kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
i personally contacted the german federal minister for food agriculture and consumer protection ilse aigner on six january and we exchanged views on what needs to be done to avoid similar contamination and incidents in the future.
i have already started considering possible measures which will ensure that our high level food and feed safety system will become even more efficient. but let me start with the facts of the incident first the incident came to light when a compound feed manufacturer notified the german competent authorities on twenty two december two thousand and ten
what has the commission done to help manage the incident?
apparently blending of feed grade fat and technical fat took place.
they have also been in touch with the competent authorities in third countries providing a clear picture of the incident to our trade partners.
the other three delivered to feed mills in the first half of december two thousand and ten were not contaminated.
as i have already mentioned we are reflecting on measures including legislative ones. the incident has highlighted the necessity to ensure the effectiveness of national control systems which underpin the confidence of all eu member states and third countries in our food and feed safety measures.
their commercial activities suspended;
i am informed that they are making available additional capacity for testing so that this is done and finished in the shortest possible time.
as a strictly precautionary measure all farms were blocked;
let me say it clearly the german authorities are fully engaged in dealing with this contamination and are doing their best to deal with it urgently and decisively.
my services have been in constant contact with the german authorities and they immediately disseminated all information to member states through the rapid alert system for food and feed.
four of these consignments delivered in the second half of november were later found to be contaminated with dioxins.
in order to address this issue i am exploring the possibility of establishing a strict segregation of the production of fats and oils intended for feed and food purposes from the production of fats and oils for technical uses and i am considering the possibility of legal requirements on reinforced controls on dioxins at different stages of the feed chains.
the commission services have been monitoring developments closely and in full cooperation with the competent german authorities.
the fortunate element of this incident is that the observed levels of dioxin in food where eu limits were exceeded have not been very high which means that no immediate health risk for the consumer is expected as a result of the consumption if any of the contaminated products during a short period of time.
this latter company was at the same time a registered feed fat manufacturer;
today i again contacted the german minister as i was concerned by the recent news from last weekend that a feed manufacturer did not provide a full list of farms which received potentially contaminated feed and provided incorrect information as regards the use of contaminated feed fat in compound feed
after having received the analytical result from a laboratory that a sample was found to be non compliant with eu legislation after self controlled tests.
no food of animal origin from the blocked farms can be placed on the market until the farms are unblocked.
a total of almost two three hundred tonnes of potentially contaminated feed fat was delivered to twenty five feed manufacturers in germany. no deliveries of feed fat were made outside of germany.
however it is important that the wider implications for the approach towards the safety of animal feed at eu level are also urgently addressed.
this concerns a very serious infringement of eu food safety provisions.
nevertheless a number of very serious questions arise questions about the behaviour of some sectors of the processing industry where clearly more needs to be done by way of prevention more needs to be done by way of punitive powers where the consequence of this action
firstly it is extremely damaging to consumer confidence in the food industry and secondly it is always the farmers who are the innocent parties.
it is always the farmers who suffer a disproportionate effect when compared to the consequences for the food processing industry. i am reasonably satisfied that the german authorities and the commissioner and his team took reasonable appropriate and swift action when they were aware that there was a problem.
we need very clearly to identify the high risk products the high risk processors and the location and names of the high risk producers and at the very least we need total segregation of products that are destined for the animal feed chain and thus for the food chain.
will you please make a commitment tonight to give them what they are requesting?
we also need as others have said controls along the way so that we detect those who continue to try and break the rules to make money.
i wonder what the commission has done in the two years to avoid this current crisis.
it is not rocket science.
i have three other points to make.
the dioxin contamination appears to be a consequence of the failure to adhere to the more rigorous processing standards needed for animal feed as opposed to the less demanding process used to convert rapeseed to biofuel.
the eu's enthusiasm for biofuels can therefore have unintended consequences.
it will not be solved by and certainly does not need extra regulation.
the germans have identified a problem they have told us about it and they are taking the necessary steps.
it covers both animal feed production in the mill and egg production on the farm thus ensuring that incidents like this are highly unlikely.
it is indeed more than worrying that the german authorities and the commission itself were not able to guarantee that none of the contaminated raw products such as eggs entered the food chain by being included as ingredients in processed food.
