ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
(4)

The following articles are inserted: ‘Article 3a Each Member State shall set a deadline for the establishment of lists of candidates for election to the European Parliament. That deadline shall be at least 12 weeks before the start of the electoral period referred to in Article 10(1). Article 3b The deadline for the establishment and finalisation of the electoral roll shall be eight weeks before the first election day. Article 3c Political parties participating in elections to the European Parliament shall observe democratic procedures and transparency in selecting their candidates for those elections. Article 3d The list of candidates for election to the European Parliament shall ensure gender equality. Article 3e The ballot papers used in elections to the European Parliament shall give equal visibility to the names and logos of national parties and to those of the European political parties. Member States shall encourage and facilitate the provision of those affiliations in television and radio campaign broadcasts and on electoral campaign materials. Electoral campaign materials shall include a reference to the manifesto of the European political party, if any, to which the national party is affiliated. The rules concerning the posting of electoral materials to voters in elections to the European Parliament shall be the same as those applied for national, regional and local elections in the Member State concerned. Article 3f European political parties shall nominate their candidates for the position of President of the Commission at least 12 weeks before the start of the electoral period referred to in Article 10(1).’.
C.

whereas the prosecutor has failed to provide evidence that Ibrahim Halawa was involved in a single act of violence during the protests; whereas the prosecutor has depended entirely on police witnesses and reports, and investigations by intelligence services; whereas his trial has been repeatedly postponed and adjourned by the Egyptian Court, most recently on 15 December 2015; whereas he was not charged for a year after his arrest; whereas Ibrahim Halawa is awaiting, along with 493 individuals, the majority of whom are adults, a mass trial due to take place on 19 December 2015, without any guarantee of the minimum standards for a free and fair trial being applied, and will potentially face the death penalty if convicted; whereas, in May 2015, Egypt executed six individuals, one of whom was the same age as Ibrahim Halawa is currently;
2.

Calls on the Commission, as a matter of urgency, to clarify the scope and interpretation of Directive 98/44/EC, and in particular Articles 4, 12(3)(b) and 13(3)(b) thereof, in order to ensure legal clarity regarding the prohibition of the patentability of products obtained from essentially biological processes, and to clarify that breeding with biological material falling under the scope of a patent is permitted;
9.

Deplores the impediments to Tatar leaders returning to Crimea and their prosecution, as well as the mounting and unacceptable pressure on other members of the Mejlis; deplores also the wrongful closure of the ATR media outlet which has a significant outreach within the Crimean Tatar community; calls on the European Commission to extend the necessary financial assistance required to secure the functioning of this and other media in exile in Ukraine; considers the closing down of Crimean Tatar schools and classes and the restrictions on the use of the language as a serious limitation of the basic rights of the members of the community, as is the fact that the Ukrainian language has been removed from the public sphere;
7.

Underlines the long-standing excellent relations existing between the EU and its Member States and India; urges India and the European countries concerned to ensure that this incident does not have a negative effect on wider relations; emphasises the importance of a close economic, political and strategic relationship between India and the EU Member States as well as the EU;
C.

whereas the report by the UN Special Rapporteur noted that Eritrea has one of the worst human rights records in the world, with routine human rights violations taking place every day and no improvement recorded in recent years; whereas many young people have fled the country to escape the repressive government and mandatory military conscription, which often starts at a very young age, whereas the statute of an 18-month period of service is often flouted, with most Eritreans serving indefinitely, and whereas such an extended mandatory military conscription inhibits the country’s potential economic growth; whereas any increase in the national service salary is meaningless as the recent devaluation of the nakfa and bank restrictions have led to a current deficiency in the country; whereas many conscripts are used as forced labour and given civilian duties; whereas the majority of those in national service remain in a situation of slavery, in which any work, job applications and the possibility of having a family life are controlled; whereas freedom of worship and conscience, freedom of the media and freedom of expression are not guaranteed;
1.

Condemns in strong terms the terrorist attacks committed in Tunisia in recent months, which have claimed many lives; considers that Tunisia faces a very serious terrorist threat, and notes that the attack carried out on the presidential guard bus on 24 November 2015 and the terrorist attacks of 26 June 2015 in Sousse and of 18 March 2015 at the Bardo Museum caused a collapse in the tourism prospects for the summer of 2015 when tourism and related sectors account for 15 % of the country’s GNP; expresses its full solidarity with Tunisia and reaffirms its support for the efforts of the Tunisian authorities in their fight against terrorism, in compliance with human rights standards and the rule of law;
29.

