kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
we have to make sure that europe is at its best in serving the interests and the well being of european citizens and these efforts as has been said also by peter liese and others do not cost money;
it is about the correct implementation.
women throughout the european union continue to face discrimination harassment are denied equal access to participation in public and political life and suffer sexual and gender based violence and abuse in public places and at home. we are now seeing a backlash against women's rights a backlash that hurts us all. we need to be alert. the advances of the last few decades are fragile and should by no means be taken for granted.
ultra conservative anti feminist and religious groups systematically call gender equality into question and use religion tradition or culture to legitimise violations of women's rights. this includes organised lobbying against abortion reproductive health rights and sexual education reforms.
these attacks provide a powerful illustration of the extent and the nature of the backlash against women's rights and gender equality in europe.
in this resolution we call on the european union to put words into action.
i call on the union and the member states to commit to the realisation of women's human rights accelerate the implementation of all women's rights instruments keep women's rights on the highest level of the political agenda at all times and finally invest in women's and girls' rights and in women's organisations.
we also need to ensure that national and regional budgets include increased dedicated investment to secure women's rights.
finally i salute the frequently under funded but absolutely vital work of women's human rights defenders.
these activists are often targeted because of their efforts to promote gender equality.
mr president whenever i hear of these discussions and reports on integration and bringing in new nations into the eu i find myself feeling like i'm in my favourite tv series.
i'm a big fan of star trek and i don't know if you've ever seen it but there's an organisation there a life form called the borg and what they say they have a quote they use we are the borg.
and they travel around the universe in huge hermeticallysealed hitech temperaturecontrolled artificiallylit structures and what they do is they find a way of creating thralls.
now when we look at this in the terms of the reality here we have a situation where the eu empire seeks to bring more people in but they don't do it with violence and attacking people of course it's done with grants loans trade and the promise of betterment.
but the point is when you continually expand in this manner especially into very sensitive areas like this you need to be very careful what you do.
you also need to be extremely careful of thinking where is the money going to come from because you continue to incorporate more and more nations into this organisation and constantly seeking to expand you seem to be forgetting that at some point in the very near future you're going to be running a lot lower on money because certainly
i also conclude that the european union engagement needs to be maintained at the same level and under the same conditions.
more syrian people will be present more civil society representatives will come to talk to the ministers and international organisations about their dreams their concerns and the future.
i knew that having more financial means is also important.
i knew that having a better disaster risk management framework is really important.
it is a really big achievement and thank you so much again for this.
but my advice because of a lot of experience through this common effort is that this the first big step.
that is a very simple yet very meaningful sentence and sentences that change history are often not complicated but rather simple. tomorrow this house will have the chance to make history when we vote for the first intersex resolution here in this parliament.
and yes we will not be able to make up for all the suffering that the binary gender ideology has wrought in so many people's lives the involuntary treatments the forced sterilisation and surgical procedures the stigmatisation and the discrimination.
but we can say tomorrow loud and clear that we will fight for a future in which the rights of intersex people will be upheld in this union.
after decades of progress we are in danger of going backwards.
to prevent that from happening the eu must adopt a strategy on how to prevent it.
to follow up on the coleman case to enable freedom of movement for lgbti citizens of the european union;
madam president it has been quite a busy few days for cte d'ivoire. the other day because of a mix up over flags it was the recipient of a supportive tweet from the german foreign ministry which expressed its total solidarity with cte d'ivoire over the issue of the irish border and now we have this fisheries agreement. look we've all voted on dozens maybe hundreds of these fisheries agreements with various african countries and i have occasionally taken the opportunity to lament the fact that overfishing in europe and the mismanagement of the common fisheries policy brought us to the point where we needed to do this.
but i wonder whether we could consider a different aspect of it. again we are treating cte d'ivoire and the african continent generally as a kind of economic colony and a supplier of raw materials to our industries.
we must create the legislative architecture to support the legalisation of medical cannabis across the european union.
we need to see an end to the situation whereby people such as vera twomey and her husband paul must in spite of getting a licence to treat their daughter's debilitating illness travel six times a year to the netherlands to get this medicine.
they should be able to source this medicine locally either that or the importation of this proven medicine be delivered to their house.
