kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
some of these challenges have been generated by the financial and economic crisis but some of them are inherent in our limited capacities and determination to fulfil the objectives and targets of the
it also lists the activities and initiatives that have been conducted at eu level in the last six months as regards the five eu headline targets.
following on from the march european council member states will finalise the drafting of the national reform programmes and stability or convergence reports which will be submitted to the commission in april.
it is also essential if we are to maintain the social model our way of life which is a key characteristic of europe dear to us all and which we must preserve.
in december two thousand and ten the first implementation report prepared by the presidency in close cooperation with the commission and the incoming hungarian presidency provided an overview of work undertaken since the launch of the strategy in june.
improving education levels and promoting social inclusion in particular through the reduction of poverty.
this new process started in january two thousand and eleven with the presentation of the commission's annual growth survey. the hungarian presidency is paying particular attention to ensuring that the european semester runs smoothly and successfully.
the implementation of economic governance reform is a fundamental condition for fighting the crisis and boosting the european economy.
second reducing labour market segmentation;
however i want to be clear on this.
your role as co legislator is fundamental to their successful implementation.
fourth supporting unemployed people through high quality training and job search services to get back into work and go into self employment;
and finally increasing the participation of older workers in labour markets.
two thousand and twelve the policy guidance and recommendations should be adopted by the council before the summer.
the annual growth survey provides the basis for discussion at the spring european council in march and for the economic policy guidance to be addressed to the member states.
the commission will examine the national reform programmes which are due in the second half of april.
two thousand and eleven indeed it is vital to ensure a stable policy framework until the mid term review of the europe two thousand and twenty strategy in two thousand and fourteen for member states to have enough time to implement the necessary reforms.
the annual growth survey is fully consistent with the integrated guidelines including the employment guidelines.
the annual growth survey makes a break with the past and sets in motion the first cycle of economic policy coordination under the european semester. the main idea behind the european semester is very simple to ensure the stability of economic and monetary union we have no choice but to carry out ex ante coordination of economic policies within the eu.
it sets out an integrated approach to recovery with ten priority actions under three main headings first a rigorous fiscal consolidation and restructuring of the financial sector to step up macroeconomic stability;
and finally growth enhancing measures.
strengthening political ownership of the strategy and local partnerships has been a key priority for us. the challenge now is to demonstrate that the union can collectively identify the key policy reforms most urgently needed and provide the right policy responses.
managing the european semester will be a real test for the eu.
i welcome parliament's support to the commission's proposal to maintain the employment guidelines unchanged for.
the commission has deliberately chosen to focus this year's annual growth survey on the most immediate challenges stemming from the current economic crisis and on the need to frontload the reforms that are necessary for economic recovery and job creation.
the commission expects the member states to take this guidance into account when they draft their stability or convergence programmes and the national reform programmes under the europe two thousand and twenty strategy.
on the basis of that examination and in line with the treaty we will propose country specific policy guidance and recommendations that member states should take into account when finalising their budgets for.
third removing barriers to balancing private and work life;
we have taken good note of your concerns on the key messages of the annual growth survey to the effect that they may seem to depart from the integrated guidelines.
if we are to be credible we need to make sure our financial priorities are in line with our strategies and political priorities. at a time of fiscal constraints it is more important than ever to show that the eu has added value and that a euro spent at eu level can have a greater impact than a euro spent at national level. to ensure the success of europe two thousand and twenty we need political ownership at all levels.
ethiopia is too important for africa and for the world for us to continue to turn a blind eye to what is going on there.
what can you tell us about your endeavours in that regard?
on syria the time for delay is gone.
that great democracy and emerging power india is reduced to three lines in a report of thirty pages.
the cfsp report's favourite mantra is human rights'. they are mentioned forty three times as if they are some sort of unique prerogative of the european union.
no positive engagement no mention of all the positive changes that have taken place of the support it needs in dealing with the refugee influx from syria or of the potentially key role it plays in the region.
there is hardly an area of the world apparently where eu intervention is not seen as the most vital contribution and the solution to all problems.
another emerging power turkey gets similar treatment.
our friends are ignored or get scant mention.
it is almost as if no other international organisation or government exists.
could you possibly give us any advice on how often we should mention them next year?
we have been in touch with them as you know.
