kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
i can assure you that the commission shares the commitment to promoting the political participation of people with disabilities.
in saying that the electoral law and the rules fall under the competence of the member states the commission is not declaring that this is not something which we want to work on and which we do not want to support. you asked rightly about what the commission did what it does and what it will do.
the commission remains committed to enhancing in future reports its assessment of existing election procedures in this area among the member states.
first on legal questions.
the directives as such do not presuppose complete harmonisation of member states' electoral systems which to a large extent remain governed by national laws. also the court of justice confirmed that it is up to eu countries to regulate aspects of european parliament electoral procedure not harmonised at eu level by the electoral act.
madam president the european disability forum representing the voices of people with disabilities across europe has adopted a manifesto for the participation of persons with disabilities in the european elections.
the manifesto gives recommendations that would ensure that people with disabilities can enjoy their right to vote and stand for election.
i invite colleagues from all political groups to read the manifesto and answer the call by integrating the recommendations into their election campaign commitments and pledges.
meanwhile the constant effort to improve the participation of people with disabilities in political and civil life should not limit itself to election periods.
the active citizenship of all citizens must remain a priority in our increasingly fragile democracies.
the most efficient way to ensure equal opportunities accessibility non discrimination and social justice for all is to maintain a human rights approach as well as to further involve civil society and those directly affected in the decisionmaking processes.
in that respect i call on the commission to reinstate the funding for the european network on independent living.
the smugglers have been increasingly put out of business.
the unhcr has obtained better access to refugee facilities in turkey.
firstly i heard a number of negative comments about the eu turkey statement of march.
secondly let us not forget that the use of biometric passports by turkey will allow us to better control who enters the eu.
let me stress once more that visa freedom can only take place once the commission has reported that it is satisfied with the efforts of turkey to meet the required benchmarks.
finally as i said before it is difficult for me to communicate at this stage a council position since our work has just begun but as i said at the beginning it was important for me to hear your views and your concerns.
we have started an orderly process of resettlement and readmission.
the vast and uncontrollable flows of irregular migration across the eastern mediterranean have been brought to a halt.
thirdly a lot has been said today about the human rights situation in turkey and i agree with everybody in this house who says that the situation is far from perfect.
the tragic loss of life has dramatically reduced.
refugees have obtained the right to work in turkey and have gained better access to turkish social facilities such as schooling and health care.
eighteen i understand and i am the first one to admit that this agreement is by no means perfect but let us also remind ourselves of the positive effects that this agreement has yielded so far.
but what i would like to underline is let us not lose sight of also the positive developments.
we are regaining control over our eastern borders so it might not be a perfect agreement i agree but it was and is the very first effective response to the migration crisis.
at the same time i would like to remind you that turkey is hosting around three million refugees so the efforts of the turkish government to provide a safe shelter for all these people fleeing war and conflict is impressive at the very end and turkey deserves our support in coping with this enormous challenge.
it will contribute to our safety.
i also worry about the freedom of speech in turkey and let me stress every human rights violation is one too many so we will need to continue to engage with turkey on human rights issues because only through engagement will we be able to achieve
why are you all just bashing and dashing turkey which is a key partner for the european union?
we have taken a commitment and at the moment we are not sticking to our commitment.
we did not have a report on the table when the criteria were not fulfilled and as the commissioner very rightly said there is exceptional progress going on.
we need to work with them to have a dialogue to have a constructive cooperation for the common interest.
we should not have double standards. the criteria must be fulfilled without shortcuts but no strict interpretation either.
visa freedom is for the people to promote people to people contact a driving force for reforms.
when i was shadow rapporteur for bosnia and the western balkans that was what the united left and the greens were saying political criteria not a mathematic roadmap.
we need to find a solution common ground on the terror law and to stop bashing constructive dialogue that is what we need.
the eu agreed to start visa dialogue with turkey in.
mr president i call on the conference of presidents to give the green light to the visa liberalisation report for turkey as we did for other countries.
two thousand and thirteen in exchange for the readmission agreement let us stick to our commitments.
we are not watering down our standards in order to provide visa free but we are doing everything we can to provide support and expertise to the turkish authorities to accelerate what are also quite important reforms in their own right.
in any case the commission will continue to monitor closely the fulfilling of these benchmarks and naturally i and my services will ensure that you are regularly updated.
