kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
while the implementation of many measures foreseen in the action plans is on track there are pending measures such as the revision of the legislative framework on political parties and electoral campaign financing which has to be completed without further
i plan to chair another meeting soon.
in key areas such as the independence and competence of courts media freedom and electoral reform. we have also stressed that the review of the ohrid framework agreement needs to be completed. we welcome that there have been some positive developments over the past weeks in some of these areas including
delay. today the justice and home affairs subcommittee met in podgorica where the report prepared by the montenegrin authorities on the implementation of the action plans was discussed.
with a clear strategic vision consistent action and the support of all political forces i am confident that this can be achieved.
success in this area would finally allow the stabilisation and association agreement to come into force.
the cross party agreement on electoral reform demonstrates that national interests can be put before party interests.
we hope that the amendments to the electoral legislation will help to create a solid legal environment for competitive elections and a level playing field for candidates in the presidential elections scheduled for spring.
relations with bulgaria are affected by different understandings over historical and cultural issues.
well. this is the only way to prevent a recurrence of the political crisis that the country went through following the events of twenty four december.
good neighbourly relations are an essential part of the country's progress towards european integration.
turning to the former yugoslav republic of macedonia i would like to start with two remarks. first in october last year the commission once again decided to renew its recommendation to open negotiations with the country.
two thousand and fourteen will be an important year for the country we will do our utmost to make sure that the general elections in october live up to european standards. the european union will also continue to work with bosnia and herzegovina in order to achieve an efficient and effective coordination mechanism.
feel the benefits.
it is now up to all relevant actors in montenegro to deliver results on these issues.
' in numerous marathon meetings in sarajevo brussels budapest and prague i have tried to help the political leaders to focus on implementing the first step of the roadmap of the high level dialogue on the implementation of the sejdi finci ruling of the european court of human rights. i was in sarajevo less than three weeks ago to discuss a model of constitutional changes
we saw some closing of the gaps but no breakthrough.
all three reports are well balanced and accurately reflect the findings of the commission's two thousand and thirteen progress reports on the three countries. unfortunately nearly every year the debate on bosnia and herzegovina looks like a replay.
we have submitted an amendment to speak out in support of greece.
if all of that ends up in the report the greens will have no option but to vote against the end result.
suddenly it mentions constituent peoples and citizens as if there were two classes of people.
let us help things along let us come out and say so.
just consider the message that we would be sending out.
it does not simply reflect the constitution.
it introduces constituent peoples in for instance public broadcasting.
we all know that the only really viable solution is to give the country a geographical qualifier while using macedonian as an adjective.
women helping victims of sexual violence.
a decade after a previous greek presidency convened the thessaloniki summit which set out a european union perspective for all of the countries of the western balkans this year's presidency would seem to be the ideal time to renew that pledge for the country which is arguably most held up in the process. on the name issue i have always sought to resist statements in parliament which might complicate the resolution of the dispute
that is why this year i propose that the european commission make this the first country in the region to be awarded functioning market economy status.
i also very much welcome my private meeting this morning with greek foreign minister venizelos in advance of his own visit to skopje and our constructive and respectful exchange on a series of ideas for moving the process forward which i hope he may be able to pursue.
mr president once again tonight i am proud to present a report to the european parliament standing alongside the european commission to recommend an immediate start to eu accession talks with skopje.
this is a country rising up the index of economic freedom published in the wall street journal last month ahead of no less than thirteen countries which are already european union member states.
in my resolution you will find critical proposals that the commitments must be honoured in full for greater efforts in relation to integrated education my concerns about the continuing risk to good inter ethnic relations and about perceptions of selective justice;
as rapporteur i want this european parliament to make a difference and in doing so to demonstrate that a difference can be made.
but this year after nearly twenty years of efforts my report does for the first time cast doubt on the credibility of the un framework to resolve the name dispute.
in conclusion i do not deflect the responsibilities on and in the country itself but for this country the european parliament does call on all members.
i mean you have got to challenge if i may be slightly rude and say the bunch of old men running your country.
you have got to call them to account.
that is why we expect all levels of government to combine their strength in order to speed up this process and to start improving the lives of their citizens as soon as possible.
meanwhile citizens are the ones who are suffering from unemployment from corruption and from not being able to make use of their civil rights.
