ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
40.

Highlights the need to foster innovation through lending platforms; encourages banks to regard the use of such innovative technologies as an opportunity; stresses that alternative funding sources offer solutions for start-ups, female entrepreneurs and innovative SMEs in particular; calls on the Commission to explore the need for, and potential of, a harmonised EU framework for alternative funding sources with a view to increasing the availability of this type of funding across the EU for SMEs; recalls that for the system to be efficient both the SME and the lender must be fully aware of the potential risks/opportunities linked to the funding mechanism; notes that the existing laws and rules on crowdfunding differ significantly across Member States and do not appear to have promoted cross-border activities; welcomes the Commission’s assessment of the existing framework for crowdfunding; supports the approach taken of continued market monitoring and monitoring of regulatory developments and encouraging a closer alignment of regulatory approaches, sharing of best practice and facilitating cross-border investment; recalls, at the same time, that crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending should not be overregulated, as this would impede their development; calls on the Commission to encourage new platforms for private equity financing such as mezzanine finance and business angels; calls on the Commission to encourage safe lending to companies by private individuals through peer-to-peer lending or retail bonds; stresses the need to ensure that these new forms of financing are fully compliant with relevant tax and financial legislation, so that they do not become a tool for tax avoidance or financial opacity; stresses the need to review current legislation in this regard;
7.

Believes that the Council and Commission should carefully analyse the appropriateness of reimposing certain restrictive measures, while making clear that these will be removed and that a package of assistance will be made available once Zimbabwe is clearly on the path towards democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, and specifying, in particular, that assistance will be provided to support a free and fair electoral process and police reform;
1.

Strongly condemns politically motivated trials, the prosecution of political opponents and the prejudging of the outcome of the trial; urges the Government of Rwanda to extend economic and social achievements to the field of human rights in order to fully move towards a modern and inclusive democracy; urges the Rwandan authorities to ensure that Victoire Ingabire’s appeal process is fair and meets the standards set under Rwandan and international law; underlines that trials and the charges brought against accused persons cannot be based on vague and imprecise laws, and the misuse thereof, as is occurring in the case of Victoire Ingabire;
13.

Notes that the Government of Sudan signed the Roadmap Agreement on 16 March 2016, and has subsequently clarified its commitments regarding the inclusion of other relevant stakeholders in the National Dialogue and on continuing to uphold any decisions reached between the opposition signatories and the 7+7 Mechanism, the steering committee of the National Dialogue; insists on the need for all parties to respect their commitments and calls for a continued dialogue towards the establishment of a definite ceasefire; calls for the EU and its Member States to continue their commitment to supporting the efforts of the African Union to bring peace to Sudan and the Sudanese people in their transition to an internally reformed democracy;
53.

Stresses that trade plays a key role in energy security, and that strong energy partnerships, reinforced by the inclusion of energy chapters in the EU’s trade agreements, are essential tools; considers it of key importance that the EU’s trade policy should enhance the Union’s and Member States’ energy diversification and reduce their dependency on imported energy from too few suppliers; stresses that the EU should explore new partnerships, review its existing ones and hold specific energy talks with other partners in areas such as — but not limited to — Central Asia, North Africa and the Americas; notes that the EU should play a more proactive role in the international energy diplomacy arena; calls for greater coherence between the EU’s trade and energy policies; underlines the need to increase transparency in international negotiations on LNG; believes that current and future negotiations with partners such as the US and Australia should include a strong energy component; underlines that the EU should collaborate closely with international partners towards a competitive and transparent global LNG market;
49.

Emphasises that, against a backdrop of deep uncertainty as regards the future of low and volatile agricultural prices, the EU must achieve the Treaty aims of the CAP, by doing more to correct the erratic effects of the markets where they are failing, and to ensure the resilience and competitiveness of the agricultural sector by establishing effective safety nets and prevention and crisis management systems so as to strike a balance between supply and demand, as well as creating risk management tools founded on new, innovative systems and involving the farmers themselves in the financing; considers that the share of funding for measures to stabilise agricultural markets should be increased and, in particular, that the CAP must also strengthen insurance schemes for protecting farmers against the various climate, health and economic risks; believes that in the face of the risks associated with global warming, the EU must do all it can to enhance the positive role that agriculture can play, through measures including agronomy and improved soil management for better carbon capture, and that it is important to provide technical and financial support to farmers to enable them gradually to change their practices and to innovate;
3.