and action plans on social inclusion of citizens with a roma background on corruption in the fight against drugs trafficking in the fight against organised crime which they are starting to implement.
this implies for turkey to take the following steps to adopt measures to fight against corruption in line with the recommendations of the council of europe;
for this to be achieved turkey needs to further align its data protection standards to the european ones.
the commission also proposed to revise the existing suspension mechanism of the visa free regime.
we are confronted with the same challenges.
it is a horizontal provision which will apply to all visa free countries and not only turkey.
what is also important in their path towards the european union?
not just because this is required by the roadmap but because the reforms required by the roadmap are the basis for an even stronger cooperation on both security and migration with sensitive data exchanges that need adequate protection.
but let me be clear as well that there is still progress to be made.
i am confident they remain committed to implement all aspects of that statement.
i want to be clear this agreement is beneficial for both sides.
we have to remain optimistic that the turkish authorities will give that final push before the end of june.
they have ratified all international conventions and protocols and judicial cooperation indicated by the visa liberalisation roadmap and as requested by the roadmap they have also adopted several pieces of legislation for instance on trafficking in human beings and on judicial cooperation and on equality and anti discrimination
as a result of this for example they are now fully cooperating with greece on readmission.
regarding two of these seven outstanding requirements the commission has noted that for practical and procedural reasons turkey needs a longer timeline for implementation.
when it comes to turkey's obligation to build up a track record under the eu turkey readmission agreement we simply need a bit more time as this agreement only becomes effective next month.
at the same time the commission has presented a proposal to amend regulation five hundred and thirty nine with a view to revising the current suspension mechanism. the main objective is to strengthen this mechanism by making it easier for member states to notify circumstances leading to a possible suspension and by enabling the commission to trigger the mechanism on its own initiative and yes at a time when we are considering granting visa liberalisation to a one hundred and thirty million citizens it is only natural to look again at the current suspension mechanism.
there is broad consensus within council to advance quickly on the revision of the suspension and monitoring mechanism with the aim of agreeing a position at the justice and home affairs council of twenty
it will undoubtedly facilitate decision making.
we will not take a decision based on political expediency.
however it also becomes abundantly clear that turkey has not yet managed to fulfil all seventy two benchmarks.
it is something from which we all at the very end benefit.
from the outset i must however underline that my own comments will be preliminary.
it will facilitate people to people contact.
it accelerated the existing process. secondly i would like to stress that visa freedom for turkey is something that benefits at the very end all parties concerned. not only can turkish citizens travel to europe more easily but the millions of europeans visiting turkey for
the council has just started examining the report presented by the commission;
seven benchmarks remain unfulfilled.
now in the commission's third report it is concluded that turkey has achieved remarkable progress.
the commission's proposal responds to a broadly felt need in the council to have a more effective mechanism and we are grateful to the commission for this proposal.
it is now up to us parliament and the council as co legislators to start working on the different proposals and as i said work in the council has started. the council's visa working party met this morning and if one thing becomes clear from the initial discussions it is that this is by no means an easy decision. what also came out of the discussions is the firm determination of all member states to stick to a merit based approach.
turkey needs to fulfil the benchmarks and i do trust that this house shares that conviction.
with regard to the biometric passports the practical solution consists of limiting visa freedom to the holders of the latest generation of biometric passports.
in other words this is not just a present for president erdoan neither should it be seen as just a concession by europe to turkey.
as part of the euturkey deal on refugees it was agreed that the eu is willing to accelerate that process if and when turkey meets all seventy two criteria.
the lengthy and bureaucratic procedure to obtain a visa is of great nuisance for turkish citizens who want to travel to the eu for business studies or simply for enjoying their holidays.
let us be honest turkey over the last few months has come much closer to meeting the set of technical standards than any of us would have thought possible but the commission has also made it clear that there are still five criteria where turkey does not fulfil the benchmarks.
among these are the fight against corruption an independent data protection authority and most importantly turkey's very broadly defined anti terror legislation the same anti terror legislation which has been criticised for many years by us here in parliament not because turkey does not have the right to fight against islamic state pkk or other terrorist groups but because this law is used to jail journalists and silence academics.
this statement was made by a former turkish eu minister some years ago and i believe it is still valid today.
