kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
it has focus and presents clear ideas. our relationship with tunisia remains pivotal in terms of providing stable government economic growth and a more pluralistic society.
it is also essential that we share best security and defence practices in order to help defeat extremists but let us not forget that without stability in libya peace in tunisia will be difficult to achieve.
carefully managed macroeconomic assistance can help but it must be coupled with tangible microeconomic benefits.
economic development will be the bedrock of tunisia's stability security and transformation into a successful democracy.
trade openness and structural economic reforms aimed at supporting long term employment should be explored in order to enable the tunisian economy to achieve tangible results.
i welcome the launch of the eu programme of support for security sector reforms in tunisia.
judicial independence has to be assured in practice because corruption and organised crime still remain an obstacle not only to serbia but to all western balkan countries' democratic social and economic development. on another point i agree with the european commission and the council that to guarantee unhindered exercise of the freedom of expression and media
i believe that we should scroll back one paragraph and focus on article forty nine which provides the legal basis for any european state to join the european union.
i strongly welcome that commissioner hahn who i would once again like to thank for his outstanding commitment and engagement in the region announced this week in belgrade that two more chapters will be opened this month.
thirdly regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations the government in belgrade has made very important symbolic but also substantial steps to contribute to a better understanding and cooperation in the region. we all know that serbia's eu accession process is closely linked to the normalisation of relations with kosovo.
the government in belgrade is implementing an impressive economic and structural reforms agenda which has already yielded results in terms of growth prospects and the reduction of domestic and external imbalances.
i am well aware that this process goes far beyond the purely economic transformation it is a truly social transformation but i am convinced that this reform process is worth every effort.
both sides pristina and belgrade should now take clear steps to show their commitment and credibility.
it is more about implementing them.
the criteria for membership are intended to help serbia to stand on its own feet and become fit for our common market and for the global economy in general.
as soon as serbia has a new prime minister and as soon as kosovo has a stable government both parties should continue to move forward with the full implementation of all the already reached agreements and that in good faith and in a timely manner.
serbia made progress with regards to the budget deficit and restructuring of publicly owned enterprises.
as we are having our political discourse we should not forget that we are talking about changes that demand a lot from the serbian citizens.
a final remark i am convinced that this resolution is able to find the right balance between praising serbia for adopting important reforms and pointing out what remains to be done.
it is not only about concluding agreements;
moreover this country has demonstrated its commitment to the eu connectivity agenda which we aim to enhance further at the trieste summit in july.
this country is clearly moving towards the european union so far eight chapters have already been opened in the negotiation process while two have already been provisionally closed.
that said the message of our debate tonight on the european parliament's report on serbia should be clear serbia doesn't only have a european perspective;
there are three points which are of utmost importance on serbia's path towards the european union that i would like to mention. firstly the rule of law i would like to use this opportunity to recall that serbia's progress on the rule of law chapters twenty three and twenty four remains essential for the overall pace of the negotiation process.
shortcomings in this area should be addressed as a matter of priority.
i am sure that if we continue to practice constructive criticism and turn a blind eye to the real state of play we will once again prove that we are doing something wrong.
on paper and in the report in front of us the development in serbia seems pretty much business as usual.
as an important player in the region i wish for serbia to develop into a prosperous economically and socially stable country where democracy is a way of living not a word on paper where rules as opposed to the interests of those who hold power in their hands prevail.
negotiation chapters are being opened and closed and just yesterday as we heard commissioner hahn has announced the opening of new chapters later this month.
is this what we want to achieve with negotiating chapters twenty three and?
including on restrictive measures in the period up to accession.
in the area of regional cooperation we welcome serbia's constructive engagement and encourage it to continue its efforts to strengthen good neighbourly relations as well as to remain committed to preserving peace and stability in the region.
in this regard let me again underline the particular importance we also attach to key areas such as the rule of law fundamental rights public administration reform and economic governance.
serbia needs to continue to make progress under the rule of law chapters opened last july guided by the respective action plans and interim benchmarks.
progress in the accession negotiations is an acknowledgment of serbia's reform efforts but it should also serve as an encouragement to the new serbian government once in place to remain committed to pursuing this reform path.
in the area of fundamental rights serbia needs to address shortcomings in the freedom of expression as a matter of priority and ensure respect and protection of minorities.