Stresses that the effective application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle to offshore oil and gas operations should extend not only to the costs of preventing and remedying environmental damage — as currently achieved to a certain extent via the OSD and ELD — but also to the costs of remedying traditional damage claims, in line with the precautionary principle and the principle of sustainable development; calls on the Commission, therefore, to consider the establishment of a legislative compensation mechanism for offshore accidents, along the lines of that provided for in the Petroleum Activities Act in Norway, at least for sectors that may be severely affected, like fisheries and coastal tourism and other sectors of the blue economy; recommends in this context that abuses or incidents that come about following activities carried out by companies should be quantitatively and qualitatively assessed, in such a way as to cover all the secondary effects for communities; also underlines, with regard to environmental liability, the divergences and shortcomings in the transposition and application of the ELD, as outlined also in the Commission’s second implementation report; calls on the Commission to ensure that the ELD is implemented in an effective manner and that liability for environmental damage from offshore accidents applies to an adequate extent throughout the EU;
36.

Welcomes the joint declaration by the presidents of the European Council and the Commission and the NATO Secretary-General of 8 July 2016, which emphasises the need for cooperation between the EU and NATO in the area of security and defence; is convinced that EU-NATO cooperation should involve cooperating in the east and the south, countering hybrid and cyber threats and improving maritime security, as well as harmonising and coordinating the development of defence capabilities; considers that cooperation on technological, industrial and military capabilities offers the prospect of improving compatibility and synergy between both frameworks, thus ensuring greater efficiency of resources; recalls that speedy implementation of the above declaration is essential, and calls in this respect on the EEAS, together with relevant counterparts, to develop concrete options for implementation by December 2016; considers that the Member States should develop capabilities that can be deployable under the CSDP in order to make possible autonomous action in cases where NATO is not willing to act or where an EU action is more appropriate; is convinced that this would also strengthen NATO’s role in security and defence policy, and in collective defence; underlines that cooperation between EU and NATO for facilitating a stronger and efficient defence industry and defence research represents a strategic priority and its speedy implementation is crucial; is convinced that working together on prevention, analysis and early detection by means of efficient information and intelligence sharing will increase the EU’s capacity to counter threats, including hybrid threats; remains convinced that NATO is the primary provider of security and defence in Europe; emphasises the need to avoid overlaps between NATO and EU instruments; believes that the EU has potential also in civil aspects to make a key difference in unstable regions; insists, however, that while NATO’s role is to protect its mainly European members from any external attack, the EU should aspire to be truly able to defend itself and act autonomously if necessary, taking greater responsibility in this by improving equipment, training and organisation;
3.

Calls on the Commission — taking into account the fact that Member States are using national classification systems for the activities belonging to the culture and creative industries — to identify specific indicators in order to monitor and analyse the cultural, economic and societal impact and dynamics of its policies and regulatory proposals related to the CCS, and the role of this sector as a driver of innovation and growth in all other domains of activity in the EU and on connected third countries; underlines, therefore, the need for the Commission to identify alternative data sources with a view to complementing and improving official statistics; underlines that CCIs often have complex business models which can present a challenge to traditional forms of funding and that it is important to ensure that the positive effects of public investment are understood more clearly and to provide the levels of analysis required to attract more private investment; calls on the Commission, furthermore, to provide for a coordination effort in order to facilitate transnational synergies such as cooperation projects, mobility opportunities and joint ventures in the field;
47.

