kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the debate we are having today on the content of this constitution should if anything be held amongst hungarian people and not in this house.
first of all if we are going to discuss the content of a constitution we should not single out one constitution of one member state.
so when we single out a member state and when we try to act outside our competence we send a wrong signal.
secondly one has to ask what power what competence do we have to bring the issue of a national constitution to the european parliament in the first place?
some of the elements which are being contested can in fact be found in a number of other constitutions in other member states and yet we are only debating one constitution in one member state.
we need to strive to make all european citizens feel not worried but reassured that our values are at the core of our legislation and are there to stay.
my own country's leaders have been inspired by these actions and some recent amendments to our romanian constitution seem to be copied and pasted.
we should all worry about democracy when a ruling party passes laws that cement its power well beyond the end of its term and limits the relevance of future elections and about political leaders going as far as writing or amending fundamental laws that fit only their political credo or economic policies.
i admit that as a liberal i am worried about government eroding civil liberties and democratic control. i am worried about legislation turning a blind eye to diversity and i am convinced that not all hungarian citizens recognise themselves in the conservative image portrayed by the constitution.
sometimes those questioning this text have been accused of doing so for purely political reasons. one expected the new hungarian constitution twenty years after the fall of the communist regime and at a time when hungary holds the presidency of the european union to entirely reflect the most cherished values in the eu.
are these only political values?
and yes i am worried about the spill over of these hungarian patterns.
hungarian civil society and the venice commission have expressed serious concerns regarding the duration and transparency of the process.
they will not be approved but the attempt is there.
european institutions must not be shy at such times.
i hope he would like to reply.
why did you not keep it there so that everybody could see a green ombudsman who is in favour of the rights of future generations environment and sustainability?
the preamble is exclusionary and reflects a distorted interpretation of history.
the european council parliament and commission cannot ignore these violations of european values because this may set a negative precedent for other illiberal regimes to follow.
nevertheless the democrats of hungary do not expect the remedy to come from abroad.
were it to happen that way it would only reinforce the view of the hungarian prime minister who compared the eu to the soviet union.
the solution can come only from the hungarian citizens who will reject this constitution when they realise that an autocratic regime cannot provide high living standards and more freedom.
is there a green ombudsman in your country?
well there was no clear line from the european parliament. i heard a lot of diverging opinions which in itself shows how complex this matter is.
on behalf of president barroso i would like to underline once more that the commission does not make political judgments on the fundamental constitutional and institutional choices that a member state makes.
the adoption of a new constitution in a member state is a matter for its people and for its institutions.
as i have already underlined we could become competent when the constitution is translated into legislative administrative or judicial practice.
the question raised by ms guillaume concerns an awareness raising campaign on the work life balance which was supported by the progress programme.
this is part of the campaign consisting of promotion material showing a foetus with the words let me live' with the commission's logo.
i made it very clear this campaign is not in line with the progress programme and it is not in line with the project proposal submitted to the commission services by the hungarian authorities.
constitutions are not within our competence.
not only that but married couples of the same sex should be able to move freely around europe and have their partnership legally recognised wherever they are.
however each member state has the responsibility to respect the european community that they are part of.
the protection of lgbt people is fundamental to the european union and hungary cannot disregard that.
bank lending though remains the principal funding mechanism for european businesses and i believe that the stress test and the comprehensive assessment should make us feel more confident that our banking system is now better placed to play its full role in supporting economic growth.
on four november the baton passed from national supervisors to the single supervisory mechanism and i shall work closely with ms nouy and other key players in the ssm to ensure the success of this change.
stress tests are now part of the european supervisory toolbox.
this has required a huge investment. over six zero officials and experts worked on this project at its height but the result was worth it because it has given us a health check of the european banking system which enjoys broad international credibility.
this will in turn reassure investors about the quality of eu banks' balance sheets help restore confidence and allow banks to carry out their core function lending to the economy. some banks still have work to do to strengthen their positions.
the capital ratios of eu banks are now at around.
should a public capital injection be necessary it will be subject to state aid rules as set out in the two thousand and thirteen banking communication;
one is in the process of being resolved.