i will conclude by again welcoming the continued progress in serbia's eu accession negotiations and the continued good cooperation with the eu and with the region.
important steps in the dialogue such as serbia's implementation of the telecommunications agreement and the resumption of works on the mitrovica bridge should serve as an encouragement to take the process forward.
in this context serbia's commitment to remaining constructively engaged in the dialogue and to continuously work on a further normalisation of relations needs to be acknowledged.
these chapters cover important economic and social aspects which are of interest to serbia's businesses youth and citizens in general. reforms strive to meet the expectations of the serbian citizens and not only those of the eu.
madam president honourable members on behalf of the presidency it is my great pleasure to address this parliament to discuss the two thousand and sixteen report on serbia.
i am particularly happy to say that we have managed to keep the momentum in serbia's accession negotiations under the maltese presidency with an accession conference at ministerial level held on twenty seven february.
in this spirit the presidency remains committed to advancing the enlargement process in full respect of the basic principles of conditionality and own merits.
as you know the western balkans featured on the agenda of the european council in march where member states reconfirmed the eu's engagement with the region including through deepening political and economic ties.
on this occasion we were in a position to open chapter twenty enterprise and industrial policy as well as to open and provisionally close chapter twenty six education and culture.
let me also recall our appreciation for the constructive contribution of the european parliament and in particular of your rapporteur david mcallister to advance serbia's accession process to the eu.
we look forward to the continued engagement of all involved and urge serbia to swiftly implement in good faith its part of all past agreements.
likewise the normalisation of relations with kosovo will also remain essential for the overall pace of the negotiations especially the further implementation of agreements reached within the belgrade pristina dialogue.
once all member states give their agreement the presidency stands ready to convene another accession conference next week.
to this end serbia should intensify reform efforts and focus on effective implementation which can make a significant contribution to the good results produced by serbia's economic reforms.
many areas requiring further reform efforts are rightly spelled out in your draft report.
the rule of law continues to be at the heart of the enlargement process.
let me again underline the growing importance of further deepening cooperation on foreign policy issues.
i have listened carefully to the views expressed and we look forward to continuing this constructive dialogue and engagement.
i can only encourage you to support our efforts in this direction.
whatever the difficulties and they are real serbia should not lose sight of its eu membership goal and should continue to act accordingly doing its part of the job with continued eu support.
serbia has also made progress in the reform of its public administration and has started implementing its ambitious action plans on the rule of law and serbia is indeed to be commended for its efforts to address the refugee and migration crisis which continued eu support.
first of all let me say all the positive things we have in the report.
there has also been progress for example on the issue of a functioning market economy especially when it comes to small and medium sized enterprises and i hope this will continue.
but i think some of the best arguments for proceeding with membership of serbia to the european union have come here tonight from those who are arguing against membership because it is very clear that they would like the old conflicts
they are demonstrating exactly the reasons why we should proceed.
and i think it is important to remember and i think that is a message to all serbian citizens from here tonight that when we are discussing the problems we are not raising hindrances or obstacles. we are clarifying what needs to be sorted out in order
to be prepared for membership of the european union. and i would like to say that this development is not a sacrifice because when we discuss all these chapters it is a way of making serbia a better society rule of law the fight against corruption
an open economy prosperity.
i think we need to understand that when some people talk about the costs of enlargement the policy of enlargement has been one of the main success stories for the european union.
we need to do much more there.
you can now find information on all ongoing and concluded trade negotiations and detailed sometimes regional examples of how it works in practice.
lots has been done but we can do more here as well.
it is true that they sometimes take time and there are some examples that have been absolutely too lengthy but we are trying to do our best.
but also all the time we have to take substance into account visvis speed and you and many other stakeholders are putting increasing demands on what should be in a modern trade agreement and that of course also makes it take a lot of time as we have listened carefully to these as well.
we have in recent years focused very much on trying to bring trade policy into line with these changes age by making it much more efficient making sure that it responds to the demands of our consumers of our companies and making sure that it includes digital trade services that it is efficient and that it is implemented. we have increased
we will be discussing with you this year's edition of the annual fta implementation report. we will try to cover important developments both when it comes to hard data and qualitative assessment and also give analysis of our major ftas our deep and comprehensive trade agreements and our economic partnership agreements and take a closer look at some of the areas and sectors you are
i think that is quite an achievement.