Highlights the importance of finding a sustainable solution to the conflict in Syria in line with the transition process set out in the Geneva Communiqué and UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2254 (2015); supports the UN-led efforts to facilitate negotiations between all parties to the Syrian conflict on an inclusive political settlement; asks the VP/HR to urgently prepare a European strategy for Syria; is convinced that the bilateral negotiations between Russia and the United States will not be sufficient to bring about a sustainable response to the Syrian crisis; calls on the EU to depart from its position of diplomatic marginalisation and to use its leverage over key actors such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and Russia to ensure that they take a constructive position and refrain from contributing to a further escalation of the situation; continues to urge all members of the UNSC to honour their responsibilities with regard to the crisis; recalls the repeated use by Russia and others of veto powers in the UNSC and considers this use to run contrary to international efforts for peace and conflict resolution in Syria and the region; emphasises that the use of sanctions should be considered against all those individuals and entities involved in crimes against humanity in Syria; expresses grave concern about the mass and widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by all sides in the Syrian conflict and stresses the importance of ensuring accountability for such abuses; reiterates its support to Syria’s neighbours who are facing monumental challenges in hosting millions of refugees; reiterates its full support for the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Iraq and Syria, where the rights of all ethnic and religious groups are fully respected;
42.

Reiterates its call for the establishment of transparency registers for the payment of sports agents, underpinned by an efficient monitoring system such as a clearing house for payments and appropriate sanctions, in cooperation with relevant public authorities, in order to tackle agent malpractice; repeats its call for the licensing and registration of sports agents, as well as the introduction of a minimum level of qualifications; calls on the Commission to follow-up on the conclusions of its ‘Study on sports agents in the European Union’, in particular with regard to the observation that agents are central in financial streams that often are not transparent, making them prone to illegal activities;
5.

Reiterates that fair tax competition is essential for the integrity of the EU internal market, and therefore all market players should pay their fair share of tax and taxes must be paid in the place where profits are generated; underlines that since the Lux Leaks revelation, the EU has acknowledged — in order to strengthen fair competition in the single market — that it needs simple and transparent tax policies and regulation, and has also acknowledged that it is necessary to put an end to unfair tax competition (including illegal tax benefits granted) by Member States, which places a moral hazard and additional tax burden on honest taxpayers and prevents the development of SMEs, also when new entrants and SMEs doing business in only one country are penalised as compared to multinational corporations, which can shift profits or implement other forms of aggressive tax planning through a variety of decisions and instruments available to them only; stresses the need to investigate thoroughly all the cases where it is suspected that the aim is illegal tax optimisation by multinationals; meanwhile, welcomes the Commission’s in-depth investigations into anti-competitive practices such as selective tax advantages, which can include excess profit ruling systems, and also welcomes the recent outcomes of investigations demonstrating that selective tax breaks constitute illegal State aid under EU competition law; underlines the need to ensure that the Commission has broad access to information in order to trigger more investigations on suspicious cases; calls on the Commission to draw up clear guidelines on tax-related State aid to cover cases of unfair competition and also to make full use of its powers under competition law to help Member States to tackle harmful tax practices efficiently; maintains that greater efforts also need to be brought to bear on aggressive tax practices; stresses that the information about tax rulings and transfer pricing arrangements exchanged between the tax authorities of Member States is particularly decisive; deplores the fact that Member States deny DG Competition access to this information; recommends increased sharing of information between national authorities, and also calls on Member States to publish information on their tax rulings and suggests presenting this information in the form of a regional breakdown where applicable; believes that the Commission decisions which have set out a clear methodology for calculating the value and the undue competitive advantages enjoyed by companies involved in incorrect rulings provide a good legal basis for further convergence;
33.

Welcomes Mongolia’s timely deposition on 21 September 2016 of the ratification instrument of the Paris Agreement on climate change; is concerned that the combined effects of climate change, the extensive growth of livestock farming, a dramatic increase in migration from the countryside to the capital, as well as the massive use and rapid exploitation of natural resources such as water and soil for the official and unofficial mining of copper, coal and other raw materials, has led to a drastic deterioration in the environmental situation of Mongolia, an increasing risk of water conflicts with its neighbours and a growing occurrence of climatic phenomena such as the ‘dzud’, characterised by cycles of long droughts and harsh winters and resulting in a massive loss of livestock, wildlife and biodiversity in general; invites the Mongolian government to intensify efforts for the diversification of its economy, and calls on the EU to assist this process with dedicated activities and preventive and other measures, for example in the context of closer coordination of the environmental policies of the two sides; calls on the Mongolian authorities and parliament, as well as on all the EU Member States, to cooperate and to contribute to a substantial strengthening of the international climate regime within the scope of the Marrakesh COP22 undertakings;
53.

