ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
23.

Regrets the lack of progress on freedom of expression and the independence of the media; clearly rejects continued attempts to put political and financial pressure on the media; condemns the recurrent cases of intimidation, death threats and verbal and physical attacks against journalists, in particular investigative journalists covering non-prosecuted war crimes cases; calls on the authorities to collect data on these cases, ensure swift investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators and promote an environment conducive to freedom of expression; points out the need to strengthen the financial stability and political neutrality of the Communications Regulatory Agency; reiterates its call to ensure the independence and sustainable financing of the public broadcasters, as well as the availability of content in all official languages; calls for more attention to be paid to the working conditions of journalists throughout the sector; expresses its concern about the lack of transparency of media ownership and reiterates its call to ensure full transparency by adopting the appropriate legislative framework; deplores the fact that due to political obstruction a functional public broadcasting service could not be established; reiterates its call to ensure media pluralism and emphasises that producing and broadcasting TV and radio content in all official languages of BiH would contribute to protecting cultural diversity in the country; stresses that, as is the case for other countries in the region, concerns remain regarding political instrumentalisation of the media, either directly by political players, or by business players in their attempts to exert political influence;
18.

Regrets the fact that the GSP scheme, notably in the case of 29 EBA countries, has not led to any change, and, in some cases a deterioration in their export diversification profiles at the product level; further regrets the fact that it has not sufficiently contributed to economic diversification; calls for further measures to be taken in order to enhance the diversification of exports from GSP countries; regrets the fact that diversification among beneficiaries seems to have been hampered by removing the possibility of cumulation with countries that have graduated from GSP, as they can no longer benefit from the rules of origin for GSP beneficiaries; firmly calls for this possibility to be reintroduced, especially for the most vulnerable countries; notes the significant decrease in export diversification at all sector levels for standard GSP beneficiaries; further calls on the Commission to consider reforming and expanding the list of products to be covered by the Regulation with regard to semi-finished and finished products in particular, and, where necessary, easing rules of origin for the most vulnerable countries; further encourages GSP beneficiary countries to introduce effective measures aimed at product diversification; in this sense, underlines the need to create access to knowledge and technology in order to diversify products so the exports can sustain themselves in global competition, and in Europe in particular;
—

having regard to Regulation (EU) No 515/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 establishing as part of the Internal Security Fund, the instrument for financial support for external borders and visa and repealing Decision No 574/2007/EC (1), and in particular Articles 7(2) and 17(5) thereof,
3.

Notes that the value of the Withdrawal Agreement is that it provides legal certainty to all those affected by the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and that, to the fullest extent possible, it: — safeguards the rights and life choices of EU citizens resident in the UK and British citizens resident in the EU-27, — includes the backstop for the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland which, in the absence of agreed solutions in the context of a future agreement or of operational alternative arrangements providing the same guarantees, will protect the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland peace process and avoid a ‘hardening’ of the border, thereby supporting North-South cooperation and the all-island economy, as well as guaranteeing the integrity of the EU’s internal market, — provides for a single financial settlement with the UK which includes all legal liabilities arising from outstanding commitments and makes provision for off-balance sheet items, contingent liabilities and other financial costs arising directly as a result of the UK’s withdrawal, — includes, as requested by the UK and with a view to ensuring legal certainty and continuity as well as time to negotiate the future EU-UK relationship, a transition period until 31 December 2020 which may be extended once by up to two years, — addresses other separation issues which will permit an orderly exit of the UK from the EU, — contains governance provisions which safeguard the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the interpretation of the Withdrawal Agreement, as appropriate;
R.

whereas the Commission has announced a Fitness Check to assess whether the relevant EU legislation on EDCs delivers its overall objective of protecting human health and the environment by minimising exposure to these substances; whereas the cross-cutting nature of the Fitness Check, as well as the Commission’s commitment that particular attention will be paid to the protection of vulnerable groups, are to be welcomed; whereas, however, this assessment should have been conducted years ago and it is regrettable that the Commission has only now decided to proceed with such a Fitness Check; whereas, therefore, the Fitness Check should not provide a justification for prolonging the delivery of concrete legislative and other actions;
13.

