kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
finally the european court of justice makes a very strong case for increased funding both because of raised activity levels and increased translation costs and for addressing some significant security issues.
two three is a reasonable and responsible increase and if we are to apply that to the other sections then there will be tough difficult decisions to be made. i look forward to discussing my proposals with the shadows in the coming weeks and i hope for their support.
in part i propose to meet those additional costs through efficiency gains and here i am happy to report that the court of auditors have gone some way to meeting us in that respect.
most of this cost should be absorbed by the eeas from their current budget but i do accept there may be need for a small upward adjustment when we have the precise figures.
to that end i propose to freeze the budgets of the committee of regions and the european economic and social committee for the year.
but as with all decisions we need to make sure we have considered all options and heard all voices.
the european solidarity corps portal as a single entry point for interested participants and organisations will ease access to volunteering opportunities and it will provide digital tools to connect youth eager to express their solidarity with organisations looking for committed young people.
it also includes participation certificates as well as tools to recognise the skills acquired by young people during their placements.
the commission will work towards the recognition of the european solidarity corps certificate and related certificates at all levels.
we want to use this experience and the existing structures of these programmes as a basis.
employment offers under the occupational dimension are real jobs that will comply with national laws regulations and collective agreements.
solidarity jobs and traineeship placements will build on the success of your first eures job' and are currently mainly supported by the employment and social innovation programme.
most of the volunteering activities will build on the european voluntary service which looks back on twenty years of experience in developing high quality volunteering placements for young people.
the arrangements to apply under the second phase will be proposed in the draft legal base.
in particular organisations must commit to respecting the european solidarity corps charter in which they pledge to foster the personal socio educational and professional development of participants;
the european solidarity corps is a unique opportunity to put european youth their commitment to solidarity and their potential at the very centre of our eu agenda.
the key point is that with the corps we create more opportunities for young people and make it easier for them to access these opportunities.
this way the corps will also complement the efforts made by member states to implement the youth guarantee.
as we debate the future of the european union i think it is appropriate to talk about an action which addresses young people.
the forthcoming legislative proposal will be accompanied by appropriate communication and outreach measures.
it will provide additional opportunities for young people to make a start on the labour market by engaging in solidarity jobs or paid traineeships.
as for the risk of using placements as unpaid work let me reassure you that organisations wanting to participate in the european solidarity corps need to be accredited.
participating organisations have to comply with criteria that ensure that they provide only quality offers.
our aim is not to duplicate actions or discontinue what works well. on the contrary we want to build on the strengths of existing programmes to increase their visibility create synergies and offer more opportunities because the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
what i can tell you at this stage is that for the second phase we are currently considering three different types of placements volunteering placements job offers and paid traineeship placements.
that they guarantee safe and decent working conditions;
let me reassure you that we take these concerns very seriously.
a special call for proposals has been launched to get proposals from consortia that will provide solidarity related placements.
and that they provide adequate training for participants.
the commission therefore welcomes your questions and your draft motion for a resolution which raised relevant concerns.
we have to make sure that our proposal is spot on and meets the expectations of young people and participating organisations.
this includes for example preparation courses language training insurance packages and quality labels for organisations.
this could be complemented by a youth pass certificate.
i am therefore pleased to discuss this important initiative with you today.
we share your concerns about reaching out to young people in vulnerable situations. we believe that the european solidarity corps should be accessible to all youth. to reach out to those from less privileged backgrounds the corps will ensure equal access and cater for the needs of under represented groups by providing targeted and tailored additional support.
you also raised the issue of the quality of placements.
the difference at the moment is mostly procedural.
during this phase of implementation the european voluntary service funding was increased from eur sixty two million to eur eighty nine million out of which we estimate that eur fifty eight million
if we do it well the european solidarity corps can contribute to both european economic growth and the stability of european societies because the volunteering part of the european solidarity corps can give the experience of living in a community for young people and working
the commission continues funding erasmus activities as foreseen in its legal base and financial programming so no change in that.
on the other hand the occupational side the occupation pillar can contribute to the employability of young people the employability which is probably the most important virtue the most important skill for young people to get a proper job on the labour market in the future.
for the public good at the same time.