free trade agreements cannot solve all the problems of the world that is important to underline but they are a very important tool not only to contribute to growth jobs and investment but also as a way to promote our values and to connect with our partners on a personal level as well building bridges and not walls.
the mexican agreement was concluded in two years.
implementation is key.
we are working on several items mentioned in the report to make sure that our free trade agreements deliver benefits. for instance we are conducting comprehensive implementation studies on partner countries' legal and administrative frameworks to ensure that the ftas function properly. we are also working together with the external action service
the implementation of the trade and sustainable development chapters is one of our top priorities.
we are working with member states and all stakeholders to forge a strong network of implementation to improve the coordination of outreach activities and the information flows.
the report highlights the importance of revitalising the multilateral trading system boosting trade in services protecting and promoting eu values and standards and the need for transparency in our negotiations.
two thousand and seventeen we would like to underline the importance of implementing free trade agreements.
as suggested in the report we are also working to improve data availability.
to deploy eu economic diplomacy that aims at improving the way we promote our economic interests abroad with regard to trade agreements in cooperation with our member states' embassies and business organisations.
environment for eu trade policy protectionism changing positions on the us and china on what open free and fair global trade based on wto obligations actually means in practice as well as the growing economic political weight of asia the digital economy and brexit.
we take note of the requests to place figures in context and provide additional explanations to help parliament to assess the impact of our ftas.
this is as i said a shared responsibility.
i am happy that despite setbacks to global trade today the eu is moving forward and not letting itself be tempted by protectionist tendencies in the world.
but we still need to deliver we need to speed up the processes of negotiating quality agreements and make sure they work in practice.
we need to make sure that european businesses in particular our smes and consumers can take full advantage of the benefits from these agreements.
effective implementation and monitoring of trade agreements is key to achieving all of this it is key to making sure that all european actors have the information and assistance they need to thrive via our trade relations and it is key to identifying areas where we have potential and we should focus on
as i mentioned at the beginning a lot has changed in three years.
in recent years eu trade policy has been challenged like never before and i think that we are united in this house in the objective to rebuild public trust.
this means that we need to be honest about what's working and what isn't and i welcome in this spirit the publication of the commission's first implementation report on the eu's common commercial policy.
now it's our turn as parliament to do our job and hold the commission to account.
there are many things missing from the commission's report but most importantly an honest analysis of what our trade policy does for our people and planet.
i suspect the answer is actually not very much so far.
although now the tone is changing around eu trade policy with recognition of the negative consequences of globalisation and the need for a values based trade policy there's still little interest in concrete measures to address the shortcomings.
the toolbox to address these consequences is inadequate and the commission's implementation report offered little analysis of how those limited tools have been used in practice.
the commission simply can't go on without giving us a detailed assessment of the impact of labour and environmental provisions in eu trade deals in particular.
i'd like to emphasise the importance of enforcement in terms of labour and environmental protections.
rightly we're critical of the unilateral closure of the commission's consultation on the use of sanctions to enforce these provisions.
the commission has closed down debate far too early and it reminds me of the debate about investment protection just a few years ago in which the commission resisted change until the public opposition to the eu's approach threatened whole free trade agreements ftas.
i would encourage the commission to heed this criticism in this report and engage on enforcement of trade and sustainable development chapters in a more constructive manner.
we also need to take an honest look at what our free trade deals deliver concretely on the ground.
the commission report is full of success stories but what about the losers the regions and the sectors?
one thing is clear from the report our companies unlike our partners do not take the most advantage of eu trade deals and we need to know why this is.
i suspect that one of the reasons may be austerity policies and cuts in national trade promotion budgets which have played a big part in that.
that is why we need more than tdas in order to prevent unfair trading practices in our markets and an increase in transparency within the processes of global value chain instruments.
taiwan could serve as an ideal springboard to the chinese market as we of course want a level playing field with china which still imposes unjustified nontariff measures and technical barriers.
furthermore one should not overlook our economic relationships and the positive advances that have been made with ftas conducted by the eu so far and should speed up progress in the ongoing negotiations especially our economic cooperation under the european neighbourhood policy.