ensuring the quality of water for children and for adults across the world has an impact.
and work in our neighbourhoods where we should be judged and have the strongest strategic partnerships we possible.
making sure that we bring prosperity is about trade deals and about economic opportunity.
everybody should welcome and celebrate that because that is about recognition by all of them that there is something more to be done where we work together.
i agree i set out three build a service bring people from eight buildings into one;
i will also say because now i can that the swedish government asked us not to make a lot of noise in our work to try and release the hostages the journalists.
so there are many ways in which that is precisely what this is all about.
countries and foreign ministers say to me quite often please we do not want to have a procession of different ministers coming can we not just talk with the european union and then you spread out the message of what we need because every time somebody else comes it is more time that they cannot spend on the things that matter.
they do not have the infrastructure they do not have the knowledge they do not have the systems.
i explained earlier on about the need to engage with countries and with politicians as well as to be clear about our expectations of them.
we will continue to do that.
ensuring that we have a secure and safer planet especially in our neighbourhood is also about ensuring that we have safety and security for our own people.
i tried to show in describing this comprehensive approach which is a strategic approach that actually it is not just about dealing with conflict.
just as has been shown in this debate every day there are other issues that people believe should be number one on the agenda.
i want to start with something that was said about the need to ensure economic resurgence and the security of the needs of our people.
by the way they are looking at the diversification of their economy and they are worrying about what has happened to weapons that have gone south from libya into the sahel.
we have done that and we have sought and will continue to seek an inclusive approach to what happens in ethiopia.
we will continue the efforts that we are making with others because the partnership that we have with countries like the united states and others is really important.
in the course of this debate you have covered every continent and you have covered a huge number of countries into which you individually believe we should put our energy. i agree with you that it is about trying to be effective across the world working with others.
there is something about trying to set up a new service in an economic crisis that means you have to think in cleverer ways about the use of resources and you have to work together.
most of what we do is in partnership with others with member states for sure with the united nations with the arab league with the organisation of islamic cooperation with the asean countries and with others.
when people got together and said what we need is a common foreign and security policy it was because they saw not that member states were not able to do things individually but that there were many things they could do better together.
we are also looking at the synergy of member states collaborating in buildings across the world where sharing common services makes more sense for the diplomatic service or where by doing things together we can have more impact and we can support countries more effectively because we are not all trying to do the same thing.
when i met with aung san suu kyi she talked about the need for us to coordinate because as a country they find it very difficult to deal with so many offers and with the many competing opportunities that businesses wish to have in their country and they need help.
so this is about making sense of doing it together planning better working together effectively not taking away but adding value to what member states do.
what we do is we work on conflict prevention and we work on how to support peace building and we work together twenty seven member states around the foreign affairs council who do things where they agree and where they agree they give me the mandate to operate on their behalf.
develop the delegations bring the lisbon treaty to life in terms of what we do on the ground;
it is also about ensuring that others get economic opportunity to their benefit and to ours.
we can help to support them to work out and they ask us to support them to work out how to deal with that being aware of the challenges of water in areas where this can lead to conflict.
i still believe in them and that is what i do every day.
he was surrounded by the great and the good but was never really sure of what was going on.
madam president does mr duff accept that to quote him the last big picture project' was the alliance against libya and is he aware that in that alliance there were only six european nations two of which were not even members of the european union?
so to talk of a common foreign and security policy is just an illusion and a very costly one at that.
it is our responsibility and our duty to have an effective and clear policy towards it.
the emergence of common threats and challenges have led to a convergence of the interests of the nation states of europe whether within or outside the borders of the eu.
we are undergoing a neo colonial challenge from third world immigration our industries and our jobs are threatened by the emergent economies and our cultural values are threatened by aggressive religious predators.
our interests are not identical we have distinct alliances friendships and interests of both kinds that are attributable to ancestral and historical differences.
a presumption of common interest where none exists will be unsuccessful and even counterproductive.
that said we do recognise that the cfsp can play a value added role where member states' interests converge such as over iran which is hell bent on acquiring nuclear weapons and remains probably the greatest threat to global peace.
the cfsp is also a useful platform engaging china's emergence as a global power over issues like north korea and standing up to russia where necessary for instance over georgia or its support for syria in the current insurgency or engaging within the quartet to further the middle east peace process.
