kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
i must admit that discussions on the division of competences between the european union and its member states is a very complex legal and political matter as it touches upon the core principles of the functioning of the european union. this discussion goes far beyond the specific treaty. the latvian presidency has been working
distribution and making available to the public of right holders.
to participate fully in public life to enjoy the arts and to share scientific progress and its benefits.
to achieve this flexibility on the part of everyone involved is required.
it is an important instrument to further improve the everyday lives of persons with disabilities.
it does so by establishing a set of international rules which ensure the cross border exchange of published works books and printed materials in a format accessible for the persons concerned. to ensure the benefits to visually impaired persons the marrakesh treaty imposes the introduction of a limitation or exception to the right of reproduction
the commission considers that the marrakesh treaty falls under exclusive european union competence. on the other hand the majority of member states are of the view that the treaty falls under shared eu national competence.
this is a very important treaty that would help millions of visually impaired people around the world to have better access to culture and education.
the commission regrets the council's decision to delay the ratification of the marrakesh treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind visually impaired or otherwise print disabled.
however neither the legislative proposal nor the adoption of eu legislation is a precondition for the discussion of the commission's proposal on the conclusion of the marrakesh treaty.
these girls are children not objects for sale in the adults' marriage market.
of course we wish to see a vibrant and free civil society operating in bangladesh and should be concerned by any legislation that prohibits such development.
mr president today's resolution is very useful in highlighting the problems of forced child marriage and acts of sexual violence against women in bangladesh which we all rightly condemn.
we must however distinguish such concerns from a wider condemnation of cultural norms and morals in bangladesh with very different social traditions and economic imperatives to those of our own here in the european union.
however there have been problems with some ngos and charities operating as vehicles for the funding of jihadi terrorism organisations and we must support the bangladeshi government's right to crack down on these practices.
as regards the wider human rights situation in bangladesh at the eu bangladesh subgroup on good governance and human rights the eu raised concerns on extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances the death penalty freedom of association and freedom of expression the situation of minorities violence against women and fundamental labour rights. at the eu bangladesh diplomatic consultation held in brussels in february this year while recognising progress made so far under the sustainability compact the european union underlined the need to address the shortcomings in compliance with freedom of association.
in december last year in particular the european union raised concerns with regard to the child marriage prevention act which keeps the marriageable age of girls at eighteen but allows exceptions under specific circumstances.
the european union human rights strategy identifies the prevention of child marriage as a priority.
it could lead to an escalation of dowry abuse sexual harassment rape acid violence legitimisation of statutory rape and allow parents to force their daughters to marry their rapists.
until now the sustainability compact which is supposed to improve the situation in the garment industry labour rights and factory safety has not been implemented as much as it should have been.
let me nevertheless also refer to something else where i think bangladesh still needs to move ahead.
i am glad that we have a sense of urgency now because even though bangladesh pledged at the girl summit of july two thousand and fourteen to reduce the number of girls marrying between the ages of fifteen and eighteen by two thousand and twenty one this new law allows for so many exceptions that it is really a step backward and not forward.
i take the floor today in my capacity as chairman of the standing committee within the international trade committee for south asian trade and with bangladesh i have had the unique ability to see at first hand the tremendous amount of improvement that has taken place using trade mechanisms for women's empowerment in bangladesh and in particular female headed households.
what we see here today is however a tremendous regression from the progress that has been made.
so i say simply this to the government of bangladesh as a union we have worked with you we have stood with you we have been very proud to see the tremendous improvements that you have made but please listen to what this house is conveying to you today.
they challenge our relationship and we do not want to move away from encouraging you to keep moving forward on women's empowerment issues.
children are simply not able to give their full consent and there is enough evidence showing the serious psychological and physical impact of marrying as a child.
bangladesh knows this and has tried to reduce the number of child marriages but taking away the minimum age and creating special conditions for children to marry is not a solution.
there can be no special cases when it comes to violation of human rights.
the new law will simply encourage the practice to continue and even intensify the current situation.
the special circumstances that allow for child marriage must be clearly defined and very difficult to use.
the penalties for breaking the law must be strong and upheld to deter child marriage from the outset.
for cases where a girl becomes pregnant other safe and legal alternatives to marriage must be available.
