kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
it seems that the one head of state holding out against it the valiant president vclav klaus of the czech republic will be browbeaten into giving his consent shortly.
britain's own traitorous labour government has reneged on its promise to give the british people a referendum on lisbon and the one person who could hold out the hope of a referendum david cameron does not have the courage principle or inclination to do so.
the uk has a completely uncontrolled unlimited and chaotic immigration and asylum system.
as a member state of the european union we no longer control our own borders and under lisbon the tidal wave of immigration that we have experienced will become a tsunami.
so this report will make no difference whatsoever to anything and the comments made by the committee and the parliament will be ignored by the commission. i have heard the words freedom liberty and justice' bandied around in this debate.
what freedom is there when the citizens are not consulted on their new constitution under the lisbon treaty because they would reject it?
what liberty is there in laws made by undemocratic institutions that cannot be removed by the voter?
what justice is there when under the european arrest warrants national courts have been stripped of their powers to protect their own citizens from unjust arrest and imprisonment?
this union is an orwellian creation where words mean the opposite of what is said.
freedom of movement is a basic right and a pillar of eu citizenship for which we are all striving. being able to reduce borders and allow the freedom and benefits of travel to eu citizens has been quite remarkable especially considering european history.
the fact that this was done while increasing the ability of our authorities to tackle crime associated with crossing borders has been a major historic achievement and one of the great successes of the eu to date.
it was the schengen agreement that prompted ireland to build a full data system of criminal information that will hopefully be linked up to a european system in the coming years.
while there has been full cooperation between the irish security authorities and our european counterparts in the whole area of police matters the full benefits of the eu are not being shared by irish citizens.
the abolition of border controls requires mutual trust between all member states involved.
unfortunately the irish government's position so far is that it cannot trust its european neighbours in full and it is operating on a minor level when it comes to free movement of people in europe.
i very much regret this.
regarding the proposal in front of us i would ask the commission to withdraw it.
i believe that it gives too much power to the commission.
i fully agree with you that this is not only or chiefly an animal farming issue.
this is why our aim is to reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance attributed to the use of antimicrobials in animals.
i would like to see a league table of member states' usage of drugs per head of animal population so that we can actually look at countries which adopt best practice and benchmark them against others that are not.
let us get the information.
we need that information.
where we are finding that the efficacy of many once reliable antibiotics has declined significantly thereby putting human health at risk. so i support the intent of the debate. i also agree that the important first step must be to work closely with the various agencies and the pharmaceutical industry in order to monitor and assess the problem.
i want to state however that contrary to popular opinion this is not exclusively a problem brought about by intensive agriculture.
the random use of antibiotics in agriculture is or has been common to all farming be it large or small.
indeed i would go further and say that large scale producers today are usually vertically integrated under contractual terms with the processing sector and that the prophylactic use of antibiotics is usually prohibited or restricted under quality assurance schemes.
however it is clear that there must be some measure of control and i look forward to hearing details of the commissioner's strategy in due course.
cooperation with the european union is not an alternative to cooperation with other global powers namely russia and china.
many of these are shared threats for europe and central asia.
this has already been a specific focus of our regional approach.
in this respect like you we are following with concern certain negative developments in central asia concerning human rights and basic freedoms.
we want to reinforce our common action on these issues and intensify interaction between experts through existing platforms and projects.
parliament's report and the strategy review also underlined economic and commercial relations and the wish to promote business and investment in the region.
we cannot consider central asia to be a non differentiated bloc.
i know you see this very well and i know we can count on your help in defining a new fruitful relationship with central asia.
your report rightly notes that on a number of issues such as economic development and connectivity that are key to the region and to us some kind of cooperation between our european union china and russia can only benefit both central asia and ourselves.
eu development cooperation can assist countries of the region in dealing with the challenges they are facing. among these we cannot forget the many threats to regional security and stability. regional security will be discussed again in the upcoming meetings of the central asian border security initiative in april in bishkek and of the high level security dialogue in brussels in
i personally began discussing the strategy review with central asian ministers of foreign affairs in astana last december.
for this reason we are engaging directly with all countries in the region.