Points out that in many Member States, such as Sweden, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany, independent bodies provide governments with constructive input in connection with legislative processes, with the aim of cutting red tape for business and citizens and of measurably and verifiably reducing costs related to obligations to provide information; notes that the best practices and experience of existing better regulation bodies could be taken into account; takes note of the conversion of the Commission’s Impact Assessment Board (IAB) into an independent ‘Regulatory Scrutiny Board’ (RSB) and expects that the inclusion of independent experts will have an advantageous effect on the impact assessment process within the Commission; insists that the Regulatory Scrutiny Board has only an exclusively advisory role and must not issue binding opinions; insist that impact assessments must be consistent and take any changes introduced at the inter-service consultation phase into consideration and should be based inter alia on estimating what the additional costs would be for the Member States if there were no solution at European level; considers that the opinion of the RSB should accompany the final legislative proposal; proposes to discuss in the forthcoming negotiation on the interinstitutional agreement the idea whether a Regulatory Control Council might be of common interest for the institutions as a purely advisory body;
J.

whereas around 270 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram on 14-15 April 2014 from a school in Chibok, north-east Nigeria, and whereas the majority are still missing; whereas their exact fate remains a mystery, though it is feared that most were forced to either marry insurgents or to become insurgents themselves, subjected to sexual violence or sold into slavery, and non-Muslim girls were forced to convert to Islam; whereas Boko Haram has abducted more than 2 000 women and girls since 2009, including around 400 from Damasak in Borno state on 24 November 2014;
29.

Considers that forestry can offer jobs and economic development for mountainous regions and that forest resources should therefore be guaranteed over time, by exploiting them sustainably; points out that forests are of vital importance for the ecosystem and that in the mountains they play an important role in preventing avalanches, landslides and flooding; calls for the support of SMEs, in particular those established in mountain areas, which are involved in the forestry sector and fully respect the principle of environmental sustainability; stresses the particular economic and social role of forestry in mountain areas and the importance of investment for efficient use of forestry resources in those regions; recalls the significant role that forests play in providing primary and secondary materials used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries, thus contributing to job creation; calls, in this connection, for Cohesion Policy to focus more on sustainable forest management;
56.

Notes that, despite the role played by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), differences in the rules applied to EU and third-country fleets operating in the same fisheries have been causing considerable problems for EU fishermen; considers it necessary for the EU to increase its efforts in the Mediterranean Basin by means of closer cooperation with local bodies, regional organisations, scientific institutions, observatories and country-based fisheries clusters; considers that the EU has a role to play in the resolution of conflicts between vessels in the Mediterranean, and asks the Commission to consider supporting and assisting fishermen who are frequently subject to confrontations with third-country vessels, and to establish closer cooperation with countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean;
5.

Points out that small and medium-sized family farms form an integral part of the European agricultural sector and contribute to creating socially and economically vibrant rural areas that contribute to the upkeep of cultural and natural heritage; points out furthermore that these farms experience difficulties at times in tapping the benefits of advanced production techniques and practices that could ensure a fair income and improve farmers living and working conditions and the creation of high-quality jobs; underlines that innovation has the potential to increase labour productivity and income by reducing production costs and making business more efficient; stresses that ownership of, and access to, arable land are pivotal for farmers and family farms; advocates making farming a more desirable occupation for young men and women, inter alia, by improving access to finance, technology and support programmes; calls for the development of new business ideas and on the Commission to inform farmers more effectively about their opportunities in this respect; acknowledges the social role of agriculture, its contribution to social cohesion and its effect on fighting rural depopulation, the innovative services it brings to local communities and the role it plays in preserving traditional knowledge; stresses the importance of access to fast and reliable rural broadband internet services, and of innovative concepts tailored for all disadvantaged regions, such as mountainous and peripheral areas in the Union and urges the Commission to make this a priority;
27.

Deplores the fact that the Commission has still not made any move to include eggs and egg products in the list of foods for which indication of the country of origin or place of provenance is mandatory, even though cheap egg products made from liquid or dried eggs which are primarily used in processed foods are being imported into the EU market from third countries and are clearly circumventing the EU ban on cage rearing; takes the view, therefore, that in this context the mandatory labelling of egg products and foods containing eggs to indicate origin and rearing method could improve transparency and protection, and calls on the Commission to submit a market analysis and, if necessary, to draw up appropriate legislative proposals;
8.