let's make the freedom of the movement of this medicine a reality.
their nine year old daughter is now seizure free and the constant trips to the hospital have become a thing of the past.
we need this future to be made available to all who need it. this resolution will go some way to achieving that.
i think it has shown how much work remains to be done.
the people in these countries the women in these countries do not seem to mind reactions are quite weak and i believe that the people in the member states have to express what they think about this and how they feel about such inequality about seeing that there is no woman in their government.
i just want to repeat here that i will continue to explain some of the misunderstandings and misleading arguments which appear around the interpretation of the istanbul convention because i think that it is important to understand what the convention is and what it isn't.
mr president it's important that the european parliament addresses the current backlash against women's rights and gender equality in europe particularly because some of the forces driving this backlash are represented in this house.
they're well organised and they have managed to convince more and more people that they're on the right side of history.
attacks against sexual and reproductive health rights are becoming more frequent in europe with some countries even restricting access to contraceptives.
the ratification of the istanbul convention is slow and painful despite it being the best legal tool we have to fight against gender based violence. meanwhile domestic violence continues to be widespread and normalised.
i'm worried that some people are not aware of this backlash.
i think people have asked for more information especially in relation to campaigns. i think that's vitally important in reducing red tape because a lot of access is available a lot of help is available but often it's difficult for citizens to access it so that has to be a primary aim.
madam president the promise of never again' dies in syrian prisons.
he referenced the extraordinary evidence of the torture in assad's death facilities.
a brave syrian citizen called caesar' smuggled exactly that evidence out at the risk of his and his family's life.
so now we must play our part at last because i agree with those who say that europe is too much of a payer and not a player vis vis the war in syria and it has to change because we still lack a common eu strategy. and of course the sudden us change of direction in syria has major consequences while isis is not defeated.
and i hear a repetition of the words no military solution to the war in syria can be found' but of course that doesn't in and of itself change the fact that military moves do create realities on the ground that we must be realistic about.
so i think we need to put pressure on the warring parties particularly to protect civilians in and around idlib people who were forcibly displaced from other parts of the country in the first place;
aleppo and homs now risk being trapped and targeted again.
we must also make sure that what we do in terms of adopting sanctions vis vis syria is also implemented.
we have targeted sanctions for example to hold to account individuals without punishing the entire population and we have to make sure that our broad package of sanctions is smart and that they are upheld.
we heard of belgian companies shipping tonnes of chemicals to syria which may have been used to create weapons and italy rolled out the red carpet for ali mamlouk a security official who is not supposed to enter the eu.
we are not credible if we don't live up to our own commitments. and lastly briefly in lebanon jordan and turkey the pressure on local communities is growing and young and vulnerable people pay the price.
it is very urgent to address sexual exploitation of girls and child labour and avoid them falling into the hands of criminals and militias.
we are still waiting for the formation of the government we don't have formal cooperation with the parliament and rule of law has not been improved as we had hoped.
so it is extremely important to keep up the pace of the european perspective.
it gives the perspective to the country and is a motor for the reforms.
that is good. but that's why we also have the obligation to improve it and make it function properly when it doesn't.
one of the major areas in which we have to improve is the transparency of health care providers and how they function.
being committed to transparency and respect for fundamental rights i specifically welcome the call to conduct separate fundamental rights impact assessments to be included in all items of legislation as a fundamental rights review clause.
madam president the use of pesticides in agriculture horticulture and indeed in gardening is absolutely essential but of course we all recognise that there are some hazards that go along with the use of these chemicals. this is an important report and when it started its progress through this parliament i was intending to support it.
we even have the situation where they want to control all chemicals that go onto land that might end up in groundwater which is pretty much all chemicals.
sadly this is an example of the bad lawmaking which so often characterises this place.
it could have been great it could have been worthwhile. unfortunately it isn't and i won't be supporting it.
the implementation of this directive very closely. it is at least for me hard to justify or even to understand how bad agricultural practices are still harming the very resources that sustainable agriculture depends on. another point i would like to make is that i feel we are at times underestimating the problem when we say that the
eu is facing water scarcity.
as demonstrated in the impact assessment undertaken water reuse for agricultural irrigation also has great potential in the european union but it is currently underutilised.