central asia stands at the crossroads between europe russia and asia.
in the previous debate we talked about a more connected world.
in a more connected world the most ancient global trade route can only become more relevant.
that is why i believe it is quite a shame that we have to have this late night debate with eleven members of parliament in the room while we discuss a highly strategic important issue. central asia needs to feature high on our foreign policy agenda for a number of reasons.
there is space and desire inside the region as you mentioned for a more active and result oriented cooperation between europe and each of the central asian states.
an ambitious working programme has been set up for example under the education platform and we welcome here the commitment and close cooperation of several member states such as poland and latvia.
this would be possible with the necessary development of a reliable investment climate which calls for on their side more work in the fight against corruption developing interconnections with the international business community and further regional integration.
we need to seek the right combination of individual and regional approaches because many of the challenges the countries of central asia face require common solutions. a regional approach is therefore required. water trafficking and border management the rising threat of radicalisation and limited international trade are
the areas of education the rule of law and the environment have been given particular attention.
the two thousand and fifteen review of the strategy reflects some asian partners' eagerness to distinguish themselves from their neighbours including in their ambitions to take forward their relationship with europe.
we share an interest in the stabilisation of afghanistan and have asked regional leaders to actively contribute to the preparation of the conference on afghanistan which we will host in brussels in october.
asia's economic slowdown and the threat against our security are making it very clear for both us and central asia that we have a strong interest in reinforcing our cooperation.
may. we are satisfied with the support provided by the rule of law initiative and the new face of border management and drug action programmes.
in this regard we want to make better use of existing platforms and dialogues to look for positive solutions.
first of all i would like to express sincere thanks to the rapporteur for excellent pragmatic cooperation on this file. the report focuses mostly on shortcomings and the need for a democratic reform process in the region.
as well as guaranteeing inheritance rights land ownership rights are essential if women are to be helped out of poverty.
members of the un discussed and debated a number of key points pertaining to the equality of women and men and the result was an ambitious document.
the femm committee opinion calls on the governments of the five states to fully implement the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and demands that they treat violence against women as a criminal offence. i would like to acknowledge that in some of those states some significant work has been done and some progress made. across the five states violence against women has been described by the un as prolific and pervasive; one third of girls report domestic violence as part of their lives.
so we welcome the close attention paid to the area of improving access to land including equal opportunities to buy and invest.
how can this lead to anything but confused and muddled policymaking?
today we have already discussed a number of pressing problems deadly crises complex policy problems and precarious situations around the world. the region that we are going to talk about in the last item on today's agenda central asia may not seem to require such urgent attention. it may not produce a pressing demand
on our resources but it is and this is one of the most important conclusions of the report a region of increasing strategic importance to the european union. as rapporteur on the implementation and review of the eu central asia strategy the first fact that i have learned from my colleagues is that we all agree on the growing relevance
of the region to the european union.
the entire process. let me start with the observation that the central asia strategy as formulated nine years ago had the right level of ambition. the achievements of the implementation were rather less spectacular though.
that limited success requires that all parties involved the eu the member states and the five countries of central asia need to make a serious and concerted effort to reach the aims laid down in the various official documents and treaties which we have with the region.
for instance we also see a need for a more differentiated conditional and incentivebased approach and it should be applied so that regional programmes are more tailored to the needs of the interested parties within the region not necessarily comprising the entire set of five countries.
some would even doubt whether it is a region in its own right. it would make sense to develop projects aimed at those countries which are willing to participate and willing to foster these kinds of links.
we emphasise that the disbursement of eu funds should be incentive and performance based and that benchmarks should be developed for each and every country.
these need to be formulated to assess their progress.
the key areas include among others and i am sure my colleagues would list more than these democratisation fighting and preventing corruption free and fair elections ending drug trafficking respecting labour laws and so
on. the countries of the region need to develop their human rights records.
some indeed seem to be inhospitable terrain for even the basic political rights.
because of the precariousness of the human rights situation in some countries of the region we urge the eeas to base their assessments not on the laws enacted but on the facts established on the ground.
this is not the first or the last time that we have said that. we need to speak with one voice together with the member states.