the eu must be active and willing to support the bangladeshi authorities to achieve this and on a broader scale to respect all of its human rights obligations.
but what is being cut are the so called administrative support lines and the main victim is heading.
let us also be clear that this has not always been the situation.
one five million people from my country sweden or at that time one third of the population left for the usa in order to escape difficulties such as religious persecution and poverty.
anything else would be irresponsible but it would be equally irresponsible to cut ourselves off from the rest of the world we all live in a globalised village today.
if we see no prospect for the future where we are we move.
support for the asylum system will depend on our ability to complete the ongoing work on the common european asylum system so as to put the eu's house in order and make sure that the procedures are fair and efficient throughout all the member states.
the only way to find out if a person qualifies for international protection is for them to go through the asylum process.
there are no shortcuts here only hard work.
everyone that asks for asylum has the right to apply but not everyone has the right to obtain international protection public.
we must also do much better in returning those who do not qualify for international protection in a dignified manner.
the most important measure to discourage people from dangerous trips across the mediterranean would be to say that it is difficult to obtain international protection.
this is naturally why a lot of people from all around the world would like to make our continent their home in order to enjoy the freedom and prosperity that we all enjoy and that exist here.
nevertheless in the eu we must obviously have a policy of regulated migration for the foreseeable future.
the right to asylum and international protection is an individual human right that every member state of the union has signed up to defend.
secondly human beings are migratory to the very core of our nature.
something has to be done.
they should be turned away at the borders as a measure to send a message back to their homeland that such a journey will not be rewarded.
secondly we must ensure that people smuggling is halted the perpetrators' vehicles confiscated and destroyed and any ngos found to have assisted in this despicable trade must lose all public funding and like the people caught people smuggling also face prosecution.
firstly we must acknowledge the phenomenon of economic migration.
with no effective control over our borders we remain vulnerable to terrorism.
by contrast many african nations are poor some politically unstable many with lower health care standards and little chance of social benefits. secondly there are vast amounts of money to be made by people smuggling. indeed the last europol report estimated that turnover in this area was between eur three and six billion
what about the fund for africa?
what about the smugglers? we have the measures to fight against human trafficking.
we are not seriously addressing the despair of thousands of migrants that are crossing the mediterranean.
members states promised the money but where is this money today?
some member states have already submitted ambitious pledges. there are many more strands that we are working
six countries along the central mediterranean route are among priority countries for resettlement including libya.
frontex complements the eunavfor med operation sophia to which it provides solid intelligence.
two four hundred and sixty five on the central mediterranean route we commend the significant contribution made by italy including on a bilateral level. over the summer a number of initiatives were taken by the presidency the member states and the commission to complement the bilateral actions taken by italy.
since last year we have more than doubled our financial support for the work carried out by unhcr and iom to provide adequate reception conditions for migrants and persons falling under the international protection mandate in libya and to coordinate assisted voluntary returns from libya and niger to countries of origin.
we have intensified efforts to train the libyan coastguard so that the government of national accord can improve the control of its territorial waters.
finally the council adopted the eu's priorities for the fight against organised and serious international crime between two thousand. and eighteen and two thousand and twenty one this was done in
in the eur forty six million eu trust fund programme for border and migration management in libya adopted in july this year about eur thirty million are dedicated to the training equipment and maintenance needs of the coastguard.
in addition our aim is to intensify our cooperation and based on the european council conclusions from nineteen october this year to rapidly establish a permanent eu presence in libya.
another limitation we should take into account is the unstable political and security situation in libya preventing our full presence in the eu delegation and eu border assistance mission in tripoli and in the field.
we have taken a number of measures to reduce the irregular migratory flows to break the business model of smugglers and human traffickers and to advance the effectiveness of returns.
we are determined to break the business model of smugglers and reduce the high number of human beings losing their lives while crossing the mediterranean sea in unseaworthy boats and flimsy dinghies.
to achieve these aims we reaffirm our commitment to strong cooperation with international partners as well as with countries of origin transit and destination.
since spring two thousand and sixteen we have implemented the euturkey statement to address the flows from turkey into greece.
we are working very closely with our libyan interlocutors to bring about change in this country.
i refer here in particular to the commission's action plan of four july and the respective presidency implementation plan. let me highlight some of the achievements so far.
