kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the credibility of the european union as a global human rights defender and promoter lies in the standards we manage to keep inside our own member states and inside our own countries.
for sure the commission can always do more but i think that every single government in the european union has a responsibility and a duty to raise the bar and raise the standard of our implementation of human rights standards because it's not a mission accomplished and it's not work finished.
on the contrary there are backlashes also inside our european union when it comes to standards of human rights and we should not turn a blind eye to this.
i think that when we look around we see a number of signs that indicate that the period of economic expansion of the global economy is coming to an end.
we see the behaviour of stock prices in the us; we see problems with excessive debts in china;
i think first of all that we face the problem with excessive debts in some of the countries.
secondly the reforms of the banking union and the capital union have not been completed and i would urge the commission to intensify efforts in order to eliminate those weaknesses and be prepared for the harder times to come.
there is great credit due to the commissioners especially commissioner malmstrm who has worked so hard not just on this agreement but on other agreements across the globe. i'm very conscious of the work in singapore which we hope to ratify in the new year and all this is because of good interaction good engagement and seeing the possibilities. it's a win win situation.
i know for instance that irish whiskey is going to be protected in japan for the first time a huge opportunity to develop that area and indeed other agri food sectors as well.
so i think that we have to emphasise to our citizens that this is a great opportunity for them and that the european union can work for them when we all pull together.
one crucial fact our security is and will be based primarily on transatlantic relationships.
therefore we need to be careful not to overreact to temporary changes and not undermine the strategic balance on which our collective security is being built.
nor should we remain silent waiting for another echr ruling concerning similar situations that exist today in the eu for example those of the catalan political prisoners in pre trial detention who are also mps who cannot exercise their duties as elected politicians and some of them were even prevented from participating in the electoral campaign.
therefore we should welcome that the agreement provides increased export opportunities for eu agri food products.
also the agreement will make it easier for eu companies to provide services on the highly lucrative japanese market.
this will give a significant boost to our trade and services.
i have always spoken in favour of the eu japan economic partnership agreement as it will boost trade in goods and services as well as create opportunities for investments between the eu and japan.
we are in codecision so we have to respect the treaty.
so thank you very much to all of you and the work of the rapporteurs and everybody around.
i wanted just to make a very quick point on something that the member of the european parliament marisa matias brought on the innovation principle because i think we have some misunderstanding here that is important that all the members know.
it's referred in the recitals but it's not something that is in the proposal.
second i think there's a misunderstanding in between what the innovation principle is.
that's something that i've said it's something that was in the council conclusions of last year of the competitiveness council.
because if you want to protect people and if you want to have rules that are future proof you really need to think about innovation because technology changes every day.
second i think that really i want to call both on the european parliament and also on the incoming romanian presidency.
i think that we have such a great momentum.
we have such an amazing energy that we can swiftly go and do it as far as we can and have an interinstitutional negotiation as soon as we can and i'm convinced that there is still a window of opportunity to conclude the political agreement.
that i think is the dream of everyone that is today in this room because we want to have that political agreement.
and i look forward to our continuing cooperation.
successfully tackling the threat posed by terrorism and developing an effective and genuine security union has to be a shared responsibility not only for our member states of course as many of you have underlined but also for the commission and indeed for all of us here in this house.
just to pick up one or two of the issues that have been raised.
the first thing i want to say is that i think we should be proud of our values including those of freedom of expression and freedom of belief. i don't think there's anything to be gained by stigmatising religion.
that said we also have to be unremitting in identifying and tackling radicalisation and opposing violence from whatever source.
that's also why we are awaiting the report by ms milquet the special adviser to president juncker on the question of how to do better on compensation for victims including victims of terrorism.
she will present her proposals as you know early next year.
we will continue to support europol in any way we can within the existing treaty provisions. europol has unique capabilities that are put at the service of law enforcement across our union and indeed beyond.
europol builds trust and confidence among the member states and their law enforcement authorities and that's exactly what we need in order further to enhance police cooperation against terrorism.
on these points and on a wide range of other issues that have come up in the debate i believe this report provides a significant and substantial contribution to europe's approach to counterterrorism for the years ahead.
it is imperative for the eu to be surrounded by stable and like minded partners.
this is an important inclusion as social media can be an extremely effective tool to radicalise people.
