kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
we have the backing of hundreds of millions of eu citizens with whom we stand side by side in the battle for rule of law for democracy and for our rights.
i note that the council is absent which is strange because they are the other half of the agreement but apparently they don't care.
and there is a contrast between the attitude of the council and parliament.
colleagues do you remember the scenes of last summer the balcony scenes where they were fighting like cats and dogs over money where there were political games where there were vetoes blackmail and acrimony?
it was the worst of the european union the image that they showed the citizens.
we deliver on the rule of law.
we deliver on recovery from the covid crisis.
on the rule of law conditionality i'm very happy that we have the mechanism but now we also expect the european commission to act on it.
and we need to remember that this is about conditionality it's not a sanctions mechanism.
that means that every single penny that will be spent has to be checked against compliance with the rule of law standards.
so don't come here and say oh we first have to investigate and see if everybody complies' we know what the situation is so act.
finally i think the situation with mr orbn shows that we desperately need to change the system.
it cannot be that a single autocrat is holding the entire european union hostage.
it is taxpayers' money that we are talking about and this should not be for mr orbn to determine.
this is for the democratically elected representatives of the european people.
joe biden and his promise of politics based on respect for each other for facts and for science has won.
kamala harris vice president elect achieved something truly historic.
a first woman a woman of colour harris smashed many glass ceilings and while a lot remains to be done on gender equality this breakthrough will have a long lasting impact.
but while trump is voted out of the white house trumpism or whatever you want to call this disastrous mix of nationalism racism and narcissism got a lot of support.
and it also has a lot of support in europe and even among some eu governments as we have seen.
democracy equality and rule of law are not a given on either side of the atlantic.
it is something we have to strive for every day and never take for granted.
movements like black lives matter like me too and journalists democracy activists and many more fought back and defended democracy in the us for the past four years.
they are the ones that should be celebrated in these elections.
transatlantic relations have taken a hard hit over the past four years and while we all hope and we can be sure that they will become better now the lesson learned for europe is that it needs to stand more on its own two feet.
in order to be able to do that we need to also stand stronger together and more firmly.
for that we need to have a common understanding of fundamental values because if we don't know on what grounds we stand as a union then we cannot grow. and equally we cannot shy away from the responsibilities of our actions in the external world.
that goes for the climate crisis for weapons exports for conflict parties or for shady energy projects with even more shady partners such as nord stream.
if we want europe to be taken seriously by the world we have to take ourselves seriously first and that means taking responsibility for our actions and their impact in the world no matter who rules the white house.
while this parliament has no role in triggering the new mechanism without this house there would be no strong conditionality between the eu budget and respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights.
this was a red line for my group.
being determined and firm we achieved something unique and something that is there to stay.
we now have a real effective and enforceable tool to stand up against autocratic leaders trying to take down our democracies and blackmailing our union.
we can finally put an end to leaders enriching themselves their friends and their relatives with eu money. we created a smart mechanism to make sure the eu budget ends up in the hands of the people who it is meant for.
we did not give in on our core democratic principles and the empty bluff of autocratic leaders in panic will no longer hold the eu hostage.
we are ready to adopt the agreement and to get started on an ambitious eu budget we have agreed on for the next seven years. now it is up to the commission and the eu leaders to make use of this too.
this historic agreement is important for all those europeans striving hard through crisis and the pandemic making sacrifices every single day and bad news for corrupt leaders trying to take advantage of it.
mr president the first word that i have in mind about this agreement is gratitude gratitude to the representatives of the council to the commission to my colleagues to our teams to every one of you who made this possible under extremely difficult circumstances.
now this truly means delivering to the people for their safer and better future and i would like to thank you for that.
my second thought goes to the role the european parliament and my group renew europe had in defending the rule of law and european values along this process and we will continue to defend it and keep an eye on the commission and on the council to fulfil their commitments as well because we are defending the mere essence of the european project
this is the reason that we are stepping into this house every day doing our work and we are defending the hope of millions of people along with it.
i'm so proud to be part of the political family who is writing history in such a way.
it is a proven fact that those marching against history written by visionary people usually end up in a very cold unfriendly and insignificant quarter of such a history and i would like you to think very very well whether you want to end up like this or not because the european project and the world moves forward with or without you.
we are pushing it forward with or without you.