Calls for the setting-up of an informal coordination body which would include the Director-General of the Commission’s DG for Education and Culture (DG EAC), the Directors responsible for education in other DGs, representatives of civil society, of social partners and of Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education, and would hold high-level meetings to ensure closer coordination of work, policy coherence and the follow-up of recommendations issued by formal and informal ET 2020 bodies; believes that such coordination is necessary owing to concerns about lack of genuine dialogue between the Commission and civil society organisations and division of ET 2020-related competences between several Commission DGs and Commissioners; calls for the conclusions of this work to be properly communicated, at both European and national level;
3.

Acknowledges the setting up and development of the SCI, which plays an important role in promoting cultural change and improving business ethics, and which has resulted in the adoption of a set of principles of good practice for vertical relationships in the food supply chain and a voluntary framework for the implementation of those principles which only in the second year of its operation already numbers over one thousand participating companies from across the entire EU, and those mainly SMEs; welcomes the progress made so far, and believes that efforts to promote fair trading practices in the food supply chain should make a real impact but cannot currently be considered sufficient to tackle the problem of UTPs in the food supply chain; stresses, however, that the effectiveness of the SCI, as recognised by both the recent Commission report and external evaluation, is undermined by a broad range of shortcomings, such as weaknesses in governance, limitations in transparency, no enforcement measures or penalties, a lack of effective deterrents against UTPs, and not allowing for individual anonymous complaints by potential victims of UTPs or own-initiative investigations by an independent body, which consequently leads to under-representation of SMEs and farmers, in particular, who may find the SCI inadequate for its purpose; recommends the setting up of similar supply chain initiatives in other relevant non-food sectors;
D.

whereas the delegated act as adopted by the Commission contains flaws in the methodology for the calculation of future performance scenarios and does not therefore fulfil the requirement under Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 to provide information which is ‘accurate, fair, clear and not misleading’ and, in particular, does not show for some PRIIPs, even in the adverse scenario, and even for products which have regularly led to losses over the recommended minimum holding period, that investors could lose money;
8.

Endorses IWC Resolution 2014-5, according to which no further whaling permit should be granted without prior international review, including by the IWC Scientific Committee; urges the IWC to incorporate the ICJ’s ruling into its working practices and to adapt its rules accordingly; highlights the need to act as a matter of urgency to strengthen the IWC in this respect and calls on the Member States to press for the necessary decisions at the next IWC meeting in October;
79.

Underlines the importance of ensuring access to finance, both short- and long-term, for investments in projects of all sizes related to the modernisation of the heating and cooling sector, including for district heating and cooling, the upgrading of relevant grid infrastructure, the modernisation of heating systems, including a shift to renewable sources, and an acceleration in the rate of building renovation; calls, in this regard, on the Commission to develop a robust innovative and long-term financial mechanism; highlights the role that the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and other applicable European funds, such as those available from the European Investment Bank (EIB) or through the EU emissions trading system (ETS), could play in terms of finance and technical assistance, ensuring that projects are attractive to investors by offering stable regulatory conditions, particularly by minimising bureaucracy and encompassing an expedient application and approval process; calls on the Commission to strengthen the current provisions on heating and cooling in the post-2020 programming period for all applicable European funds, and for the elimination of barriers that hinder local authorities in allocating useful resources to renovating public buildings; supports the ‘smart finance for smart buildings’ initiative, promoting a greater uptake of energy efficiency in combination with renewables in the building sector; believes that the modernisation and thermal insulation of buildings should take priority over other measures in terms of access to funding in light of their enormous job-creation potential;
16.

Calls on the participating countries to continue their efforts to diversify energy supply sources, taking account of the environment; underlines the need for sustainability, competitiveness and modernisation in respect of the existing hydropower infrastructure, which was developed at a very early stage, while taking into account the impact that hydropower infrastructures can have on the environment and on geology, as well as promoting small (mini, micro and pico) ones; stresses that the integrated management and protection of water resources is one of the keys to sustainable development of the Alps and that, therefore, the local population should be able to commit to hydropower and use the added value it generates; calls on the participating countries to contribute to well-functioning networks in the macro-region, in order to ensure security of supply and set up structures for the exchange of best practices on cross-border cooperation;
6.

