kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
it is worrying therefore to witness the on going crackdown on civil society in many countries including sadly some member states such as hungary.
but beyond our borders in russia and belarus young people are even more fed up with corrupt dysfunctional and undemocratic governments.
it is very worrying to see brave young activists poets journalists and human rights defenders being arrested and harassed.
we must always speak out for freedom of expression.
in that respect i am pleased to support the belarus free theatre which continues to expose both their own country and russia's abuse of human rights.
our resolution calls for more support for educational exchange programmes and scholarships.
it is only through people to people contact and investing in young people and their opportunities that a vibrant civil society can be built.
we should not allow ourselves to be mollified by piecemeal concessions when gross human rights violations remain.
we have lifted sanctions we have provided concessions and we expected changes.
where these two gentlemen are concerned if they were truly guilty of the crime of bombing and killing fifteen people it would be hard to argue emotionally at least that their sentence should be commuted but all the evidence is that they were forced to confess.
unfortunately member states were unable to agree mainly because they could not agree on how to share the tac between them. last november the commission proposed alternative management measures notably limiting the number of days at sea freezing the number of licences for commercial fishermen
again the council was not able to come to an agreement on the commission's proposal. considering the state of the resources and the urgency of the situation the commission has subsequently decided to take temporary emergency measures for pelagic vessels targeting spawning aggregations of sea bass
as part of a response to the state of the stock. these emergency measures are the first element in a package of envisaged measures which the commission plans to be adopted for the management of sea bass in. two thousand and fifteen the second element in this package is a commission proposal to limit the catches of recreational anglers to three fish per angler per day.
and limiting the daily catches for recreational fishermen all to contain fishing pressure on the stock.
the commission refused.
i call on the uk government today to leave the callous corrupting catastrophic common fisheries policy restore a proper twelve mile limit and institute a two hundred mile exclusive economic zone as guaranteed by the european law of the sea.
that is all you are interested in. eleven years ago the british government banned pair trawling for bass.
in the words of johnny rotten ever get the feeling you have been had?
our then fisheries minister asked the french government to do likewise. they refused. we went to the commission to ask for a ban.
so our fishermen halted pair trawling and the french with the connivance of the european union simply took our fish from our waters and now you have the nerve to punish our fishermen and sea anglers for your own crimes. the common fisheries policy based as it is on outright naked theft of natural resources by giant businesses under the protection of the eu is an unmitigated economic ecological and environmental catastrophe.
that is to ask members to give further and careful consideration to recreational fishing. in the uk i believe the recreational sector has taken a sensible approach to the issue by showing a willingness to accept conservation measures such as the bag limit but we need to have further discussions on exactly how that will work and we need to make sure that the measures are proportionate and workable.
in june two thousand and fourteen ices published its report on bass stocks which clearly illustrated the need for action.
i would like to support that and make sure that we do not give the wrong messages about their work.
mr president i welcome this resolution and i thank mr cadec for bringing it forward and for his work.
in my region the south west of england many of the recreational fishing boats are actually crewed and owned by fishermen either doing it on the days when they are not able to go to sea because of eu conservation rules or because they have moved out of fishing altogether.
do you or do you not support the resolution of this parliament regardless of how we got here?
it was interesting to hear your views but do you support this resolution or do you not?
many steps taken by the bahraini authorities to implement the recommendations of the bahraini independent commissions of inquiry are positive as some of you have also mentioned and have the potential to improve the human rights situation in the country.
the bold recommendations issued by these institutions must now be fully implemented and produce concrete results in order to win the confidence of the public.
we also believe that opposition parties are fundamental to any democracy.
we will of course continue to support stability and development but this can only be done if there is a process of national reconciliation without preconditions leading to gradual political and socio economic reforms based on compromise by all political actors.
such moves run counter to the efforts promoting a lasting and inclusive national reconciliation and we hope that the sentences can be reconsidered in appeal.
we have consistently said over the past four years that a lasting reconciliation process must include a combination of modernisation and confidence building steps including the release of all those arrested in the context of peaceful political activities in order to overcome the polarisation in bahraini society.
the minister of the interior's ombudsman the prisoners' and detainees' rights commission and the national institution for human rights have an important and very proactive role to play in this regard fulfilling their mandate in full independence.
