kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
a comparison with what the european union has said and what every other significant world body of actors has said there is no question that we are the ones that have been the most clear the most consistent the strongest in the words that we have used.
you us in the council and us as europeans with other significant international actors not only with americans with a new and good approach by the obama administration but also engage with others the un security council russia china and with the wider world community.
i think it can fairly be said that we stand united in our assessment of what has been happening what we have seen on the television screens and more importantly what we have heard from the people who know even more than what can be seen on the television screens. i would like to take issue with someone who said we have not been clear enough. if you make
there might be other factors coming into consideration of policy as well but it should not dilute in any way from the consistency of our defence for human rights.
it is only then that we can hope to be able to start resolving not only the immediate issues but also the other issues that need to be addressed.
i think it has highlighted the clear unanimity that we have when it comes to defending our values but it has also highlighted some of the difficult choices and balancing acts that we have to engage in in the months and years ahead.
but the fact that we have a certain amount of historical experience in europe reflected not the least here perhaps makes it possible for us to venture along that particular road.
i say that recognising that that is a far more difficult policy than just to stand back do nothing or try to isolate that is easy;
they move back and forth.
i do not think there is any solution if we do not engage in a true diplomatic dialogue on that.
but my main point is this however well meaning and even justified criticisms of iran made here may be they will be exploited as war propaganda by the powerful vested interests that stand to gain from a military attack on that country.
not even european liberals are naive enough to fall for lies about weapons of mass destruction again so human rights are being drafted in as a new casus belli.
do not add the voice of this place to the warmongers' chorus for a third illegal and counterproductive attack by the west on the muslim world. or if you must do not leave the war which hypocritical rhetoric will help to justify and unleash to the usual brave british cannon fodder eighteen year old boys from the mersey and the thames and the tyne.
i can confirm that dr morvai is right to criticise those who fret about iran while ignoring human rights abuses here in europe.
neocons oil companies construction corporations and the wahabi mullahs of saudi arabia all want to see the sovereign state of iran destroyed by an aggressive war.
marked with the shame of supporting the use of british taxpayers' money to support their own militia which breaks up opposition meetings and attacks their opponents with bricks darts and claw hammers.
the issue therefore is not about rigging so called elections more than usual.
this reminds me of the situation twenty years ago in eastern europe while the western governments were prepared for a long term accommodation and pragmatic coexistence with the soviet totalitarian system suddenly millions of hostages of the communist regime became active they challenged the system which was brought to a sudden end.
it is estimated that during thirty years of dictatorship more than five million people have been imprisoned more than two hundred zero tortured to death and recently more than two hundred killed.
the eu governments have been too hesitant in condemning these atrocious crimes and to make the regime bear responsibility for its behaviour. if we are serious about protecting the rights of iranian citizens we need to be prepared to cause the dictators real pain.
some european leaders are talking about new sanctions to be imposed on iran but a discussion is needed right now on the promotion of democracy at grass root level in this country.
a promotion should be adapted to the political and economic situation in a given country but previous eu experience in the promotion of democracy in north africa the middle east and eastern europe has to be reviewed and evaluated in order to see what should be done in iran what can be done in iran and what is effective under given circumstances in this country.
i also want to remind you that if the eu wants to be credible it also has to undertake some measures in moldova.
i am polish and we in eastern europe know how important these types of actions are for the establishment of democracy.
in the third world and other non eu countries but also please to take a much closer look at the situation of democracy the rule of law and human rights within the eu in particular in my own country hungary.
on the same occasion several hundred people were illegally detained and tortured in prison.
they could help to further people to people contacts and lead to improved freedom of expression in the country.
pressure on human rights yes but no isolation!
dialogue even if a very difficult dialogue. we are going through a very difficult and tense period with iran.
well sanctions are one possible measure being explored.
the need to find ways of building fresh trust and to create a strong diplomatic process has never been greater than now.
did not have the confidence to do this that causes us proper justified and objective concerns about the conduct of those elections.
before going into the substance of that issue let me just express our heartfelt condolences to iran on the occasion of the tragic accident earlier today.
we sincerely regret the loss of life and express our sympathy with all of those affected by this tragedy.
