kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
mr president angola has never been a western style democracy being effectively a one party mpla dominated state but things have improved with the new constitution of two thousand and ten and there has been relative political stability after the ceasefire with unita in.
two thousand and two but more recently president santos' government has become more intolerant of press freedom by arresting human rights defenders and journalists such as marcos mavungo.
corruption is unfortunately endemic in that country with its vast oil and mineral wealth with the wealth concentrated in the hands of a very small urban political elite. angola has many eu mainly portuguese citizens working there and is a signatory to the cotonou agreement which commits it to a high standard of fundamental civil and political rights and it does need now more transparency in its extractive industries.
on a positive note the government has accepted to implement the majority of the universal periodic review recommendations and has made good progress on women's rights in particular with the enactment of the law on the participation of women in political life. we also welcome the
the right to freedom of association assembly and expression are guaranteed by angola's national and international laws and human rights obligations.
the european union will continue to call on angola's government to fully respect the effective exercise of the rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and of freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial in line with angola's constitution and international conventions and the regional human rights instruments that angola is a party to.
number of members of the religious cult kalupeteka were killed in a confrontation with the police in april.
i do however regret that we retained the first part of paragraph seven which asked the commission to define a common level of unemployment allowance in the eu something that i think is completely inadvisable.
this is because i thought we needed a strong signal to reiterate the european union's determination to tackle the disastrous problem of youth unemployment across europe.
i think unemployment allowances must be determined by national authorities.
i was recently in my native lima.
it is a contradiction for the eu to implement policies that contract economies leading to job losses on a large scale while at the same time attempting to create jobs for young people. in order to create youth employment we need conditions conducive to greater overall employment. this means investing in our economies.
the ilo states that it should be eur twenty one billion so eur six billion will not be sufficient.
the most important thing is the need for economic policies that counter the trend of austerity.
as it stands funding allocated to youth employment initiatives is below what is required to address youth unemployment and to reverse its effects.
mr president shortly it will be twelve years since the us led invasion of afghanistan and with the two thousand and fourteen withdrawal deadline looming for isaf forces it is paramount that progress does not unravel as western troops leave the country.
two thousand and fourteen will see afghanistan navigating dangerous times so we need to engage positively to cement the vast progress made in areas such as women's rights and offer our full support for a peaceful stable and prosperous future in afghanistan.
the karzai administration's handling of the transition process must also be closely monitored and the two thousand and fourteen presidential elections must be fair free and transparent.
we must therefore strive for visible improvements to afghanistan's political processes and infrastructures for the ongoing battle against widespread corruption within the judiciary government and military.
while there continues to be overwhelming support in my country for our troops the war itself has become increasingly costly in terms of resources and casualties and therefore very unpopular.
it is essential that withdrawal is measured and sensitive to regional developments and increasingly vigilant as the afghan army and police begin to take full responsibility again for national security.
we are very good here at pointing the finger at others we are not always so good at looking a little bit closer to home.
the european parliament spends hundreds of thousands of euros every year on buying itself good press coverage by bringing journalists particularly local reporters over to brussels and strasbourg and showing them a good time or indeed by compromising accredited correspondents in the eu by making them advisers on media issues or editors of eu funded newsletters or websites.
we have created such an atmosphere of dependency and civility among some of the press corps here that simply to have a normal functioning critical press horrifies people as mr brok is now in his usual bellicose and oafish way demonstrating by shouting at me.
simply to have a balanced press as we have in the united kingdom where you have papers on both sides and media channels on both sides some pro eu others anti eu always produces the brok kind of bellowing and eye rolling because people are so accustomed to lack of criticism.
his story is a mere microcosm of the struggles felt by religious groups all over the world.
i am therefore very supportive of the eeas draft guidelines on the promotion and protection of peaceable practice of religious belief and i am extremely heartened to read of the positive responses of the european union member states so far.
it is absolutely paramount that we support the proactive nature of these guidelines in assisting european union delegations worldwide to recognise violations of freedom and ensure a speedy and effective response as soon as discrimination on a religious basis is identified.
with all the world's major faiths residing side by side in my london constituency i am proud to represent such a vibrant patchwork of religions and cultures and i am very supportive of any guidelines that encourage tolerance and facilitate the fight against religious persecution.