collectively the european union stands upon its moral high horse as usual on one hand whilst perversely facilitating the climate of fear to continue.
the eu should not be supporting these acts but regretfully it does via the member states' trade policies.
over the past years the people of bahrain have been calling out for fair democracy a fair voting system and free speech many people including this individual that we are talking about today.
last year the european union member states not just the united kingdom was involved with over eur.
yet the european union is doing nothing to stop these events but is in fact funding and supporting their continuation.
the general human rights situation in bahrain remains dire. thousands are in arbitrary arrest citizenships are taken away from people and the tensions have been going on for years and that has been bad; it is bad enough as it is.
the eu and this house have been taking a lead role in addressing the tensions in bahrain not letting it be swept under other problems in the middle east and i think we have to continue especially as the us has resumed military aid.
mr president there are clear links between the sporting business and defence interests of certain governments such as my own and the lack of strong action to condemn human rights abuses in bahrain and elsewhere.
so we find ourselves here as people who can speak and we must speak not only to expose the human rights abuses themselves but also to expose the hypocrisy of governments political groups the defence industry and sporting organisations whose own interests seem to ride roughshod over those who might be imprisoned or tortured for speaking out.
the bahraini government would do well to listen to us because the more they crack down on the freedom of speech the more we will speak up about what they are doing.
so i would urge the bahraini authorities to listen to the voices from this house today and to do the right thing.
indeed i suspect that left to their own devices they would come up with a considerably better solution than we see from the continuing outside interference notably from saudi arabia and iran within their internal affairs.
but where we recognise the progress being made within bahrain it is also important that we recognise failures and shortcomings.
nabeel rajab's case is emblematic but that is the point it is emblematic of many more cases of repression and abuse of human rights.
i would say that this house is only so credible and we are even less credible in the eyes of our interlocutors when we do not speak with one voice.
i would urge you to support the joint motion for resolution.
human rights watch has already been in touch with you and they say it better than i can a weak divided reaction to one of the worst crackdowns on human rights defenders political activists journalists and religious leaders who are threatened persecuted and tortured simply for having peacefully exercised their freedom of expression and assembly would be unworthy of the reputation of a major human rights watchdog built by the parliament over the years'.
i am seriously concerned that people are being arbitrarily detained tortured and stripped of their citizenship merely for their work related to defending human rights in the country. the public sphere both online and offline cannot be subject to prior authorisation.
it is a forum where citizens should be entitled to enjoy the rights of association assembly and freedom of speech.
thus i hope that this resolution following on from the previous pledges of such institutions as the un will give a strong push to the bahraini authorities to commit themselves to undertaking necessary reforms. i believe that the bahraini authorities instead of suppressing civil society and political opposition should engage in a genuine partnership so that
the citizens of europe simply do not understand that debate.
so it is a matter of urgency and of the highest importance that the money is ready for the programmes for youth unemployment and so on as soon as possible.
let us work to finalise all the budgets the draft amending budgets and the mff.
it is my strong expectation that after this meeting we will be able to report to you about the formal adoption by the council of draft amending budget no. eight
as the decision establishing the european heritage label will i hope be formally adopted tomorrow we will have to work together to make this new action a long term success.
i agree that we should prepare it well and be serious about it.
i come from a country that has been free for almost a thousand years;
a country that in the last century stood up against dictatorship stood up against fascism in germany and fascism in italy and stood up against the iron curtain and communism.
some of the countries in the european union were active participants in that manipulation and destruction of history.
maybe we should make auschwitz the centre of european heritage because that is a symbol of what happened to the last country that tried to unify the european countries by force.
as you know this proposal was one of the very first to be adopted by the new commission just after it took office and it is one of our priorities in the field of culture for the years to come. through this label our aim is to give european citizens especially young people
new opportunities to learn about our common yet diverse cultural heritage and about the history and the building of the european union. i strongly believe that this will contribute to bringing european citizens closer to the european union.
the european heritage label will also help to increase cultural tourism bringing economic benefits as well. the commission is firmly convinced that the compromise that was reached is very positive for the three institutions and that it is fully in line with the ambitions we all share for the europe heritage label. this compromise will ensure the quality and the prestige of the label which are absolutely primordial for the long term success of the action.
madam president the european union is becoming increasingly unpopular with citizens across the continent. it is rightly seen as out of touch undemocratic and dictatorial. the euro its grand unifying political project is collapsing round its ears.
