kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
unfortunately the multiannual financial framework for two thousand and fourteen two thousand and twenty represents the first cut to the eu's seven year budget in fifty seven years.
however i have serious concerns relating to the establishment of the european public prosecutor's office and the parameters of its remit.
irregularities because it is my belief that the commission in the person of mrs georgieva today has given a very clear commitment to achieving these goals and i think that our overall objective should be to get every necessary support to that effort.
i admit that the number of irregularities has grown which requires all our attention but i do believe colleagues that whipping ourselves up into a hypercritical stance is not the best way of protecting the financial interests of the union.
i agree with madam grle when she says that we have to pay all due account of statistics and i would like to invite colleagues to consider the following data.
madam president i believe that the purpose of this exercise is to establish working and effective cooperation between parliament and the commission in truly tackling fraud and
the exact amount of fraud is unknown but must run into the billions.
my constituency in london will be appalled that their taxes are subject to such a gigantic level of fraud.
in the commercial world the fraud squad would have been called in long ago and the organisation would have been closed down.
the two biggest areas of the budget open to fraud are the cohesion fund and the common agricultural policy. the countries with the highest number of irregularities are italy romania bulgaria poland denmark and greece.
if we make vast amounts of money available to countries that are institutionally corrupt then naturally their criminals will take full advantage of it.
you talk a good talk about the way in which european union funding is not always spent on the right things.
can you give me just one example of anything which is currently dealt with at european union level where you feel that the funding would be better returned to member states to be spent directly by them?
but would you agree with me that there is absolutely no mandate whatsoever across europe for a european prosecutor's office?
so it is essential to say loud and clear today that the european union and the world will not give up on the peace process between the israelis and palestinians.
international unity has led the un security council resolution two thousand three hundred and thirty four last december which condemned the israeli settlements in the occupied palestinian territory and reaffirmed that the one thousand nine hundred and sixty seven lines can only be modified through an agreement between the parties.
ago high representative mogherini headed to the united states for a first round of meetings with the new administration.
fragile. a peaceful solution to this conflict or even progress in that direction could set a whole new paradigm for cooperation in the region including on security.
first continued settlement expansion demolitions and the denial of palestinian development. second violence and incitement to violence which inflict terrible suffering and deepen the mistrust between the communities and third the dire situation in
in fact as we face such a difficult situation on the ground it is essential to preserve international unity both on the fundamental coordinates of the two state solution and on the way to get there.
with this new law the israeli parliament has legislated on the legal status of land within the occupied palestinian territory which is an issue that remains beyond its jurisdiction.
ground. so it is essential to say loud and clear that we do not
the arab peace initiatives provide key elements for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict and we hope that we can develop even further the cooperation between the european union and the arab league and between the quartet and the arab
it is very clear that the situation is not improving and on some issues it is deteriorating.
she told him that the european union will continue to work with the two parties but also with international and regional partners on the two state solution.
for these reasons the high representative has called on israel to refrain from implementing the law.
clearly in line with the messages conveyed also by leaders from the region that any move of the us embassy to jerusalem could have a very negative and destabilising impact in the entire middle east at a time when the region needs all the stability it can get. she confirmed that the european union stands by the international consensus on jerusalem
consistent with this position at the beginning of february we condemned the new israeli settlement announcements and the adoption of the regularisation law by the knesset.
of. one thousand nine hundred and eighty it is clear that the new us administration is still in the process of defining its foreign policy. we have a duty then to engage with them on the basis of our values and our interests working to preserve international unity and to avoid any inflammatory
she met among others with secretary of state rex tillerson national security adviser michael flynn and the president's senior adviser jared kushner. with all of them the high representative stressed that the quartet report must continue to be the bedrock of international action concerning the israeli palestinian issue. she also stressed very
last november the high representative said in this hemicycle that the regularisation bill if approved would contradict very openly the quartet's recommendations.
embodied in united nations security council resolution four hundred and seventy eight
gaza the continued militant activity and the lack of palestinian unity.
this is the only way to end the conflict and move the peace process forward.
on eight february the high representative discussed the situation in a phone call with palestinian president mahmoud abbas.