that has to do with the outcome of the election and the question marks to put it very mildly that were raised after that election as well as the political developments that we have seen since then.
i think you are all aware of the fact that the european union has taken a very strong and a very principled stand when it comes to these events.
we have reiterated that questions over the conduct of elections are issues for the iranian authorities to truly investigate and clarify. we have also been very clear in our response to what we have seen happening on the streets of tehran.
we condemn the crackdown against journalists media outlets communications and protestors.
those are contrary not only to the norms and values that we represent but also obviously to the wishes for a more open and more reform oriented society expressed by so many iranians.
that being said we remain in our principled policy of wishing another a better a new relationship with the nation of iran. it is a rich nation that has much to contribute to the development of the world and the development of its own region and we would hope that at some point in time hopefully not too distant there will be that possibility for a truly new relationship.
before concluding let me just note one issue that has been occupying us quite a lot and that is that the iranian authorities did detain a number of personalities who are staff members of european missions as well as some european nationals. we have been in constant touch with the iranian authorities over these issues.
i can say on behalf of the commission that we very much look forward to a constructive cooperation with you including of course on some of the most pressing international challenges that we face and the subject of today's debate is certainly one of those. my colleague benita ferrero waldner is travelling this week and so i have offered and have been delighted to be able to
this parliament plays an important part in maintaining and developing relations between the european union and the islamic republic of iran.
exchange visits between parliament's iran delegation and members of the majlis have already played an important role in increasing mutual understanding.
parliament has also played its part in setting up several instruments that serve as an important basis for eu activities in iran and we in the commission hope to continue to make good use of these in the years ahead. today's debate was prompted by the recent iranian presidential elections and the subsequent events.
while as the presidency has said the evolution of iran's politics and policies are chiefly a matter for the citizens of iran there can be no doubt of the broader significance and it is right that we should follow these developments closely.
the european union has taken very clear positions on the situation in iran following the presidential elections and has remained united in these positions.
we have expressed full respect for the sovereignty of iran but have stressed our deep concern about the post election violence as we would when lives are lost or rights are put at risk in any country.
allegations of european interference in the iranian elections or any involvement in the protests which followed are unfounded.
however suppression of peaceful demonstrations arbitrary detentions and severe censorship of the media constitute violations of human rights which cannot be considered matters confined to the domestic affairs of any country.
in spite of the current delicate situation in iran the commission believes strongly in maintaining a dialogue.
that was the case before the elections and it remains the case now.
the european union and iran have many common and pressing interests including the fight against drug trafficking and support to afghan refugees.
these demand our continued attention and cooperation and we hope that iran will share this view. the commission continues to search for ways to deploy community instruments in constructive activities in iran. we can increase mutual understanding by continuing for instance our cooperation through erasmus mundus academic exchanges.
we are convinced that the european union should keep all available channels of communication open with iran.
when possible and prudent we stand ready to continue and expand cooperation in the future.
our present differences with the government of iran are many;
some are very serious.
we call on the government of iran to join us in trying to find solutions to our differences through dialogue.
it is only through discussing the challenges that lie between us in a spirit of mutual respect that we can hope to overcome them.
europe has never closed the door to such discussions and it remains open today.
that does not represent british people's views;
our modern victims' rights in the victims directive on which we have worked closely with you just entered into force on sixteen november this year.
the eu adopted legislation to prevent violence against women and to protect and support its victims including in areas such as sexual harassment trafficking in human beings sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.
i am glad to inform you also that on nine october the commission published a roadmap on future accession of the eu to the council of europe's istanbul convention. the roadmap is a first concrete step towards accession to this powerful tool to combat violence against women and domestic violence.
regarding gender based violence the commission is taking a determined and comprehensive approach based on legislation awareness raising and funding as well as improving knowledge and data collection.
two thousand and seventeen we are currently planning future activities and would welcome your cooperation. i would also like to say a few words about the importance of improving our knowledge about the causes of gender based violence on a regular basis.
i will present in december a detailed commission plan and commitment on improving gender equality in the years to come.
this year eur eight million was allocated to combating violence against women under the rights equality and citizenship programme.