mr president after the elections we all felt relief relief from the endless stream of fake news and let's be honest the racism of mr trump.
millions of europeans have been watching the american elections waiting for the verdict of the american people.
but the americans will not solve our problems.
we shouldn't live our lives to the rhythm of american democracy. we should live our lives to the beat of our own drum to the rhythm of european democracy.
so let's welcome and congratulate presidentelect joe biden and vicepresidentelect kamala harris with open arms.
but let's do so by building from our own strength. this commission promised to be a geopolitical commission.
we have the perfect opportunity now to show the americans we mean business by going forward with the european defence union by creating a real european migration policy by building a european intelligence capacity that is able to combat terrorism on the same level as american agencies.
he might and let's hope he might tweet less than his predecessor and more politely but he is also more focused on asia than on europe.
instead of always hiding behind the americans we need to stand next to the usa.
we have delivered in own resources.
for the mff we have delivered on flagship programmes and for me most importantly we have delivered on the rule of law. last thursday we reached an agreement with the council as regards the rule of law conditionality. i honestly call this
a historic milestone for protecting european union values a milestone that we have waited for years to come true. for the first time we have established a mechanism that enables the european union to stop funding governments that disrespect our common values such as the rule of law.
most importantly we did not compromise on the values.
we made sure that the rule of law is seen in the context of all the union's values enshrined in the treaties such as the independence of the judiciary.
with this regulation every breach of the rule of law any breach of the rule of law can be covered by the mechanism from individual breaches to systemic or recurrent breaches for which no mechanism has existed so far.
and more than that we opened the scope.
we have a separate list for breaches of the principles of the rule of law.
we reduced the timeline from the presidency's proposal;
we put back in the text the protection of the final beneficiaries.
i believe we all agree that this mechanism may not be perfect but it is a significant improvement compared to the proposal we received from the presidency.
in this connection i would also like to thank the german presidency for very very constructive negotiations.
going back just a couple of years there were not many who believed we could achieve this much if anything.
we as the european parliament listened to the will of the citizens and pushed for a real rule of law conditionality mechanism that actually works.
we have a tool to fight back against democracy backsliding and to make sure that eu support reaches those who need it the most instead of disappearing into the pockets of corrupt oligarchs.
we need to continue to be the voice of our citizens who witnessed the abuse of eu funds up close day by day and who have spent years calling on europe to finally do something about it.
we need to make sure that europe continues to listen to them.
it is a resounding commitment that europe is ready to take action.
let me tell you action could not be more urgent.
they should be protecting lives but instead they are protecting their own pockets.
and up until now eu action has been disappointingly slow or even completely absent.
but now we have all european institutions all major political groups lined up behind this commitment.
and i was one of those eu citizens who was inspired by them and who kept on enthusiastically hitting the like and share buttons on social media. and now thanks to this parliament these visions are within our grasp and it is very humbling to be present when this first draft of history is being written.
this budget shows the stark difference between those who bet against the european project and those who never stopped believing in it because even a few months ago it was unthinkable that we will have a budget of this size and this ambition.
they believe that european democracy is losing and the future is creeping authoritarianism from russia china or even donald trump's united states.
but they were completely wrong.
the best thing about liberal institutions is their capacity to constantly renew and reinvent themselves and this is why europe always rebounds.
honey bees are of great economic significance and ecological importance we all appreciate that.
like many other speakers i really want to focus on the most pressing aspect of this issue the urgent need for more research both to shed light on disease issues in bee colonies and to provide us with some more concrete ideas on the way forward.
could i call on the commission to sponsor through the framework programmes perhaps some additional and specific research not only on the causes of hive collapse but also on possible remedies?
we have heard from all our speakers tonight about the significance and importance of this sector.
existing diseases are not fully understood and problems such as colony collapse disorder are as yet unexplained and unresolved. the uk is losing its bee population at around thirty a year and this is clearly unsustainable and potentially devastating.
we need to find long term effective solutions to this pressing issue.
pollination and no more fruit no more plants no more man and god forbid no more lullings. so we have a serious problem because the population globally has declined rapidly over the last ten years. there are a number of issues which have been raised.
then of course we have what we have in other areas such as beef and fish too many imports coming in too easily from third countries and undermining our own production.
a lot of scientists in a lot of places are working on this and the commission could play a very powerful role in pooling that information and working out how much we know about this connected and very serious problem.
