kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
tellingly too it has also served to highlight how banks seek patience from their clients at all times even when they are at fault. but when clients default on their responsibility even slightly those penalties are severe and entirely disproportionate.
it is time for the banks to regain trust from their customers and ethical banking will do much to help this.
the sanctions are draconian and it is unclear how they would be applied. accountable internet service providers would have sweeping new powers to monitor our internet use.
people could lose their internet connection and face criminal prosecution for sharing downloaded music with their friends.
intellectual property is one of the most valuable commodities of the european economy and we need to have clear rules to protect the rights of authors and performers alongside data privacy.
the commission must go back to the drawing board.
dcftas will not only encourage trade flows between the eu and ukraine moldova georgia armenia and azerbaijan but will also force a necessary liberalisation of their internal economies and hopefully more democracy. i specifically welcome the report's conclusions that the arab spring has diverted our attention from eastern partner countries whose exact economic and geopolitical situation continues to change in ways in which we must be aware of now such as the growing influence of china in that region and also the competition posed by the eurasian economic community with central asia.
it is especially important to keep ukraine on board as the general political drift in that country is not favourable to western interests.
ukraine's record on human rights and democracy already sullied by the tymoshenko incarceration case is set to deteriorate further if the proposed ban on discussing lgbt issues takes place.
mr president the budget negotiations provide an opportunity for this parliament and eu leaders to restore some degree of credibility against the backdrop of the continuing economic crisis which engulfs the eurozone
and the rest of europe.
a modicum of credibility can be restored if we as meps accept that we too must exercise budgetary restraint.
i have said this often in this house but i will repeat it once again it is simply not realistic it is not sensible and it is not equitable that while member state governments exercise economic prudence at home brussels argues for the right for greater budgets.
where is the leadership and the example that the eu can show at this time?
in the united kingdom confidence in the eu is at an all time low.
while we persist with vanity projects like the european house of history or the waste of travelling between two places of work strasbourg and brussels then that will not change.
i would like to make it clear that i do support rigorous defensive intellectual property.
i also deplore the proliferation of counterfeiting particularly in safety critical areas such as medicines and car parts.
it is regrettable that these two issues have been conflated in the acta regulation.
but i also have considerable misgivings about the level of powers proposed for various authorities and the level of intrusion into citizens' lives that could be possible depending on the interpretation of the report.
so i therefore find it impossible to support the complete rejection and i find it impossible to support the complete embracing of this report.
i think that it needs further work but it is not a case of it being completely dead. maybe acta is dead but we still have to go out there and find ways of promoting and supporting our intellectual property in europe.
it is vital to devise a system that allows us to take action to expedite compliance before a deadline is reached.
i welcome ms paulsen's attempts to come up with a strategy for that.
however i regret the inclusion in this report of a call to extend the scope of europe's animal welfare strategy to pets and wild animals.
if you look at the way in which we have put into place the european zoos directive and the complete lack of enforcement in member states i have no confidence at all that wild animals and pets will get any more attention.
to be competitive we need investment but unless we are competitive we lose it.
to help our small businesses become competitive i have campaigned urgently for them to be excluded from large bits of eu legislation but that is not in this text.
i am also concerned that larger long term investors like pension funds and insurance companies face unintended burdens from some of europe's legislation on the financial sector.
instead this text calls for further coordination of employment and social policies.
we know that when we coordinate at eu level our policies become even more restrictive and not less.
the only investor that will be left in europe is the state and the state has run out of money.
mr president i believe the eu is primarily a commercial block and we should be trading as effectively as possible with our global partners which is why i supported this report.
however it groups together a number of different countries at various stages of economic and political development and i have yet to be convinced of the added value of the eastern partnership.
since their liberation from communist oppression the former soviet states have embraced democracy and the free market with differing degrees of success.
we cannot possibly compare georgia which has one of the most progressive and liberal economies in the world with belarus which is lumbered with a soviet style command economy.
even countries like ukraine once considered a promising partner for the eu has political problems and is undermining economic growth.
however we must be cautious that the one size fits all approach does not work for six extremely different countries.
i think that she deserves credit for producing a very balanced report that deals with some very sensitive issues where there are strong feelings on both sides of the argument. i welcome her emphasis on enforcement rather than on the need for more rules.