linked to this the call to set up an online european platform for citizens to flag online terrorist content could be very effective and empower citizens to act when they come across such content online.
i think those two proposals are very positive.
as has been stated before we the european union but overall we the socialists and democrats have been fighting for a long time now to ensure that this is a significant change in global trade policy and that the new trade agreements benefit
in fact i was a friend of ukraine for a very long time before that.
i believe it is essential that we here in the european parliament continue to stand by the country and its people and i am really proud that tomorrow this house will award the sakharov prize to oleg sentsov who faced a trial that failed to meet the internationally recognised standards and continues to be imprisoned to this day.
oleg has become a symbol representing artistic freedom all over the world and i am truly saddened that he cannot be with us tomorrow. i also want to take this opportunity to mention the situation of freedom of expression in ukraine particularly when it comes to press freedom.
the occupied territories in the east are extremely dangerous for independent journalists.
however there are some positive developments in the field of human rights.
crucial reforms have been adopted and the country has a vibrant civil society.
for instance women's groups are incredibly dynamic.
mr president first of all a quick word of thanks to our rapporteurs they have done a fantastic job on a very difficult topic because sadly tackling terrorism and boosting security must now be one of the main areas of work for our union.
there is a clear need to support member states and provide common solutions to what is a common existential threat we all face both from networked terrorist groups and from lone wolves.
it is impossible to distance the future of europe from the need to make our shared space more secure.
there can be nothing without the freedom and security that defines the europe we know today and we absolutely need to improve coordination between member states on this issue.
if there is one critical central lesson that we have learned from the attacks in europe it is that.
in recent years we have moved in the right direction with the introduction of systematic checks at our external borders and legislation that will tackle radicalisation.
we have to also go after the vulnerabilities in our prisons and stop those hate preachers who use the language of religion to inspire hatred.
we have done a lot but there is much more that needs to be done if we are to continue to address the people's security concerns in europe and we will not cease in our efforts until we secure a europe that is safer for everyone.
i also want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those fallen in attacks around europe and to underline that victims of terrorism and their families will always find this parliament standing shouldertoshoulder with them.
finally without strong borders there can be no schengen.
one is entirely dependent on the other and that is one aspect that i will address in my european border and coast guard report next year.
a big work on the europe of security and defence and on strengthening our global role exactly in a moment when the word is looking towards the european union looking at us in search of leadership in many different fields.
we feel the responsibility i think rightly so to respond to this demand in a positive manner.
i would like only to underline three points. first some of you mentioned the issue of human security and this is a principle guiding our action.
i fully agree for our security is never purely a military concept.
the european way to peace and security is a way that comes from our history.
we know perfectly well that there is no threat no challenge no crisis that can be addressed only through military means.
sometimes it is needed and this is why we're working on strengthening our defence work but no threat can be addressed with military means alone.
this is why we are strengthening our civilian and military cooperation in a way that has never been done before.
the second point i would like to underline it is not by coincidence that a strengthening as never before of the european union work on security and defence has gone handinhand in these last years with a strengthening of eunato cooperation.
it is exactly because we believe that strategic autonomy doesn't mean going it alone but means strengthening cooperation with our partners starting from nato but also with the united nations and other regional organisations that for us are key partners and allies. the third point i would like to underline that came up in the debate
first of all consolidating the work that has been done so far on security and defence. and secondly ensuring that there are adequate financial resources and instruments to sustain the work that has been envisaged so far.
second the agreement on the banking package lays the ground for the banking union but also for clear action in order to increase the potential growth of europe and the european union and all these actions need to be taken.
we need to be firm when we do it but we also need to see this disinformation in a wider perspective what happened in salisbury;
this is a time when the european union must be firm against those who are threatening us and be clear about the fact that russia is a threat to europe.
now is the time for council and commission to do the action that is required.
of course i respect all the opinions expressed during the debate but i have to say that some of the arguments used against the agreement simply disregard its content and that goes not only for this idea of privatisation of public services but also
for the undermining of democratic basic rights because the right to regulate is clearly protected in this agreement.
i think on the contrary that we have good reasons to be in favour of this agreement because it is economically important it is strategically important it is a step forward regarding sustainable development and it gives us a chance as parliament to send a clear message in favour
the adequacy decision is of crucial importance because with the adequacy in place we will be able to create the biggest area of safe flow of data between our economies.