this has been a long standing call of this parliament and it strikes me that this is not just about doling out money but about sharing best practice and knowledge across the union.
indeed without them there is no food production.
only then can concrete steps be taken to address the problem. firstly i wish to see that funding for research projects is maintained after two thousand and twelve and i would support the initiatives which encourage young beekeepers into the apiculture sector.
we are of course entering a period of intense debate on the future of the cap and i believe that this is a fundamental problem that should continue to be addressed in the context of a revised eu agricultural policy after.
it is therefore very worrying that the beekeeping sector continues to report that the mortality rates are astonishingly high. although i feel that we have been successful in raising the awareness and communicating the severity of the situation over the years we must maintain pressure to ensure that research into the cause of these mortality rates continues and remains well funded.
two thousand and thirteen i think we have an opportunity to do something positive.
what we need to do is to guarantee financial support for this particular sector. beekeeping is dependent on the modalities of the common agricultural policy so we need to have a special line in relation to beekeeping. quite apart from the economic reality if you look at for example the situation in relation to the health properties of honey as we have more and more honey based health supplements it is quite obvious that the benefits from the point of view of the health of the ordinary human being are huge for those who decide
i would support what he says because this is an area where there are few experts but many opinions.
we have a problem and we do not know the reason for it.
we throw money at research but let us look for better quality research and coordinated research across member states to get the results that beekeepers want and absolutely need.
i think the european union needs to look at that because we do have problems in both beekeeping and the wild bee population.
we do need to look at enhancing biodiversity so you would have my support on that commissioner.
madam president the problem with this report on the diminishing bee population is that there is a real tragedy here.
however having examined this document i find that the proposals being put to this house are a classic example of what is known in this building as a beneficial crisis'.
the cap features in passing in this report but there is no mention of the destructive effect of the imposition of that policy in my country.
i am thinking here of the nature of hedgerows and the working of fields and orchards the management of which has been seriously interfered with by eu legislation to the detriment of bees in britain.
the report admits that it cannot identify the prime cause for the drop in bee numbers and so cites a large number of possibilities.
the one constant in all this is the presence of the varroa mite which attacks the bees' immune system and is probably the root cause of this whole problem.
but no the plight of bees is used as an excuse to introduce a whole host of regulations calling amongst other things for cooperation between beekeepers' associations from member states tighter controls on the importation of honey increased labelling requirements hardly designed to stop the bees dying surely product authorisation whatever that is and a move to recruit young beekeepers.
no doubt well intentioned this report needs to be reduced to identifying and eliminating whatever it is that is killing our bees and to allow the international community to deal with it not to serve as an excuse for more and more and more eu regulation.
i am glad to see it and to be able to take part in it.
i agree that bee diseases should be highlighted in eu veterinary policy both to highlight the importance of bees and also to have a policy and to monitor the population across europe.
money must be invested in research and development into the diminishing bee population and funding must be made available to schemes which can help.
i believe that a balanced view of the decline of the bee population must be taken into consideration not just blaming farming practices but investing in investigation into diseases and ways of minimising their impact.
madam president commissioner thank you for your comments. you yourself outlined the challenges that we face a reduction in the numbers of beekeepers and the need to attract new and professional apiarists and crucially the increase in bee mortality caused by a number of factors but in particular by the presence of the varroa mite which compromises the immune system of bees.
all of us agree that bee health is important and i am pleased to hear that the commission will put forward key measures to deal with the current very serious situation.
i would emphasise the need to ensure consultation of beekeepers when drawing up any programmes in order to ensure first of all their effectiveness and secondly their implementation. as well as beekeepers we need to ensure sustainable pollinator friendly farming practices.
i think this is very important and should be an element in the cap.
i would also say that while citizens are aware of the role of bees in producing honey not everybody knows of the crucial role of bees in pollination and their contribution to eu agriculture and ultimately food production.
so i would see value in an information campaign because we need the support of citizens in this matter to justify the money we spend on a bee protection programme.
finally we need independent and timely research into bee mortality so that whatever actions we take to deal with the situation we can expect that they will yield positive outcomes.
in the uk alone we have many prominent uk organisations with campaigns from the women's institute to the cooperative society. the information campaign is there.
it just needs to be picked up on.