i happen to be the rapporteur for the horn of africa and again this is a region with failed states like somalia and new fragile states like south sudan and the issue of the emerging role of the african union. again this is an area where the cfsp is a useful tool for the eu and its member states to better project their national interests and promote democracy and human rights throughout the globe.
this is important because in the first case we might become unrealistic and in the second we might lack credibility.
a second hurdle has been the rapid evolution of the international environment including the one in our direct neighbourhood.
the report is inevitably a snapshot of the situation at a certain moment in time while the international environment is in a state of flux. therefore one needs to anticipate and be in front of developments if one wants to stay relevant.
indeed we have to convince the rest of the world that we continue to be an attractive option that we can both master our own problems and still pay considerable attention to what happens around us and in the rest of the world.
consequently there were numerous amendments too short a time to debate them and reach the inevitable compromises and last minute amendments which sometimes go beyond and outside the compromise amendments reached previously.
i accept that the treaty of lisbon grants us the powers and competences to grow clusters of core groups of member states to go further and faster in building up
well i am delighted to respond to that.
our priorities at the moment should be economic resurgence and the security of our nations.
these are where the priorities should be and in our dealings with foreign countries that is where we should put the priority and by lecturing countries like india when we are trying to arrange a free trade agreement between the european union and india all we do is create difficulties and problems over
zero forty nine can contain up to twenty seven grams of sugar meaning that a child would already be over the daily recommended limit for sugar by consuming just one of them.
unbelievably it wants to approve health claims on these high caffeine high sugar energy drinks drinks that have no nutritional benefit for children.
children and teenagers are the most likely consumers. warning labels are being ignored whilst the industry's code of practice which is voluntary anyway entails a commitment only not to market energy drinks to children under. twelve we already know that the ten to eighteen year old age group is actually the one most likely to drink these products and significantly twenty
so instead of pushing forward with health claims which help to promote these energy products the commission must stop dragging its heels. it must come forward with the nutrient profiles which have already been agreed upon in legislation instead of giving energy drinks a leg up in the market.
of under ten s have also confirmed that they drink them so clearly the industry needs to work a bit harder to turn nice words into real action to stop their products being marketed at children.
a two hundred and fifty ml can which you can buy for eur.
the use of these so called health claims gives kids and teenagers the wrong impression they could legitimately believe that they will improve their attention in class or their performance in school.
but what does the commission propose to do about these energy drinks?
this is the most important thing.
some of you have voiced concerns on whether the commission has made proper use of its powers when deciding to authorise these four claims.
i am here to respond to those concerns and to explain why authorising these claims will be beneficial for consumers besides providing a level playing field for food producers.
the commission proposed the authorisation of these claims in the context of progressive establishment of the permitted list of health claims made on foods as required in the regulation on nutrition and health claims.
i would invite you to consider the possible consequences of not deciding now.
until a new decision is taken these caffeine claims would continue to be used by any food business operators on the eu market without any specific conditions or restrictions for their use.
in fact far from promoting the caffeine intake in the population the authorisation of the four scientifically substantiated claims will properly frame the use of these claims.
in addition some member states have adopted measures restricting marketing of such products for public health reasons.
also a few weeks ago i was part of the eu us delegation to america and there we met the foreign minister of pakistan.
mr president we are talking here about a double tragedy firstly the execution of an innocent man and secondly done by someone who was supposed to be minding him his bodyguard.
this does not just concern christians but also hindus shias ahmadis and others.
pakistan's constitution explicitly protects the rights of minorities and accordingly the government needs to tackle extremism not just in the border areas but also on the streets of pakistani cities.
we were encouraged by earlier steps taken by the government of pakistan to try amending more controversial aspects of the laws.
we need to face up to the situation and consider carefully how to react knowing that the government and democratic institutions of the states more generally continue to face daunting challenges.
we are conscious of the fact that the blasphemy laws in their present form are open to abuse and have often been applied against religious minorities.
the government of pakistan has a responsibility to protect its citizens and we count on it to do everything possible to ensure their safety.
we are concerned that fatwas were not only issued against mr taseer but also against other public figures who have spoken out for a reform of the blasphemy laws.