that is a minimum requirement of democracy a basic civil right.
how can we help to fight corruption to push for overall constitutional reforms?
the country stands still while other countries in the region are moving forward.
to begin with the upcoming general elections in october we cannot call elections fair and free where not all citizens have equal rights of representation.
the state is there for the citizen and should be for the citizen and not the other way round;
the fact is that a lot has been achieved over the last ten years. we have a joint commitment from the eu and the countries of the region to work towards their membership of the union;
those are positive changes this commitment has brought so this needs to be cultivated and kept up in the future.
i hope that the greek presidency will do its best to push in the council for the integration of the region.
first we call on the council to open the accession negotiations.
there is no substantial reason why this has been postponed for the last five years.
this would also contribute to creating good conditions for finding a solution to the name issue and improving good neighbourly relations.
it is a shame for the eu that a small country which has made considerable progress in most areas of economic and political development is not allowed to advance on the road to eu accession. it is a shame and a huge mistake.
the eu should make its financial assistance to greece conditional on the reversal of the greek position.
given the historical and cultural diversity of europe these things are very important to get right.
respecting member states is paramount.
we also made clear in the previous debate that we have made progress on measures which can help create more growth and jobs directly. today we can say that youth employment is at the top of the priorities for european union action and of course the irish presidency made certainly a very important contribution towards this.
some of the main deliverables of the past months were in the field of financial services where political agreements were found between co legislators on two cornerstones of the banking union the single supervisory mechanism and the capital requirements directive and regulation.
much has to be done at national level but we have now the political momentum to make this a reality the success of the fight against youth unemployment.
let me just mention some of them on the midterm review of the mff on support for measures against youth unemployment education research and smes on the consolidation of the programme of aid to the most deprived and the clear commitments regarding the amending budget for two thousand and thirteen which need to be fully honoured.
the core priorities over the last months were clearly set out at the start of the irish presidency and carefully maintained thereafter stability growth and jobs.
ireland clearly understands the importance of the boost these deals can bring and i thank you for your support and leadership in the council.
on the economic governance front the two pack has entered into force.
i believe the final result sends out an important signal that the institutions of the european union are able to work together and agree on a budget that will help the european union emerge from the crisis.
so it was an eventful six months but no deal was more important than the political deal reached on the multiannual financial framework last week. last week's agreement represents a good compromise between the interests of the member states and the objectives of the european parliament.
a political agreement at second reading on deposit guarantee schemes still needs to be found.
now the key is implementation.
taken together they show how parliament was able to use its consent power responsibly and effectively.
we will all benefit from that in the next six months which under the lithuanian presidency the first ever lithuanian presidency promise to be just as important for europe's economic and political future.
following the commission initiative the recommendation on the european youth guarantee was adopted earlier this year.
as you know our initial proposal was more ambitious but the final outcome respects those principles maintains a necessary balance and keeps the basic structure of the initial proposal intact.
in the context of the mff i also need to refer to the very important achievements on some of the sectoral mff programmes during the irish presidency.
with the preparations during the past months and the decisions taken just last week we are ensuring that we will meet that challenge together.
the european semester method is gaining strength and we have started a debate on ex ante coordination of major economic reforms and on the convergence and competitiveness instrument which is the way forward to guaranteeing the responsibility of and solidarity between member states in the future. let me especially thank the irish presidency for the support given to the consolidation of the european semester.
as you know this is the result of the longest and hardest fought budget negotiations ever.
for this reason after member states in the council have already given the mff their full backing i hope this house in its political resolution will also support it tomorrow.
as i said in the previous debate and i will not repeat myself now we have a much more structured and credible exercise of collective economic governance in the european union.
i am satisfied that this was finally achieved.
an important agreement was reached on the reform of the common agricultural policy after two thousand and thirteen which was another of the irish priorities strengthening the position of farmers within the food production chain making direct payments fairer and greener and making the cap more effective and more transparent.
a general approach was also agreed in council on bank resolution and recovery on the directive and regulation on markets and financial instruments and on packaged retail investment products.
for the commission the objective has been to ensure that the future budget is workable and manageable.
in addition to the flexibility of payments and commitments parliament was able to secure a number of important breakthroughs.
we have made further progress in updating the european union's architecture to the pressures of the twenty first century economy showing that we are learning lessons from the crisis.