while our citizens will benefit from greater privacy protection our economies will also benefit from easier transfer of personal data.
the most crucial aspect is of course that of convergence the similarity of our data protection regime.
at the same time japan also is a country that has recently decided to change its approach to data protection by adopting a law that shares all key elements of our european general data protection regulation. actually it is difficult to find another country outside the eu that has inspired itself so much from our approach to privacy.
the japanese law contains the same core principles safeguards and individual rights as we know them from our law.
these rules are checked and enforced by an independent supervisory authority the personal information protection commission which was also our main interlocutor throughout the adequacy negotiations.
the mechanism can differ but the overall level of protection has to be essentially equivalent.
this is also why we have negotiated a set of additional safeguards which address the few relevant differences that we have found comparing the european and japanese systems.
we have also obtained the creation of an ad hoc complaint resolution mechanism easily accessible for eu citizens in the sensitive area of government access to data.
all the elements we have negotiated will ensure a high level of protection for data transfers to japan.
this type of convergence with the eu data protection system is exactly what the european parliament has been calling for.
this brings me to the strategic importance of this decision.
as you know japan is one of our most important trading partners and thus the destination of a large volume of data.
and this has already helped to clarify and strengthen a number of elements in the decision.
i am therefore confident that we can finalise this process and adopt the adequacy decision as soon as possible.
together these mutual adequacy decisions will create the largest area of safe and free data flows in the world thus complementing the economic partnership agreement and increasing its benefits.
this will also send a strong message to other countries that it is worth bringing their data protection framework closer to ours and in other words that convergence pays off.
this proves we can work together to enhance strategic partnership with our allies and support the objective of secure data flows between our economies.
' now when it comes to military aggression obviously a nation must be able to defend itself nobody could reasonably say otherwise and we must stand with ukraine over recent events in the sea of azov.
the best response to a loss of democracy is increased democracy. against a backdrop of violence against journalists and the proposed closure of tv channels i say this to the president and government of ukraine please defend freedom.
please ensure justice for all whether they agree or disagree with your point of view and please ensure freedom of the press.
ms may's inability to secure a majority in the house of commons for the deal that she signed is not just about the irish backstop which the right wing of her party obsesses about;
for the bulk of the british parliament and for public opinion in britain it is because the deal as a whole is a bad deal a job destroying deal and a rights threatening deal that will be bad for britain and for europe.
and this not because of the eu's negotiating stance but because of the inability of this british government to make the right choices.
it set down red lines which resulted in this being the only available deal within those red lines.
every argument that had been made to justify it has fallen by the wayside and i am convinced that when this deal even with extra clarifications comes back to the british parliament it will still be rejected and britain will be confronted with a very hard but very important choice whether to go ahead or not with this disastrous course of action.
the eurogroup has made significant and concrete progress. as mentioned before it is not up to the council to deliberate on the eurogroup agreement.
all these documents provide relevant details of this agreement.
we enjoyed consultations with them and their input into our report is very significant.
there can't be in principle a contradiction between the national interest and human rights.
if the eu wants to be and it must be ambitious and firm in its commitment to human rights it has a very good chance.
i believe this is the only way to go while keeping our global role as a global leader in human rights policy.
madam president whatever the outcome of the brexit process and it really is in the lap of the gods there are a number of other issues that will affect the future relationship between the european union and the united kingdom.
history geography and much else besides all point in that direction but what does being a third country actually mean?
it would be helpful to think this problem through.
the other problem is the united kingdom itself the durability of which is vital for europe but where what we can see is the emergence of significant political differences between the constituent parts of the country scotland and northern ireland above all.
and of equal significance the gap between london and what might be called the non london periphery whether cultural political or economic is wider than ever.
the cohesion of the united kingdom is a necessary condition of stability and that may be an internal affair but it impacts on the european union and on much of the rest of the world for that matter.
the european union should not lose sight of this.
mr president the ruling of the european court of human rights was a step in the right direction and certainly confirmed what our political family the socialists and democrats have been saying since demirtas was first imprisoned.
it is important that the court called for his release and we will continue to advocate for the rights of hdp our sister party.