between two thousand and eight and two thousand and thirteen more than eur two hundred billion of capital was raised by the one hundred and thirty banking groups participating in the full comprehensive assessment and a further eur fifty seven billion has been added since january two thousand and fourteen alone.
the g twenty in brisbane emphasised the need for a comprehensive programme to restore sustainable economic growth.
we have much better capitalised banks we have exacting rules and processes for their oversight we have new tools to resolve banks in a crisis and we have a powerful and independent new banking supervisor in the eurozone.
and the rigour and transparency of the exercise mean that these results are credible across the world.
now i hope we can build on these foundations and start to turn the page on the financial crisis focusing on the pressing challenges of regenerating growth and investment.
we have entered a new chapter in our efforts to make the eu banking sector healthy resilient and transparent.
as a result our banks are much better placed to withstand financial shocks than they were before the crisis;
when adjustments are made to take account of additional capital available two of these fourteen banks do not need to proceed with capital raising.
to protect taxpayers the first port of call to address capital shortfalls should be private sources and the remaining eleven banks therefore have a short window to raise money on the market.
the adverse stress test scenario was the most severe anywhere in the world.
the tests were carried out on the basis of the situation at the end of two thousand and thirteen and identified a capital shortfall of eur twenty five billion for twenty five banks.
overall the results confirm the significant improvements there have been in the strength of european banks in the past six years.
and these rules require burden sharing from shareholders and junior debt holders before any public support is provided.
this is the priority of the new commission reflected in our investment initiative and the capital markets union which will promote non bank sources of finance.
the comprehensive assessment also marks a turning point for the supervision of eurozone banks.
they must be used regularly and in a robust manner to provide a clear and accurate picture of the robustness of our banking system to detect vulnerabilities and to pave the way for timely intervention.
mr president i think from the comments we have heard there is a broad welcome for the stress test but a clear feeling that the job is not yet done and that is a conclusion that i would share. i think in terms of the credibility of the test which is one of the themes of the debate i would argue that the exercise was credible because a robust methodology was followed;
there was a great deal of detail in the quality assurance;
there was strong governance and multiple layers of accountability.
i think since that investors and analysts have praised the degree of disclosure and the degree of transparency about how the tests were run and i think that there has also been a broadly positive market reaction since the results were announced a month ago and i believe that is testament to the credibility of the exercise.
one of the points that was raised repeatedly in slightly different ways was the question of whether this is enough and whether it will lead to the pickup in bank lending that we all want to see.
the purpose of the exercise was to identify and address vulnerabilities in the banking system and to try and dispel some of those doubts about its health but it was not an exercise for its own sake;
i believe that the european banking authority and the ecb did an excellent job and that they have successfully met the objectives of the exercise.
we have devoted a lot of attention to the supply side but in order to get lending going again we need the demand side to pick up as well and that is also something we need to look at.
our foremost priority at the commission is to create an environment conducive to growth so that businesses can create jobs and our economies can prosper once more.
that of course is the background to the investment initiative which president juncker will be announcing to parliament tomorrow;
and it is also the prism through which i intend to look at the question of regulation and regulation of the banking sector. i believe that a healthy european banking sector is one that supports growth and benefits eu citizens businesses and society as a whole.
it is a system as a number of colleagues said where taxpayers are no longer exposed to the risk of bank failures;
that means it needs to be a system that is responsibly regulated managed and supervised based on strong ethical standards and sound governance.
ms ferreira reminded us of the need for the next steps on banking union and i agree with what she said about that.
an important task has been started but there is more work to do and she reminded us of some of the immediate steps that i know she and her colleagues are working on at the moment.
i also take the point that we need to be alert to new risks and to look as i said in particular at the question of too big to fail'.
but i believe although there is more work to do that the results of the eu wide stress tests have brought us one step nearer to a healthy banking system and that the stress tests and the comprehensive assessment will help restore confidence in our banks.
that will allow them to turn their attention to supporting growth for the benefit of us and the benefit of european citizens.
mr president while the recent stress tests of european banks have shone the spotlight on some of the weakest sections of the banking sector this should not divert attention from the need for decisive structural reform of the banking industry.
the two most important causes of the financial crisis have still to be addressed.
first we need a clear cut separation of retail from casino banking activities and secondly we need to reduce the size of individual banks so that no single financial institution can threaten the whole financial system.