just like the current attempt to lift the immunity of one hundred and twenty nine members of parliament including almost the entire hdp parliamentary faction this will certainly not bring turkey closer to european standards nor bring it closer to restarting their much needed peace process.
but while accelerating that process was part of the deal lowering our standards certainly was not.
it is therefore good that the eu and turkey started negotiations two years ago in order to lift this visa requirement.
this is the problem and we should not engage in this completely immoral agreement or statement or trade off or whatever it is called.
mr president when you read the progress report on turkey you can get the impression that all is well.
the commission is clear turkey does not fulfil all the seventy two criteria.
once turkey fulfils the conditions that apply to every other country they should obtain visa free status.
on migration management the report does not contain one single hint about inconvenient facts such as the shooting to death of refugees at the borders.
in other words when the fundamental rights are granted and all the academics journalists authors and everyone else that has used the right to freedom of speech are released from prison and everybody freely can also practise free speech in the streets and cities of turkey. clearly we are not there any more.
has the commission missed completely the fact that the repression of basically everyone opposing erdoan's totalitarian regime has increased dramatically?
erdoan is equally clear when he is stating that turkey does not intend to fulfil the criteria especially those relating to terrorism legislation.
something is rotten in this as long as we continue.
that is blackmail in my book and why is europe open to blackmail?
the criteria must be fulfilled and if i listen to the presentation also on monday in libe by the commission who says well we are nearly there there are just a few little details to be concluded here and there they are not details we can all see what is happening in turkey.
but we should really be having this debate with the architects of this unsavoury deal with turkey where they made a trade off between the reception of refugees and granting of visa liberalisation.
so what you are saying on behalf of your institutions is simply not reality.
just today we hear that through his office's advisers mr erdoan makes it known to the european parliament that if the european parliament takes the wrong decision he will let the refugees travel to europe.
yet i am unhappy with the debate we are having because quite frankly i have great personal respect and appreciation both for minister hennis and commissioner avramopoulos and i realise that you have to represent the official view of the council and the commission.
get us the border and coastguard and do not make us vulnerable to blackmail by people like erdoan.
now council go home and do your homework.
two thousand and thirteen successfully concluding this process by fulfilling all benchmarks of the roadmap will be indeed very beneficial for both the european union and for turkey.
the commission will continue in the weeks to come to stay in close contact with the turkish authorities and provide assistance and advice to ensure that jointly the european union and turkey will be able to conclude this process. as i said in my introductory remarks it is beneficial for both sides.
ultimately i am convinced it will represent a decisive step forward for turkey as a candidate country in the process of its legal approximation towards eu standards in the field of justice and home affairs. in this perspective i am convinced
let us approach this in a positive way because we have already the first tangible results and outcome of this cooperation.
more than that it will create further possibilities for people to people contacts between the citizens of turkey and those of the european union thus facilitating mutual knowledge and building confidence.
a process which the european union and turkey have jointly started already since.
that the commission took the right decision to present the proposal.
it will not only contribute to create a higher level of security and a better management of migration and mobility for our citizens;
the fact is president erdoan has realised he is now in a position to hold the entire block to ransom and make demands of the eu that even two years ago would have been unthinkable. and to understand just what a stranglehold erdoan has achieved consider his we're going our way you go yours' outburst in rejecting eu demands for changes to turkey's anti terror laws. this is a law that is more often than not used on opponents of erdoan's regime yet it is a law that the commission has chosen to give way on as it pushes ahead with giving turkey visa free eu travel as a reward for their cooperation.
this once again demonstrates how the eu's principles have the same attributes as toilet tissue strong to start with but simply dissolves when the right conditions are met. it seems to me that as long as the eu gets to keep its core principles of free movement they do not care how many other principles are cast aside.
when there are mis selling scandals which affect thousands of constituents the relevant financial supervisor needs to be held to account publicly.
yet still be accountable for its supervisory decisions to national and supranational parliaments.
most fundamentally these two simple majority votes must come together to form one qualified majority vote overall so that the european single market is protected. this agreement sets a template for exactly how a renegotiated european union could work a european union that recognises that all member states are different both economically and culturally yet can still work together to achieve an overall outcome that everyone can be comfortable with.
ensuring continued participation within the single market on equitable terms that allow a global financial centre to operate is of the utmost importance to all companies and individuals within the european union.