Requests, therefore, the immediate intensification of interinstitutional talks on the MFF and own resources in order to pave the way for genuine negotiations, and calls on the Council to adopt its negotiating mandate without delay; considers, in the interest of securing Parliament’s consent, that the Council should already take due account of Parliament’s positions when deciding on its own position; expects, for this purpose, the Council presidency and the Commission to clearly communicate and explain Parliament’s views to the GAC, and requests the presence of Parliament’s negotiating team at all informal Council meetings dealing with the MFF; stresses the need to proceed with dedicated trilateral meetings, in order to deepen the discussion on the various aspects of the MFF and own resources proposals, which should supplement the existing GAC briefings and debriefings; expects, furthermore, high-level meetings between the Presidents of the institutions to be convened in line with Article 324 of the TFEU;
8.

Condemns the lack of willingness of the Nicaraguan Government to relaunch a meaningful internal dialogue; calls on the authorities to resume the dialogue with the Civic Alliance with a view to achieving a democratic, sustainable and peaceful solution that would allow for the full implementation of the March 2019 agreements; stresses the need to guarantee political and civil freedoms for all Nicaraguans, the return of those in exile, the return of and cooperation with international organisations, the restoration of the legal personality of human rights organisations, and the establishment of a credible electoral process, with a reformed Supreme Electoral Council that would assure immediate, fair and transparent elections with the presence of international observers;
B.

whereas this action must be science-based and must involve citizens and all sectors of society and the economy, including industry, in a socially balanced and sustainable way; whereas it must support the competitiveness of our economies and be accompanied by strong social and inclusive measures to ensure a fair and equitable transition that supports job creation, while respecting the need for a high standard of welfare and high quality jobs and training;
2.

Notes that Part Two of the Withdrawal Agreement provides the following: — that all EU-27 citizens legally residing in the UK and UK citizens legally residing in an EU-27 Member State, and their respective family members at the time of withdrawal, will enjoy the full set of rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement as established in EU law and interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), — that citizens’ core family members and persons with whom they are in a durable relationship and who currently reside outside the host State will be protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, and that this will also be the case for children born to them in the future and outside the host State, — that all social security rights under EU law will be maintained, including the export of all exportable benefits, — that the continuation of citizens’ rights will be guaranteed throughout citizens’ lifetimes, — that administrative procedures implementing Part Two of the Withdrawal Agreement will be transparent, smooth and streamlined, and that forms will be short, simple and user-friendly, — that the citizens’ rights provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement will be incorporated into UK law and that those rights have direct effect;
27.

Condemns racial and ethnic profiling used by police and law enforcement authorities, and considers that police and law enforcement forces must have an exemplary record on anti-racism and anti-discrimination; calls for the EU and the Member States to develop policies and measures to tackle discrimination and to end racial or ethnic profiling in all forms in criminal law enforcement, counter-terrorism measures and immigration controls; stresses, in particular, that the new technologies to be used by law enforcement authorities must be designed and used in such a way that they do not create risks of discrimination for racial and ethnic minorities; proposes action to strengthen the training of members of police and law enforcement forces on strategies to fight against racism and discrimination, and to prevent, identify and respond to racial profiling; calls on the Member States not to leave cases of police brutality and abuses unpunished, and to properly investigate, prosecute and sanction them;
25.

Welcomes the updated methodology contained in the ‘Estimation of girls at risk of female genital mutilation in the European Union: Step-by-step guide (2nd edition)’ published by the EIGE and aimed at gathering more accurate and robust data; calls on the Commission and the Member States to update the relevant data and address the lack of reliable comparable statistics at EU level on the prevalence of FGM and its types, and to involve academics, as well as practicing communities and survivors, in the process of data collection and research, through a community-based and participatory approach; urges organisations, governments, and the EU institutions to work together to provide more accurate qualitative and quantitative information on FGM, and to make it available and accessible to the wider public; encourages, furthermore, the exchange of best practices and cooperation among the relevant authorities (police and prosecutors), including international alerts;
69.

Highlights that the connection between corruption and fraud in EU may have a negative impact on the EU budget; regrets that the Commission no longer deems it necessary to publish the anti-corruption report; calls on the Commission, moreover, to consider establishing a network of corruption prevention authorities within the European Union; deplores the Commission’s decision to include anti-corruption monitoring in the European Semester economic governance process; takes the view that this has further reduced monitoring by the Commission, with data available for only very few countries; further regrets the fact that this change of approach concentrates mostly on the economic impact of corruption and almost completely overlooks the other dimensions that corruption can affect, such as the trust of citizens in public administration and even the democratic structures of the Member States; urges the Commission, therefore, to continue publishing its anti-corruption reports; reiterates its call on the Commission to engage in a more comprehensive and coherent EU anti-corruption policy, including an in-depth evaluation of the anti-corruption policies in each Member State;
15.

Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Josep Borrell, and the EU Member States to continue to closely follow the situation and to scale up their support to the national and regional authorities; welcomes, in this light, the Council Conclusions of 22 June 2020, but insists that further diplomatic action should be put in place, particularly from those Member States that share historical and friendly links with the country, in order to stress the need for urgent action on this issue with its regional security and humanitarian dimensions and draw the government’s attention to the geopolitical consequences that will result from the lack of a coordinated regional and international response;
15.

Reiterates that it is of the utmost urgency to launch a thorough and strategic reassessment of the EU’s relations with Russia, which would include the following principles: (a) to call on the VP/HR to review EU policy vis-à-vis Russia and the five guiding principles for the EU’s relations with Russia and to develop a new comprehensive strategy, which will be conditional on further developments in the area of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights by the Russian leadership and authorities; (b) to call on the Member States to continue to isolate Russia in international forums (such as the G7 and other formats) and to critically review the EU’s cooperation with Russia through various foreign policy platforms; (c) to call on the Council to prioritise the approval of the EU Magnitsky-style human rights sanctions mechanism and its implementation in the near future, which will include a list of individuals and could also include sectoral sanctions aimed at the Russian regime; (d) in the light of the Navalny case reiterates its previous position to halt the Nord Stream 2 project; (e) to call on the Council to adopt an EU strategy to support Russian dissidents, non-governmental organisations and civil society organisations, and independent media/reporters, making full use of human rights defender mechanisms, creating additional opportunities for young Russians to study in the EU, and assisting with the launch of a Russian university in exile in one of the Member States; (f) to call on the Council to immediately start preparations and adopt an EU strategy for future relations with a democratic Russia, including a broad offer of incentives and conditions to strengthen domestic tendencies towards freedom and democracy;
A.

whereas the actions of the Lukashenka regime are criminal and are against European values, the principles of democracy, and the will of the Belarusian people; whereas despite the fundamental restrictions on basic freedoms and human rights that remain in Belarus, the EU’s policy of critical engagement with Belarus has produced some results in the form of signed agreements and increased cooperation in areas such as environment and connectivity, cross-border cooperation and border management, but insufficient results in the regime’s adherence to the fundamental values of the Eastern Partnership; whereas the unlawful actions of the Belarusian regime jeopardise these results and EU-Belarus relations must be subject to a thorough review in view of the regime's lack of adherence to its own commitments under international law and its agreements with the EU; whereas future relations between the EU and Belarus will be defined in the Partnership Priorities to be agreed by the EU and new legitimate, democratically elected authorities in Belarus, and should be based on the common values on which the EU is built, namely democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
22.

Calls on the Saudi authorities to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to lift the reservations made to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), to ratify the Optional Protocol to CEDAW, and to ratify the UN Convention on the protection of all migrant workers and members of their families, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the 1951 Geneva Convention and the Convention on Statelessness; urges the Saudi authorities to extend a standing invitation to the visit of all Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC); calls for the establishment of a UN Special Rapporteur on Saudi Arabia, in line with the other HRC Special Procedures created for the most serious human rights situations worldwide;
4.

Points out that the agreement is a positive signal to the international community, including towards multilateral institutions; welcomes the high level of protection for a list of 100 European and 100 Chinese geographical indications under the agreement, which goes beyond the current level of protection granted under the WTO TRIPS agreement, in particular for foodstuffs but also for wines and spirits; takes note of the fact that the protection of another 175 geographical indications from the EU and China respectively is envisaged within four years of the entry into force of the agreement; notes that the EU protects more than 3 300 GIs; calls on the Commission to swiftly proceed with the extension of this agreement to protect in the coming years as many GIs as possible that meet the criteria, including fisheries and aquaculture GIs; calls on the Commission, furthermore, to keep Parliament duly informed on the progress of the negotiations towards the extension of the agreement; recalls that the agreement was finalised before the EU treaties ceased to apply in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and that there are eight products from the UK on the agreed lists; urges the Commission to consult the Member States and to replace these products with products from EU Member States as soon as possible after the transition period ends;
17.

