kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
it is accepted and followed by many often in ignorance of its real impact on people in our communities. populist anti establishment movements use any kind of motivation to gain attention.
this includes so called discussion' of the holocaust and verbal and physical violence against jews in european cities and the presence of jews in the middle east.
this dangerous political rhetoric however leads us back to dubious discussion and debate about the legitimacy of the state of israel.
democracy cannot be an excuse for allowing undemocratic forces to act.
jews in europe have the right to live freely without fear.
the state of israel has the right to exist and protect itself.
any kind of questioning of this legitimacy cannot be part of a debate in this house or anywhere else.
i call on my colleagues in the first place to unite and give a strong political message to the world any kind of anti semitism subtle or explicit has to be rejected.
i also call on member states clearly to target grey areas in their educational systems.
new generations of european citizens must be raised with awareness of this issue and be able to refuse from the very beginning the malign seed of anti semitism.
we need to ensure security for all people and speaking about security we are in the field of criminal justice.
some of you mentioned that we need a legal framework.
i can only inform you about something you know yourself that the member states are very well equipped with the necessary legislation because we have the framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia and the member states are obliged to implement it in full to to my regret not
we have many other problems with definitions and so on but the commission is pushing very hard on the member states to have the legislation in place.
we are equipped and we have to act.
we need to act against this passivity and help society to be much more vocal to say this is not only prohibited this is totally unacceptable.
we have to do it and we have to try.
threats and harassment are also increasing. the situation in my home country sweden illustrates what we are talking about today.
in order to confront today's anti semitism in europe we have to acknowledge the problem and its roots.
the aim is to find a common european definition of anti semitism and to use the eu institutions for exchange of information in the fight against this kind of racism.
the issue of definition is important because the lack of agreement on how to define antisemitism makes it impossible to monitor and prevent anti semitic hate crime which is a precondition for an effective fight against these evil acts.
fundamental to securing that public confidence and legitimacy will be transparency and the ability of citizens in the uk and other member states to have access to the right information to shape their views as this process unfolds.
order to give citizens in all our member states the right to make their own judgments about what is happening. i specifically ask the ombudsman to consider releasing specific resources in her good offices to support that and to make sure that the highest levels i stress the highest levels of transparency and democratic legitimacy
i want to raise the b' word at this point in the debate and i hope colleagues will forgive me because that process whatever views we take on it and i deeply regret the course that history appears to be taking must carry public confidence and legitimacy.
are heard and realised all the way through what will be a difficult and challenging process for all of us.
in many ways that has to be the start of democratic legitimacy and scrutiny of what is happening. so without further delay the uk government should publish the sector impact statements on brexit. i also ask the ombudsman in this coming year to give particular focus to ensuring that the highest levels of transparency are secured throughout the brexit process in
i wish to thank first vicepresident timmermans for his keynote speech.
i very much welcome the efforts of the estonian presidency to unblock the impasse and i very much hope that agreement can be reached before the elections in.
next year we plan to request a moderate budget increase to hire extra multilingual staff.
this report however shows that increasing attention is being paid by my office to the council.
and i note and welcome first vicepresident timmermans' announcement this week of a public consultation on this matter.
these are just three of the over one eight hundred complaints we dealt with in.
thank you again to the rapporteur ms mizzi the shadow rapporteurs their staff and the secretariats for all the work on this year's report which i and my staff greatly appreciate.
as you know a majority of the complaints that we receive are directed at the commission given its role and its high level of interaction with citizens.
let me also briefly mention some routine cases dealt with in.
today's draft report expresses support for my strategic inquiry into the transparency of the council's working parties and coreper committees and a positive outcome would help i hope to dispel the perception that eu institutions are not transparent and therefore not sufficiently accountable. citizens are not always aware that the council is not just a socalled brussels institution'.
it is for example now over a year since the commission made its proposal for an improved transparency register and parliament agreed its negotiation mandate earlier this year.
however following our inquiry and a document inspection the commission agreed to waive the recovery of around eur.
we believe we have implemented large efficiency reforms internally and now need that extra capacity to really improve again our service to citizens.
lobbying transparency can help to reassure citizens that when it comes to the influencing of the eu institutions measures are in place to help to mitigate its more negative impacts.
the commission agreed that public consultations relating to their work programme priorities will in future be in all eu languages.