our dcftas under implementation help to create a stable democratic and prosperous eu neighbourhood.
public debate about international trade has also become more vivid and we need to supply clear and precise answers in order to demonstrate that eu commercial policy brings benefits to companies and citizens.
this report on the common commercial policy is therefore badly needed. challenges are also opportunities for the eu worldwide and we should be able to take advantage of these new opportunities. madam rapporteur you did a very good job. it wasn't an easy job but you managed to accommodate different positions and find compromises on such sensitive issues as trade and sustainable development tsd chapters
global value chains and corporate social responsibility.
while those seem to occur only on a small scale they must nevertheless be taken very seriously because abuse or the feeling that there is abuse destroys free movement.
free movement gives the citizens the right to live work and study anywhere in the union an important right which over fourteen million citizens utilise.
as a matter of fact those who are not in employment represent a very limited share of the total number of mobile citizens.
if you look at our eurobarometer it is also the right which they cherish most.
now we have heard very clearly the concern which has been raised by some member states that free movement has been abused on their territories causing difficult social situations in certain localities.
that is why it is a debate in which institutions need to make their voices heard very clearly.
the data which is provided by the member states shows that the main motivation for eu citizens to move to another member state is for work.
they enjoy the right to free movement as a direct consequence of being european citizens and of their member state being a member of the european union.
this is our duty as guardian of the treaties we will ensure that any measure adopted in any member state is fully compliant with eu law.
to present its findings the commission adopted in november a communication on the free movement of citizens and their families which provides facts and figures clarifies the rights and obligations and explains the conditions and limitations offered by the eu rules on free movement. to make it very clear the current rules on free movement
including access to social benefits contain sufficient safeguards to prevent eu citizens becoming an unreasonable burden on the host country.
in exercising this responsibility national authorities can count on the support of the commission.
the commission has listened to those member states and it has gathered data provided by those member states to better grasp the dimension of the problem.
having said that we would also like to say clearly that we stand ready to help the member states in their efforts to fight fraud and abuse.
they are therefore unlikely to represent a real burden on the welfare systems of host countries.
the commission believes that we must again and again state clearly that all eu citizens are entitled to free movement without exception.
there is also a very strong economic case for free movement because it not only benefits those who move it also benefits the economies to which they move and the economies from which they have moved. the gdp of the eu fifteen is estimated to have increased by almost one in the long term as a result of the free movement after the two thousand and four enlargement.
free movement is one of those basic rights citizens enjoy.
i know from experience that i can count on the strong support of the european parliament when it comes to these questions.
sixty five also and this is very important mobile eu citizens tend to be net contributors to the costs of the public services they use in the host country.
i would like to make it very clear it is a right which is not up for negotiation.
of all citizens residing in another eu country in two thousand and twelve more than three quarters seventy eight were of working age as compared to sixty six among nationals.
our citizens also know that they can count on us and that is what we have to deliver.
that is why the commission with a five point action plan proposed to give a helping hand to the member states when implementing the right to free movement on their territories. the member states and the eu here share the responsibility to make these rules work
this also includes countering public perceptions which are not based on facts and economic realities.
the uk government is already taking some legitimate action to prevent loopholes in this respect but we need to separate spin from substance.
it allows brits to retire to spain and thousands of young people to seek jobs all across the european union.
evidence shows that eu migration has brought huge benefits particularly to the uk treasury and to the national health service which is propped up by highly skilled migrants.
mr president free movement is one of our most cherished achievements but the recent debate has taken a serious turn for the worse especially back home in the uk where we see conservative and labour politicians dancing to the ukip tune using rhetoric which portrays eu migrants as scroungers.
the liberal democrats must set the record straight and defend the benefits of free movement which is a two way street.
half of the new houses are going to immigrants. those are the facts.
we base our argument on facts. you should recognise that.
we are desperately building new houses in my country many of them in the countryside and on the greenbelt.
i am pleased to take from this afternoon's debate equally strong support among a very large majority of members of this house.
union law and the treaties as regards citizenship and the rights of citizens have evolved since then but one thing has remained the same.
mr president honourable members as i said in my opening remarks there is very strong and unconditional support in the council for upholding and promoting the principle of free movement as one of the basic freedoms of the eu.