we have eu legislation and policies on children's including girls' safety and protection from bullying abuse and exploitation online.
you can count on my commitment that the commission will be guiding and monitoring the effective implementation of this piece of legislation as well as the broader legal framework.
violence has a lifelong impact on the health and wellbeing of victims as well as on their families.
it can happen on the streets or online from strangers.
mr president i would like to thank you for raising this very important and serious subject on the occasion of the international day for the elimination of violence against women.
violence happens in their homes at the hands of their partners or family members.
it happens in the workplace or in education from colleagues fellow students professors or bosses.
we know that one in three women in the eu has experienced physical or sexual violence or both.
it is an important political signal that both parliament and the commission decided to join the un women's orange day campaign to mark the international day for the elimination of violence against women and to light up their buildings in orange today.
this in turn has an impact on the economy and society as a whole.
finally let me be clear that i see a need to address cyber violence against women and girls an emerging form of violence.
we have to ensure that available protection measures are actually granted to persons at risk and applied in practice.
they should not be hampered in fulfilling their potential in the workplace and in society.
the commission also supports awareness raising and concrete grassroots actions by member states civil society organisations and european networks.
in addition the commission has launched a eur three million call for proposals to combat sexual harassment and sexual violence against women and girls including through new technologies and social media.
it is essential because it allows for monitoring of the situation across the eu and also helps us to formulate and implement better policies.
eu accession to the convention would reflect our commitment to combating human rights violations and discrimination both within and beyond the eu.
promoting gender equality and combating violence against women go hand in hand.
we have also empowered advocates for change among female genital mutilation practising communities trained services for victims of sexual violence in universities to better respond to incidents and young victims' needs and supported member states in sensitising the general public to this problem.
among the priorities it will include further measures to support member states in preventing and combating all forms of gender based violence.
thanks to enforcement procedures initiated by the commission we now have national rules transposing the european protection orders directive in twenty one member states.
this will have a huge impact on some member states for instance those which will have to establish victim support structures which are of key importance for gender based violence and which do not exist in all member states yet.
i will start by focusing on legislation.
so zero tolerance in the fight against gender violence is in fact the only way to address it and we not only women but men and women must unite and speak out and that means break the silence.
that is seven women each day losing their lives because of sexual assault domestic violence relationship abuse or female genital mutilation.
as has already been indicated in different interventions at some point in their life one in three women and girls experience physical or sexual violence from men.
as long as gender violence is seen as a women's issue men disconnect and we men must break the violence. impunity for committing violence against women should be a thing of the past and justice needs to prevail for all those women who are victims.
if he had slipped he could have crushed me.
if a man from this side of the house turned to one of your women and called her the things that we have to put up with in this place there would be outrage there would be sanctions imposed a statement by the president. do i have any support in here?
yes it seems that abusing women from the centre right is ok.
i am told he has a hatred of women particularly those who are successful and my politics.
silence.
this requires a list of many measures done by many different actors on many levels.
so it is up to the member states to use their competences in criminal law.
let us speak about the victims themselves.
mr president ladies and gentlemen thank you very much for this discussion. yes we all have to do more;
i am very much concerned about equality and i want to bring about effective actions using effective instruments.
they must understand that something is happening around them.
we can and we must do what we can.
ladies and gentlemen i have the recent statistics and the research saying that only fifteen of violence against women has been reported to the relevant authorities.
mr president in today's society violence against women is taking ever more unacceptable forms.
we have only to look at the impact of human trafficking and the impact that this has on the lives of millions of women who are being sold into a life of sexual exploitation and abuse.
while i accept mr verhofstadt's point that this type of violence is not only directed towards women on this the international day for the elimination of violence against women i am bolstered by the strides made in my own constituency of northern ireland with the introduction of the human trafficking and exploitation bill.
it is a great example of regional legislation which tackles this evil in society and should act as a precedent for other member states.
i want to take this opportunity to also highlight the work of women's aid in northern ireland a voluntary organisation addressing domestic and sexual abuse by providing refuge accommodation to women and their children who have suffered mental physical or sexual abuse within the home.