i am however very worried about the uncertainty regarding the implementation of this ruling.
the turkish authorities have been very clear about their intention to disregard this ruling and to keep demirtas in prison on the basis of other charges.
i urge turkey to implement this ruling.
the situation of rule of law in the country is extremely worrying as the independence of the judiciary is questionable.
as a friend of turkey and a friend of the kurdish people i will continue to stand by demirtas and all the other politicians academics and journalists and human rights defenders that are currently attacked and imprisoned by the turkish state.
perhaps the pace is not shall we say the most appropriate.
but we are moving in the right direction and i am convinced that our colleagues who would follow us in this parliament would continue our work.
mr president this is a tribal age in politics. we habitually infer the blackest of motives from people that we dislike but surely the survival of the human species on a habitable planet is a kind of fairly low bar that ought to unite everybody in this chamber and beyond.
so it seems to me terribly sad that that argument is always advanced in a way that implies that the world cannot be made habitable for future generations except through higher taxes more international bureaucracy a diminution of national sovereignty and the planetary redistribution of wealth.
conservatives as the etymology suggests are natural conservationists.
if we are looking to have the most effective ways of preserving the environment they have to include the extension of property rights because as aristotle used to say that which nobody owns nobody will care for.
environmentalism is altogether too important to be left to the left.
as the european parliament today we should once again make it very clear that turkish activities like the illegal drilling in the exclusive economic zone of cyprus the violations of greek airspace or the attacks on the greek border are simply unacceptable.
i would like to thank the high representative josep borrell for his initiative to start to restart a dialogue with turkey.
we need to talk urgently on the basis of firm principles and fully united as the eu.
turkey must take concrete steps to deescalate the current situation.
indeed mr high representative we need to talk urgently.
and now i'm standing here again nothing happened.
without them we can do nothing when it comes to promoting human rights globally and their space is shrinking.
well human rights defenders living in oppressive countries can rarely fulfil these criteria precisely because of the work they do because of the work we ask them to do and we encourage them to do.
he's a twenty five year old lgbti activist.
so i really urge you to get together with commissioner johansson to stop this injustice and adapt the visa handbook to make sure that they can travel and network and go to conferences.
because our role as the european union is to support and protect those fighting for democracy and human rights and not to make their lives even more difficult.
even worse when i asked the commission about it this march i received the following answer the commission is and i quote not aware of systemic problems faced by human rights defenders fulfilling the necessary entry conditions in being granted short stay visas'.
there are so many more people like zgr gr because to get a visa you should be married have a proper job a regular income you should not have been in prison or in conflict with state authorities.
and now our own visa policies are shrinking their space even more.
madam president we stood here in january this year and in parliament's resolution on the two thousand and eighteen annual report we called on the council and the commission to establish a coordinated procedure for granting visas to human rights defenders.
and then the commission speaks of no systemic problems?
again the focus is on the companies which are already heavily regulated and nothing is said about what comes out of private homes.
in order to prevail the belarusian regime is ready to use any means even a rush to launch the astravyets nuclear power plant which does not comply with international nuclear safety standards.
public dissatisfaction with government policies has exceeded people's patience and the appearance of new presidential hopefuls has ignited hope of change.
i call on the eu institutions to elaborate a comprehensive strategy for belarus. it has to be based on a european perspective respect for the principle of sovereignty democratic governance free and fair elections a pluralistic society and international standards of nuclear safety. the european union has to remain open and supportive to the belarusian people.
a policy that includes clear red lines and smart conditionality.
i acknowledge there's no clear political path at the moment but i believe that is the only way to a sustainable peace because we cannot leave it to the russians for the fate of the people of idlib.
it was vetoed by both russia and china who have decided to cut off aid during a pandemic to two million people.
madam president high representative i want to take this opportunity to call on you to appoint a special representative to the syrian conflict.
for ten years the un has been unable to protect against forcible disappearances chemical attacks and targeting of civilian infrastructure and now it cannot even deliver aid.
i acknowledge that there is a un envoy but we are not the un.
so ahead of next year's ten year anniversary i call upon you today to appoint a special representative that can begin the process of developing relationships for a sustainable peace in syria.
tomorrow as you know the cross border resolution delivering humanitarian aid to two million people comes to an end.