while the commission agrees on the desirability of using reclaimed water for other purposes the proposed rules do not exclude the possibility of member states' using reclaimed waters for other purposes as well.
the commission looks forward to the forthcoming negotiations and stands ready to support the colegislators in this process.
but it comes with certain challenges that are well documented.
also i would like to suggest that this report by ashley fox helps us to highlight the great work that so many united kingdom meps have done here in this file and in many many other files and that should be acknowledged.
but i might also say that the house of commons might benefit from some of ashley fox's proposals in artificial intelligence because human intelligence seems to be failing there in delivering a sensible and practical brexit.
so women face multiple discrimination.
and yes indeed we in europe have seen a backlash throughout the last years especially in some member states.
madam president i was very pleased to vote for this report which is changing the way that fisheries are controlled in the western approaches. i think everyone here recognises the common fisheries policy over the years has been catastrophic for the european fishing industry it has led to a collapse in stocks it has led to unemployment
i'm very pleased to see this being brought in in the western oceans where of course fishermen from britain are very active.
i think it is a shame however that the european union still cannot quite bring itself to put control over the fisheries into the hands of smaller entities of the nations themselves because it is they who not only understand the fisheries but have a stake in making sure it is sustainable.
during my visit last week to pakistan i raised the issues of the need to protect and promote the rights of women to abolish the death penalty and to make good on the promise of legislative changes.
we are determined to support the democratic process in mongolia ahead of the elections on twenty eight june.
the annual report details all of this action in. two thousand and eleven but it does more in line with the wishes of parliament the report contains a section on freedom of religion or belief which is so essential to the development of free societies. two thousand and eleven saw worrying developments in this connection with intolerance spilling over from discrimination into violent attacks.
two thousand and eleven this report which i am pleased to say is now on the council website is set to be adopted in two weeks' time.
also for the first time the report contains a section on international humanitarian law which was the subject of various eu initiatives in two thousand and eleven culminating in the seven pledges made in november to the thirty first international conference of the red cross and red crescent.
since january we have also conducted fourteen in depth human rights discussions with countries around the globe with another twenty two still to come this year.
the annual report shows how the eu really can make a difference when and where it matters most.
it encapsulates the tremendous challenges to human rights and democracy in two thousand and eleven and how we responded.
since the beginning of this year we have made thirty six declarations or statements on behalf of human rights defenders or country situations of concern.
our election observation missions remain an essential tool to support democracy and accompany political change as in the case of the historic elections in tunisia the creation of a new state in south sudan the important parliamentary elections in algeria with the first ever eu election observation there and peru where the observation mission contributed to strengthening our bilateral relations and of course many other places across the world.
on a related note i am happy to confirm that we are making good progress in preparing the draft statute for the european endowment for democracy including on the basis of the lambsdorff report.
madam president the package concerns human rights and democracy.
i want to thank members of this house for their participation in these missions adding visibility and enhancing the political commitment of the european union.
this took place just before he ended his hunger strike.
i am very happy to present the outline of this report to the house on time this year.
madam president just a few examples to show that we stay consistently active in bahrain we have been working since the events of february two thousand and eleven to encourage all sides to engage in national reconciliation.
the report covers two thousand and eleven but if i might i would like to give some up to date figures to illustrate what i mean.
in mongolia the eu has been following the situation since the arrest of former president enkhbayar on corruption charges his hunger strike and subsequent release.
as in previous years the annual report catalogues our work across the whole range of thematic issues bilateral and multilateral.
two thousand and three following the rejection of several appeals he was due to be executed on twenty three may but after several eu appeals to the pakistani authorities the execution was put off.
from jordan to vietnam from ukraine to the united states from argentina to pakistan the european union sits down in the spirit of partnership to see how we can together improve the human rights situation.
it needs to come from the inside and we have to stay committed in order to catalyse this change now.
our solidarity with entire communities that rise up in spite of intimidation is crucial.
and it is our priority to cooperate with the eeas for a comprehensive strategy. looking back at the past year however in spite of all our commitment we have to face reality. regular and systematic human rights violations continue.
human rights defenders and lawyers continue protecting those who want to practice their freedom. we are witnessing increasing non violent resistance reflecting self consciousness among people just as liu xiaobo wrote in two thousand
yet there is reason for hope.
