2. Welcomes the decision by the President of the Republic to dismiss the commander of the military zone of Cobán and to accept the resignation of the Minister of Defence, as tangible evidence of his determination to ensure that no crime goes unpunished;

3. Hopes that the instructions issued by the President of the Republic to the National Fund for Peace will lead rapidly to the granting of compensation to the families of members of the 'Aurora 8 de octubre' community who have been killed or injured;

4. Demands that the authorities take all the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the peasant farmers who return to Guatemala so as to avoid a repetition of the appalling events in question;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Government of Guatemala, the Presidential Commission on Human Rights (COPREDEH), the Archbishop's Office for Human Rights (ODHA), the Pro-Human Rights Association (PDH) and the UN Mission to Guatemala.
B4-1365, 1383 and 1414/95

Resolution on the ratification of the Convention on the destruction of chemical weapons

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions covering chemical weapons related issues, particulary those of 12 June 1986 ((OJ C 176, 14.7.1986, p. 118 and p. 119.)), 15 September 1988 ((OJ C 262, 10.10.1988, p. 124.)), 17 November 1988 ((OJ C 326, 19.12.1988, p. 208.)), 18 January 1989 ((OJ C 47, 27.2.1989, p. 61.)), 19 January 1989 ((OJ C 47, 27.2.1989, p. 130.)), 14 March 1989 ((OJ C 96, 17.4.1989, p. 34.)), 18 April 1991 ((OJ C 129, 20.5.1991, p. 139.)), 12 September 1991 ((OJ C 267, 14.10.1991, p. 165.)) 20 January 1994 ((OJ C 44, 14.2.1994, p. 173.)) and 10 February 1994 ((OJ C 61, 28.2.1994, p. 178.)),

A. noting that the Chemical Weapons Convention bans the development, production, possession, transfer and use of chemical weapons and that 159 States have signed it and 42 have ratified it,

B. noting that the Convention enters into force 180 days after 65 states have ratified,

C. noting that all European Union Member States have signed the Convention but expressing its deep concern that Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and the United Kingdom have yet to ratify it,

1. Stresses the need for its early entry into force; calls on all governments and parliaments of the EU Member States which have not yet ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention to undertake urgent action in order to complete their ratification;

2. Calls upon the Member States to ensure that sufficient powers and resources are available for the operation of an active, effective and transparent compliance-monitoring system in their territories;

3. Calls on the forthcoming European Council in Madrid to reiterate the political commitment of all heads of government to early ratification of the Convention;

4. Requests the Council of the European Union to ask the United States and the Russian Federation to ratify the Convention as a matter of urgency;

5. Calls upon the Commission to prepare a report on the legal aspects of the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention in the Member States to allow coordination of their chemical export controls and other regulations in this area in line with their individual commitments under the terms of the Chemical Weapons Convention;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the states which have signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.