in an effort to further disrupt the business model of people smugglers and human traffickers the council introduced restrictions on the export and supply to libya of inflatable boats also known as dinghies and outboard motors.
europol's european migrant smuggling centre focuses its activities on the central mediterranean route in order to target and disrupt supplies to smugglers.
subsequently average monthly arrivals into the eu in the period from april two thousand and sixteen to september two thousand and seventeen were reduced to.
may. two thousand and seventeen they will include the fight against the facilitation of irregular immigration.
we continue to promote the development of local communities across the migratory routes in libya. under the eu emergency trust fund for africa projects worth eur forty two million have been contracted for this purpose.
furthermore the identification detection and tracking of suspicious vessels has improved.
on. i think it is important to bear in mind that they are nearly all medium to longterm measures for which patience and resilience by the eu are required.
we wish to reinforce our support to the most vulnerable groups by setting up a voluntary resettlement scheme as presented by the commission in september in its recommendation on enhancing legal pathways for persons in need of international protection.
mr president there will be smuggling in the mediterranean for as long as illegal crossing is rewarded.
the demographic and socioeconomic trends in africa and the middle east guarantee that people will keep coming indefinitely and in large numbers.
we have the tools to manage the influx the problem is that we do not have a political decision on what we want to achieve.
we have failed in integrating the immigrants that we already have and that failure will become catastrophic as the numbers grow.
so we must stop the flow. migrants who are rescued at sea must be returned to the port of departure and not brought to european ports. this will also stop smuggling because nobody wants to pay for nothing and it will stop the tragedies at sea.
it undermines the positive case for controlled immigration it is corrosive of public trust and it rewards law breakers as opposed to honest applicants who have stuck to the rules.
it follows that facilitating or encouraging even indirectly the flow of irregular migration is the height of political irresponsibility.
yet this is what many senior european politicians have done from mrs merkel inviting everyone to germany and then seeking to strong arm her neighbours into bailing her out to those campaigning against the dublin rules that quite reasonably expect asylum applicants to lodge their claims in the first safe country they reach.
that will merely add to the pull factors which already lure so many young men from africa and the middle east to europe.
no the solution is to intercept the boats coming from libya and elsewhere and to escort them back to their points of embarkation.
irregular migrants need to be seen to be losers not losers of their lives like so many have been in recent years but losers in their battle to circumvent the rule of law.
we can assure that the commission will continue its work to save lives to put in place safe and legal pathways to fight smuggling and to protect our external borders and return irregular migrants.
as you know there is no single no simple solution.
our challenges are manifold but our goals are clear to gradually put in place a proper asylum and migration policy with effective control of our external borders.
we will pursue the work already underway bearing in mind that in order to be successful all elements must be pursued jointly and all must deliver on their commitments.
the commission intends to make a priority of this issue under the european digital agenda which will be adopted soon by the european commission.
a set of recommendations is expected by the end of. two thousand and eleven to conclude let me emphasise that the commission is very committed to contributing to achieve the twenty twenty twenty targets by two thousand and twenty as set by the heads of state and government and ict has an important role to play in this.
the aim is to advise the commission on policy a regulatory framework as well as to coordinate the first steps towards the implementation of smart grids under the provisions of the third energy package.
in february two thousand and ten the ict for energy efficiency forum was launched.
twenty one energy retail market issues are becoming increasingly important as markets move closer to consumers to the introduction of new technology and systems in the form of smart meters and smart grids.
two thousand and ten the forum is also looking at the contribution the ict sector can make to improve the efficiency of other sectors such as building and transport.
the forum brings together leading eu japanese and us high tech industry associations. they will set targets on the basis of a common measurement framework for the ict sector's own energy and carbon footprints to be developed by the end of.
major european cities have signed up to the green digital charter.
two thousand and fifteen the total number of cities committed to the green digital charter has increased from fourteen to.
work with the commission's smart grids task force is also advancing.
a rigorous measurement framework widely agreed and adopted by the industry is a must to quantify the real benefits of information and communication technologies.
as you mention in the report ict can help to significantly improve energy efficiency in other areas such as buildings and transport in particular.
one in three women in the european union has experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of fifteen.