the agreement to establish the single supervisory mechanism and the accompanying adjustments to the european banking authority are seminal.
at the beginning of this mandate a new financial system for financial regulation across europe was set up in the form of the european supervisory bodies. these institutions were tasked with providing technical input and drafting the details of legislation as part of the codecision process creating a single rule book so that banks and financial service companies across europe face a level playing field in financial regulation and a company in ljubljana or in cardiff has as much access to finance as a company in frankfurt london or paris.
the ecb is entering new territory with new supervisory powers directly over banks a situation not dissimilar to the bank of england with its new prudential supervisory powers. however the outstanding issue i believe that we have still not adequately solved in these reports is finding a way for the european central bank to maintain its independence in monetary policy
preserving that single rule book approach in an environment which has caused many financial supervisors to look inwards is going to be a difficult task in the coming years.
it is in no one's interest for their activity to move outside europe.
they set in place within the current eu treaty a mechanism for a multispeed europe. the eurozone can push ahead with the more integrated system that they have agreed is necessary to support the single currency whilst those members who have signed up to join the euro have been accommodated in a voluntary system that they can choose to join when they deem it suitable for their individual situations and importantly the rights of those outside the euro are preserved by a new dual voting system which requires a simple majority of those participants inside the single supervisory mechanism and a separate simple majority of those member states who choose to remain outside it.
the city of london is the jewel of the single market with the financial services it provides being of benefit not just to the uk but to the entire eu.
no financial supervisor can ever operate outside of the public interest which is best represented by democratically elected parliaments.
when a criminal investigation of systemic proportions is undertaken affecting many banks the authorities need to explain publicly and demonstrate that suitable remedies and possible sanctions will be applied.
i actually have two questions.
concerning money laundering and the lack of effort on the part of the cypriot authorities to combat money laundering effectively?
at the same time it will make full use of the resources and skills of the national authorities.
madam president i am very pleased to have the opportunity to take part in this afternoon's debate on the package of regulations establishing the single supervisory mechanism and adapting the set up of the european banking authority.
this package of texts the ecb regulation conferring supervisory tasks on the ecb and the amended eba regulation will lay the foundations of a new and more effective system of supervision for all the participating member states.
this was reflected in the report on economic and monetary union prepared by the presidents of the european council the commission the eurogroup and the european central bank.
it will in any case be able from the outset to guide the actions of national supervisors.
the ecb will also be able to exercise some macro prudential powers in cooperation with national authorities.
firstly and importantly we have agreed on the distribution of work between the ecb and the national competent authorities. we have sought to reconcile the cohesiveness of the supervisory architecture to have a true single supervisory mechanism with the need to make the most of national supervisors' competences and local reach.
but we should not be complacent.
we will have put in place the first pillar of the banking union.
these also relate to the appointment of the chair and vice chair of the supervisory board where parliament now has a very prominent role. safeguards were also needed for non euro area member states willing to participate in the single supervisory mechanism with the aim of making the new system as attractive as possible to non euro area member states.
the single supervisory mechanism is a major step forward in restoring the confidence of markets and the public in the strength of our supervisory system.
billions of euros of public money have been committed to supporting the banking system whilst budgetary constraints have been imposed on other policies.
since the single supervisory mechanism will bring about a major institutional change it is important that it builds on existing arrangements based on current banking legislation.
there will also be important safeguards regarding the separation of the supervisory function from the monetary policy function within the ecb.
the powers of the ecb must of course be balanced by adequate accountability and governance arrangements to which this parliament has made a particularly important contribution.
however it is clear that the governing council remains the key decision making body of the ecb.
this has led to very considerable and understandable public frustration.
the ssm is of course only the first step on the path to establishing the banking union.
the crisis that has hit our economies in the last five years has revealed considerable weaknesses in many banking systems and in the way they were supervised.
the text i believe achieves a good balance on this particular issue and i understand that many countries have given indications that they are considering joining the ssm as a result.
i will briefly mention some of the key provisions of the agreement reached between our institutions.
we will have shown that we are together determined to make our financial system more robust.
it is particularly significant that it has been accomplished in only two and a half months of intense negotiations.
when the ecb takes up its full supervisory powers around summer next year this will constitute a major change to the current system.