i also welcome her suggestion of legally enforced milestones for new eu legislation in the future because our experience of both the egg ban and the ban on battery cages which was introduced last year was that the commission was utterly powerless when faced with a situation where many member states appeared to be dragging their feet in enforcing that legislation.
we are about to see a rerun of that same fiasco again with the ban on sow stalls and tethers for pregnant pigs.
however there are many aspects of this acta resolution which gave grounds for concern.
counterfeit medicines and car parts with digital content since the latter is so much more difficult to protect from copyright theft and requires a different approach from the former.
the ecj was reviewing these at the time which is why i was in favour of referring it back to committee. the other issue which gave me a lot of concern was the fact that it is not a global thing bringing on board china and india which are the source of much counterfeit in the world.
eu funds do not necessarily increase our global competitiveness.
the eu already has a high quality human capital and a predictable business environment.
as a former businesswoman i know that is not enough to attract new ventures.
this report recognises that high taxation is damaging the eu's competitiveness but if we are serious about attracting foreign direct investment then what we must really do is liberate the economy from excessive bureaucracy.
mr president supporting and encouraging meaningful animal welfare advances is important to both the consumer and the producer.
i think it is important to note from a purely production point of view that a well cared for animal is a more productive animal.
there is always a need for safeguards and updating of legislation as a result of developments in science but equally important is the need for adequate monitoring and surveillance of the current legislation.
in europe we must have a level playing field for all producers.
this has been recently demonstrated in the debacle over the continued use of battery cages for hens and is facing us again in relation to sow stalls.
this puts those member states and producers that have complied at a competitive disadvantage which is unacceptable in the single market.
for our part my party will continue to demand that genuine and credible actions are taken around corporate tax evasion specifically in relation to the evidence which suggests that the effective rate of tax paid by multinationals and large corporations is in fact much lower than the.
it does not serve the interests of for example ordinary irish people to have sovereignty relinquished through attempted tax harmonisation.
in fact they have stated time and time again their view that all matters relating to the setting of tax rates must remain a matter of national competency and the european parliament has no right to attempt to attack tax sovereignty in this way.
therefore i regret to say i will be unable to support this report.
it is absolutely and fundamentally the right of governments in each state to legislate in the best interests of their people particularly the setting of tax rates.
finally when it comes to convergence we need clearer guidelines on taxrelated state aid and a common objective definition of tax havens.
the constituency of the uk prime minister for example that of witney in his hometown includes twenty five properties registered to tax havens and huge swathes of countryside owned in tax havens which benefit from common agricultural policy funds. we have to end this farce.
despite the inevitable differences between us we have managed to create a text that is simultaneously comprehensive practical and radical.
individual meps from across this house have submitted amendments that have strengthened the text as of course have the shadow rapporteurs whose contribution has been essential.
to achieve this we drew on the work of the special committee and our own consultations with a variety of stakeholders experts and academics.
both the commission and member states will have to take action which in the short term will almost certainly be challenged by vested interests but by stopping the vicious cycle of beggarthyneighbour policies they can make their economies more efficient and help rebuild public trust in both tax authorities and governments. as with the ferreiratheurer report this report shows that there is a strong consensus
when it comes to coordination businesses underlined to us time and time again the need for the eu to implement a full common consolidated corporate tax base this.
first all companies that operate across borders should report where they make their profits and where they pay their taxes.
scandals like luxleaks have severely undermined the public's trust not just in the luxembourg government but in tax administrations and governments across europe.
now we need to take the hard decisions necessary to sort out the corporate tax system.
that is a huge loss for member states but it is an even bigger loss for the people who live in the member states.
i find it impossible to explain to my constituents why giant companies like facebook can get away with paying less in corporate tax in a country like the uk than the average citizen does per year in income tax.
it is also hugely unfair for those small and mediumsized businesses that pay their fair share of tax.
a fair taxpayer' label should be awarded to companies which engage in good tax practice.
to conclude i hope that throughout the debate to come and the vote that will follow it we will see a continuation of our consensus so far as a parliament to take timely targeted and practical measures to end tax dodging.
four key measures stand out from our recommendations on transparency.