i would therefore like to put two questions to the commission.
i had this experience about two years ago in northern ireland when we went through a very similar exercise.
if they are they should be prosecuted for it. but we should make it very clear that it is not those who are producing food that are responsible.
we must take action against these people to make sure that it does not happen and to restore consumer confidence.
let us implement what we have.
these changes will require a migration strategy in order to ensure compatibility between the existing cards and the vehicle units in operation and those to be introduced.
this proposal aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of tachographs and to ensure that professional drivers respect the rules on driving hours and rest periods something which we clearly need to look at in the eu.
the commission welcomes more than half of the one hundred and twenty amendments adopted by the transport committee as they clarify or strengthen its original proposal. they include for instance the amendments to strengthen the sanctions regime to improve training of enforcers and to clarify the rules
i would however caution against applying full codecision to non essential elements which may need regular updates and requiring member states to equip all their control authorities with the devices needed to read the information transmitted by the new radio communication function
the commission can also accept in principle another quarter of the amendments.
harmonised enforcement is extremely important;
mr president the subject of tachographs is one that has constantly evolved over many years. changes in technology have seen us move from analogue to digital and now we have a report that really asks the question how far can we take this?
just because we can do something does not mean that we must.
there is a suggestion that we merge driving licences with tachograph records.
one is private one is professional.
like the limiting of a company's liability there must be protection for the individual acting in a private capacity.
as for the subject of big brother's eye in the sky' and satellite tracking of vehicles this makes me very uncomfortable.
if equal enforcement across europe is our main concern then that should be the focus not creating a new way of tracking people.
is it necessary at this time?
do you want to force struggling businesses to pay for it?
no it is not necessary now.
and we should not be adding costs to struggling businesses.
in the current climate they have enough to worry about.
to improve equality for women we need to stop considering women as the sole parent responsible for children and encourage both parents to take care of their kids.
the directive would be a setback not a way forward for mothers.
there are major differences in europe in family policies and we cannot impose a one size fits all solution of for instance eighteen weeks mandatory leave at european level.
when and how should not be a decision taken at european level.
mr president the time has come to talk about shared parental leave not maternity leave. to support working mothers we have to involve fathers in taking responsibility for their babies not oblige women to stay at home.
women should have the same rights and opportunities as men to achieve worklife balance.
the way to equality would not be to have only mothers at home.
my services have worked closely with previous and current presidencies and with this house to try to find a realistic solution acceptable to both sides.
i remain open to continued discussion with the co legislators but as things stand now the commission sees no reason to depart from its intention as announced in the work programme to withdraw the proposal and replace it with a new initiative if no agreement can be found within six months.
but all this needs to be done in a smart way so that this does not suffer the same fate as the previous or still current proposal.
the commission has stressed on many occasions its readiness to facilitate negotiations between parliament and the council.
society and the labour market have undergone significant changes in the recent period.
many men would like to spend more time with their children but face difficult circumstances in the workplace.
they need to have a choice.
the challenges for working parents start with the arrival of a new baby but they do not end there.
we cannot afford to continue to neglect this talent pool at a time of shrinking populations and growing worldwide competition.
the gender pay gap which is almost non existent before child bearing age remains still at sixteen and the gender pension gap stands at.
there needs to be a decent level of childcare and care services infrastructure in place to give people a meaningful choice and we must not forget the challenges of caring for elderly or infirm dependants faced by today's sandwich generation.
the commission has facilitated informal talks between parliament and the council requested a discussion in the council and has advocated concrete discussions on the basis of the rapporteur's proposals in order to move towards an agreement.
many of them agree that there is a strong case for action in this field but they are not convinced that this proposal preparations for which started almost ten years ago will solve the issues faced by working parents in two thousand and fifteen and beyond.
in particular i would like to pay tribute to the rapporteur mrs arena and to the chair of the femm committee mrs garca prez and to their efforts to find a way out of the stalemate. the commission is strongly committed to gender equality and the protection of pregnant women and new mothers.
i am therefore open to start looking into a new approach to tackle the challenges faced by them. we know that it is mainly women who are hit by what the economists call the motherhood penalty'.
parents also need a certain level of flexibility throughout the childhood and teenage years.