we cannot underestimate the corrosive impact of youth unemployment across europe which is poisoning young minds which would otherwise be full of idealism and hope. so i welcome last week's initial agreement on the one trillion euro mff and in particular the decision to front load up to eur six billion into tackling youth unemployment.
our citizens need reassurance that never again will taxpayers be burdened with the bill for the reckless irresponsible and even criminal behaviour of bankers. i believe it is important for us to develop the social dimension to economic and monetary union. social union is what will inspire solidarity among the citizens of the eu and restore our faith in the vision of our founding fathers peace and prosperity through solidarity and cohesion.
one banking union has proved to be painfully slow but it should be acknowledged nevertheless that significant progress has been made towards better supervision and resolution on capping bankers' bonuses and crucially on breaking the link between banking and sovereign debt.
as has been outlined the main priority of the seventh irish presidency was stability growth and jobs with a particular emphasis on youth employment.
the irish presidency has made progress in many areas.
as this debate has clearly shown the negotiations have been very difficult but we in the commission are convinced that this was the best deal under very difficult circumstances.
i also would like to pay tribute to minister lucinda creighton who was already referred to in the previous debate as the minister who had always been there when the difficult debates were taking place and who really promoted the cooperation between the presidency and this parliament to new heights.
you brought all these qualities to your presidency. many council meetings ran over time and several of them had to be repeated because you wanted them to have a clear reflection of typical irish qualities strong pro european dedication hard work resilience
parliament was not willing to bind the hands of the chamber that will be elected next year in two thousand and fourteen and the presidency appreciated that concern indeed.
on the one hand the overall amounts and on the other hand the flexibility and the review necessary to make this budget work.
however what makes for a good outcome is that there is a balance at the end of the negotiations.
the vote tomorrow is a matter for the members here in this chamber.
we have no more time to lose and for that reason i would urge the members of parliament to vote tomorrow for the proposal.
our presidency programme had to be delivered with and through parliament and it was a better presidency because of that fact.
that is your duty;
an mff regulation can only be adopted by the council with the consent and the authorisation and the approval of the european parliament.
if one thing was clear to all of the irish presidency ministers and officials it was the centrality of parliament's role in the european union business and for all other presidencies following ours;
ensuring stability and growth and jobs for our citizens will continue to remain the key challenge for us.
for that reason this is about real jobs for real people and it beats any alternative that i have heard proposed from mr murphy's quarter.
some of you politicians will not stand some of you politicians will stand some of you will be elected some of you will not and some new members will be elected to this great parliament here.
of course i want to formally express my government's welcome to croatia as it joins the union.
the work does not diminish.
mr cohn bendit i am glad to see you back i do not like to see politicians leave the field of battle as it were. you made a very impassioned plea and i understand the frustration that you feel but we have a very significant element of money in here and it is up to you and everybody else to see that it is implemented effectively.
there is so much to do and we look forward to supporting them as presidency and working with our colleagues here.
by the way i did not ask the citizens of europe to thank us but merely pointed out that it is now our continued responsibility to deal with their problems and this mff budget is part of that.
i remain committed to continuing to develop our engagement with the european union institutions and the member states so that our country ireland remains where it belongs firmly at the heart of europe.
the union needs to get on with the job now of planning for the deployment of the investment plan for the investment of eur nine hundred and sixty billion eur nine hundred and sixty billion to be released into the real economy.
i would remind ms anderson that we did reach agreement on the european protection order which recognises domestic violence protection across borders and that is an issue that we were very happy to be associated with.
we owe a great deal of gratitude to the committee chairs to the rapporteurs and the members in the way in which you constructively engaged with the irish presidency since last january.
ireland no longer holds the council presidency so it is not for me to represent council positions now in a formal sense but of course ireland's membership and its interest in this union have not changed.
i might point out that with his interest in fishing we also adopted the atlantic strategy with commissioner geoghegan quinn between canada the us portugal spain france britain and ireland as a model to be implemented for others.
i also want to make it clear that i am pleased that under the irish presidency we were in a position to agree the opening of accession negotiations with serbia and of talks with kosovo on a stabilisation agreement as well as opening a new chapter in the negotiations with turkey.