would not set common tax rates but would clean up the process of defining taxable assets and activities and greatly simplify tax administration.
definitely more coordinated and more convergent and tax competition needs to be fair.
will assist the commission in moving forward on this subject of common interest.
for all these measures the commission counts on the active support of this parliament.
pending the adoption and implementation of the ccctb the measures included in the oecd g twenty beps package should be implemented in the eu rapidly and in a coordinated way.
the commission is of course ready to continue to use all the instruments at its disposal to combat tax evasion including in the framework of the european semester.
i am thinking first of the european semester.
secondly however to do this the commission first needs to close a sufficient number of cases so as to be able to assess on that basis what form of guidance would provide the necessary clarity for both member states and market players.
what we want to avoid at all costs is a patchwork of twenty eight national approaches to implementing the beps recommendations.
the oecd guidelines.
first of all i would like to assure you that the commission is maintaining the pace on the subject of country by country reporting. for us the best way forward is to complete the impact assessment which is planned for the first quarter
a fairer distribution of tax revenues amongst member states is a discussion that goes beyond the issue of state aid. the commission will participate in this debate of course bringing all relevant services into the discussion.
let me now come back to the main recommendations of the report.
including the g twenty and developing countries.
let me look at it from a different perspective.
we must act decisively but we must act smartly not everything that can be done should be done.
there is no other measure that would be as effective and as efficient at the end of the
i hope this is not the
mr president i am sorry to have again been scheduled as the first speaker. i am very much looking forward to what my co rapporteur has to say as well and i am grateful to colleagues for their comments.
it is a shame that mr woolfe mr carthy and ms tomai have left because the first thing i wanted to do was to correct the misconception that they stated in this chamber.
it does not state that anywhere.
yet time and time again that argument has been wheeled out to block action against tax dodging. how on earth is it fair that some huge companies' tax advisers are able to play off definitional ambiguities about what is taxable in different countries?
that is not about competition.
if the report is approved tomorrow as you all know the commission will have a year to implement its recommendations or to explain why it cannot implement those recommendations.
i very much welcome what we heard today coming from the commission.
but as others have stated much of the battle here will be with member states. all of them say they want to do something against tax dodging but when it comes to the detail they have been less forthcoming.
i hope that colleagues will continue to support action in this area.
we do not have the luxury of years and years to procrastinate and hope for the best on this issue.
we need the billions of euros that are being lost because of tax dodging now for revenues for member states.
we need a level playing field now for our small businesses and we need a level playing field now for our constituents many of whose tax bills have increased while those for some large multinationals have been reduced to almost zero.
mr president across our continent we see the state shrinking and being unable to fulfil its essential duties.
part of the reason for this is the failure of corporations to pay adequate tax to fund the very services that they use.
i congratulate the rapporteurs on this file for making concrete recommendations on public country by country reporting tax havens and sanctions against eu companies using them.
today we are challenging the commission to introduce these into law across the european union to demonstrate that they will resist the power of corporate lobbying and act for the people of europe.
what has been less encouraging is the way all groups apart from the greens have had members who have put national interest above our continent's interest.
this is deeply short sighted since the corporations are deliberately using these variable policies on tax and the self interest of member states to push us all into a race to the bottom that only they can win.
we are supposed to be working together for fair taxation not dividing along national lines.
competition should be in innovation and between companies not between member states competing to attract companies.
this must stop. therefore the social democrats have fought for country by country reporting.
it has to be mandatory.
it has to be public.
its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
well if he was in this place today he would see that once again.
the socialists are trying to impose the equal sharing of misery across all of europe by imposing the idea that we should have a consolidated harmonised corporate tax policy across europe.
just as they said that if we harmonised the euro the economy would get better;
we said if we harmonised our borders things would get better.
the only thing that is harmonised in this place is the inherent inequality of thinking of people who think harmonisation will actually work.
there is a huge difference between you mr woolfe and winston churchill so better let others quote winston churchill in this plenary rather than yourself because you do not want even to be here.
by keeping poverty eradication as a main priority it is necessary to involve the private sector in this effort.
it is part of the picture.
they know who they are and they deserve our special thanks.
we need it because we promised this kind of thing in addis ababa two years ago. we promised that aid would be one part of the picture for funding development and that we would also have private sector leverage and more tax revenues going in to help fund.