governments around the region have acquired a revenue stream that is independent of their domestic economies. we the donor countries the eu specifically through this agreement and others are exacerbating rather than addressing that problem.
what we should be doing is encouraging a system of free contract and property rights arbitrated by an independent magistracy.
that is the basis of economic development in every age in every continent and archipelago.
all human progress as the great victorian sociologist henry maine put it is a move from status to contract.
but we are halting that process and keeping in place the same old authoritarian regimes who are there month after month in the acp meetings while we come and go.
we are driving business away from the continent with unnecessarily disproportionate and burdensome regulation which even on the commission's own analysis is deleterious to growth and gdp output in the european union.
we are doing so because we have elevated our desire to hit somebody our desire to articulate the general anger at the banks that followed the financial crash over the well being of our citizens. no one benefits from a reduction in this one sector where up until till now we tended to have a lead.
all taxes fall on individuals. be it the financial transaction tax or the rules on bonuses all of these things will end up diminishing growth and that will be paid for by citizens both as consumers and as taxpayers.
everyone now accepts that the initial police reaction was excessive.
the government has apologised for it.
equally among the good and honourable protestors are a number of people who have been destroying property and have been advancing an agenda which has nothing to do with the protest.
they are inflaming passions and seeking to exacerbate an already difficult situation.
this is not an arab spring.
this is not an uprising.
it is offensive to liken this government in turkey which is without question democratic to neighbouring autocracies.
there will be free and fair elections in ten months' time. that makes violent protest unjustifiable.
mr president i very much welcome this resolution particularly insofar as it complements my own report on human rights in the sahel region which is coming out later this year.
mali is a country which has suffered the gravest of disasters since the tuareg rebellion which began last year and it now needs a coordinated nation building approach from a foreign affairs security particularly following the french military intervention and human rights perspective in order to rebuild its institutions and establish trust between government and citizens. in the short term this will require the atrocities perpetrated by all the belligerent groups including at times government forces to be swiftly punished while the work goes on to safely repatriate or resettle mali's hundreds of thousands of refugees and idps and secure their towns and villages from any further violence or extrajudicial retribution.
none of us should doubt the difficulty of this task but with a combination of material and political assistance to our partners in bamako and across the region we must hope that mali once a peaceful country can once again become prosperous economically enjoy free and fair elections and become a democratic society for all its communities.
by simplifying the acceptance of certain public documents for example by abolishing the costly and burdensome requirement.
it is important to note that it does not affect recognition of the content of public documents in order to preserve the sovereignty of member states particularly with regard to family law matters etc.
the regulation covers all civil status documents and certain other documents that are often required by members of the public concerning for example residence nationality and absence of a criminal record.
currently there are many different and independent charging systems in the eu which are complicating crossborder transport.
over the past two years the commission has been very broadly and inclusively consulting all stakeholders on all the major issues that represent a challenge for the road sector in the eu. so what you have on the table today are carefully thought out
on the question of the application of the posting of workers directive to the road haulage sector the commission has always argued that the rules on the posting of workers should apply to road transport.
one prominent and much awaited measure is the fight against letterbox companies for which there is absolutely no place in the union.
cars. implementation of the user pays' and polluter pays' principles is another key objective of the commission's proposal.
the commission has therefore decided to simplify those rules and to base them exclusively on time.
president juncker has also repeatedly underlined that there is no place for social dumping in the european union. in this context the mobility package will provide a truly european solution which includes the necessary protection of workers and at the same time
this is a matter of both fairness and efficiency.
they address a broad range of issues. let me point out three of the most important ones first fairer and more competitive mobility;
clean and sustainable mobility is the next topic.
second cleaner and more sustainable mobility;
in line with the european energy union and to meet the commitments we made in paris transport has to contribute by reducing its very high emissions of co two and pollutants. we therefore propose to adopt our common road charging principle to encourage the use of infrastructure in a more efficient
distancebased charging is also a precondition for external cost charging which was requested in the recent resolution on road transport adopted by this
very importantly the commission is proposing to bring passenger cars vans and buses within the scope of the eu legislation on road charging.
we propose to make better use of edocuments and digital tachographs to improve the exchange of information between member states and to ensure interoperability between their
i think everyone agrees that this is becoming a real problem.
