kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
internally the shadow rule of billionaire ivanishvili threatens democracy.
madam president we would like to thank the rapporteur for his excellent work. since we have seen many challenges in georgia throughout the past year it was good to see that cooperation among the international friends of georgia worked.
externally russia's continuous hybrid war threatens the country's sovereignty through military occupation creeping annexation and cyberattacks.
with all our and your support the major political parties struck a deal on a new electoral system for the upcoming elections.
a level playing field should be guaranteed for all political actors while the judicial system should become more transparent.
despite being the leader in the region some problems still have to be overcome.
georgia also demonstrated significant success in fighting covid.
to avoid cutting back on future eu spending the eu should have income to repay its debts and this income should derive from areas where european action is of added value.
we may run out of steam before we reach our destination and without proper own resources we will run out of steam.
to make polluters pay a fair price to make digital companies and large corporates pay a fair share we need european action including a common consolidated corporate tax base and by asking for this now the european parliament is paving the way for a real success.
that's the multiannual financial framework and also the recovery fund of eur seven hundred and fifty billion.
these particular issues must be discussed but at the same time we do not want to run headlong into introducing taxes that could put the european union at a competitive disadvantage with its international competitors.
there is acknowledgment that own resources must be expanded to fund the recovery package the border adjustment tax digital levy the energy trading scheme and a financial transaction tax.
bear in mind that the oecd is in discussions about an international tax obligation of countries across the globe for a fair and equitable tax system but don't tie the hands of the european union in advance of those recommendations being made by the oecd.
but ms von der leyen it's time to act it's time to deliver and i do not want to hear her say anymore that nobody is perfect because impunity is encouraging other governments inside and outside europe.
such civic action is very welcome but why are the commission and the council not doing their job on this?
we see lgbti free zones in poland in europe the return of witch hunts in europe something i thought i would never see.
it is impunity dialogue equals impunity by now.
because frankly madam commissioner after three years i don't want to hear the word dialogue' anymore.
mr president it is now almost three years since the commission has launched the article seven procedure against poland and we are still going round in circles as has also been highlighted by mr lpez aguilar.
how can we have moral authority as ms sippel said when we are giving support to the people in belarus when we are too chicken to tackle the governments of poland and the governments of hungary and many others.
ms von der leyen is going to address this chamber on wednesday and i'm sure she's going to speak very moving words on the rule of law.
they think that defending the rule of law and defending the independence of the judiciary is something that you can actually say out loud.
currently ten of all polish judges one in ten in some districts every single judge is under urgent threat of being targeted with disciplinary measures.
the silence of the commission over this summer has been screaming into the faces of all of those people whose rights are under attack right now.
we have to stand not only with the judges in poland but we have to stand with the eu citizens that are demanding access to justice in poland. as the co chair of the lgbti intergroup i can tell you that every week every single week we receive more messages of worry and sometimes i must say despair from the lgbti community in poland.
mr president when we look at the situation in poland and when we look at the findings of this report we can clearly state that this is not just a systematic breach of the rule of law anymore but this is a fully fledged rule of law crisis in the middle in the heart of the european union.
we are not an ideology.
we are made out of flesh and blood.
and i know that deep inside of you you actually know that so stop using us and the lgbti community in poland for your disgusting political agenda.
we are human beings.
we want to have exactly the same fundamental human rights like everyone else.
lastly and i hope especially that mr duda is watching but also to our colleagues from the polish ruling party here in this chamber look at me look at marc look at malin look at maria.
every week there are new attacks every week there are new lies spread there is new anti lgbti propaganda and i don't know what to tell them anymore madam commissioner because they all ask the same question when is the european union finally going to act?
if you think that i'm exaggerating the situation or that i'm overstating something i would like to give you one number and maybe you are going to rethink that judgment.
and i urge you do something start an infringement procedure against lgbti free zones in poland now madam commissioner.
this is an unprecedented attack on eu values and the very foundation of the european union and probably not one not two and maybe not even five court of justice of the eureopan union rulings are going to be enough when the ruling party is trying to take political control of the judiciary.
you are set to adopt your report less than two months after the european council at unprecedented pace.
it's very encouraging that the member states have begun to see what we have been advocating for so long.