indeed to recognise that work and to share best practice across the institutions we launched in two thousand and sixteen the ombudsman award for good administration receiving over ninety nominations.
i fully appreciate how hard it can be to get consensus or a majority vote on some matters but when parliament and the commission are clear on where they stand it can be frustrating to citizens when the failure of the council to reach a common approach or even take a vote means that some proposals remain stalled sometimes indefinitely.
these include the transparency of the brexit talks continued work with the ecb and the eib an ongoing inquiry vis vis the commissioners' code of conduct improvements to which the commission has already proposed a new ombudsman's guide for eu officials on dealing with lobbyists our work on the eu whistleblowing rules to protect eu staff
i continue to raise awareness among my colleagues in the european network of ombudsmen about important eu issues.
obviously as the eurogroup is not officially an eu institution my mandate is limited but i did welcome the president's initiative in attempting to further the transparency of its decision making.
as the french president macron said recently brussels is us' and greater council transparency will i believe lessen the temptation to blame brussels for decisions taken by member state ministers and governments as citizens will see precisely where responsibility lies.
this report today also recognises the work of my office in several other areas.
greater accountability through transparency is an obvious way to help to rectify this citizen alienation.
many citizens were concerned about what they perceived as the lack of accountability of the troika and similar concerns are at times expressed about the eurogroup and indeed about the council.
an inquiry into the commission eu pilot programme for infringement the ongoing work with the un convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and the european citizens' initiative which the commission is now revising.
rising public awareness of its role and greater demands for transparency have prompted this additional scrutiny and perhaps in future years parliament might consider inviting a council representative also to attend this very valuable annual hearing.
however the council is now delayed in agreeing its mandate to enter talks.
eighty six zero a spanish citizen complained about the lack of translation of commission public consultations.
other transparency work by my office in two thousand and sixteen included an exchange with eurogroup president dijsselbloem encouraging moves to open up the work of that very important group.
another case in two thousand and fifteen was when the european chemicals agency agreed to our proposal to require those seeking to register chemicals to show that they have tried to avoid animal testing.
the award ceremony was particularly memorable and i was struck by the great pride of the officials in their work and their joy in having it recognised at a time when so much of what they do is either unseen or criticised.
two thousand and nineteen transparency in itself of course cannot deal with every union problem but it can throw light not just on the respective responsibilities of the eu institutions but also dispel some of the false facts and fake news that increasingly impact on the way in which the eu is mediated
the institute turned to us after the commission decided to recover some costs related to the subcontracting of the work.
the commission continues to engage positively with my office and while no relationship is ever perfect we both do our best to deal with challenging issues.
fake news is ultimately about influencing with a view to undermining the democratic process.
two thousand and sixteen we have also been revising our internal working procedures and working methods.
it meant a lot to colleagues from all of your member states to be able to have that direct engagement and i have rarely heard such lively postseminar conversation.
we will soon be launching a fast track procedure for dealing with access to document complaints so that we can get answers for citizens within weeks instead of months or even in some cases unfortunately years.
last june i hosted our annual network conference in brussels at which we discussed open government populism in europe and of course brexit.
we also need to ensure that the european administration follows up on and implements the recommendations of the european ombudsman within a reasonable time frame. i say to ms o'reilly that i look forward to working closely with you and i am sure that you will maintain your strong dedication to improving the quality of the european administration in answering enquiries and complaints from european citizens.
we all have an obligation to represent european citizens in everything we do. we need to commit to improving the way in which the eu administration works placing citizens at its heart making sure that we work more transparently that we are more accountable and that we react immediately when the highest standards are not met.
the eu has still to strive to achieve the highest level of accountability and transparency. maintaining citizens' trust in the eu institutions especially at a time of a great scepticism regarding the union project must be our ultimate goal. we can start building this trust by guaranteeing citizens the right to
we are on the right path and that should be the conclusion of this journey.
you have also maintained excellent cooperation and a positive engagement with the european parliament and in particular with the committee on petitions.
finally i would like to say that i am very satisfied with the report of the ombudsman and i wish her the best in her future work.
the level of quality of our institutions needs to be reflected in the level of support from european citizens.
in view of this it is also time to comply with the ombudsman's suggestions for improving the eu transparency register by making it a mandatory central transparency hub for all eu institutions and agencies.