mr president the european fund for sustainable development is the flagship policy of the eu's external investment plan launched last year in response partly to the migration crisis. high population growth across africa without the employment opportunities to match is a growing problem likely to be made worse by the effects of climate change as time goes on.
the efsd and the efsd guarantee are seeking to try and plug that gap by the european union and aims at aiding and leveraging investment from private business and institutions.
the efsd will also seek to provide technical assistance to governments in the region in order to mobilise further investment.
fragile states with weak public institutions limited track records in the rule of law and challenges to democracies are particularly affected and are naturally a deterrent to the necessary private investment required to generate jobs.
let me please remind you about article twenty one the union's action on the international scene shall be guided by the following principles democracy the rule of law the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms
all these are crucial elements if the efsd is to become successful in addressing the root cause of the migration crisis and promoting resilient societies.
in the work of formulating the framework of the efsd we have been persistent in securing transparency a clear gender focus and also a complaints mechanism at the commission's webpage.
people should be able to move freely between places and regions if they wish and like.
but it becomes a problem when the conditions in the one region are so bad that people are forced to move due to the impossibility to lead a good life.
i have to be frank migration is not a problem.
i have also been very determined in having explicit references to human rights and also to article twenty one of the treaty on european union.
respect for human dignity the principles of equality and solidarity and respect for the principles of the united nations charter and international law'.
main assumption is that supporting investment and private sector involvement through innovative financing can foster sustainable and inclusive economic and social development and address the root causes of the migration crisis and promote the resilience of the partner countries in africa and the eu neighbourhood including in the least developed countries with a particular focus on growth the creation of decent jobs youth and women
the external investment plan is taking lessons learned into account.
let me emphasise that the concept of additionality is very important.
this is primarily a development instrument rather than exclusively a banking or financial one.
we do not intend to guarantee investments that the private sector would have made anyway. under the european fund for sustainable development our partners must be able to prove that this is not the case by bringing in new products new ideas investments sustainably
this will give the european parliament the opportunity to participate in the steering and monitoring of the overall implementation strategies and objectives of the european fund for sustainable development.
since two thousand and seven we have been implementing eight investment facilities which have leveraged a total investment volume of eur.
all this will be implemented in a transparent and accessible way through comprehensive reporting requirements to the european parliament and the public and through a new web portal managed by the commission and the european parliament will have observer status on the strategic board.
it provides a holistic framework to improve investment and therefore decent job creation in africa and the eu neighbourhood.
it has three pillars financing technical support and enhanced investment climate.
it will steer our development partnership with the private sector in a focused and effective manner in order to contribute to reaching development goals in partner countries. the plan builds on experience.
the board's tasks will be to provide strategic guidance on overall investment goals and to ensure external policy coherence.
this is a success and i congratulate us all for that. i also thank the council and in particular the maltese and slovak presidencies for their efforts to reach the agreement on the european fund for sustainable development which delivers on the request of the european council to do so in the first semester of. two thousand and seventeen
we will also be coherent with the international fight against tax avoidance by making sure that financial vehicles supported under the instrument are not benefiting from any location in non cooperative tax jurisdictions.
let me underline that the external investment plan with its european fund for sustainable development will become an important instrument for attaining the objectives of the un two thousand and thirty agenda and will complete our toolbox for development cooperation.
for us it is really important.
to a large extent this cooperation has been successful as confirmed by the recent external evaluation on lending.
two thousand and twenty our ambition for the european fund for sustainable development is to go beyond existing instruments by supporting innovative financing models developed by partner financial institutions and an enhanced engagement of the private sector in particular through the innovative new guarantee and the european fund for sustainable development.
mr president i think we have created an innovative development instrument and a lot depends on the implementation and on the safeguards that have been put in this instrument.
we need to make sure that we indeed measure development outcomes already before funding decisions have been made and we must make sure that we have the best expertise which should be brought through the other elements of the external investment plan such as technical assistance and political dialogue.
i believe that this is a unique contribution to financing for development commitments.
let us make this a real innovative development instrument.
the second major issue one can immediately spot is that citizens' money is expected to leverage private investments essentially throwing taxpayers' money down a well.