the commission is proposing new rules which will provide for one onboard unit one contract and one invoice to
the fact that workers are highly mobile is not a reason to deprive them of the benefits of eu legislation.
all that definitely has to be addressed.
co two emissions across the transport sector need to be addressed. however in the road haulage industry where margins are very tight it is extremely important that small and medium sized businesses are not run off the road and out of existence through unrealistic targets.
may i suggest you allow each member state to tackle the individual companies who blatantly abuse this system across the eu?
the eu is constantly questioning the competence of national governments.
i hear dangerous talk on cabotage but some reassuring words on dubious letterbox companies that exploit workers. it is action more than words that can only work.
fragmentation of the internal market should not be used as an excuse to harmonise road safety in member states especially when the uk and sweden have the safest roads in europe.
may i state that the uk has been running very successfully its networks and transport infrastructure for many years and certainly does not need any further interference from the eu?
with the proposal before you we are trying to avoid that and to ensure adequate working conditions for drivers in a more enforceable way while at the same time reducing administrative costs and burdens for operators.
we define here clear criteria to avoid letterbox companies and to better enforce this in particular through enhanced cooperation between national enforcement authorities.
market access and business opportunities will remain as they are today but more flexibility will allow operators to optimise their operations and simpler rules will certainly be of great
the flexibility to organise operations can in no way go against road safety and social protection. on the contrary they will contribute to facilitating returns home.
this is the approach proposed by the commission.
at this point we are focusing on improving the existing enforcement tools and systems and on further enhancing cooperation between national enforcement bodies. i hope it is going to work.
on proposal and posting first for cabotage operations these are operations whereby goods are loaded and unloaded within the same country.
member states are still free to decide whether they want to charge or
experience to date with the implementation of social legislation does not show that cross border enforcement is much more cost effective and more consistent when carried out by the member state authorities within established framework structures.
fair sustainable and future oriented.
secondly for international operations these are operations where the loading and unloading take place in different countries we clarify that there is a sufficient link with the country concerned only to the extent that the driver spends at least three days a month in that country.
there is a clear and strong link with that country and therefore the drivers should be paid according to the rules of the country from day one onwards.
we propose to accelerate the deployment of smart technologies and smart tachographs which will further facilitate the enforcement of social rules and avoid fraud.
these rules could be complemented by additional social measures relating to working time but for those from today onwards the commission is opening a social dialogue and will propose legislative proposals in the autumn in the second phase of the mobility package. on charging
unilateral uncoordinated national measures which fragment our internal market.
let me now directly address a few of your concerns and questions and hopefully bring more clarity to the proposal and our further discussions.
two thousand and fifty fortunately transport is also one of the sectors that is seeing the most exciting technological breakthroughs.
it is the result of a long process of discussion both within the commission and outside. i would like particularly to welcome the work of the european parliament and to thank you for your great involvement in this topic.
my colleagues call it a quadro win' which means four wins for consumers for industry for workers and of course for our planet.
i am referring particularly to the resolution on road transport in the european union.
secondly our industry we must make sure that european companies remain world class and today's package creates the opportunity for europe's transport industry to renovate innovate and rejuvenate.
our prediction is that mobility is going to increase substantially by.
we cannot afford a european kodak moment' where we fail to embrace new technologies in time.
road transport has a major role to play.
clean competitive and connected.
we keep looking at the united states all the time regardless of the issue.
i really believe that this has to be given a chance and i am ready to work on it.
in myanmar babies are being born on the beach. the lucky ones will be put on a boat to bangladesh.
i believe the eu should now convene an intergovernmental summit to put an end to this genocide.
i saw that firsthand when i visited the survivors of this genocide in bangladesh.
for the sake of humanity let this house lead the way forward.
the rest will be left to die.
i plead only for the president's authorisation for an extraordinary debate to consider the situation of the rohingya in accordance with rule one hundred and fifty three because after lengthy discussions with the un bangladesh myanmar and the uk
this law creates the foundations for the plundering of the european union and its member states by specialised law firms and corporations.
as this is a joint debate on some rather detailed issues i have spoken at length and did so to clarify the rationale for the commission's proposal.
