kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
we consider that the capabilities of union security and defence could be improved by making better use of the existing frameworks of defence and military cooperation such as the european multinational high readiness corps' headquarters and the eu battlegroups reinforcing but not duplicating similar initiatives with nato and we are asking for the transformation of national armed forces into
if you must spend money in this area then invest in that successful and well run organisation.
we already have an organisation in nato that has kept the peace through the most testing times.
your naked ambition for a security council seat must not happen.
how can twenty seven states some of whom are neutral ever come to a joint decision to send their young to war?
rather than reforming the eu you should instead reform your aspirations by remembering the primacy of a nation state.
nato has the expertise and is an alliance of mutual interest.
it gives us the chance to shape the global agenda at a time of rising protectionism thus sending a clear and timely signal in favour of an open fair and rulesbased trading system.
this should be warmly welcomed as a very good sign.
let me also thank the shadow rapporteurs.
tomorrow this parliament will have the final say.
yes this is a historic moment.
furthermore it clearly represents a step forward on sustainable development.
two of the largest economies in the world together representing nearly a third of the world's gdp will move closer to each other eliminating a number of heavy tariffs as well as nontariff barriers to trade.
of course there is no such thing as a perfect agreement but this agreement recognises the un sustainable development goals.
acknowledging the successful outcome of the negotiations all eu economic sectors are now speaking in favour of this agreement including the agrifood sector which will benefit from new export opportunities while protecting two hundred and five geographical indications.
i would not be standing here as rapporteur supporting this eujapan agreement if it were not a progressive trade agreement an agreement clearly belonging to a new generation of trade agreements in which sustainable development matters and environment labour rights and consumer protection
it is the first trade agreement with a reference to the paris agreement on climate change and it fully respects public services and the right to regulate.
and for our good cooperation.
my position as rapporteur is that this trade agreement is economically balanced and of major strategic importance.
as a result european products and services will get major new opportunities in the japanese market.
i believe that by working together and building compromises we have reached a very good outcome so that we can have a meaningful vote tomorrow not only on the agreement itself but also on a resolution in which parliament sends out important messages about trade and calls on the parties to make the most of the progressive potential of this agreement. as standing rapporteur let me begin by saying that we are discussing here much more than a trade agreement.
we were supportive but also demanding. last friday the japanese parliament approved the agreement.
in front of us we have the most important bilateral trade agreement ever concluded by the eu.
japan it is fair to say has made substantial efforts even before the entry into force of the agreement and it is already discussing at interministerial level the implementation of its sustainable development commitments.
we should not miss this opportunity to promote our own values and standards in the asiapacific region and in global trade.
it wastes resources.
it's divisive and it pretends the world is flat that it's possible to increase the scope and efficiency of defence spending without increasing defence spending itself.
mr president legitimate concerns about military capabilities are not resolved by the europeanisation of defence which is an aspect of the process of european political integration.
so i very much trust that tomorrow you will give the mandate to move on the proposal to negotiations and again i thank you very much for your cooperation.
we also need close cooperation in many other areas for example in dealing with those returning to our countries from the isis terror organisation and none of us has yet found an acceptable solution to the problem of convicted extremists both during their term of imprisonment and most importantly once they have served their sentences.
while there is a certain ideological boneheadedness in brussels in other areas concerning brexit it's nevertheless widely recognised by the professionals and i believe at the political level that there must be continuity in the security relationship between the eu and the uk.
the united kingdom has among the most professional and capable intelligence and security services in the world and makes an enormous contribution to the security of europe as a whole.
but i am under no illusions those that wish us harm and seek to disrupt our societies are at this moment actively plotting and preparing attacks.
as helga stevens has mentioned this report endorses the need for a close future security partnership between the eu and the uk.
i congratulate the police and security services in all our countries for their professionalism and vigilance.
this includes uk contribution to and access to information and data networks.
madam president the conclusion of the eu japan partnership agreement which i strongly support is yet another example of the eu's successful global free trade and political cooperation agenda.
this deal will remove tariffs on over ninety of exports including all those on fisheries.
it will also see japan recognise eu geographical indicators and contains provisions on services including financial services which would have been of particular benefit to the uk which brexit now sadly removes forever.