madam president i would like to thank the members and the members of the committee on women's rights and gender equality in particular for the opportunity to answer the questions relating to this very serious subject. it is an important symbol that the debate is taking place today on twenty five november
i hope that in one year's time i will be allowed here to speak about better results and a better situation in the field we are going to speak about.
however we cannot stop here and now.
this will be reflected in the new commission strategy for equality between women and men in which there will be a chapter on gender based violence.
this framework now includes the equal treatment directive and its provisions on sexual harassment the directive on trafficking in human beings the directive against sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography
i am committed to addressing new forms of violence emerging in an increasingly connected world such as cyber violence and harassment.
this is just an illustration of economic figures.
the second pillar of what we can and what we must do is awareness raising and funding.
as a follow up to the directive on the rights of crime victims eurostat in cooperation with national statistical offices started in two thousand and fourteen to collect more detailed crime data recorded by the police and justice systems.
the commission is now guiding and monitoring member states in the effective implementation of this legal framework.
the most effective course of action will be determined and integrated in the new commission strategy on equality between women and men.
he spoke about human dignity.
it is equally important that member states respect their commitments and ratify this convention as soon as possible. to date and over four years after the adoption of the convention twenty two eu member states have signed it but only eight eu member states have ratified it so far.
comparable eu data shows us how to improve the prevention of violence and the protection of victims. we can learn from each other from our successes and failures.
for example this year eur.
however to complement police records comprehensive and in depth surveys are necessary.
prevention measures and the cross border dimension of gender based violence that you have raised in your question are addressed by the istanbul convention of the council of europe.
our objective is to make a real difference in women's and girls' lives also by the good use of this supporting money.
it is now considered the gold standard and we should be proud of this achievement.
if we really want to make a lasting difference then i believe that we have to address it as part of our greater common struggle for equality.
allow me now to go through these instruments we have in hand.
as you know the commission will adopt a new strategy on equality between women and men from.
nine five million were allocated to supporting european networks and grassroots projects to combat violence against women under the rights equality and citizenship programme.
the already mentioned fundamental rights agency survey paved the way in this field.
our action must therefore be steady coherent and based on several pillars. these are legislation awareness raising and funding as well as improving knowledge and data collection.
instead we need an orchestrated effort from all relevant bodies making full use of the existing expertise.
as regards legislation the eu has put in place a coherent legal framework to prevent all forms of violence against women and to support victims.
two thousand and fifteen gender based violence will be a priority of this strategy.
the results disaggregated by sex will be published in two thousand and fifteen and will constitute a step forward in our efforts to better understand gender based violence.
this is what is at stake in this problem in this field not only human dignity but lives themselves as you have said.
the commission will monitor and evaluate the ongoing awareness raising and prevention efforts before deciding on possible future awareness raising activities such as a european year to end violence against women.
tackling violence against women therefore makes economic sense too but again i want to stress that i understand this problem as more than an economic problem for sure.
so i ask all of those here who are from member states which have not ratified the convention to go to their governments their national parliaments and their media and call for national ratifications of the first international legally binding instrument combating violence against women.
my services are working with eurostat and the european institute for gender equality two key actors in the area which i believe can help fill these gaps.
this strategy must also include actions to engage men in combating violence against women raising their awareness of the issue but also engaging them as actors for change.
insofar as the eu has competence to sign and ratify the convention i believe we should consider eu accession to it.
we need to repeat the fundamental rights agency survey again and we will make sure that such surveys are conducted at regular intervals to detect new trends and gaps.
i can assure you that i share your commitment to eliminating violence against women.
the directive on the european protection order applicable in criminal matters the regulation setting the european protection order and last but not least the directive on the rights of crime victims which emphasises the need for tailored protection and support for victims of gender based violence.
while new means of communication and technology offer great opportunities in combating violence against women they can pose a new threat to the security of women as well.
it is an extreme form of discrimination.
violence against women remains one of the most serious human rights violations of our time.
i would like to stress in this place that for me this problem is not a matter of statistics because this concerns any individual.
the international day for the elimination of violence against women.
and yes it should include a proposal for the raising of eurobonds plus greater federal supervision for the financial sector and a proper fiscal
upon the commission and especially upon the president.
the new commission should make the case for a transfer of spending from national to european level in the interests of cost