kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
but what is really shocking is that according to dr tony cox of the irish college of general practitioners nursing home residents in ireland are more than twice as likely to be on an antibiotic than in any other european country.
in two thousand and eleven twenty five zero patients died as a result of infections caused by resistant bacteria in the eu.
i therefore call on the commission to promote the development of new antibiotics and regulate their use.
here the eu has the ability to achieve results that the single member state cannot.
above all it is crucial to realise that diseases do not stop at borders.
four one million people are suffering from healthcare related illness which causes huge personal distress and also a significant cost. the good news is that thirty of these illnesses can be avoided and the eu can play a crucial role in helping us achieve this alleviating the burden placed on national health systems which are already ailing in many eu member states not least the uk.
as countries move from austerity to growth we do need to continue our relentless focus on increasing our investment in overseas development.
we have seen significant progress in some developing parts of the world;
i congratulate all of those who were party to the report. we have got to make it absolutely clear that if we are serious about reaching the goals that we have set internationally then a fundamental part of that has got to be around oda development and the commitment of.
one seven billion for this. this regulation will impact consumers' daily lives as financial benchmarks determine the level of the mortgage payments of millions of households in the eu.
manipulating them amounts to stealing from investors and consumers and undermines confidence in markets.
banks while stating that they cannot invest in the real economy have made buffers to pay billions in fines for benchmark manipulation.
transparency and supervision on the benchmark process have been increased and conflicts of interest have been tackled.
the benchmark scandals in the recent past clearly demonstrate what unregulated benchmarks can lead to.
most importantly the report deals with the role of women in development and strongly supports the principle of gender equality as it places this at the core of development activities. it targets investment in key sectors such as health and education ensuring all development finances take full account of the situation of women and girls.
the libor rate fixing scandal told us all we need to know about the ethics and morals of the finance industry at the very top.
this regulation extends the scope to include commodities and on their benchmarks and we believe there should not be more reach and over reach by the eu. these regulations will result in fewer benchmarks and less price discovery and give non eu investment managers and businesses a competitive advantage over europe and the uk. it will drive jobs out of europe and lower economic growth. once again i will say yes' to the uk and no' to the eu because once again the eu is driving business out of europe.
madam president i supported this report on green growth initiatives and in particular the amendment which calls on the commission to withdraw obsolete and overly burdensome legislation.
there is always a balance to be struck between proportionate and effective regulation.
regulation which can often be unworkable is hugely burdensome and in many cases does not even attain its own objectives.
time and time again we hear politicians complaining about red tape and eu bureaucracy in their own member states.
it is usually a case of blaming brussels. yet when we have the opportunity to support the commission's proposal to withdraw obsolete and overly bureaucratic legislation many will vote against it.
madam president not only is it important that we address the issue of financing for smes but also that we help them cut the cost of going green.
in my region the west midlands eu funding has been instrumental in driving forward the development of our region into one of the largest low carbon environmental goods and services sectors in terms of sales in the uk.
so it is imperative that we continue to build on this effort given that nearly half of the smes in my region indicate that they are still struggling to access finance for these types of initiatives. there is a real job of work to be done here.
crucial in getting my support for this were the points that were championed by my group namely including making sure that proper attention is given to microenterprises and start ups and tapping the full potential of funds by establishing industrial synergies symbioses and clusters.
we owe it to our smes to use the means at our disposal in the most efficient way possible.
two four billion annually for the years two; thousand and ten to two thousand and twelve stresses however the need for information on participation and contribution from the eu budget during two thousand.
as regards fisheries the strategy should support action to improve the culture of compliance and enhance cooperation on the control of fishing activities.
the commission agrees on the need to improve scientific knowledge on the state of stocks. action in this field should be supported by the new data collection framework.
the commission welcomes parliament's reiterated support for a strategy for the adriatic and ionian region. as you know this strategy and its action plan address inter alia maritime and marine issues fisheries aquaculture marine environment protection and the related research and innovation dimension.
the commission intends to adopt a communication on the eu strategy for the adriatic and ionian region accompanied by an action plan by the end of the first semester of two thousand and fourteen and it is clear that the suggestions made by the rapporteur and parliamentarians will feed into this work.