it's also a major rebuff to brexiteers in my country who insist that one of the key reasons for leaving the eu is in order to conclude ftas with important uk trade and strategic partnership countries that the eu is unable to deliver for the united kingdom.
i believe not because article thirty one already allows the european council to determine which decisions may in the future be taken by a qualified majority.
the first aspect is the so called integrated approach to external conflicts and crisis as a framework for a more coherent and holistic engagement by the eu.
as a union i believe we should be able to reach positions by qualified majority voting in the council; the need for unanimity keeps us from being able to act credibly on the global stage.
finally i would like to thank my shadow rapporteurs for their good and fruitful cooperation.
we must continue to promote our european values while staying committed to multilateralism a rule based international order and economic cooperation.
we should rather become more autonomous and live up to our global responsibilities.
we all know that we are confronted with a number of interstate conflicts also in our immediate neighbourhood with terrorism failed states cyber attacks and hybrid warfare.
moreover the european commission has proposed an eur thirteen billion european defence fund for the years two thousand and twenty one to two thousand and twenty seven to increase our strategic autonomy to bolster our ability to protect our citizens and to make the eu a stronger global actor.
the time indeed has come for the eu to take its destiny into its own hands and embrace its role as a fully fledged sovereign political and economic power in international relations.
the effectiveness of the eu's foreign policy will depend on an adequate combination of soft and hard power tools.
however our union should act strategically by using its wide array of policies and instruments to respond to the challenges in our direct neighbourhood and beyond.
looking to the left of the plenary becoming a credible hard power does not mean militarising the european union;
the second aspect concerns the effectiveness of the eu's decision making process in foreign policy.
yes federica mogherini the european union's common security and defence policy is on track.
the european union has a growing responsibility to safeguard its own security while on the other hand defending its interests and values in the world.
pesco has been launched to strengthen our security and defence with twenty five member states participating.
colleagues we all know that no single eu member state can respond effectively to today's global challenges on its own.
we have often heard the high representative telling us about this in this plenary.
with today's debate and tomorrow's vote on the edf this parliament can send out a strong signal in support of the fund.
i would like to highlight two very important aspects that should shape the eu's foreign policy in the future.
it was and is a pleasure to witness that at least the larger political groups in this house act in concert towards a stronger common foreign and security policy of our union.
colleagues as this is a joint debate on both reports a short remark on the european union's common security and defence policy by my colleague mr pacu. soft power and institution building alone cannot be sufficient to exert influence in a world where power politics is increasingly significant.
the european union is a major player when it comes to diplomacy trade development cooperation humanitarian aid and step by step also in the field of security and defence.
thank you for your openness to compromise and for the positive atmosphere persisting among our institutions during the last months and weeks.
i would also like to thank all other colleagues from parliament who during long and stressful hours in the council's premises showed patience and a spirit of compromise.
and to boost innovation growth and employment in europe. in the union budget for two thousand and nineteen we have been able to translate these priorities into concrete figures.
without your support commissioner it would have been by far more difficult to reach a balanced and timely agreement.
during our various meetings in the course of this year in trilogue or conciliation format as well as during many informal contacts it became clear that parliament and the council share the same two main priorities for the financial year two thousand and nineteen to tackle challenges related to migration and security
we have been able to establish a realistic budget providing on the one hand the necessary appropriations to cover the needs expected in two thousand and nineteen but leaving on the other hand adequate margins to cope with contingencies in the course of next year. the agreement on the two thousand and nineteen budget was reached thanks to the readiness for compromise on both sides of the table.
finally i would like to thank commissioner oettinger for facilitating our negotiations.
their constructive approach was great during the whole annual budgetary procedure.
their efforts made this agreement possible.
it is not a coincidence however that per capita income in these parts of the world tends to be three to four times higher than in the countries with the lowest records of economic and political freedoms.
mr president any talk on human rights is essentially a talk on freedoms and any talk on freedoms should be about all freedoms for every individual on earth irrespective of gender ethnic cultural or religious background for there cannot be political freedoms unless there are economic freedoms.
our aim therefore should be to encourage reforms along these lines in various countries especially in north and subsaharan africa the middle east south asia and latin america.
as far as the euro area budget is concerned there was a readiness to continue working on instruments for promoting convergence and competitiveness.
it is not up to the council to deliberate on the eurogroup agreements so i will limit myself to presenting the highlights of this agreement to you.