courageous people in china continue showing the world that they are not afraid.
people face repression around the world and innocent people die every day.
in spite of the aforementioned violations we also witness increasing demand for human rights coming from the people from brave individuals inspired to action by the principle of human dignity. millions poured out into the streets to demand justice and freedom in the arab world;
they want accountability just as those tibetans who choose to sacrifice themselves in peaceful protest against china's communist rule.
we cannot force change from the outside.
we have to make sure that that is the principle that we carry forward in all of the work that we do.
we will improve again on the work that we have done on this report.
i made the point because exactly as honourable members are right to point out it is important that we stick to the obligations that we have. in addition i pointed out that the political accountability statements i have made also give the opportunity for parliament to engage.
the translation will be ready within the next couple of weeks but i do apologise that it is not available as it should be.
far from running away from it i was making the point that we need to stick to the obligations that have been made and i know that any special representative on human rights will wish to ensure that they have a strong relationship with the european parliament as indeed they will wish to have with the council and of course the commission and across the services.
i have taken note of all of them. it is important that we are consistent. it is important that we speak up seriously and properly on the issue of human rights. i have said many times that the only criteria for human rights to apply to any one of us is for us to be human and here.
thirdly on the specific point on what is happening in regard to the icc you will not be surprised to know mr howitt that we are in touch with them on the ground through our delegation and for the moment we are working with them closely.
this was indeed a momentous year for human rights and democracy building in which we have all the eu included had to step up to the task.
i agree that this report in a sense will be the last of its kind as next year we will be able to report and debate on implementation of the strategic review on human rights.
in this context i applaud for example the eu's action to protest against the arrest of bloggers exercising their freedom of expression the new consensus the eu has now forged in eu institutions on freedom of religion and belief the unanimous support of eu members of the human rights council for the groundbreaking resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity the new common position on the international criminal court and as the high representative has said herself
the successful eu observation missions.
finally although i have been proud to contribute personally to the work of the mandate holder leading to the guiding principles on business and human rights i would like the high representative to charge an identified person within her services to spearhead their implementation within the european union and to follow up the recommendations of the edinburgh study detailed in her last annual report.
the assessment at this stage is that the hungarian constitution does not create issues of compatibility with union law.
we are very close to the successful conclusion of this very important governance package.
region. i really welcome the strong commitment of hungary regarding the future of the western balkans.
i commend the robust and sensitive handling of this agreement.
from our side the commission will continue to work hard on delivering in areas where it matters most for growth.
future. the hungarian presidency has helped us in this respect and their close collaboration with the new polish presidency will serve the union
region. this year has also been a very important year so far for neighbourhood
the commission will ensure that all our proposals are on the table by the end of the year with the hope that they can be approved by parliament and council by the end of. two thousand and twelve i am very pleased to see early fruit especially in the area of intellectual property where the commission has presented a comprehensive strategy for reform and where already last week member states agreed on the two regulations implementing enhanced cooperation to create a common european union patent.
we have been able to move forward with the european agenda during this six
after marathon negotiations between the co legislators final agreement on the economic governance package is within sight.
and co prosperity.
the end result will reduce the cost of patents in europe by up to eighty covering twenty five member states.
i believe it will lead not only to a stronger european family but to further peace reconciliation and stability in the western balkans.
we will put an end to the unacceptable situation where obtaining a patent in europe costs ten times more than in the united states.
this practice of consultations parliament council commission has now been established and prime minister tusk has already confirmed to me that the polish presidency will follow suit.
it will continue and bear fruit.
we have met several times president buzek prime minister orbn and i to exchange views before the commission finally approved the proposal that is now before you.
it is a budget that we believe is realistic but ambitious and that is all about investing in future growth.
system supplemented by a european safeguard mechanism.
let me pay tribute to the strong support we have received in steering this process and in giving a practical meaning to the european prospects for the
this is no small achievement.
ago. we have also been able to face difficult situations related to schengen governance and national actions aiming to put at risk basic principles of the european union such as the free movement of persons and a common european space without borders.
this is a key step in becoming more innovation friendly. it is of great economic value.
this means that in the longer term what is at stake is the future of our social economy our common currency the euro and our role in the world.