thanks to mrs arena we recently had the opportunity to explore new possibilities for compromise particularly on the question of pay which we know was difficult for member states in times of economic crisis.
overall there is a majority in favour of a fresh start in the council.
we will also carry out a public consultation and will consult the social partners in accordance with their specific role in the field of social policy as laid down in the treaty. we will consider the full range of possible actions both legislative and non legislative measures in order to have the most effective impact.
they see their potential and even their ability to participate in the labour market fall when they become parents.
creating conditions that allow a proper work life balance will help families businesses and our societies as a whole and will promote more gender equality at all levels.
we have insisted that the presidency bring this back for discussion in the council on the basis of the rapporteur's proposals in order to unblock the negotiations and try to move towards an agreement.
women are more highly qualified than ever before more highly qualified on average than men.
thirty nine at the same time we know that europe faces a demographic time bomb that risks becoming a serious economic and social problem as well as a fiscal problem for the eu and as the economy starts to pick up europe needs to make best use of all our talents to compete in the global marketplace.
men should also be encouraged to live up to their family responsibilities.
women and men have to be able to balance working life so that they can have the family they want.
we have engaged in continuous efforts to break the deadlock.
a fresh start now appears likely to be the best way forward.
that is why i intend to look together with my colleagues vice presidents timmermans and dombrovskis as well as with commissioner thyssen more broadly at the eu regulatory and policy framework and how it can be improved given the real needs of parents and businesses in our changing world and to propose up to date solutions to meet these needs. the commission will stay in close contact with
the commission recognises the need for women and men to be able to balance working life so they can combine it with their family life.
the commission is committed to improving the situation of working parents in the eu.
perhaps if the european parliament had agreed to the original proposal along the lines of the international labour office's maternal protection recommendation better conditions for women could have been achieved five years ago.
this has been consistently opposed by a significant minority of member states and in my opinion quite rightly.
it is the stubbornness of many members that has led to no progress for over five years so i encourage the commission to take this off the table and end this monumental waste of time.
this is opposed on grounds of subsidiarity and now it is time for the commission to stick to its word and withdraw it. this whole saga has left the european parliament looking foolish and this oral question simply emphasises that point.
this is no mere linguistic convenience. this directive has been hijacked by the issue of twenty weeks' maternity leave on full pay and paternal paid leave.
we welcome the commissions intention to come up with a better proposal that would be more realistic and more modern.
what is at the heart of the problem is a lack of support for the very concrete legislative proposal.
actually as a representative of a member state offering a generous system of paid parental leave where the parents can choose who will take care of the child the mother or the father and the rights to stay home are for eighteen months i can assure you
other helpful measures can include for example accessible care services with flexible working hours paternity leave and so on as well as a more equal sharing of care responsibilities between women and men.
hence we have to make a choice we can continue to disagree on the existing legislative proposal for another five years or we can try to find an agreement on the basis of a new proposal.
the council has made its choice. we are looking forward to having an agreement in the foreseeable future.
actually the council understands very well the importance of parental leave provisions for europes families and maternity leave should not be seen in isolation.
men must have an equal right to participate in the upbringing of children. so i would like to use this opportunity to invite madam commissioner when working on the new proposal to prepare a good modern one where both parents can share responsibility and can use the opportunity to take care of the
of our strong commitment to the fundamental principle.
for more than seven years we have been trying to find support for this file and the lack of support for the current legislative proposal by the commission should not be interpreted as a lack of will to protect the rights of working parents.
during the past few months the presidency has met with parliament's representatives on several occasions to discuss this subject.
as you know the commission has expressed its intention to withdraw the proposal if there is no tangible progress on unblocking the negotiations by the summer. i shall be very honest with you the proposal as it stands clearly does not enjoy support in the council. the council's position does not leave any room for further manoeuvre.
tremendous effort and good will was invested by the previous presidencies.
the presidency cannot act on its own it is bound by the will of the member states just as the parliament is bound by the will of its members.
the council has repeatedly stressed the importance of supporting women and men in the struggle to reconcile work family and private life.
promoting women's full participation in the labour market is not only a matter of equality but also an important factor contributing to overall economic growth.
with that overall objective in mind after seven years of efforts that have not brought us to an agreement we would very much welcome a fresh start on this subject.