in the context adjustment programmes.
i would like to thank the european parliament again for the excellent cooperation.
first it provides for more effective use of the esm's precautionary credit lines.
second an enhanced role for the esm could make the euro area's capacity to act less dependent on third parties while respecting the prerogatives of the commission. third the debt sustainability approach will ensure that taxpayers in creditor and beneficiary countries do not have to shoulder a public debt that is assessed to be unsustainable
madam president the decision to delay the meaningful vote at westminster reflects widespread opposition to the prime minister's deal right across the political spectrum in the united kingdom.
so we face many questions. is the eu serious about delivering a deal for all of its citizens?
is it sincere about protecting businesses and families in the irish republic relying on the great britain market?
they recognise that it is an indefinite threat to the independence and sovereignty of the united kingdom parliament and they recognise that without substantive renegotiation it cannot succeed in the house of commons.
quite frankly to believe that this will succeed in the house of commons is indeed magical thinking.
is it genuine about avoiding a no deal outcome?
the persecution of rohingyas in myanmar the crackdown of opposition in cambodia venezuela or nicaragua the rule of law disarray in congo war crimes in syria and yemen drastically shrinking civil society space in our direct neighbourhood russia these are numerous other examples which stand before my eyes as a painful reminder of the negligence of human rights principles.
for the eu to be more effective it is crucial that the human rights clauses are mainstreamed to all our external policies and agreements including trade policy.
these are all the worrying trends which have been taken into account and documented in the report and its country annexes.
i am convinced that in such cases when partner countries persistently fail to observe the principles of democracy rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms there is a point in time when we have to face certain sanctions from the eu side.
i believe that the eu's global role in leadership also implies coordination and guidance in fighting a common position among western community counterparts which would place human rights at the heart of its foreign policy.
however the celebration has been more thought provoking than i would have wished for and this is reflected in the conclusions of this report on human rights and democracy in the world in.
i strongly call on the eu member states to uphold this commitment in their bilateral agreements too.
there was a firm understanding and agreement that the eu is and shall remain the leader in the human rights fight in the world and the un system.
therefore despite being concerned i am also optimistic because during the preparatory work of this report we have found a strong agreement throughout the entire political spectrum in this house on our main priorities in the human rights field.
by this i also refer to the rather disappointing stance by our current us leadership in this regard.
as far as other priorities are concerned with this report we emphasise the importance of strengthening support to human rights defenders in our neighbourhood and third countries.
the aim of this document is to provide a critical analysis of the eu's actions and provide answers to the questions on what more can be done from the eu side and how we can advance our human rights action response to make it more effective pre emptive and
deepening political and economic ties with eu partner countries is our fundamental objective but for this goal to be achieved we should aim to make better use of the human rights conditionality.
in parallel we have also seen the growing number of populist and nationalist forces even among the eu member states who resort to means such as using disinformation and restricting clauses to consolidate their power.
on the other hand those who respect their commitments to these principles should receive adequate privileges for being eu partners.
to colleagues who do not believe this agreement is perfect i say that complex agreements never are.
i look forward to improving our already good relationship with our japanese friends.
this is a crucial moment for europe to lead.
no but it will facilitate the flow of goods and services between us in a smart and sustainable way and it also allows us to work towards setting high standards in the digital economy towards wto reform towards better environmental protection and reaching the two thousand and thirty sustainable development goals.
does this trade agreement solve all our problems?
i don't have to remind you of what is at stake in terms of the threats we face to the rulesbased order.
this makes the economic partnership agreement and the strategic partnership agreement all the more important in times when strongman politics from washington to beijing are challenging the very model that has brought our citizens the highest quality of life.
but do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
as the rapporteur has rightly said this is not only the largest trade deal done in the world or done by the european union but it is also the most progressive.
finally i'd like to agree with charles tannock that the united kingdom could never negotiate such a progressive free trade deal on its own.
i want to pay tribute to pedro silva pereira for the way that he has pursued the tsd chapter and got assurances from the japanese in relation to its implementation and also the way that he has argued with the japanese about the need to ensure that the two ilo core conventions they have not yet signed are ratified as soon as possible and received positive responses from the japanese in that respect. it is to his great credit that he has pursued these with vigour and i think it makes it easier for us to vote for this report when it comes before us tomorrow.