greece and italy are the first to pay the price by having undemocratic government imposed on them.
so what does the commission do to halt this decline in popularity?
it comes up with vain and crass projects in an effort to make itself appear more relevant to member states.
first it attempted to place the eu flag which is not meant to exist anyway on the sports kits of national teams.
then it calls for the eu flag to be flown at sporting events and now it comes up with the crackpot idea of eu heritage labels.
in the report it says that these eu heritage sites would be monuments cultural landscapes archaeological sites and even places of remembrance.
what an insult!
are you really suggesting that war memorials which honour the brave and fallen in two world wars should have an eu plaque placed on them?
there is only one memorial in england i can think of where it would be appropriate to stick an eu plaque and that is the gravestone of ted heath the man who betrayed britain into the european union.
i do not think anyone would object to that least of all him.
it is just desperate propaganda from an organisation to which more and more people do not wish to belong.
i urge all meps who are proud of the heritage of their own nations to vote for my group's rejection amendment tomorrow.
let us stick the european heritage label on the dustbin of history.
that is what this label is seeking to celebrate.
i think it is an excellent initiative.
i think it will be good because it will bring economic benefits.
there is little doubt that it will increase tourism and it will also be good because it will provide an educational focus for those who wish to take advantage of it.
i see the european heritage label as something to celebrate in these bleak economic times when things in europe are not as good as they have been something we can get on with and enjoy and see for the good of us all.
it is a good initiative a joyful initiative and something which we can all take part in.
i would hope that those in other groups who do not see it like this will actually change their minds and go out and sell this concept to the rest of the european union to the rest of europe and indeed to the rest of the world.
we risk losing two million from previously agreed eu funding allocation.
will the commission now ensure that in britain as elsewhere principles of local partnership and of additionality are fully observed so that no money is lost? finally having campaigned against britain's opposition to drawing down esf monies for britain's food banks i also note that the uk government has now conceded that it will spend the new minimum of. three five million but i deeply regret that it has rejected the twenty two million in the original plan literally taking food out of the mouths of the hungry.
quickly not only the youngest but all young people below thirty as is wished by many in this house. as you know the commission has advocated since the very beginning the need to guarantee a minimum level of human capital investment in the eu budget. it is a matter of coherence between the policies we advocate and the funding we provide. i welcome the co legislators' agreement to establish a minimum allocation for the esf within cohesion policy but i regret that the level has been lowered during the negotiations with the council. i know that this house has defended against the will of most member states the level of at least twenty five that we proposed. and clearly two years after our initial proposal the need for robust eu investment in people has increased rather than decreased. today the pressure is high to
of a possible suspension.
as regards the esf minimal share i would like to stress that we all agree that we need to increase resources to tackle problems relating to unemployment including youth unemployment labour mobility and social inclusion as well as combating poverty.
however we need to concentrate resources on objectives not funds and as madam prez rightly pointed out it is implementation which is important here;
it is obvious that the esf is the key financial instrument to address these issues.
i absolutely agree with all those who were saying that we can or rather you can after today's ep vote on the mff send yet another encouraging signal to our union's citizens by
furthermore the ceilings on suspensions are in place while suspension of payments is definitely a last resort measure.
now many of you have expressed concerns as regards the future application of macroeconomic conditionalities. in response to this i would like to stress that a number of safeguards have been introduced for instance taking into account various social and economic factors in order to avoid the potential adverse effects
a recent study found that malnutrition is on the rise in the uk.
two thousand and sixteen these are basic supplies not luxury foods and wine such as those that will be enjoyed in the members' dining room today.
we see it here debating new legislation whilst people are suffering back home.
when we want these funds to function in practice we do not want just to spend money in the member states we also want to deliver change competitiveness and reforms.
it should be judged on a statistical basis.
ex ante conditionality will have to be truly linked to cohesion policy. we also insisted on strengthening the strategic nature of policy programming and the good news is the common strategic framework which will provide a single source of guidance for the five funds facilitating at the same time
this is extremely important.
now let me say a few words on the general results of the negotiation.
and four million people are homeless.
as rapporteur for the fund for european aid to the most deprived i welcomed the agreement to increase the fund to eur.
i also commend the priority placed on youth employment measures in the social fund.