as for the notion that we should acknowledge progress when it takes place i am also in full agreement and i would like to emphasise both clauses of the sentence acknowledgment of progress' and when it really takes place'.
our goal should be to act as an impartial mediator in the resolution of the existing conflicts primarily related to water supply and ethnic divisions. the same applies to development assistance provision especially in education and the environment.
i believe this report is also about job creation and that is why i supported it.
i hope that it will be implemented quickly especially in my region in the west midlands.
my government in the uk has taken the lead on this issue by reducing vat by.
madam president in the current difficult economic climate this report brings the kind of joined up thinking that is desperately needed.
vat reductions will help most the people who need it most the people who earn less than others.
it is about making sure that jobs do not disappear into the black economy.
we also need to stress that we have to allow member states to reduce vat on certain items to battle against climate change.
this convention was always a compromise;
on the one hand it has many good things but on the other hand it has some absolutely inappropriate parts.
so i had to vote against it.
it also includes abortion which has no place in children's rights.
tragedies are happening all over the world but the basis of her report is the un convention on the rights of the child and we move on we do more and more on the basis of a very flawed convention.
it was a telling point that as a member of her ind dem group she was willing to be rapporteur to play a constructive role in the work of our parliament unlike her colleagues from the so called uk independence party who i believe if i am right have never been rapporteurs for any report in this parliament in the four and a half years since a motley crew of twelve of them were elected at the last european elections. all they do is snipe from the sidelines usually on the basis of ignorance because they are unwilling to get engaged in the real work that we are doing across the political spectrum in this house to ensure that the legislation and
all they want to do is be negative and oppose everything.
it must remain high on the eu health policy agenda as one in four people will experience a depressive illness at least once in their lives and by two thousand and twenty it will be the most common illness in the developing world.
but i am afraid the coalface delivery of mental health services continues to be completely unfit for purposes.
our mental health policy is articulated in a document called a vision for change and many of the calls for action in the rapporteur's report are stated in our national policy or indeed are enshrined in our legislation.
madam president i am delighted that we continue to take mental health with some seriousness and some priority here in this house.
madam president i welcome the opportunity to speak briefly on this because of the absolutely brilliant address that we heard from the president of the czech republic.
one of the disturbing features of this parliament which i find on so many issues is an undercurrent and sometimes overcurrent of anti american feeling.
this calls for improved and advance use of applied research.
however much as i appreciate the report i would like to caution that in these straitened economic times we must be aware of duplication of effort and avoid same.
eight of the ten leading causes of disability are mental health issues and mental health problems have a huge effect on those not directly affected.
therefore we urgently need to update mental health legislation that can properly develop an awareness of the importance of good mental health.
the message i have been trying to get across in my constituency in the west midlands is that the media the internet schools and workplaces all have a vital role to play in making the public aware.
however we also need more research into the field of mental health and the interaction between mental and physical health problems and an explanation of how mental health initiatives might be funded under the european social fund and the european regional development fund.
employers also need to promote a healthy working climate paying attention to work related stress and the underlying causes of mental disorder at the workplace and tackling those causes.
yet there are those in this house who seek to undermine the very institution that has allowed us to cooperate with our american and canadian colleagues and a number of eu countries.
let us not forget the vital role that nato has played long may it continue.
' what is interesting about this report is that for the first time we are in many ways looking at the key for future development.
i urge all my colleagues in this house to look at the solutions that have been highlighted by the e.
west centre at the university of newcastle which looks at private education for the poor. where the state has failed to provide education for poor children parents themselves have come together finance non state education and therefore are also able to subsidise the non working poor.
i would urge everyone to look beyond the state for solutions to help the very poorest in our society.
two thousand and eight it was over agriculture issues and the commissioner has referred to this.
we wish those who are negotiating well in their endeavours although the director general of the wto remains somewhat unconvinced that they can crack an agreement.
i note that there is some progress but i am not so sure that sufficient progress has been made and the issue of agriculture in trade agreements generally is a contentious one. we have a canada deal and a us bilateral deal with the eu in the offing and we need to look very carefully at their implications for the agricultural sector in the european union.