please take a look at the women's institute campaign which i have sent you details of.
it is full of practical information for anybody who wants to help bees thrive.
the women's institute represents millions of ordinary people in the uk. the plight of the bee offers a possibly unique opportunity to work with citizens.
it covers the common agricultural policy biodiversity food security pesticide use veterinary regulations and even the labyrinthine way of funding through the eu.
it is a very unique opportunity to engage with organisations that are already inspired to work.
i would ask the commissioner to take that opportunity and run with it.
we have to do the same everywhere.
this is a very backbreaking task that the commission has and i respect the men and women of the commission for the task that they have to do.
my first question to the council president is very simple.
but i say to the council president in respect of the speech that he gave earlier with all the human rights concerns and all the other organisational concerns is he going to assure us today that the member states ultimately will supply the resources that we need to make this work and that all of these safeguards will be in place?
we are confronted with the same challenges and an unprecedented situation.
the arrivals from libya to italy show that as long as there is instability as long as there are smugglers taking advantage of this situation people will continue to migrate.
next week the commission will formally report on the state of play of implementation of all elements of this agreement.
we all know that there is no easy solution to the challenge we face but one thing is sure we have to work together and not against each
we have no time to lose here indeed summer is already
some of you also mentioned dublin.
on the contrary it is an opportunity for turkey to come closer to european standards on all issues democratic values rule of law freedom of expression respect for minority rights and resolution of the cyprus issue.
fortress europe is neither desirable nor feasible simply because as long as people have reasons to flee they will continue to do so and they will continue to try to come to europe.
guard. we are very happy that this house has presented a draft report and has a timetable which reflects our commitments.
we do not want a cosmetic reform.
far. this is only the start.
both europe and turkey are under great pressure.
we are doing everything to support greece in expanding reception capacities and in making sure that vulnerable applicants such as women and children are being treated appropriately.
it is as simple as that. so we have to keep working on the bigger picture.
we had a million migrants enter the eu last year alone. how are you going to hold back the next tsunami of migrants?
it is truly worrying to see the uk border forces committing to this farce.
i am always very cautious when it comes to statistics.
if we had not closed the western balkans route we would now have three or five times more migrants those from africa coming to us through libya as well as those who have now been stopped
just imagine if only in the month of january in the middle of winter there were seventy zero migrants how many of them would have come in april if we had not taken action? second it is also true that since the start of this year
this is why i think we have to be very cautious especially when it comes to communication with the outside world.
many have said today that our priority should be to set up the european coast guard.
let all through who want to enter europe or stop and control them?
i think it is obvious not only for me that they should stop and control them which means in fact the same very controversial action that we are applying right now.
but we would be making a mistake if it became the main tool of our policy because it would be a simple incentive for further even greater migration flows something like an encouragement for possible new migrants.
what does this mean in fact?
madam president of course we should negotiate and cooperate with the neighbouring countries but that is not the same as outsourcing problems.
well that is not the way i perceive it because we hear stories about people being pushed back to syria refugees and we have zero answers from the council or the member states.
it is a disgrace that this continent the richest most prosperous and freest continent in the world is tolerating this and that we are not able to give our own response to the situation.
negotiations take place between two equal powers but the eu is weak as we are unwilling to solve our own problems and the turks realise that. we should have learned from earlier experiences like in two thousand and ten when we were negotiating a deal with mr gaddafi for keeping the refugees there.
the first one concerned the ending of the wave through' approach which meant bringing the flow of irregular migrants along the western balkans route to a close.
for me the two key elements of the agreement were first to guarantee compliance with all eu and international laws by ensuring that each and every migrant arriving in europe would be treated individually.
the eu; a widespread feeling of insecurity and ultimately the triumph of populism and extremism.
i share some of these doubts
say more. we were so preoccupied with looking for the key to save the world that for a time we lost the key to solve our own
to be. we need to realise that external circumstances will not work to our advantage. we have heard so many times that the only way to stem irregular migration is by solving the root causes of this crisis namely by stabilising the world around
we are aware of all the tasks and difficulties in resolving this crisis.
i want to say to all the seekers of the political holy grail you will never find
they request it. it will not be possible to simply copy the solutions we have applied in the balkans not least because libya is not turkey. as regards the balkan route we undertook action much too late which resulted among other things in the
here i mean the collapse of schengen;