ownership of the strategy by local communities and authorities will be critical to its success.
the commission is convinced that to ensure the sustainability of shared fish stocks all countries exploiting marine resources in the area have to play by the same rules.
this is a consequence of the existence of a strong cotton processing industry in the eu.
unfortunately the nature of many commodities and the fact that their production takes place in countries where opportunities are limited means that child labour is a feature of their production.
the problem of child labour goes well beyond the cotton sector.
there are a wide range of instruments addressing normative trade technical and development assistance issues such as the development cooperation instrument the european instruments for democracy and human rights the european development fund and the generalised system of preferences. in addition the eu is committed to addressing child trafficking
following the adoption of the council conclusions on child labour the commission reiterated its commitment to fighting child labour and agreed on a number of concrete initiatives.
furthermore the new eu strategy towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings two thousand and twelve two thousand and sixteen identifies child labour as a root cause of trafficking in human beings.
the commission is working closely with the council to ensure that membership can take place under the best possible conditions.
discussions are now taking place to pave the way for membership by the middle of next year.
is not sacrificed at the altar of the need to work and that children's physical and emotional development is not adversely affected.
the commission's working document on combating child labour presents an overview of the eu instruments in place to fight child labour. the eu strategic framework on human rights and democracy of june two thousand and twelve represents a significant aspect of the eu's
as such it can speak with one voice and present a coherent and consistent vision of how the eu sees issues affecting cotton. membership of icac will allow the eu to put forward its concerns on a number of issues
in a large number of initiatives both within the eu and third countries. directive two thousand and eleven thirty six eu constitutes the eu legal framework underpinning the best interests of the child principle.
human rights policy.
finally the commission's communication on social protection in eu development cooperation provides the policy framework contributing to improved social assistance and the prevention of child labour and economic exploitation.
article thirty two of the un convention on the rights of the child ratified by the eu gives children the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from child labour.
it is therefore an anomaly that the eu has not yet become a member of the international cotton advisory committee in.
mr president i think what we need are concrete proposals and serious commitments from the commission and member states on environmental social labour and trade union rights all the way through the cotton chain from cotton production and harvesting to textile and clothing manufacturing.
the urgency has been highlighted on the one hand by the widespread use of forced child labour in the cotton fields of uzbekistan and on the other hand in the recent tragic factory fires in bangladesh.
in many cases it is big retailers and brands fully aware of the lack of health and safety standards and benefitting from slave wages and poor working conditions which are making a fortune out of the misery and exploitation of often very young female workers.
for these reasons i tabled an amendment calling for corporate social responsibility to be legally binding and enforceable not just a cheap pr mechanism as unfortunately it often is.
i also want to draw attention to the practice of sandblasting which is used in the production of denim jeans and other textiles.
it exposes workers to extreme health hazards with silica particles entering the body and causing deadly diseases such as silicosis.
that is why i tabled an amendment calling for the commission to come forward with a proposal to introduce an import ban on products that are produced using sandblasting.
could i ask the commissioner please to respond to that issue?
what is needed is a strong trade union movement in bangladesh uzbekistan and elsewhere and solidarity from the trade union movement in europe to effectively tackle these issues force the abandonment of the practice of sandblasting and to fight for decent working and living conditions.
the eu's membership of international commodity boards is very important all the more so in the case of cotton where we have a considerable eu presence.
this adoption of the european data protection regulation is a huge step forward for the european union and for fundamental rights in the european union.
this sentence should be replaced by the oral amendment i will now read to you the appropriations may be released following a decision of the committee on budgets'.
adopting that oral amendment would not make the report ideal but it would do a lot to secure broader support in the final vote.
two hundred and sixteen the text to which the roll call vote applies is the following the appropriations may be released following a bureau decision on internalising the members' transport service'.
a further phase needs to be developed once the information needs are clear. we will be working on both aspects over the coming year carefully and without duplicating other efforts in the forest area.
in anticipation of parliament's report we have already begun working with the member states to develop further and more clearly the precise information needs at eu level.
the guiding principle has been to respect member states' competences and subsidiarity while at the same time seeing how best the eu could contribute to ensuring that the functions of forests are protected and that the information necessary to achieve this is available.