it is incumbent now on the member states to come forward with ambitious national plans to help reduce unemployment and poverty.
twenty six million people including nearly six million young people are unemployed; forty million people suffer from severe material deprivation not able to afford a meal every second day;
the european social fund is the major european instrument we have for investing in people to help people find work and rise out of poverty.
in such a negotiation the knowledge and commitment of rapporteurs for all the various acts which go to make up this package are invaluable.
the negotiations have been lengthy and have not always been easy.
it is particularly important that a cohesion policy for the period from two thousand and fourteen two thousand and twenty is approved in good time for it to be operational from the beginning of next year.
according to our calculations since the start of the negotiations we have had more than two hundred trialogues on this issue.
it will help tackle some of the more significant challenges which europe faces as we endeavour to emerge stronger and more resilient from the economic crisis.
i am grateful to parliament for demonstrating such a constructive attitude even when the positions of our two institutions looked to be so far apart.
of course such a positive outcome would not have been possible without considerable flexibility from both sides.
this package will make a major contribution to creating a more dynamic fairer and more integrated european union.
much effort has been spent in hammering out details often well into the night in order to reach results which were acceptable to both our institutions.
the lithuanian presidency has taken forward the sterling work of the previous presidencies to continue the task of negotiating with the aim of bringing the whole package to a satisfactory conclusion by the end of this year.
we would not have reached a successful conclusion without them. last but not least i would also like to thank commissioners johannes hahn responsible for regional policy and lszl andor in charge of employment social affairs and inclusion for their contribution and for their many positive suggestions
i appreciate that the text on ex ante conditionality no ten in the common provisions regulation is a step forward and i hope it means what it says. however perhaps in your guidance documents commissioner you could strengthen the text.
it is an issue about people with disabilities and de institutionalisation.
if we achieve that we will have done great work for those who do not speak in this chamber and who do not know of this debate happening but whose lives will be affected.
mr president in this very broad debate i want to be rather specific.
i have written to commissioner hahn about this but i want to read this into the record of the house.
let me read it in the seconds that remain which should include measures to achieve the right to community living on an equal basis with others by planning for and implementing the transfer of resources from institutional care to more individualised arrangements in the community and by making community services more accessible'.
i have fought on this issue since two thousand and five and like a dog with a bone i will not let this go until we have fixed the situation.
of course this needs to continue particularly in areas of cohesion.
i would also like to see a particular emphasis on developing technology parks and research facilities because this will be the key to providing new companies with opportunities to develop and to dealing with the unemployment crisis.
unfortunately as we draw to the end of another round of funding wales still remains among the poorest parts of the eu despite being part of the united kingdom.
in what remains a time of economic difficulty better spending is an approach we can see reflected in this package in its move towards a more results orientated approach.
mr president ireland is in receipt of eu funding which delivers much needed investment. hence i am acutely aware of the importance of cohesion policy funding.
i disagree with macroeconomic conditionality being applied to cohesion funding which is the sanctioning mechanism triggering suspension of funds if budgetary discipline namely austerity is not implemented.
these schemes are often just a waste of money but a waste of money used to promote the eu's identity as a political state.
and now the criminals of candidate countries are keen to get in on the action too. the erdf is a key part of eu propaganda.
legal requirements say that eu flags and placards must be fixed in places where the money has been spent but there is no such thing as eu money.
there is only taxpayers' money.
member states would be better off spending their own money in their own way in a democratically accountable manner.
britain cannot afford this and it is yet another reason why britain has to leave the european union.
some problems do remain in terms of the performance reserve macroeconomic conditionality and the esf allocation but acceptable compromises have now been achieved on all these things.
and after our agreement the next step will be for partnership agreements and then the operational programmes for member states and regions.
they are ready to go and we need to make sure that tomorrow we vote to put those projects in place.
that is why i call on the member states and the relevant authorities to draw up suitable programming documents and rules allowing timely and smooth implementation of the projects better spending and the reaching of policy objectives.
mr president thankfully negotiations like these do not come along too often. when they do we know they are important to all of us especially to citizens who will feel the benefit of the hard work done by negotiators so that our community funding streams reach every part of every member state. when we hear terms like macroeconomic conditionalities' we know we are in for tough talks but we now have compromises that we can all live with.
however the work the alde group has been doing to ensure a real focus on smes is being thwarted at the final hurdle.