this makes me hopeful that it will be feasible to introduce new own resources in the short term. in fact preparatory work has already begun.
it is indeed commendable and thank you for that.
as you know this is also one of the main issues of the trilateral political dialogue meetings on the mff.
the commission concurs with the need to introduce additional new own resources which are closely aligned with our policy priorities and can support the repayment of funds on the next generation eu.
we need to make sure that everyone is part of this transition if we are to deliver what it is our right to do as politicians.
therefore we would like to have a fund for the sea to help the sector improve on all this and we would also like a big part of this fund to go towards helping the sector to transition.
two thousand and thirty it should not be free to destroy the future not the climate not the environment and we know that the environment is also hit by this sector today;
everyone needs to contribute in that transition and today the shipping sector is not part of it.
the elections will take place on thirty one october and i believe that if the covid nineteen situation allows for it the european parliament should also dispatch an election observation mission to georgia. the report commends georgia's internationally acclaimed response to the covid nineteen outbreak and i would also like to highlight the exemplary cooperation between the eu and georgia in responding to this crisis.
hundreds of thousands of people are unable to return to their homes or face restrictions to their fundamental rights and freedom.
at the end of june the georgian parliament passed a constitutional amendment that is designed to provide for more proportional representation and hopefully for more pluralistic political discourse after the parliamentary elections in.
the report strongly condemns the ongoing provocations and the borderisation activities that continue along the administrative boundary line.
the report also recalls that the eu georgia association agreement and ecfta aims to gradually integrate the country with the eu single market and calls on the commission to be more vocal in promoting and advancing this goal.
the report points out that enhanced cooperation and eu assistance to georgia are based on the more for more principle and are conditional on continued reform processes across all policy areas. georgia has undertaken ambitious reforms and achieved a lot. it deserves to be underscored that georgia's european aspirations enjoy broad support among almost all the political parties
recently georgia has experienced a period of tensions between the government and the political opposition over changes to the electoral system.
a worrying trend is the increased polarisation of the political scene.
so allow me to give you his statement.
political life in georgia as we all know is lively and dynamic.
this report underscores the need to de escalate the political discourse and continue reforms in order to guarantee media freedom and independence of the judiciary.
as well as among the georgian people.
as we are discussing a report focusing on the implementation of the association agreement between the eu and georgia i would like to recall that the association agreement is a comprehensive framework that covers a wide range of policy areas from political dialogue rule of law human rights and fundamental freedoms all the way to economic and trade relations.
two thousand and twenty with those elections approaching the report emphasises the need to uphold and protect media freedom and guarantee equal access to the media for all political parties during this important election campaign.
finally the report received the almost unanimous support of the foreign affairs committee in this house and the rapporteur sven mikser would like to thank all the political parties and the groups who expressed their support to the legitimate aspirations of the georgian people as well as to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of georgia.
and while assessing the progress georgia has made we cannot forget that one fifth of the territory of the country continues to be occupied.
and in addition georgia continues to be a target of russian hybrid activities.
we are constantly reiterating our concerns to russia in bilateral and multilateral fora and we will continue doing so on behalf of the stability of georgia that deserves peaceful borders with all
and now we expect effective implementation of these laws and respect for the highest democratic standards.
it is critical to uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity in the judiciary.
let me have a look at the domestic challenges and opportunities of this country and let me make reference to three important issues the electoral context; the justice reform; and the conflicts.
work on this is in full swing and the commission will come forward with the relevant legislative proposals to reduce the climate impact of shipping activities. let me stress the commission will duly take into account the elements proposed by this parliament when developing its initiatives under the european green deal.
the commission looks forward to continuing discussions on other important aspects of its proposal.
there is also no impact assessment for these two elements.
the report of the environment committee before you has received the commission's full attention.
and must achieve the union wide climate neutrality objective we don't consider the review of the eu reporting rules to be the appropriate vehicle to include shipping in the ets or to introduce operational component density requirements.
since the entry into force of the data collection system of the international maritime organization in two thousand and nineteen all large ships calling at ports in the european economic area have to report their full consumption and other information under two systems the european and the international one.
the key goal of our reporting system is to collect robust and verified co two emissions data to make those data publicly available to stimulate the uptake of energy efficient technologies and behaviours and to inform our policymaking.