we need to work on that if we are to get a mandate from our citizens to do what needs to be done to protect european citizens and europe.
we need to secure respect and this can only be done through absolute integrity and full independence from the private sector.
the report also notes maladministration with regard to the code of conduct of commissioners.
according to the flash eurobarometer survey of march two thousand and sixteen nine out of ten eu citizens are familiar with their status as european citizens and their right to complain to the ombudsman.
is facing unprecedented challenges such as the unemployment crisis the migration crisis brexit the role of the ombudsman in bridging the gap between people and the eu institutions is crucial.
this enables greater flexibility and efficiency of the ombudsman services aimed at deepening the dialogue between people and institutions.
this is the only mechanism that holds the eu administration to account and investigates cases on behalf of our citizens.
in this regard i would like to congratulate the ombudsman emily o'reilly for her excellent work in improving the quality and accessibility of the ombudsman's services and for increasing the visibility and impact of the work of the european ombudsman.
the european ombudsman is the guardian of good administration ensuring that the eu institutions function properly and do not encroach upon citizens' rights.
mr president the importance of the role of the european ombudsman in protecting citizens' rights and strengthening citizens' confidence and public trust in the european institutions cannot be emphasised enough.
new working methods were introduced and case handling procedures were streamlined.
i would also like to thank the shadow rapporteurs for their valuable input during all stages of preparing this report our cooperation was very fruitful and i did my best to accommodate most of their contributions. i think we all share the view that in such turbulent times when the european union
unfortunately transparency openness access to information and documents respect for the rights of citizens and high ethical standards are still the top citizens' concerns in the cases investigated by the european ombudsman.
however my report strives to have the highest possible level of transparency and access to documents in particular when it comes to the eu's economic and financial decision making process trade or trilogue negotiations and even on the ongoing negotiations between the eu and the uk.
we want to see a revision of the code of conduct of commissioners.
achieving the highest possible level of transparency and access to documents must be the rule.
whenever there are any exceptions to this rule they should always be weighed against the principles of democracy.
and last but certainly not least you have made the ombudsman services more visible.
in view of the emphasis on good governance i also want to support the award for good administration which acknowledges best practices in the eu administration and which brings them to the attention of our citizens.
trust between citizens and the institutions is of paramount importance.
this commission took major steps right from the very beginning of its mandate.
he added that the european parliament as well as national and regional parliaments would be kept fully informed from day one of the negotiations.
a key principle is that lobbyists can only meet commissioners their staff and directors general if they are in the transparency register.
for example a lobbyist who is not in the register should not be able to meet a member of the european parliament. only then would registration become truly a sine qua non for lobbying the institutions.
we are in a show me' society and our citizens ask us to explain what we do in full transparency on a daily basis.
we will always have to improve our standards improve the way we perform and apply the most forward looking standards in the quality of administration we deliver for our citizens and an integral part of that is a maximum level of transparency and accountability.
it would really be a shame if we did not finish this before the next european elections.
the report also touches upon access to documents and publication of information.
the draft new code of conduct increases transparency and sets higher standards for commissioners including on post mandate activities. it incorporates several suggestions made by the european parliament and the european ombudsman.
two thousand and sixteen she has helped us to prevent identify and solve instances of maladministration by the eu institutions and every citizen has a right to good administration.
the eu institutions must meet the high transparency standards that citizens rightly expect.
it also gives me the opportunity to join marlene mizzi in expressing my admiration for the work done by ms o'reilly as our ombudsman and the progress she has made with her office in.
we live in a different society.
the overall compliance rate is very high at.
so i call on both the council and this parliament to commit to the same standards in the forthcoming interinstitutional agreement following the commission's proposal of september. two thousand and sixteen as ms o'reilly has explained we are still waiting for the council to adopt its mandate and it really is high time for us to be able to start negotiating about this.
each year we proactively make public tens of thousands of new documents on our web pages but we plan to go further for example by publishing an overview of each commissioner's mission expenses every two months. i also fully agree that transparency in trade negotiations is essential to ensure public trust in the eu's trade policy.
without her we would not have been able to reach where we are now. let me conclude by saying very clearly that this work is never finished.
the register must become mandatory for lobbyists. this can only happen if that same principle is applied across the board in all three institutions the commission parliament and the council.