madam president in a turbulent world i warmly welcome these two agreements which bring stability both in economic and political terms to the relations between the european union and japan.
we are discussing the individual and collective rights of all turkish citizens.
we are well aware of the incredible challenge that turkey faced back in july two thousand and sixteen with the attempted coup d'tat but today the state of emergency is over and this should be the time to strengthen turkey's democracy.
demirta is a member of parliament a former presidential candidate the co chair of his party and a democratically elected leader.
he has been for long years an interlocutor for many and a key figure in turkey's democratic debate.
i believe it is about the kind of country the turkish people and citizens want and deserve a country with stronger institutions a more inclusive country and a country where all the people of turkey can find their place and contribute to turkish society's collective progress.
this was just two days after the ruling by the european court of human rights which we are discussing today.
as commissioner hahn and i said in ankara just a couple of weeks ago during this meeting we expect the turkish authorities including the turkish judiciary to follow up in an appropriate manner on the recommendations by the council of europe and on the rulings by the european court of human rights.
the court in this case has described his detention as an unjustified interference with the free expression of the turkish people's opinion and with his right to be elected and to sit in parliament. the court found beyond reasonable doubt' that his time in prison had the purpose to suffocate pluralism and turkey's democratic debate.
what we would like to see as the european union is a strong free secure prosperous and democratic turkey as a key neighbour and partner in our region not just as a candidate country.
let me remind everyone that the european convention on human rights does not belong to the european union nor to any of our member states.
we expect to see concrete progress in turkey on the rule of law and fundamental freedoms including those of mr demirta.
so today we are discussing not just the fate of a human being which is probably the most important thing the chamber can discuss but also the state of turkey's democracy.
this ensures the research community can work with the commission in identifying the key strategic priorities.
the more we spend on research and innovation the better for our citizens. additionally i'd like to thank them for taking on board some key amendments of mine particularly the recognition of the important role for technology platforms in setting out the research agenda.
the outcome will be presented to the leaders by chancellor kurz this week in order to further reflections on the strategic agenda.
thus let me say a few concluding words about the pan european exercise of the citizens' dialogue and citizens' consultations.
another question we looked at was the possibility of making progress towards adoption of some elements of the package.
however the austrian presidency has also been working intensively on all three dimensions of migration.
let me first address the subject of migration.
the presidency suggested a broader concept of mandatory solidarity which would allow member states to choose from a set of solidarity measures when one member state is in need with allocation being one of the possible measures to choose from.
but secondly they should make very clear that the british people would always be welcome back if they decide to do so;
they're going to be re discussed later on and then they are going to be put on the agenda or not at all.
two thousand and seventeen so we have proved that it's possible to make compromises across parties across countries so why can't you the member states? and now to decide that the distribution system is supposed to go into the freezer altogether is not going to help because how would anyone imagine a european asylum system to come about without one of its central pieces the dublin reform?
most heads of state and government clearly are not courageous.
it won't allow for sufficient investment it won't do anything to overcome poverty and unemployment.
it's time to make a move and let's not wait for the last one to come out of their corner.
they are stuck in very nationalist debates.
the european council has already been discussing this for hours without end but just talking won't get you anywhere.
it doesn't just fall from the skies it needs to be built.
but i hope that the european council will make two things very clear.
in the european parliament i think we also like to talk a bit but then we vote and then we find compromises and we take decisions.
like migration for example.
and talking about the mmf that you have mentioned i think the mff debate would be a perfect opportunity to send a very clear signal to the climate conference happening in katowice at this very moment because nice words on climate only lead to action if you put some money behind that and i believe that the katowice summit could really use some clear signals.
courage will certainly also be needed in the brexit talks even though probably even more on the other side of the channel.
you also have to take decisions.
but it's time for more courage in european politics. the future doesn't just build itself;
for years the european council has been talking about it postponing it and talking about it again and now all that the eurozone finance ministers could agree on is a eurozone budget that is far too small.
they don't even seem to be interested in their common future and the future of our union the future of the countries that they govern.
but if we do want to have a stable currency and a stable eurozone then we have to go further.
and also how can the heads of state and government again and again refuse to even consider the european parliament's position thereby totally disregarding this institution? i would say we can no longer wait and i would call on those member states who are serious about solidarity to go ahead to join themselves together and to come out of their corner and start some action together.