first the funding because definitely this is the most sensitive issue of the project.
it will also develop an enhanced training available before a placement and recognition of learning outcomes after placement.
however we know that we have to improve in the future to make it more efficient.
the european solidarity corps is needs driven and builds on the synergies of the programmes involved. most importantly it will offer new opportunities that do not yet exist under the current programmes.
in other words funding for volunteering has increased while there are no negative effects on erasmus activities.
funding is a critical issue but we have no details.
it is crucial that the programme delivers a quality experience for volunteers and the communities they serve.
what criteria do you intend to use commissioner?
we need that detail.
you have used a lot of fine words and your intent is good but i am concerned that this is a rush job.
you spoke of many different programmes life erasmus european citizens rural development to name a few but i need to know where is the coherence?
i agree with you commissioner young people will play a key role in promoting and strengthening solidarity.
the target seems to be one hundred zero volunteers.
how can we ensure that there are no abuses in the system and that young energetic idealistic young europeans do not find themselves on the fringes of precarious work?
how does it intend to avoid the duplication or replacement of existing programmes and tools such as erasmus the european voluntary service and the european youth guarantee?
the commission has to consider already existing initiatives and respect their autonomous organisation.
by voluntarily joining the european solidarity corps these young people will be able to develop their skills and get not only work but also invaluable human experience.
how does it intend to ensure that volunteering is not misused to replace regular paid forms of employment?
existing funds are already much needed given the social and employment situation in europe.
strong independent grassroots organisations are at the heart of european values.
which share of the employment and social innovation programme and the youth employment initiative and what additional funding does it envisage to allocate for the essc?
it is not the role of civil society to act as cheerleaders for the european union or any governmental body.
how does it intend to differentiate between volunteering which can provide very valuable experience but is unpaid and traineeships or apprenticeships which should be paid?
finally we would like an explanation of how it is possible that the initiative is already running recruiting young people without the legal instrument.
how will it guarantee that the initiative reaches out to all young people in particular those in more vulnerable situations?
how will formal and informal skills be recognised?
does it consider resorting to other funds and programmes such as for example the esf?
we also have concerns that this is replicating already existing grassroots initiatives.
the commission's communication is very unclear on this matter.
to make the project acceptable for us it needs fresh money from the budget.
mr president the launch of the commission's registration platform for potential young volunteers has spurred a tremendous amount of interest among young europeans including in my country romania.
yet this initiative could quickly turn into general frustration if the commission does not present a convincing and sustainable approach soon.
in view of the high number of registrations the commission needs to make sure that sufficient funding is dedicated to the initiative and that all stakeholders are sufficiently involved in the development and implementation of the european solidarity corps.
mr president volunteering experiences and mobility offer citizens especially young people opportunities to broaden their horizons and grow as a result of new encounters.
this not only leads to the development of skills competences and knowhow but most importantly opens the door to other cultures and different visions of the world.
volunteering can equip people with the necessary skills and attitudes to become active responsible citizens open to intercultural dialogue which is much needed in the turbulent times we live in.
i agree though that in order to be successful the initiative proposed by the commission must provide clear objectives and build on existing local grassroots organisations so a close cooperation with ngos civil society and youth workers is needed.
sport and arts must also be part of this and we must maintain a gender perspective.
and we must reach out to the excluded young people as well as refugees and migrants.
this then would be true solidarity.
in an eu context it can also increase a common sense of belonging.
but it can also have a strong impact on the volunteers themselves by contributing to their self fulfilment and their professional development.
considering the level of eu youth unemployment the suitability of volunteer action to respond to many of our time's challenges as well as the need to give visibility to eu engagement i think the commission's initiative would be most welcome.
a well coordinated and adequately financed programme could also enable the spillover of positive examples from countries with longstanding volunteering traditions to ones where such involvement is less developed. the new initiative should be set up and financed in a way so as not to have a negative impact on existing successful tools and programmes such as erasmus and the european voluntary service.
i believe compromises are available but the position of the ppe tonight is that recognition can only be an outcome of talks.
that in fact is the current situation.
worse still if they are excluded from this directive there will be no limits at all on their working time.
if that is so how will they control the working time of the false' self employed?