this problem of too big and too interconnected to fail' is more important and more urgent than the capital position of any individual bank.
recent news about the royal bank of scotland misleading regulators and deliberately undermining their own customers suggests that banks are still no way near the responsible corporations serving the real economy that we need them to be.
if it is not too cheeky on the day the pope has visited parliament i recommend you to check the green group's seven deadly sins website to assess the performance of your national banks.
finally we need to confront head on the vast and growing levels of debt which are the fundamental cause of instability in the monetary system globally.
we should establish a citizens' audit of how that debt was acquired and to what extent it can be considered legitimate and we should reconsider the nature of the money creation system which relies on allowing private banks to create money with a simultaneous creation of debt.
all eu instruments are gradually taking local governments into account as well.
moreover i agree with the resolution where it states that in order to be adequate and legitimate policies have to be defined through a bottom up approach. this means that they have to start with local authorities.
since two thousand and thirteen the commission has been working on empowering local authorities in partner countries for enhanced governance and more effective development outcomes.
local authorities will need human institutional and financial resources to fulfil their missions.
to that end all public and private representatives including local authorities have to be involved in the implementation of the sustainable development goals.
these agreements formalise our reinforced support.
two thousand and fifty having a specific goal dedicated to urbanisation is therefore of crucial importance.
addressing the challenges brought to the fore by rapid urbanisation;
but beyond the specific sustainable development goal cities will be the frontline of all other issues including migration environmental sustainability climate resilience fragility and inequalities.
and engaging with associations of local authorities at all levels. these priorities are all covered by the resolution to be adopted in parliament.
the transfer of financial resources from central governments remains a difficult aspect of decentralisation and it is often overlooked.
strengthening the capacity of local authorities;
most jobs basic social services political and civic rights are provided first and foremost in cities or regions or through local branches of government.
we will address this through our political dialogue with partner countries with the objective of ensuring coherent and efficient implementation.
i am convinced that the newly adopted two thousand and thirty agenda for sustainable development can only be of benefit if all actors are involved and mobilised.
this work will now be intensified.
madam president a locally driven approach and greater civic participation are the keys to achieving more effective poverty reduction and equitable development.
in the resource allocation process they reflect the closest possible connection between development aid and its intended beneficiaries.
by reinforcing decentralised public aid and fostering partnership with the private sector we can improve social cohesion and inclusive economic growth.
it is clear therefore that local authorities have a crucial role to play in sustainable development centred on citizen participation and grassroots engagement.
improving gender balance in local government is a crucial aspect of women's empowerment and will make for more holistic inclusive and sustainable development. however this is not just a development issue.
local authorities can play an important role in dialogue with their counterparts in europe. there are common issues to address and best practice on both sides such as the exemplary brazilian participatory budgeting model should be considered.
development cooperation also depends on intercultural understanding and dialogue.
we need to think from the outset about data desegregation at sub national level. this approach has to be a real new paradigm where local authorities in the north and the global south become strongly involved not just in the implementation but also in the nurturing of the sustainable development goals.
we share a common vision the idea that one of the key challenges for the next fifteen years will be the localisation of the sustainable development goals.
would you not agree with me that interfering in the good ordering of national governments through the eu giving money to local governments is surely an eu plot to destroy the sovereign nation state by stealth and by buying local politicians?
a good example of how a state tries to manage control of its situation is in somaliland where the government has set up a national planning office ensuring that there is a national strategy that there is joined up thinking and that funding is directed towards agreed national priorities.
madam president it is a fact that corruption in developing nations is endemic. this has been the case for decades and it has become an almost cultural norm in many countries that find it difficult to make national and local government transparent and accountable.
the idea that somehow bypassing the top layer of government will see less waste of our money is a naive idea to say the least.
the turkish proverb the fish stinks from the head down' is very pertinent here.
if you have a corrupt national government it is safe to say that there will be corruption within a nation at every level.
the idea that it will be easier to police hundreds or even thousands of local authorities when you cannot do the job with dozens of national governments is ludicrous.
one of the first duties of government is to ensure that the taxes that they collect from their citizens are treated with respect.