it is from that perspective that i would suggest that we need to stand back from the negotiations and from the forgeing of proposal and counter proposal and look at what we need to do now for our five hundred million citizens.
it is beneath ms anderson actually to say that this was an embarrassment for our own country and she also makes the point that we did not reach agreement in respect of domestic violence.
there have been substantive and detailed negotiations and you have the outcome from last thursday agreed and recommended by both president schulz and myself.
we are stronger and better for croatia's presence making us now a union of twenty eight members.
i might say that we also had a facility for personnel from northern ireland to serve here in the permanent representation in brussels to be fully acquainted with all of the issues that were being discussed by the politicians as we moved towards the successful conclusion of these matters.
of course as we step back from the limelight of the presidency the responsibility does not go away;
can i conclude by saying that intensive engagement by the irish government with the european union will now build on the reinforced set of relationships and capacity that has been born during our presidency.
one hundred if we are to make an impact in the countries of the union it is into the real economy that the implementation and the investment of the eur nine hundred and sixty billion has got to be made.
tomorrow you will have a presentation on the priorities of the lithuanian presidency from president dalia grybauskait and i wish lithuania the very best of success as they take over the mantle from ireland.
let me just refer to a number of issues that were raised here.
i might also say that the trade talks between the european union and the us have not yet commenced.
the mff on the table is the most valuable instrument that we have at our disposal to make an impact and make a difference.
let that be a central lesson in their negotiations and their understanding.
i do hope that under the current circumstances the facts that are needed to be exposed here and presented are dealt with and that we can move on and focus on what needs to be done here in bringing to a conclusion in the next two years trade talks that could result in very significant growth in economies and very significant growth in job numbers both throughout europe and throughout the united states.
that is your responsibility;
the treaties make this very clear.
in respect of the comments made by ms trpel and ms anderson people will always say that we never have enough money but the political reality is that we have to ask european taxpayers to fund the budget and the leaders of twenty seven different countries and twenty seven different governments agreed on a budget of eur nine hundred and sixty billion.
that will be your responsibility. our citizens your citizens will not thank us if we fail in that duty and europe our home will not prosper if we shirk our responsibilities.
the proposal before you the elected members of the european parliament stands or falls on its merits.
i could outline for you all the changes that were made to meet the concerns of the parliamentary negotiators and they could list a whole range of issues which they feel were not addressed.
you also sought to reflect the politics of a parliament which is coming towards the end of its mandate by seeking an opportunity for the next parliament to review and possibly revise in the light of changing economic circumstances and unforeseen events.
indeed from a national perspective ireland supported a higher level of resources but as the presidency we were required to work within the remit and the responsibility given to us. from the first exchanges with parliament the presidency recognised that this would hinge around the question of balance
i believe that given the momentum that has been made in ireland and the achievements that have been made in recent years and given the fact that we have had the celtic tiger years our brightest days are still ahead.
in view of something that was said in the house earlier this morning can i say to our croatian colleagues welcome.
this is the first irish presidency under the new european council arrangements including the new arrangements for the agreement of the mff and i believe it was a great success.
i say this to croatia do not listen to the kinds of comments that were made here this morning.
two thousand and fourteen it is the first time the eu budget has been cut in fifty six years and it was cut under the irish presidency.
the substance of the proposed mff agreement is equally disappointing. it represents continued austerity its immediate impact will be a six cut to the eu budget in.
i find that shameful.
is the banking sector we still have in europe today.
we could have had an agreement earlier if for example the council secretariat had not prevented the council or the presidency from coming to a conclusion.
mr president i would like to say to the taoiseach given that the proclaimed stability jobs and growth have clearly not materialised could i perhaps suggest an alternative slogan for the presidency never let the facts get in the way of a good story'. six months ago the good story was a recovery country leading recovery in europe.
the unfortunate fact is ireland's return to recession leading a deepening recession in europe. today the good story is what is presented as a european budget stimulus.
the stubborn fact is that this is the first austerity budget in the history of the european union.
it involves cuts of tens of billions of euros not to bloated salaries not to bloated expenses but to funding for workers losing their jobs to erasmus to development programmes and to cohesion funding.
it will further worsen the crisis.
the other good story today according to the taoiseach is the opening of free trade talks with the us but the uncomfortable facts suggest that the so called special relationship is built on extensive spying on european governments and millions of citizens.