this is an abdication of responsibility and an open invitation to unscrupulous employers to constantly search for new forms of false' self employment to avoid the law.
firstly they argue that regulation no five hundred and sixty one two thousand and six on driving and rest time covers everyone and therefore there is no problem excluding the self employed.
we need to reject this proposal from the commission.
thirdly the commission makes a distinction between self employed and false' self employed and says it does this because you cannot inspect or control the working time of the self employed.
this is despite the fact that iran is party to international conventions and covenants which guarantee human rights.
it seems that in iran the policy is one state one religion.
around three hundred and many of them actually taking place in secret.
the european union is therefore actively working on trying to improve the human rights situation in iran.
we use public diplomacy the impressive number of public statements this year on human rights in iran reflects the gravity of the situation.
a lot of you referred to some special cases so let me also give you some information.
so we are not going against the iranian people we are going against iranian individuals.
their assets in the eu are frozen and they cannot travel here.
mr president on behalf of the high representative and the commission as a whole i welcome this resolution.
let me finish by saying that there is unfortunately no country in the world that receives as much attention on human rights from the eu as iran does. this house should have no doubt about our determination to do what we can to promote and protect human rights in iran.
nothing more or less than that.
let me give you some examples of our actions.
and still they target homosexuals and transgender people and deny them access to health goods services housing education.
this dictatorship also targets and persecutes people who are muslim as well as other religions.
iran is not an islamic republic it is a brutal dictatorship that uses and abuses and perverts religion for its own barbaric ends.
but i am optimistic because despite these crackdowns despite this brutality men and women continually rise up against this regime and their hope should give us hope and our voices must speak for them.
we have stood by and we have watched people hung by their neck young men of eighteen hung by their neck solely because they were homosexual.
massive strike waves amongst the teheran bus workers in the sugar cane industry amongst teachers in the petrochemical complexes in bandar have all been met by brutal crackdowns by the regime including the hanging of a teacher in the last year and the arrest of many many workers. however the gross violations of human rights that are perpetrated by the dictatorship in iran and this resolution that we will pass today in parliament must not be used as a pretext by european leaders to engage in military action or support military action or to impose sanctions that will simply harm the people of iran.
instead the trade union and workers' movement must increase its efforts to highlight the abuses of human rights the abuses of workers' rights in iran and to support the struggles of working people young people poor people to achieve fundamental change within iran.
whether it is spyware or other technology or other software if we can track its source and can track it to europe then we must take action to stop it.
the nuclear dossier dominates our political agendas and campaign rhetoric but let us never forget the ongoing human rights violations in iran. these are always important but especially with regard to the upcoming elections in spring of next year.
with opposition candidates in imprisonment the ongoing crackdown on citizens women's rights free speech media online and offline torture and rape in prisons and the execution rate higher than it has ever been higher than in china including juveniles the situation is very very dire.
in light of all these atrocities we may wonder what we can do to help the brave iranians.
the future of iran lies in the hands of the iranian people and i am confident that they will prevail but even with eu and un sanctions in place eu based ict companies continue to provide spyware surveillance monitoring tracking and tracing technologies and know how to those in power in iran.
we must end the facilitation of censorship the hampering of press freedom and access to information and the crackdown on people facilitated by eu based companies.
dual use regulations are not enough we need eu wide standards licensing before trade and most importantly mechanisms to forge transparency and accountability to ensure that eu based ict companies do not undermine the eu's strategic interests and most importantly the human rights of iranian people.
let me explain to you that these countries are broke.
they have defaulted.
you would go to prison for that yet politicians and their central banks do it all the time.
then they borrow and they borrow and worse they then print money because politicians and their central banks have a machine which prints money.
it is because politicians consistently spend more money than they raise in taxation more money than they can possibly raise in taxation most of which in point of fact they actually waste.
the reason we are talking about countries which are broke and they are broke is because their ridiculous ineffective ignorant politicians consistently spend more money than they can raise.
to ask ordinary taxpayers of any country to pick up the tab for failed politicians and failed banks.
they are broke because of their own stupid leadership and politicians.
the report also identifies further areas where reforms are required in order to build the critical mass necessary to ensure fiscal sustainability and economic recovery.