there is a difference of opinion on the instrument but our political goals are shared. as you know the commission has already announced as part of the european green deal its intention to extend the ets to maritime emissions and the impact assessment is being prepared.
these include possible improvements to the scope of the regulation in terms of ship size rules when there is a change of company the reporting of cargo carried and the review clause within the remit of the reporting system.
this is a patent violation of the most basic human rights.
ireland also happens to be the first country in the world to have introduced marriage equality for same sex couples through a popular vote.
lgbtifree zones are an abhorrent infringement of people's rights to dignity and equality and i wholeheartedly support calls for parliamentary commission led and international condemnation and action
i speak as a member of the european parliament's lgbti intergroup but also as a citizen of a traditionally catholic country with a large and can i say welcome polish community.
importantly we will continue to take due account of the proposals in this parliament for the european reporting rules for maritime emissions and the reform of european emission trading.
together with you the commission wants to ensure that the maritime sector duly contributes to our climate objectives. the commission has doubts that the european reporting rules for shipping emissions are the right place for some of your proposals but the commission does stress again that it will work vigorously on extending the eu ets to cover maritime as well as on other initiatives to reduce maritime emissions.
we will duly assess the impact of such initiatives.
the bigger the money the lower the trust.
we. need to do something
also the authorities in poland and all the other member states had a possibility to comment on the findings and we will soon make the reports public and make further comments.
people. we need to be clearer that the financial resources of the eu will not be paid in case there is such a violation of the fundamental rights of
let's use this instrument.
we need to promote the idea of linking the eu taxpayers' money with the basic principles of the
now we see that we have to deploy all possible powers and measures to renew the importance of the values like rule of law fundamental rights and democracy to the european union because these are the values the eu was thus founded on.
we used to speak about the independent judges and about the freedom of speech and a vibrant civil society free and fair elections.
i do believe that we need such an instrument.
that. we will always make better and better explanations because we also simply have to explain on a continuous basis to the citizens of the eu why we need the rule of law principle in place why we need an independent judge. there is a lack of awareness of how important the principle is for every single citizen.
now it will be a quote in many of your speeches to do something;
i think that this is devastating.
i mean let's be honest we need own resources in order to pay back the loan that we are going to take because the situation for me looks like the crisis of.
this is yet another example of cohesion policy securing the societies and the help of the member states because of covid another example of cohesion policy saving our people.
we don't want our children to pay it nor the bank to take it away.
two thousand and seven you're buying a house and then you're facing the risk of not having an income to pay it back.
so we need own resources to secure the future of the union without taking hostage the budget and the payments of the member states.
we need the rule of law in that regulation because our citizens have to be sure that there is transparency in every cent that we are going to spend.
of course further approximation is still needed in some areas like environmental protection and the fight against discrimination of vulnerable groups.
these elections will be crucial in determining georgia's future for years to come. georgia has an impressive reform record.
it would make our system more flexible faster and more comprehensive and ultimately more effective in the case of largescale complex emergencies.
and over two hundred and ten zero deaths have been recorded to date.
it gave the commission a clear task to propose a more ambitious crisis management system within the european union.
the next large scale emergency will strike again.
the way we choose to act now will determine how prepared we will be in the future.
we also have the opportunity now to put in place an ambitious budget to support this enhanced eu civil protection mechanism.
an example is the recent explosion in lebanon where more than a dozen member states offered assistance through the union mechanism. but the limits of the current system were quickly reached during the early stages of the covid nineteen crisis when virtually all eu member states
this means that it depends largely on voluntary offers from member states.
were affected at the same time.
these are key aspects of our proposal.
among member states.
as you know the commission has proposed to allocate
this works very well in most types of emergencies.
this is our wakeup call.
at the beginning of the crisis unfortunately the response to requests for assistance was often too slow or failed to materialise.
that straight gay lesbian bi trans or non binary you are free to live your life without fear without recrimination without arrest because that is what our europe is and that's why we remain the beacon of hope in a world that is under threat because while we may all be different we are all equal.
but today i need to talk about the ethos of europe that we are all different and yet all equal.
so to those people who are feeling desperate to those parents who are terrified for their children's safety to those young people who expect us to keep our promise to them that they can live their lives freely your family matters too.
so in conclusion we have your back europe stands with you because we understand that while we are all different we are all equal.