no registration means no meeting.
president juncker announced in the two thousand and seventeen state of the union speech that the commission would publish all its recommendations for negotiating directives for trade agreements.
finally let me stress that the commission is making sure it abides by the highest standards of ethics and integrity including by updating them when necessary.
yes of course when i talk about transparency i am not talking about transparency at any
vis vis citizens and perhaps particularly those in the uk but what i have done is to have discussions with the member state ombudsmen and information commissioners including the uk information commissioner to remind them that if they cannot get records from their own member state there is always the possibility of seeking to get them from an eu institution that may also hold
i think it needs a deeper conversation in relation to that and i am very happy to be part of that. on brexit in relation to transparency we started working on this particular issue as soon as the referendum was over. obviously it is not for me or any of us to tell member states what to do in relation to the release of important documents
cost. we are always talking about the appropriate release of documents in the public interest and that has to be the guiding
the onus will be on the lobbyists to register not on the meps they see. this will in no way limit the possibilities of meps to see their voters.
this name and congratulate' exercise is very rewarding for all those eu officials who are doing their utmost to serve citizens and the general eu interest.
this could perhaps take away some of the worries that i have registered because transparency and trust are essential in public institutions certainly at the european level where the distance with our citizens is too big.
we should not miss the opportunity to deliver this before the next european elections.
strengthening the protection of whistle blowers is an essential aspect of this.
i want to conclude by expressing once again my gratitude to ms o'reilly for her constructive approach and the consistently good cooperation between the commission the ombudsman and her office.
but also more generally society needs more transparency and trust in public institutions.
so we need a mandatory transparency register not just a voluntary one.
following the public consultation the commission continues to assess the scope for further eu action and we will finalise this work in the first part of.
we are talking about people who represent specific interests in lobbying when we are making legislation.
tackle the current policies of the european union. this annual report on the activities of the european ombudsman serves not only as a summary and approval of the work of the european ombudsman in a given year but it is also a reminder to us and to all the european institutions to be more
ms o'reilly once again thank you very much for your work and good luck.
things like that are alienating citizens and also cause the european union to be blamed for not acting on very important societal issues. therefore i just want to say to the ombudsman full support for your work on transparency and we need to stand together to push the council to open up and become democratically accountable to its citizens.
as a result we are often misunderstood by those we aim to serve.
now with the chaotic brexit negotiations the rights of so many uk and eu citizens are in the balance.
the continued drive of the european ombudsman towards better transparency communication and working practice in response to citizens' concerns about the institutions and bodies of the european union is particularly crucial during difficult times such as these.
our european organisations must be continually shaped by the feedback of our citizens and there must be more opportunities for young people and children to participate meaningfully in our institutional workings and to offer up opinions about the decisions that will affect them.
i am particularly pleased that you the ombudsman here in europe have been making inquiries into complaints by persons with disabilities.
it is gratifying to hear the work that they have been carrying out as an independent mechanism to protect and implement the un convention on the rights of persons with disabilities so that everybody may access engage and question the institutions in order to make our practices align better with our principles.
two thousand and sixteen that is our proposal.
that is our assumption.
under normal circumstances we should not need to discuss the common application of rules to all members and groups in this house but ever since the brexit vote there has been persistent victimisation of every eurosceptic group in this parliament whilst at the same time we see the accusations in der spiegel of your predecessor
said that serbia needed to bridge the gap between its stated commitment to the arrests and the effectiveness of its operations on the ground. we are not seeing results.
serbia needs to adopt a more proactive approach to arresting the fugitives so i am afraid that there is a gap between rhetoric and reality and that gap absolutely must be bridged.
in my view the eu should properly evaluate this option during the forthcoming dialogue brokered by the high representative.
that is what we have seen again and again both with goods and with services.
what they found in practice is that it means standardisation that the mineral water has to contain the following minerals but not any of these' that the volume must be not greater than x and not less than y' and so on.
madam president there has been a misunderstanding from the earliest days of the european union as to what we mean by a free market in goods and services. when my constituents voted in favour of eec membership in one thousand nine hundred and seventy five they understood the common market to mean mutual product recognition.
if you can sell a bottle of mineral water in the uk you should be allowed to sell the same water in france germany or italy and vice versa.