it was a desire by the developing countries to protect their agriculture in a way that they saw fit.
we need a real commitment to multilateralism and at the same time we need a structural reform of the wto in order to guarantee a fair trading system based on shared rules that takes into account the pressing global challenges such as climate change poverty social exclusion gender disparity and migration. it is of the utmost importance that developing countries and specifically the least developed countries should be fully involved in the negotiations
agreement has already been reached on guidelines regarding preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries and on the implementation of the service waiver which sets out a number of ways in which we could help service providers from least developed countries and thereby contribute to the development of their service markets.
if this conference is successful it will open the door for further negotiations on the core issues of the doha round including agriculture and market access for industrial goods which need to be addressed at multilateral level.
the european union will provide assistance to those countries to help them with the process of implementing the agreement.
if members of the wto manage to achieve consensus a central element of the outcome of the ministerial conference will be a trade facilitation agreement. such an agreement would provide tremendous benefits to traders around the world by improving customs procedures increasing transparency reducing red tape and allowing goods to move faster across borders.
the biggest beneficiaries will be the developing countries and particularly smaller developing countries and the least developed countries.
finally considering the importance of the ministerial conference the commission welcomes the fact that members of the european parliament will attend this event as part of the eu delegation and the commission looks forward to further exchanges on the conference with
a central element of the outcome will be a work programme in which all wto members commit to returning to the negotiating table. several other issues will also be discussed and possibly agreed at the ministerial conference.
it will also help to move on to addressing further issues which although not included in the doha mandate are of tremendous importance to trading companies.
all members of the wto will benefit from this agreement.
the agreement will help them to improve the functioning of their customs administrations encourage the rapid development of regional trade and foster their integration into global value chains.
it will be of great importance for the world trade organisation and for the multilateral trading system. for the first time in many years we are close to reaching agreement on certain elements of the doha development agenda.
an agreement on trade facilitation will go hand in hand with outcomes on a limited number of agricultural issues and on development issues including those of particular interest to the least developed countries.
although limited in nature such a package should not be considered small. apart from the economic benefits it would provide it would also have a tremendous systemic impact as it would constitute the first step towards the conclusion of the doha development
my colleague mr de gucht will certainly take them into consideration mostly because members of the european parliament will attend the event as part of the eu delegation and so there will be room for further exchanges on the conference during the conference and after the
firstly to reduce trade and investment barriers that affect service sectors including ict and telecommunications e commerce and financial services.
two especially in today's situation we need to do everything we can to implement more decisively and widely a fair and non discriminatory trade system based on shared rules and the adoption of international standards. but for that of course structural reform of the world trade organisation is needed and first of all everybody needs to be taken on board. still we need to concentrate on priorities.
international organisations like the oecd and the world bank have recognised the importance of smart specialisation in economic development and are becoming engaged in supporting some central and east european countries.
but i would like to thank you in particular for emphasising that the smart specialisation conditionality is not a statutory formal obligation.
secondly concerning the step up advice. your report highlights the positive impact of the advice that we provide to help with this process in particular through the smart specialisation platform managed by the commissions institute for prospective technological studies in seville.
this should be a game changer based on a new culture of cooperation and governance what we call an entrepreneurial discovery process.
in the cohesion policy regulations has already led to a new quality and dynamic in horizontal inter ministerial cooperation and to closer involvement by universities and businesses in the development of regional strategies partnership agreements and operational programmes.
only through real commitment to economic transformation and real partnership between administration business academia and civil society can we kick start the microeconomic engine and mobilise the innovation potential of all the regions. our ambition is for every euro spent on cohesion policy in the next seven years to be strategically targeted and result oriented. this is why smart specialisation strategies are one of the main pillars of the reformed cohesion policy. we are guided by the conviction that you cannot dictate innovation you can only cultivate
obviously we have to utilise european funds to the best possible advantage to do research particularly in regions with cooperation from the various stakeholders to get the best possible results. this applies right across all fields and particularly so nowadays as we have seen the
what about the right to free movement when it comes to border controls? what about the right to the presumption of innocence when it comes to security measures?