the past year has been rich in discussion and the council conclusions together with the results of the stakeholder consultation are already feeding into the commission's reflections on the next steps. despite the fact that there has been a lengthy debate as to whether the eu needs a forestry policy or not i am very pleased to see that appreciation of the economic social and environmental functions of forests was a common theme in the stakeholder and council input and that this concern is again evident today in the report drafted by
the report will help us to focus this work.
two thousand and ten the green paper set out the various socio economic and environmental functions of forests and the challenges they will face in coming decades.
the commission announced its intention to present a green paper on forest protection and information in the context of the two thousand and nine white paper on adaptation to climate change.
madam president today we have an important vote ahead of us to speed up and simplify the recognition process for qualified professionals throughout the eu.
i have strongly supported streamlining many of the existing bureaucratic procedures for qualified professionals.
an alert mechanism which i initially proposed in my report in two thousand and eleven has now been set up so that member states will be obliged to inform the competent authorities of all other member states about any professional who has been prohibited from exercising his professional activity.
at the same time i have been keen to ensure that the final text provides for essential safety checks to be in place for health professionals by tightening up the rules on language checks so that we can be sure professionals have the necessary skills and ability to communicate with patients before they can work in the uk.
i am also very pleased that my amendments to align the minimum training requirements for doctors to the uk system were included in the final text as we have fantastic doctors in the uk who undergo extensive training and rigorous exams at some of the world's best universities.
having worked on professional qualifications for the last two and a half years as the rapporteur of the own initiative report preceding this directive i am pleased that the compromise text includes many of the proposals introduced in my initial report.
however improved mobility could not be achieved at all costs. this priority had to be balanced with the need to safeguard the health and safety of our patients.
the new alert system will prevent healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses who have been convicted of a crime or face disciplinary action from exploiting loopholes in the current legislation and practising abroad as all eu countries have to be notified of such decisions within three days.
the extension of the scope of the directive to trainees is a welcome step forward and will help to improve the conditions of young professionals seeking a future abroad.
the professional card the ability to exchange information electronically among public authorities and the applicants' ability to initiate their professional recognition requests with the authorities of their home country all represent improvements. i look forward to seeing this in place.
the overall aim of this directive is to simplify the recognition of professional qualifications which in turn will make it easier for skilled workers to work abroad. we have heard much about the professional card clarification and updating of minimum training requirements.
on language skills although there are already obligations for professionals to have the necessary language requirements this clarifies that competent authorities are able to apply language controls after the recognition of qualifications.
on the alert mechanisms others have spoken about this.
member states will now have to proactively alert authorities about professionals no longer entitled to practise their profession. on the importance of the recognition of traineeships it is important that eu citizens enjoy our freedoms that cross border activity can bring.
this is unfair.
we are not talking about a criminal we are talking about a law abiding citizen whom the french ski and police authorities clearly want to victimise.
to improve and agree this package that the commission sent us in a series of very intensive negotiations with the council but also in the preparatory work for this. i want to point out to the house as i have done on other occasions that one of the characteristics of our work on internal market dossiers recently has been the fact that we are not prepared to just wait for the commission to send us proposals but we had been working with them and with the stakeholders
the professions consumer organisations and particularly with the medical professionals for two years before we received the proposal. i think the quality of work shows and i pay particular tribute to all of those who have been involved in that long process. finally
even if some workers do know their rights all too often they find it impossible to take action individually without any back up.
at present we do not yet have legislation to protect many people against discrimination in access to goods and services but we do have the employment directive. can you tell us what action is being taken against member states who do not implement it properly and what mechanisms could be put in place to help older and disabled workers to achieve their rights?
even though the two thousand employment directive should be adhered to in each member state many of those older workers still do not know what their rights are under this directive and many member states are flouting the rules.
in particular would you agree that there is a need for a further stimulus the etuc has suggested one of gdp aimed at a positive entry strategy into the labour market that would be aimed at protecting viable employment and creating new jobs in promoting intelligent work sharing?
it has been suggested for example that a single strategic platform should be created at a level to bring together all key actors to work together on growth innovation and jobs in each sector and to coordinate existing instruments such as technology platforms skills expert panels and joint technology initiatives.