trying. there are things that both sides can do today independently of each other that would advance a peaceful two state reality on the
is in great danger and urgent action is needed to stop and reverse the current trends. the quartet identified three major threats against the viability of the two states.
international unity has led the quartet's report.
the international context may be evolving but the european union's position is not bound to change. we still believe that the only possible solution is the two state solution and we still believe that the current settlement policy including the regularisation law threatens the viability of the two states. you heard it directly from the high representative
give up. the european union and the world do not give up on peace between the israelis and the palestinians.
so our regional partners can play a major role in promoting a solution.
resolution two thousand three hundred and thirty four also condemned all acts of incitement violence and terror and called on both sides to take steps to advance the two state solution on the ground in line with the recommendations of the quartet report.
moves. the situation in the region is incredibly delicate and
it need not be like this. i do not fall into the trap of imagining that settlements policy unhelpful as it is is the real obstacle to peace.
if we look at the palestinian authority half of its territory gaza is under the oppressive rule of hamas and out of the political reach of the palestinian leadership in ramallah.
in spite of all the negative pressures israel has gone from strength to strength.
madam president given the conflict and oppression that afflicts so many countries in the greater middle east i must say i find it extraordinary that this parliament should be debating a resolution that puts in the dock the one example in the region of exceptional stability democracy freedom of religion and economic vitality.
hamas is becoming increasingly popular in the west bank with a young population fed a diet of hateful propaganda towards israel.
it seems that israel's very success is the focus of violent and frustrated envy.
madam president the middle east peace process and the twostate solution has been suffocated. it is buried alive under the concrete slabs of thousands of illegal israeli settlements.
when member states breach eu law they are faced with sanctions and infraction proceedings but when israel breaches eu law it does not face sanctions.
every time israel announces new settlements or demolishes more palestinian homes the international community just wags its finger and the eu merely condemns.
but israel says take a hike' more or less and increases the rate of illegal settlements and land theft. israel must be stopped from acting with impunity.
they are war crimes under the fourth geneva convention.
that being said it is imperative to realise that the settlement policy and the occupation are symptoms not reasons when it comes to the israelipalestinian conflict.
looking back in history neither israeli concessions nor the return of land have led to dialogue and peace. the eu should be a guardian of international law.
therefore we must work for a negotiated twostate solution and islamists must abandon their aim of having israel wiped off the map.
a two state solution yes a state of israel living in security as a largely jewish state and a state of palestine living without terrorism and recognising the state of israel.
mr president i would like to join the many colleagues here in expressing dismay at the situation in israel and palestine.
whilst demolitions of palestinian houses continue the israeli government has announced the construction of thousands of new settlement houses a move which is obviously part of an attempt to annex parts of the west bank.
this far right israeli government has put the existence of both palestine and israel at grave risk.
my colleagues and i will continue to support the civil society and political organisations that stand up on both sides for peace and human rights.
in the meantime i must ask what has the high representative been doing on our behalf?
call off the upcoming association council meeting with the israeli government.
demand compensation for humanitarian aid that has been destroyed and make clear that a line has been crossed.
that is the only way.
there are constant terrorist attacks against israel's civilian population and a recognised rise of antisemitism around the world not least in this place.
thus israel pursues policies to safeguard her people and interests and until until a palestinian authority can be trusted and hamas desists from pushing an agenda of extinction it is unreasonable to expect the israeli government to enter into agreements with a dysfunctional enemy.
and will it not undermine the eu's credibility by moving away from its previous decision not to upgrade bilateral relations with israel due to the stalemate in the peace process?
mr president over my years in this house i have participated in many debates on the middle east peace process.
when we have members in this house referring to israel as a terrorist state is it any wonder that as one epp member pointed out the european institutions are largely seen as irrelevant to a peaceful solution?
indeed given the election of president trump this is likely to be increasingly the case.
settlements are a huge issue and the current handling of them is unhelpful but so too is violence against the state of israel.
when will this chamber recognise that israel is an important economic partner an important partner in the fight against terrorism and the only fully functioning democracy in the middle east?
products. plus there is a high number of non eu vessels authorised to export fishery products directly to
i believe we should provide fishermen with the tools which allow them to choose what is best for them but we should not make that choice for them by imposing measures.