yours is not an invasive ideology yours is a polish ideology a european ideology.
mr president i want to talk about the attempt to intimidate judges in poland. i want to tell the judges that we will never turn our backs on what is happening that justice matters more than electoral majorities.
having lgbt free zones means having europe free zones and if there is one corner of this union where europeans are not welcome then that is one corner too many.
that a german a maltese a pole and a latvian national could walk down the street in a village in poland and expect the same rights and the same level of protection.
that we could all feel safe in every little town across our europe.
mr president madam vice president colleagues fellow lgbtqi community members and our allies both in the chamber and indeed working in the institutions today the entire european union is at risk.
this is about who we are and it is about what our european union stands for.
do we not value freedom equality and the rule of law above all else?
was the european union not founded to protect our citizens' rights against discrimination?
the desire to protect our people all our people regardless of their sexuality or gender identity is why we stand here today.
and we do not discriminate when it comes to protecting the fundamental rights of any of our european citizens.
if we do not take decisive action against a government that is punishing our people for simply existing then what are we here for?
the european commission and the european council have to take stronger action against the polish government not only to protect the polish lgbtqi community members but also to protect our fundamental values and protect our european union.
i need to tell you something we in poland know this kind of ideology.
we kindly ask you to consider during the next october part session our question referring to the human rights situation in iran especially political prisoners sentenced to death. unfortunately
i encourage you all to visit it on the web.
i think it is important to recognise that the rule of law democracy and respect for fundamental rights go together.
you cannot take away one and keep a little bit of this and a little bit of that'.
so we can see that the lack of independence for the courts the lack of media freedom and pluralism the attacks on women's rights highlighted here in the chamber and the attacks on the lgbti community go together. we will not let this go on. we will not let the bullying go on.
this house will stand up for the rule of law democracy and fundamental rights and we will have an eu budget that doesn't give money to those member states like poland that cannot respect fundamental rights and democracy and the rule of law.
much more difficult than now.
and will also not shy away from reminding georgia of the need to deliver on the full reform agenda.
mr president what we see again is an attack on poland not because of the violation of the european treaties but we see the usual attacks on conservative politics by those who are on the left side of the political spectrum.
the policy on justice and on judges' appointments becomes now the european standard in poland.
and if you look at family policy and i have read the charter of the rights of family in poland i can only applaud the polish people to have a policy which is focused on families with daddy mummy and children and not on different minorities.
poland and hungary have decided to follow a conservative line which is a sovereign decision of the people and so do people have the right to follow that policy and it is not an oppression of the treaties.
madam president to close today's plenary. this debate clearly demonstrates that georgia has made substantial progress on its european path. this parliament acknowledges the reforms on the part of the georgian government which strengthen democracy the rule of law human rights and fundamental freedoms and of course we also know work is still to be done.
let me just highlight two items that require georgia's continued commitment.
first and absolutely core in the implementation of the association agreement is the need for the georgian government to consolidate the rule of law and to continue its pursuit of justice reform.
second and crucial to georgia's adherence to the terms in the association agreement is guaranteeing media freedom.
we all know that georgia's media landscape is highly politicised and as we are here speaking on georgia ahead of the national elections we also know the great responsibility that lies on the shoulders of all the political parties in georgia to ensure a free and fair election.
let me conclude with some positive words with some words of support.
georgia is a country close to my heart.
some of my best friends live in that country and the country has come a long way in its aspirations for democracy freedom and prosperity and that in a very difficult geopolitical environment.
the eu must recognise this and continue to be a key motivator for reforms to continue.
as the member states implement it.
here we are together because we think that we can behave together in accordance with general rules which reflect our values.
so it's a member state competence but we need more convergence on the way each member state implements these competences.
first unanimity and second the willingness to really implement the decision.
you cannot pretend to have security and to protect freedom and peace without having military resources.
but you have to use them according to the law and weapons of war are by definition capable of inflicting death and destruction.
this ambivalence means that governments that export the weapons must ensure that they are traded and used in a responsible and accountable way and prevent their diversion to terrorists criminals and other unauthorised users. this must remain our ambition to control the use of these weapons
i will continue working in the process of increased convergence and promoting more transparency in arms exports in the framework of the competences of the commission and of the high representative.