i think that we really need to discuss these issues in great detail because they are very important and they will be even more important in the framework of the forthcoming discussions on the details and the future of the mff.
the commission believes that there exists an important common ground in the analyses of the absorption problems between parliament and the commission.
the commission has shown in the current discussion its willingness to provide available absorption data although some of these data depend on the information provided by the member states.
in two thousand and six and two thousand and seven they both agreed on the exclusion of gambling and betting from the services directive and the audiovisual media services directive.
in the schaldemose report i was responsible for the epp line and i share her view.
member states are free to set their own policy objectives on betting and gambling and define in detail the level of protection they deem appropriate for their citizens.
the court accepts that as it explicitly expressed once again in its judgment last september.
commissioner i would like to ask you this do you share the view that the commission should finally start helping the member states in their fight against all illegal in other words unauthorised gambling offers rather than consume time on questions that have been answered
practically all member states and parliament reject the application of the country of origin and mutual recognition principles in this particular and sensitive area.
the problem for us as legislators and for member states is that the market is way ahead of us developments in this area have overtaken existing legislation and will continue to do so.
but remember also that member states promote lotteries and perhaps that is a legalised form of promoting a possible addiction. so there is no clarity on this issue but once again the problem for the european parliament for the eu in general is that there is no consistency across member states and yet our citizens are accessing services outside their own country and they want to do that.
it also very clearly states that online gambling operators must comply with the legislation of member states in which they provide their service' and that a pure internal market approach is not appropriate in this highly sensitive area'.
there are huge social issues involved where people who have an addiction go beyond what they should do.
i absolutely concur with those who have very clearly spoken about the problems of gambling whether online or otherwise.
we have the same problem in ireland and it is a common problem throughout the eu. i think we have got to look at the ecj ruling in terms of saying that it is up to each member state to fix its own rules and regulations.
it goes right across the entire european union.
otherwise they are mere aspirations.
secondly we need to protect consumers against fraud and there should be a common position to do this.
so we are talking about action and we are talking about the timetable.
as we say in ireland you could bet on two flies going up a wall. so we have a huge advance in terms of the areas covered by gambling.
it is a huge revenue earner for the member states and we have digressed into huge areas.
as previous speakers have said gambling is not like any normal service.
there are two internationally recognised scales which can measure problem gambling.
what would this number be across the european union?
the negative consequences of gambling cannot be more highly emphasised as many colleagues have said this morning.
one is called the diagnostic statistical severity index and the other the canadian problem gambling severity index. this was used in the uk and it is estimated that in the uk alone and a dutch colleague said one per cent of their population is affected it is something along the lines of two hundred and thirty six zero to two hundred and eighty four zero adults who have a gambling problem.
when you think about it if this green paper is coming forward i would like to see the commission getting some proper statistics a study in fact on the effects of gambling and online gambling on eu citizens. i think this would be a very useful piece of information to inform our debate and to have at our fingertips.
secondly on behalf of the committee to have the chance essentially to put on record with this question our concern about the developments of online gambling and indeed the gambling sector overall and some of the many uncertainties
that are arising about the whole legislative regime for gambling within the internal market.
i know you will have a considerable in tray already commissioner but we hope very much that this will be an item that will be close to the top of your in tray because it is an area which my committee has been very concerned about over the last five years.
we have done a number of own initiative studies and questions about it and indeed the author of our last major report mrs schaldemose will be speaking later and so we have a sustained interest in this topic.
as you all know the member states have also been meeting together regularly at council level on various reflection groups about how to tackle the issue about the growth of online gambling in relation to our own countries' gambling activities. i think i should make it clear first of all that this question does not in any way
what we are saying to you is that in conjunction with this work that has been going on there have been a number of references to the european court of justice; you will be aware of the details and colleagues may talk about that later.
we also know that your services have issued a number of infringement cases in gambling issues not all of them online but many of them also relate to the whole question of freedom of operators to go and establish themselves in other countries.
all of these things now mean that it is absolutely the right time for the commission to be collating this information looking at the process of infringement proceedings examining the issues raised by the court of justice judgments and coming out first of all with a clear
strategy or clarification about where we are going to move forward and starting to deal with some of those inconsistencies.