regard. the introduction of the current control system clearly improved the control of fisheries and compliance with the cfp but more efforts by member states are necessary to ensure full compliance. as you know we are finalising the revision of the control system to improve the current rules including in areas highlighted in this report such as the sanctioning and enforcement system and traceability rules as well as better use of new technologies including for small scale
controls at the eu borders are very strict for all imported commodities and especially for food of animal
this week. the commission is also working on the development of an eu wide database for the management of iuu catch to support member states' risk based
actions. and finally as regards labour standards the commission attaches high importance to the social dimension of the cfp in particular to ensuring fair and safe working conditions in the fishing
engstrm. i would like to thank mep engstrm for the report which touches upon a variety of important issues across different policies such as fisheries trade food safety and labour standards.
give full flexibility to the producer organisations concerning the tools available to improve their management and marketing activities. support to these plans is provided under the emff.
the third point which is the legal framework as regards the need to ensure the adequacy of the existing legal framework we have recently launched an evaluation of the marketing standards that apply to fishery products to see whether they can ensure fair competition in the eu market to improve the profitability of production and whether they can deliver a level playing field with imported products.
and we are also planning to provide analysis on online sales strengths.
i believe the common market regulation has already simplified procedures for the recognition of such organisations and reduced the administrative burden significantly.
target. i also do not think that we should take a more interventionist approach and impose caps on the profits that operators in the supply chain make. if these profits are the result of effective marketing activities the operators should be rewarded for their
i believe the flexibility of these plans should stay as it is precisely given the complexity and variety of value chains across the
the eu. let me briefly share with you where we already concentrate our efforts to regulate imports and to ensure that imported fish products meet high standards.
years. only third countries demonstrating that the legislation on fishery products and their control system are equivalent to the eu are allowed to export
the commission has been producing a lot of information through its market observatory for fishery and aquaculture products.
dialogue. i have raised this very issue with member states at the fisheries council in march and i have written together with commissioner bulc to all ministers responsible for transport and for fisheries. however so far only one member state has actually set the ratifications as a priority
eu. i recognise that the issue of market transparency is a critical one if we are to empower small scale fishermen to exploit the value chains.
to the eu. the eu verifies the application of the eu rules in third countries via audits that are regularly carried out in the exporting countries with respect to hygiene requirements for vessels and establishments but also their enforcement.
but here again we can do more.
for early. two thousand and nineteen this lack of response and of interest gives the impression that ensuring fair and safe working conditions in the fishing sector is not a priority for member states and this is very disappointing. i am therefore extremely grateful for the european parliament's support in this respect but also for the strong support shown by stakeholders during the high level discussions organised by the commission at the recent seafood expo
first the minimum representativeness criteria for producer organisations are no longer set at eu level but at national level which allows member states to take into account local specificities. second the production and marketing plans as provided under the common market regulations
work. if the profits derive from unfair behaviour action is needed and this is precisely why fishery and aquaculture products are covered by the recent commission proposal on unfair trading practices in the food supply
we have also started to collect evidence on the labelling of fish products and in particular on the provision of information on the origin of the fish which is an essential element for consumers to adequately value local products. however i do not think that the commission should create a specific logo for small scale fisheries. consumer demands varies significantly across the eu and the relevance of such logos must be measured against the market that operators
are fair. the eu is the largest market for fisheries products in the world absorbing a quarter of all imports and that brings me to the report of mep
the recent proposal for the next mff confirms this trend in terms of simplification and i think this is a positive development for both member states and the sector.
funding is also an important element. the current emff provides a wide array of measures to small scale fisheries to become more competitive especially to young fishermen and i think we should build on these positive elements.
i fully concur with many of the points made in the report and i would highlight three main areas where we have to continue working in order to deliver efficient value chains that allow fishermen to share the opportunities of our internal market.
the points addressed in your report are of great relevance today as the eu depends on imports for almost sixty of the total consumed fisheries and aquaculture
the second point providing fishermen with adequate tools to operate in the market.
production and marketing plans are the most flexible tool we can give to producer organisations to design better sales strategies that increase the profits of their members.