we also have access to the european financial stabilisation mechanism which can offer support at eu level to any member state whether inside or outside the eurozone.
greece has come a long way since the very difficult situation last year and its efforts should be commended. it has been faced with a daunting challenge and has demonstrated unwavering commitment and clarity of purpose.
we consider that such measures are essential for growth potential and increased economic stability.
the ecofin council will review compliance with the programme for the first quarter at its meeting on seventeen may next tuesday.
following the agreement last december of an overall eur eighty five billion assistance programme for ireland the irish authorities have undertaken a great deal of work to implement the adjustment programme to which the financial support was attached.
this is also a positive development.
the first thing i would like to stress is that it is the member states themselves which are first and foremost responsible for ensuring that their public finances are sustainable and on a sound footing.
of course that does not mean that public finances and economic performance are not also a matter of collective interest.
mr president i fully understand the significant interest in this parliament in the actions being undertaken within the union and beyond to tackle the challenges which some member states are facing in relation to their public finances.
more generally we all have a commitment of solidarity towards each other based on a desire to protect and promote the wider european interest.
where necessary this has to involve taking steps to ensure the stability of individual member states.
the global financial crisis has had a significant impact on both revenues and expenditure in all our countries even if the extent and nature of that impact is not the same in all cases and the capacity of individual member states to handle the consequences is also very different.
we are part of a union and our economies are interlinked in a number of ways through the single market and in many cases through the sharing of the common currency and the deeper economic integration which that implies.
the technical details of the implementation of this agreement are currently under discussion.
in addition and for the eurozone countries specifically further instruments have been set up and are continuing to be developed.
endorsement of the final financial package is also expected at next week's ecofin council.
some of the reforms needed to deliver the programme's medium term objectives are being put in place.
ministers of the eurozone member states are also finalising the technical details of the european stability mechanism which is due to take effect from two thousand and thirteen as a permanent financial support mechanism to replace the european financial stability facility.
the presidency is however committed to doing its part to assist in ensuring that all necessary measures are in place in order to address the current problems.
i rue the day when we might be ruled by the extreme right or the extreme left.
on monday in our parliament in dublin i spoke about a sundering of solidarity in the european union.
on interest rates let us be very clear that countries should not be charged penal interest rates.
in my last thirty seconds could i ask the commission to address the issue of debt sustainability for ireland and our colleagues who are in difficulty?
could i also ask a question about the political capacity of the european union?
it is a real and serious problem.
especially with regard to greece is failing.
great attention has been paid in its preparation to social fairness and protecting the vulnerable.
we are with your active support addressing the systemic weaknesses in eu economic governance in order to prepare for a profound change in the policy making landscape of the european union.
it is a portuguese programme that deserves the support of the european union and of the international monetary fund.
on the one hand the recovery in the real economy has taken hold and is becoming more solid and self sustaining.
thirdly the programmes in both greece and ireland are still in the relatively early stages.
we have done that and thus protected the ongoing recovery in the real economy in europe.
achieve a breakthrough in the privatisation programme and then ensure its full implementation.
this is therefore a real test of the credibility of the greek political forces both government and opposition and ultimately of the will of the greek people.
the excessive currency value and now rising interest rates have aggravated stagnation which has brought about falling tax revenues cuts in services and rising government debts.
it would be in their interest to leave the zone but the fall in the value of their currencies would then increase their debt burden.
if the failing countries had remained outside the eurozone their currencies would have fallen in value leading to export led expansions facilitated by low interest rates that would be set by their central banks.
and most possible scenario.
it is a very likely result.
now i do not love banks nor do i do my job in the first place in order to save them but it is a fact that such a major banking crisis would lead to a massive credit crunch.
the greek banking system would simply become insolvent.
i doubt
country. this is the only way for greece to avoid much worse alternatives.
thus a debt restructuring in greece would have major consequences on the soundness of the banking sector in greece as well as on any banks having exposure to greek securities.
what would happen?
of course we are talking about a counterfactual situation as are the proponents of debt restructuring but we have enough understanding of the channels of impact on financial stability and economic activity to make a likely
banks would also bear the cost.
there is also a public confidence crisis. some countries bailed out their own banks at huge cost to the taxpayers without any handouts from the eu.