if we cannot guarantee that the aid we hand over is managed within a framework in which we have confidence if we cannot be sure that we are not propping up corrupt regimes or paying for fleets of mercedes limos and private jets then we should not be handing over aid at all.
the message should be get your own house in order if you expect our help.
paying local authorities directly undermines the nation state and could be used to gerrymander the overthrow of legitimate but poor governments pursuing eu objectives.
if the eu directly funds tribal councils in africa or the middle east it will undermine national unity in the strength of legitimate central authorities.
surely rewarding good governance and refusing to reward bad governance should be the ethos of development aid.
surely this is extending the tentacles of corruption of the european union throughout the world?
nation states should be respected and the order of government should be respected.
in my region we need investment in broadband electricity grids and key roads.
fifty however the eib relies on its guarantee implied guarantee from our member states for its triple a rating and we do need improved transparency.
mr president investing in infrastructure research and innovation is key to unlocking growth and increasing competitiveness and the eib has an important role to play.
it obliges countries to disclose off balance sheet debts and contingent liabilities and the project bond initiative must not be an excuse to hide new debts in complex arrangements between our member states the eu and the eib.
in my amendments to the capital requirements directive i have proposed that banks co financing long dated infrastructure with the eib should be able to drop their risk rating by.
so the pilot schemes should be carefully monitored and assessed before a larger roll out.
as meps we all know of the infrastructure needs in our own countries.
i think the commission is doing that again and again because our expertise is needed again and again.
i found also an incredible wealth of engineering capacities of science and technology experts and things like that.
i welcome this and this is a promise i can give you.
so in addition to what i have said about energy and energy efficiency new energies in the fields of smes innovation might be a very important additional pillar.
for the huge infrastructure challenges to be met over the next couple of years we need to be able to attract more private money and this is how the european investment bank can make a contribution.
i just went through my first experiences as president of the bank in the field of auditing and compliance and i must say that i am proud of the procedures that have been adopted and improved over the last couple of years.
not draw funds from the european commission from the union over to the bank.
our overall role is to contribute to the competitiveness of europe in the globalised world.
business this is the point.
this is the way we cooperate and this cooperation works very well.
if i go to the politicians on the budget committees or the economic committees of the parliaments of the member states i find limited knowledge about the eib.
this is an institution which by its lending volume is far bigger than the world bank.
we should develop this institution.
we must make this known among our citizens in the european union because this is something we can bring into place when it goes in favour of job creation in europe change in the environmental situation in europe climate action and when it comes to boosting innovation growth and employment.
nobody knows what a valuable instrument this is for the european institutions.
no we have to do this together.
a lot of things have been said about smes.
here i consider this parliament to be one of the best allies of the european investment bank and this is why i do not shy away from questions of transparency compliance and auditing.
there is always room for improvement.
if i look at the strengths of the economies of some of our member states at least or the european economy in general one can say that here is the backbone of employment of innovation in the european union so it is clear that we must strengthen them.
the activities of the bank have clearly been expanded from purely lending to also blending with the resources of the commission and parliament and the european institutions and advising because the expertise that our bank incorporates can be made available to the member states to our partners in business.
thank you very much and i am looking forward to very good cooperation with this parliament.
this is so important in coming to a really sound assessment of projects and proposals and we should in the best sense of the word bank on that.
combating climate change well we had an eleventh century danish king of england who set himself a comparable task and thirdly supporting the eu's foreign policy objectives.
this is yet another example of the fact that whatever activity the eu is following whatever institution we are looking at or whatever ostensible objective it might have the real objective is the european project the creation of a european or perhaps these days not so very european superstate.
given the obstacles to using structural funds for these purposes to increase the eib's capital. the commission is currently exploring alternative options.
at the same time the eib is intensifying its work on identifying suitable projects for this exercise.
this can create a long term incentive for capital market investors to invest in this specific project thus mobilising further resources for sustainable growth and employment in europe.
in our eastern neighbours.
this is expected to mobilise investments of up to eur.
while financial markets show some signs of stabilisation there cannot be any room for complacency.
i welcome your backing for our commitment to focus on the knowledge triangle of research and development innovation and education.
we do this while very clearly and precisely following best banking procedures and sticking to very basic principles which provide or which are the guarantee of the preservation of the triple a status of this bank.