the commission also ensures that eu investment agreements being negotiated at eu level are also fully in line with eu law.
parliament suggested in its two thousand and eleven resolution on the future european international investment policy that the breadth of interpretation left to arbitral tribunals should be reduced in order to increase legal certainty and better protect the public intervention domain.
let me finally reassure you that the level of investment protection afforded by future investment agreements to foreign investors will be in line with general principles common to eu and member state law.
the member states concerned have been compelled to bring their agreements into compliance with their treaty obligations or to denounce them.
several member states have already agreed bilaterally to terminate their agreements and the commission has encouraged them to proceed with doing
it means that a member state on its own can offer interpretations of an eu agreement.
we are mainly concerned with those amendments which make it more difficult for the commission to act to defend the union's interests in particular some elements of amendments nineteen twenty seven twenty eight and. thirty to give just one example the commission must be able to act simply when there is a risk to the interpretation of future agreements.
other member states and eu investors abroad.
we hope that parliament will support the commission in defending the unity of external representation in order to protect eu interests.
developments in the council might put this in doubt.
however these are no longer individual member state agreements which affect only one member state but agreements concluded at eu level affecting the eu all the other member states and all eu investors. moreover interpretation in one case will clearly have an effect on other cases which may involve eu institutions
adding serious' makes it more difficult for the commission to act to protect the union's interests. i raise this point because this regulation gives member states power to defend themselves and also effectively the eu on the international stage.
this is the third of three pillars of the eu's investment policy. in this respect i acknowledge parliament's own request in april two thousand and eleven for the commission to legislate in the area of financial responsibility. turning to the inta report the commission is in general terms ready to accept the bulk of parliament's amendments either as drafted or subject to some further work on drafting.
this process of authorising member states to negotiate or sign new agreements or to renegotiate existing ones has only just started with twenty nine requests so far for authorisation to sign or allow the entry into force of protocols amending existing bits and thirty six requests to open negotiations to amend existing bits.
there is a broad consensus among eu institutions and all the relevant stakeholders that one of the main objectives of eu investment policy is to provide enhanced legal certainty and a high level of protection for investors in line with the best practices of eu member states. these practices reflect not only fundamental principles of international law but also general principles that are common to the
these are precisely the main elements and standards that we are covering in the eu investment protection agreements.
a specific reference to this objective is included in the recommendations for negotiating directives which the commission has addressed to council and which have been shared with parliament.
the commission has endorsed this view and is endeavouring to better clarify the content of our investment protection standards without reducing the level of protection for example by including useful guidance on the practice of arbitral tribunals.
where isds does exist there are three key issues that we are keen to emphasise firstly that it should give no advantage to foreign companies over domestic companies.
we do not believe that there should be a system where a foreign company can claim for compensation when domestic companies are excluded from that avenue.
secondly we do not believe that isds should in any way be allowed to limit public space for development of health social environmental and other policies.
we do not want to see a system where countries are sued or the eu is sued by companies because of changes in health or other legislation as has happened elsewhere in the world.
thirdly we want the system to be as transparent and as open as possible.
it is very easy in such a system to use commercial confidentiality as an excuse for keeping all this away from the general public.
that must not be allowed to happen. we have to know what cases exist what the settlements were what the grounds for complaint were and so on.
and all of that needs to be published.
so i repeat there are circumstances where isds may be necessary particularly if it helps in relation to a developed country where it helps both european investors to invest and that country to attract investment that it might not otherwise attract.
initial reports indicate that the victim appears to be a member of her majesty's armed forces.
i am sure that all of you like me will offer your deepest sympathy to the victim's family friends and colleagues.
it is not possible to express the depth of outrage that all decent people will feel at this latest expression of barbaric and mindless terrorism.
this crime will be condemned by all decent people.
then we have to do something on the issue of aid.
it is all very well to bemoan the huge humanitarian toll of the conflict but that is what happens when neither side is capable of winning decisively.
the syrian government's handling of the protest was from the beginning grossly disproportionate but its brutality has sometimes been matched by the opposition.
religious minorities particularly christians were free to worship without interference although of course some christians have been attacked by islamist members of the opposition.
how ethical was it and is it for the west to encourage other people to risk their lives to advance the west's political agenda that is depriving iran of an ally and israel of an adversary?