Notes, with regard to the use of non-personal data by AI technologies, that the lawful use of copyrighted works and other subject matter and associated data, including pre-existing content, high-quality datasets and metadata, needs to be assessed in the light of the existing rules on limitations and exceptions to copyright protection, such as the text and data mining exception, as provided for by the Directive on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market; calls for further clarification as regards the protection of data under copyright law and potential trademark and industrial design protection for works generated autonomously through AI applications; considers that voluntary non-personal data sharing between businesses and sectors should be promoted and based on fair contractual agreements, including licencing agreements; highlights the IPR issues arising from the creation of deep fakes on the basis of misleading, manipulated or simply low-quality data, irrespective of such deep fakes containing data which may be subject to copyright; is worried about the possibility of mass manipulation of citizens being used to destabilise democracies and calls for increased awareness-raising and media literacy as well as for urgently needed AI technologies to be made available to verify facts and information; considers that non-personal auditable records of data used throughout the life cycles of AI-enabled technologies in compliance with data protection rules could facilitate the tracing of the use of copyright-protected works and thereby better protect right-holders and contribute to the protection of privacy; stresses that AI technologies could be useful in the context of IPR enforcement, but would require human review and a guarantee that any AI-driven decision-making systems are fully transparent; stresses that any future AI regime may not circumvent possible requirements for open source technology in public tenders or prevent the interconnectivity of digital services; notes that AI systems are software-based and rely on statistical models, which may include errors; stresses that AI-generated output must not be discriminatory and that one of the most efficient ways of reducing bias in AI systems is to ensure — to the extent possible under Union law — that the maximum amount of non-personal data is available for training purposes and machine learning; calls on the Commission to reflect on the use of public domain data for such purposes;
11.

Considers that a swift return to a fully functional Schengen area is of utmost importance and depends on both the political will of the Member States and their commitment to coordinating measures under the Schengen acquis ; recalls that any uncoordinated and bilateral action which could lead to unnecessary restrictions on mobility and free movement should be avoided; notes that a strategy on the future of Schengen is one of the key initiatives of the Commission for 2021; recalls that the completion of the Schengen area is more than desirable as it will ensure that all EU citizens can benefit equally from the EU acquis ; reiterates its call on the Commission and the Member States to prepare, as quickly as possible, contingency plans in the event of further peaks in the spread of COVID-19, in order to prevent temporary border controls from becoming semi-permanent in the medium term;
18.

Highlights the important synergies and potential trade-offs between climate change mitigation and adaptation; stresses the fact that the evaluation of the current adaptation strategy has established the need for further emphasis to be placed on the link between adaptation and mitigation in policies and plans; notes that synergistic approaches to these issues are essential as a result both of the urgency of the climate and environmental crises, and of the need to protect human health and strengthen the resilience of ecological and social systems, making sure that no one is left behind; stresses that while common efforts are vital to ensure effective action on mitigation owing to its global transboundary nature, particular attention also has to be paid to the impacts of climate change and the costs of adaptation for each region, particularly those regions that are facing the double challenge of contributing to the global mitigation effort while bearing the increasing costs of dealing with climate-related impacts;
26.

Highlights the role of the EU in the implementation of the Paris Agreement through the promotion of a circular economy and climate-resilient investments, among other initiatives; believes that the response to climate change, for the decarbonisation of economies and the preservation of biodiversity and the environment, should be an overarching priority of the Strategy, with particular regard to quality infrastructure development; points out that maintaining the existing infrastructure for environmentally friendly modes of transport in Europe and beyond is paramount; calls for a systematic greening of relevant connectivity investments; recommends, in this regard, that transparent tender criteria be set up on the lifecycle costs of products or services and compliance with EU standards and regulations; considers that the socially just and sustainable greening of development cooperation, infrastructure investment across the board and the energy dimension, in particular, are issues of high priority; regards cooperation on alternative energy sources and energy efficiency as key lighthouse projects; proposes that cooperation on developing renewable energy sources should be made a pillar of EU-African connectivity; regards capacity-building for sustainability as a core dimension; welcomes ambitious scientific cooperation to advance climate change mitigation and adaptation, protect biodiversity, and promote economic circularity, sustainable growth and a just transition;