she called on pakistan to abolish the death penalty and respect human rights as guaranteed under the international conventions to which the country is a party. the european union has repeatedly brought up the continued application of the blasphemy laws with the government of pakistan
the european union should champion their common cause and not that of any particular group or religion as this would play into the hands of those wishing to deepen divisions among christians and muslims. we will continue to focus on the need to fully protect every individual's right to religious freedom
there are fears that the murder of mr taseer reflects a rise in extremism and intolerance in pakistan.
let me be very clear here there is no alternative but to continue to strengthen democratic and progressive forces in pakistan's civil society.
as part of this human rights dialogue.
it is unfortunate that in the case of mr taseer's assassination there has been widespread public support for the murderer.
we are well aware of the vulnerable situation of persons belonging to religious minorities in pakistan;
we need to provide continued emphasis on education in our development cooperation and more needs to be done to promote tolerance within the educational system especially towards minorities.
we are also aware that false accusations have been used as a tool to settle private disputes or for personal gain.
we must support the moderate and progressive elements in countries like pakistan but above all we must assert that sharia law and islamic fundamentalism have no place in a modern western liberal democracy.
he was killed apparently by an islamic extremist because he advocated changes to the blasphemy law.
europe having produced the renaissance the enlightenment the industrial revolution and the wonders of the modern scientific age now lies supine before a sixth century ideology.
sharia law is now recognised in some tribunals in the uk.
there are inner city areas where the de facto writ of sharia law runs.
the murder is a tragedy for pakistan but what does it mean for the west? instead of doing all we can to combat islamic fundamentalism taking deeper root in europe we placate and appease it.
governments are frightened to confront it because of political correctness and the economic power of some islamic countries.
it was a political assassination. pakistan is not only a large developing country.
salmaan paid for that support with his life.
it is a country with over twenty nuclear warheads.
he was also very capable and effective. he represented the best tradition of pakistan a devout muslim but not in any way fundamentalist.
the government of pakistan has indeed taken several important steps to improve the rights of minorities for example by allocating a minimum quota in public jobs.
i hope that with this resolution we can express our continuing solidarity with the government of pakistan in the fight against terrorism and the spread of extremism.
these are leading to a climate of fear and intolerance and in the worst cases extremism.
the fight against extremism is not an easy task which is why the pakistani government and all those citizens who agree that intolerance and extremism are unacceptable need our support.
we have to continue to wipe out terrorism.
the governor mr taseer was violently murdered out of sheer intolerance by a guard from his own security detail a person who should have protected him.
his daughter shehrbano wrote a letter which was published in the new york times from which i would like to quote because i think she gets to the essence and it is very good to use her words in memory of her father.
she says of the perpetrator mr qadri and his supporters may have felled a great oak that day but they are sadly mistaken if they think they have succeeded in silencing my father's voice or the voices of millions like him who believe in the secular vision of pakistan's founder mohammed ali jinnah'.
she continues there are those who say my father's death was the final nail in the coffin for a tolerant pakistan.
the daughter of governor taseer went to smith college and she studied european politics and human rights but too many people in pakistan are educated in madrasahs. we have to make sure that the young generation has opportunities and learns how to live together in the diverse society which is pakistan.
not least in the political battle against extremism and for universal human rights and it is our role as democratic parliamentarians to support all those who are working for positive change and to give them the voice that others would deny them.
we are also asking for action by the government of pakistan not least to remove the reservations on the international covenant on civil and political rights which they ratified with a large number of reservations and we urged this in our recent delegation visit to pakistan.
pakistan would benefit in many aspects by repealing the blasphemy laws and revoking the penalties that have been based on those laws.
i also would expect the government of pakistan to reinforce the measures that have been taken to fight the spread of violent extremism.
but i would also make the point that wherever we make those savings we should not damage the effectiveness of the european parliament or of individual meps.
however there are some things which i think we can do in order to make those savings without damaging that effectiveness.
what is the purpose of this increase if there will not be a european constituency in the coming elections and members will be elected from national lists?
it is only the hard work and the integrity of the members which will convince citizens of the importance of this institution.
while i recognise that parliament's administration has made an effort to achieve some reductions there are still many areas where more could and should be done.
if we continue to ignore this reality we should not be surprised when few turn out to vote in the next european elections.