this should of course include the protection of pregnant and breastfeeding women.
there is no question in my mind or indeed in my group's mind that maternity leave is extremely important.
there is no question that the rights of women should be upheld.
it has been over five years as previous speakers have said since this directive went through the european parliament.
why has this been going on? why have there been enough member states to delay this for five years?
the only conclusion one can sensibly come to is that there are members of the council member states who do not want this legislation who do not want gender equality and who do not want to see pregnant women protected at work.
this is not only unacceptable as a point of view it is actually very short sighted because the directive would allow women to enter the labour market would boost our economic performance and would be very beneficial indeed for the whole of the european union.
what we need is regulation change but more than that we need system change.
the right wing in parliament the council and the commission all tried to avoid comprehensively dealing with the question of human rights violations. we should have a target date today from the commission for when the regulation will be updated. the need for this has been underlined by developments over the past number of years.
we have a case of big business being willing to walk over dead bodies in order to maximise products.
the market for these products has gone from around zero in two thousand and one to well over usd five billion.
a recent report from human rights watch details how surveillance products created by european companies are used to crack down on opposition activists in ethiopia.
according to the international federation for human rights surveillance products and services have seen a big increase in the past few years and can have a dramatic impact on human rights.
it is indeed important that this file is concluded before the end of this legislature. as you will know adoption of this legislative proposal is all the more urgent for economic reasons as companies across europe have called on the eu to ensure rapid updates to our control lists so as to ensure a level playing field with companies from other third countries.
before the lisbon treaty a different decision making procedure was used with the result that updates were available earlier.
however the result of this rather long exchange is a wealth of ideas about how we can adjust the wider eu policy on dual use goods.
updating the list is also important to ensure that export controls focus on the most sensitive items and continue to contribute effectively to international security as well as to the eu's security.
as technology improves particularly in the military domain we can afford to desensitise carefully identified goods to ease their trade across borders.
i am conscious that during this legislative procedure the honourable members have tabled various amendments that touch on the important issues pertaining to the overall eu export control system its effectiveness its contribution to our competitiveness and our security as well as the global protection of fundamental rights.
i am therefore particularly satisfied that extensive discussions took place between the three institutions and that an agreement could be found.
i am confident that the ongoing review of the eu system will provide an opportunity to address these important issues.
we must be able to respond to new challenges such as the export of cyber tools and internet surveillance systems that could be used in violation of human rights.
the forthcoming legislature should expect to provide a political appreciation of the future of eu export controls policy very soon after july and this will probably be one of the few cases where for understandable policy reasons we control exports rather than keeping the markets open.
goods with sometimes life saving civilian applications as in health research must not threaten human lives if used instead and inappropriately for military purposes.
i am therefore confident that this file will keep our respective institutions very politically engaged.
but i think that honestly you can be proud of what you have achieved.
during times of crisis when we need free trade the most the appetite for free trade tends to be the smallest so to speak.
i can guess what the vote might be.
we cannot have this strategic partnership if we don't move on this global compact on migration and refugees.
what is at stake now is some minutes just to have a first statement by the high representative because she asks us to do so.
i fully agree with parts of what my colleague has just said but we need to send a strong message that this house should be united in finding a global solution.
unfortunately this week's plenary agenda is already full and i would rather have a full debate next month than only a short statement by the high representative this week especially as we know that the negotiations in new york are expected to continue until july. if we can put this on the agenda in april and properly prepare a strong and united response from this house it will also strengthen
i am pleased to say that on behalf of the socialist group we will be supporting his report in its entirety. we are also pleased that we have achieved most of our objectives.
that has always been your approach.
we often approach things by putting forward amendments which may improve the text and may have coherence but does it serve the citizen?
i am also pleased that working with you henrik you have shown the imagination that is absolutely necessary for a brilliant legislator which is to put yourself in the position of the person seeking to use the service.
without our staff we could never do the job that we do so well. it has been a brilliant three year love affair and like most short term love affairs i am pleased to see it coming to an end.
as a human rights activist in my previous life i especially thank mr lax for this provision.
i hope that biometrics improving the reliability of the link between the applicant and the document will mean that fewer people get turned away unjustifiably.