in the light of this would you now agree that the economic recovery plan agreed last december was not enough in itself?
would you agree that it would be a good idea for that to be implemented at european level?
i am speaking in languages that i believe are more accessible and that requires an additional effort from me.
i really enjoyed it. i think it is a good exercise.
mr barroso the financial crisis in the uk is very serious.
the bizarre situation is that if eid comes into force in january we will know how many sheep we have in the uk where they are and all their movements yet in the uk due to unlimited immigration we have no idea of how many people we have in our country or who they are or what movements they will make.
i fear that the agricultural sheep sector is also likely to crash with the introduction of eid with its flawed equipment.
one of the many sectors struggling is the agricultural sector.
i have said earlier that my number one concern is unemployment but to fight unemployment we should not only have a reactive position but a proactive position.
this i think could be achieved through the revision of the lisbon strategy and an integrated vision for.
hitherto the creation of wealth and the measure of well being have been based largely on consumption and so industry has been encouraged to pay little attention to the real value of raw materials used even if their price is low or to the real cost of waste produced.
how does your commission intend to ensure that growth in future will be of a different nature and that we will not find ourselves in a situation where after another twenty years of growth we have a planet unable to sustain what we are doing and a society unable to afford the real costs
tony blair is the odds on favourite with the bookmakers.
as you know i have not always been one of your biggest supporters but i have to concede you have done very well.
you have managed to ignore the french referendum result you have managed to ignore the dutch referendum result and you have managed to bully the irish into submission the second time around.
i just wondered whether you agree with me that his continued support for britain to join the euro his surrender of gbp two billion a year of the british rebate and his whole approach towards britain's membership of the european union his refusal to give the british a referendum all show that he has sufficient pro european credentials to become the president?
a chance to hold the executive to account surely must be welcomed.
i think that we should not keep an unsustainable model so at a certain moment we have to come back to sustainability.
i am grateful that thanks to good cooperation we are making very good progress in this case. i understand that following the doubts the commission expressed on the rightfulness of the bidding process there will be a reassessment by gm and opel trust of the offers to buy opel based on commercial conditions.
i repeat that we have used to the full our existing instruments. we have community level instruments but there are some instruments that are national level instruments.
what we can do is to work with the member states to make the most of these to exchange best practice and to urge them to follow this.
for instance in france there have been extremely good practices from private companies promoting in house training in their companies and promoting apprenticeships with public money but with part of it also funded by the companies themselves.
would you agree mr barroso that we as members of this parliament and the commission should be extra cautious with every penny that we add onto public sector burdens?
if you do agree firstly how would you advise us to vote in the budget debate on thursday?
many of the problems you have mentioned have to be dealt with at national level because these are the measures in terms of concrete support that are to be taken by the national social security systems.
in fact that is the core of the programme for the next five years to invest more in smart green growth sustainable growth.
we have to understand that the model of the future will not be like the model of the past.
i am for a strong industrial base in europe but a strong industrial base for the new age of sustainability where we have to think about green development green technologies.
you could have democratised the eu with this treaty.
you chose not to.
i would like to focus on three topics of special interest. first both the commission and parliament need to reflect closely together with the council on how the responsibility of the various financial actors can be better defined and outlined in the legislative framework.
the simplification of eligibility rules and financial processes is a priority objective of the commission in the perspective of the next multiannual financial framework. therefore the commission has also made proposals for the revision of the financial regulation aimed at clarifying the rules ensuring their consistency with sectoral legislation and simplifying financial processes.
that the budget for two thousand and nine should be discharged.
madam president i believe it is madness for this european parliament to approve the two thousand and nine eu budget when financial irregularities or possible fraud affect between two and more than five of the total.
the level of irregularities for two thousand and nine is abnormally high and equates to half of the uk's contribution for the eu for this year roughly eur.
to make matters worse the commission and parliament are demanding increases in the budget for the coming years.
this house is set to approve discharge for twenty seven eu agencies expensive and needless quangos while the european court of auditors has launched a full scale investigation into their accounts for.
i repeat in the strongest possible terms that it is nothing short of madness to sign off eur five hundred and twenty three million of let us remember taxpayers' money while the official auditing arm of the eu is investigating possible fraud and financial mismanagement at these agencies.