Notes the importance of fully understanding the interaction of IFRS 9 with other regulatory requirements; welcomes the ongoing EBA assessment of IFRS 9’s impact on banks in the EU, aimed at gaining a better understanding of its effect on regulatory own funds, its interaction with other prudential requirements and the way in which institutions are preparing for the application of IFRS 9; notes that banks using the Standardised Approach would probably be the most seriously affected by a reduction in their Core Equity Tier 1 capital; calls on the Commission, therefore, to propose appropriate steps in the prudential framework by the end of 2017, e.g. to insert into the Capital Requirements Regulation a progressive phase-in regime that will mitigate the impact of the new impairment model for a three-year period, or until an adequate international solution has been put in place, and avoid any sudden unwarranted impact on banks’ capital ratios and lending;
A.

whereas on 11 and 18 April 2007, Monsanto Europe S.A. submitted three applications to the Commission, in accordance with Articles 11 and 23 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, for the renewal of the authorisation of existing foods, food ingredients and feed produced from maize MON 810, of the authorisation of feed containing and consisting of maize MON 810 and of the authorisation of maize MON 810 in products consisting of it or containing it for other uses than food and feed, as any other maize, including cultivation; whereas after the date of the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, those products were notified to the Commission pursuant to Article 8(1)(a) and (b) and Article 20(1)(b) of that Regulation and included in the Community Register of genetically modified food and feed;
8.

Agrees with ECB President Mario Draghi that the single monetary policy alone cannot stimulate aggregate demand unless it is complemented by sound fiscal policies and ambitious and socially balanced structural reform programmes at Member State level; recalls that, in accordance with its mandate laid down in primary law in the EU Treaties, the ECB’s main aim is to safeguard price stability in order to guarantee a stable environment conducive to investment; considers that monetary policy alone is not the appropriate tool to solve the structural problems of the European economy; emphasises that the expected economic recovery is no substitute for essential structural reforms; draws attention to recent studies and discussions concerning a possible fall in the neutral interest rates observed all over the world over the last decade; points out that such a situation would result in monetary policy being more constrained and less effective, as it would more often run the risk of hitting the zero lower bound;
62.

Underscores the importance of formal, informal and non-formal learning, including as part of associative activities, for the development of values, aptitudes and skills in young people, as well as for learning about citizenship and democratic involvement; draws attention to the range of training possibilities and models available in the Member States and, in particular, to dual learning, which can soften the transition from education or training to employment; supports the implementation of lifelong learning; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure coherent, valid, Europe-wide recognition of the skills and competences acquired through formal, informal and non-formal learning and traineeships, with a view to bridging the gap between the skills shortages and skills mismatch observed in the European labour market, and to provide their support for such activities in the framework of the relevant EU programmes; calls, further, for a greater focus on languages, especially neighbouring languages, in the field of vocational education and training (VET) in order to strengthen the position and employability of the students concerned in the cross-border labour market;
68.

Regrets that administrative cooperation among Member States in fighting VAT fraud is still not efficient when it comes to coping with intra-EU VAT evasion and fraud mechanisms, or to managing cross-border transactions or trading; stresses the need for a simplified, effective and accessible VAT system that will allow all Member States to reduce their VAT burdens and combat VAT fraud; calls on the Commission, therefore, to carry out more monitoring visits to Member States, selected on a risk basis, when assessing administrative cooperation agreements; asks the Commission, furthermore, to focus, in the context of its evaluation of the administrative arrangements, on removing legal obstacles preventing the exchange of information between administrative, judicial and law enforcement authorities at national and EU level; calls, in addition, on the Commission to recommend that Member States introduce a common risk analysis, including the use of social network analysis, to ensure that the information exchanged through Eurofisc is targeted on fraud; calls on the Member States to lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, and to improve the system currently used to exchange information;
M.

noting that many survivors throughout the EU are often unable to apply for funding to cover the costs of social services, which is currently the single biggest concern for thalidomide survivors who, now in their 50s and 60s, are going to need these services even more often in the coming years, as their carers, who are often their partners or relatives, may themselves fall ill or die;
L.

whereas the financialisation of the global economy and the accompanying speculation might have an impact on agricultural markets and may contribute to increasing their imbalance and the volatility of prices, with agricultural raw materials being used simply as financial assets; as was highlighted by the dreadful hunger riots in 2008, this excessive financialisation can be devastating and ethically reprehensible if it threatens the food security of the poorest, least well-nourished people on the planet;