origin. the rapid alert system for food and feed informs all member states and third countries as regards non conformities found at the moment of import or on the market and allows them to take the appropriate
this will allow us to detect trends in demand.
controls. this should lead to a reduction in the opportunities for fraudulent imports and it should ease the administrative burden for member states in terms of verifications.
sector. the commission welcomes the references in the report reminding member states of the need to ratify international conventions related to safety and working conditions and to promote ratification internationally as well as to cooperate actively with other commission services and with the social partners notably in the context of the social
imported goods should fully comply with the same quality standard rules as eu fishing products. tough competition including from abroad is a reality of many fishery businesses around europe.
secondly we need to invest in young people engage and empower the next generation of fishermen but in order to achieve this we need money for training and educational opportunities.
at the same time we need to conserve fisheries and support our coastal communities through research education outreach as well as leadership development.
lastly i fully agree that we should expend and promote information provided by the eu market observatory for fisheries and aquaculture products eumofa.
we have very positive examples from across the eu of producer organisations bringing together small scale fishermen which have succeeded in increasing their members' profits.
funding is extremely important to promote innovation skills and community led local development.
in terms of value and profit for the fishermen i would highlight one key aspect which i found could be more present in your discussions.
in order to build healthy stocks we need to have responsible fisheries and all segments of the fleet should contribute towards that effort.
we will continue to support third countries to take actions to prevent deter and eliminate iuu fishing and to encourage other states to apply measures to prevent iuu caught fishery products from entering their markets.
speaking of the coordination between trade and fisheries policy your report suggests that the eu approach to trade is frequently perceived as being counter productive to good fisheries governance in the eu as it opens up the eu market to fish products from countries which do not necessarily have the same standards as the eu.
the eu's recent free trade agreements include provisions on sustainable fishing and this in itself is already a great step forward. but we will continue to work to strengthen our trade partnerships by including legally binding provisions on sustainability. those trade partners which are granted favourable access to the eu market and which are commercial fishing nations
and interested in access to the eu market will have to be committed to the requirements of the eu's iuu regulation.
however let me be clear that iuu and free trade agreements are two independent instruments and that any decision within the iuu dialog will be taken regardless of the situation of trade negotiations.
as regards the origin of products we are analysing what information would help consumers most to make informed choices.
the eu market is extremely dependent on imports since our demand significantly outweighs our production.
therefore our objective will always be to strike a fine balance between the requirements we set for the importing of products and the need to ensure the availability of supplies at reasonable prices for consumers.
the global partnership required to implement the new agenda will need supporting actions from all stakeholders including parliament's. an effective review monitoring and accountability mechanism will be essential.
together let us bring the weight and influence of a coordinated eu position into the intergovernmental negotiations.
the eu is the world's leading donor and its most open market for exports from developing countries and in particular the least developed countries.
the high degree of convergence between the eu position and the open working group report is one manifestation of that influence.
your report is an important contribution from parliament to forging a clear and strong eu position.
i see a significant role for parliaments here too in helping to hold us to account on progress and in encouraging greater ambition particularly in ensuring that all citizens can indeed benefit.
in september next year the united nations general assembly will come together to agree on a new development framework for our time.
i trust that the council will deliver sound and effective conclusions in a few weeks' time. but we should not stop there.
we must work closely with ngos and private organisations which strive to put these principles into practice.
which will continue to cause the death and suffering of hundreds of thousands or millions of people often in developing countries who let us be clear are the least responsible for climate change.
we must find a way to promote growth while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by changing energy patterns.
we got paragraph forty seven encouraging sustainablity reporting but now i see the outcome document of the open working group in what is prepared for next year in the un and it simply once again says encourage sustainability reporting by business.
capital accounting should be reflected in national economic accounts something which was pioneered by the united nations environment programme and advanced the argument in common with many from within the business community that that should apply to companies as well in terms of sustainability reporting within their own accounts.
we cannot get sustainable development without business itself being sustainable.
the global corporate sustainability reporting coalition pushed this agenda.
and if we do so companies will as we have done within europe within our non financial reporting directive adopt these practices.
there are positive development actors in the world.