Calls on the Commission and EACEA to improve the communication and exchange of information with CEDs about ongoing decision-making processes, including on the financial instruments and on new cross-sectoral initiatives; recommends the Commission, in order to improve the implementation of the programme, to take into account the expertise of CED upstream and downstream of the selection procedure, and to make the tools and documentation produced by CED available online as models of good practices; underlines the need for better collaboration between CEDs in order to make them more effective advisory tools for their national applicants; points out that the confidential sharing of evaluation reports, even negative ones, can help improve their capacity, and calls on the Commission to increase the transparency of the evaluations and selection procedures;
20.

Considers it essential to increase national defence expenditure to 2 % of EU GDP; stresses that this would mean extra expenditure of nearly EUR 100 billion on defence by the end of the coming decade; considers that this boost should be used to launch more strategic cooperative programmes within and through the Union, by better structuring the demand and supply sides, and by making both sides more efficient and more effective; considers that this increase will contribute to European-level support to the European defence industry and to the creation of jobs, in particular in small and medium enterprises; is of the opinion that a substantial part of that expenditure should be channelled to research and development, as well as to strategic cooperative programmes, focusing on new dual-use and defence technologies, which are not only crucial to the achievement of those goals, but may also bring extra added value to the European Union; notes that reinforced accountability, transparency and scrutiny as regards the use of European public funds should be ensured regarding this extra expenditure;
9.

Strongly condemns the brutal repression exercised by the Venezuelan security forces, as well as irregular armed groups, against the peaceful protests, as a result of which more than 20 people have died, a large number have been wounded and there have been many arrests; calls on the Venezuelan Government to investigate all deaths and to respect and guarantee the constitutional right to freedom of peaceful assembly; calls on the Venezuelan authorities to guarantee security and free exercise of rights for all citizens, in particular human rights defenders, journalists, political activists and members of independent non-governmental organisations who are at greater risk of attacks and arbitrary detention;
6.

Is highly concerned at the Commission’s intention to implement the ESC in its first initial phase by incorporating it into existing programmes and initiatives, and in particular educational and cultural programmes such as Erasmus+ and Europe for Citizens, the Youth Guarantee and the Employment and Social Innovation programme without providing sufficient clarity on the exact financial and human resources to be set aside for the ESC; recalls that Parliament, as co-legislator on EU programmes and a budgetary authority, is opposed to reallocating funds from priority programmes, and often lacks sufficient resources to finance core actions and finance new policy initiatives;
14.

Takes note of the request from some national parliaments to extend the eight-week period in which they can issue a reasoned opinion under Article 6 of Protocol No 2; believes in this respect, that consideration could be given to the question of the appropriate period that national parliaments should have to issue reasoned opinions if they were to request this on grounds of time constraints on the basis of justified objective reasons, such as natural disasters and recess periods, to be agreed between national parliaments and the Commission; considers that this could be achieved through a political undertaking agreed by the institutions and the national parliaments in the first instance, without giving rise to a delay in the adoption of relevant legislation; stresses that such a period should be the result of striking a fair balance between the right of national parliaments to raise objections on subsidiarity grounds and the efficiency with which the Union should respond to the demands of its citizens; notes, in this regard, that national parliaments have the opportunity of intervening and of considering the question of compliance with the principle of subsidiarity before the presentation by the Commission of its legislative initiative when it presents Green and White Papers or its annual Work Programme; believes that, since the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, the involvement of national parliaments in EU affairs has developed significantly, including through their linking up with other national parliaments on a regular basis;
13.

Regrets the UN Security Council’s failure to adopt a resolution on 23 December 2016 that would have imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan and placed a travel ban and asset freeze on three senior South Sudanese leaders; calls for the EU to pursue an international arms embargo against South Sudan, and for it to be enforced effectively; is alarmed by reports of arms transfers to South Sudan, in violation of Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP, facilitated by brokers based in EU Member States; urges the Member States and the VP/HR to enforce compliance with the EU arms control regime and to formally engage with any third country proved to be exporting arms and military logistical assistance to South Sudan;