kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
but i would say that there has been some progress the figures pointed out by myself and other colleagues show there has been progress and i wanted to thank the commissioner as well for giving us an update on some of the initiatives that the commission is undertaking about having a proper definition of fraud about the vat directive the action plan and the strategy for dealing with cigarette smuggling etc.
representing nearly half of all undertakings in the eu and employing about fourteen million people social enterprises make a huge contribution not just to employment but also to social inclusion to local and to regional development and to environmental protection.
we bailed out the for profits but we often pay very little attention to the not for profits.
social economy enterprises should be integrated into our national reform programmes.
member states also need to set up one stop shops or contact points that will empower social enterprises to access eu funding.
belarus is a sovereign country and sadly it has made a decision to go in the direction of autocracy and central control rather than of freedom and personal autonomy but once again we should accept the limits of our ability to influence things.
i fully subscribe to the idea that all countries have an absolute right to decide on their energy sources. however there are two important issues here. first of all we are not asking them to stop full stop.
secondly the building of a nuclear reactor has global implications.
we are only asking them to carry out a full independent assessment.
it is not like erecting a few wind turbines or building a hydroelectric station.
in fact in two thousand and nine only ten of senior academic posts were held by women and after malta ireland has the second highest glass ceiling index for women in higher education.
in this context i welcome this motion and some of the things we called for to address gender imbalances in the decision making process gender based budgeting the increased participation of women in decision making and gender equality plans as a precondition for access to public funding in research science and academia.
yes there has been a response from the third level colleges but it remains uneven.
just as we insist on seeing the migration crisis as being our responsibility rather than that of assad or islamic state so we tend to assume that the middle eastern crisis is somehow for us to solve.
that is why i think it is a mistake for the european union in this report to come blundering through and assume the one thousand nine hundred and sixty seven border as the final outcome because that is the very kind of thing that the negotiations are there to determine.
it is not zero but it is limited. it is up to the peoples of the region to come to their own deal and actually they are inching towards a deal.
one of the bits of the deal which they do seem to be agreeing on is that there will be some land swaps some different border.
the reality is that our ability to exert a positive influence is limited.
this is not designed to bring the two sides closer together. it is not just about making ourselves feel better.
its very first recital says that an unprecedented number of people are seeking protection in the eu as a consequence of persistent conflicts regional instability and human rights violations.
in this report i supported the proposal that the eu accede to the istanbul convention and indeed that member states ratify the convention and also that the eu and member states work together for gender equality in the eu's external relations.
i am happy to support age appropriate sex education and relationship education indeed i encourage member states to make such sex education compulsory for secondary and primary school children.
i know it is a member state competence but that is my view. age appropriate' of course are the key words here.
most of our young people have access to the internet to the world wide web with all its pluses and minuses. they need to be armed with ageappropriate sex and relationship education.
the moral objection is that the people already in the eu are not those most in need.
if we were interested in helping syrian refugees rather than in trying to prop up schengen we would be taking people directly from the camps.
when we take people who have already made the journey to relatively safe eu countries we in effect reward the people traffickers.
in fact we contract out our immigration policy to them.
but there is also a very practical objection and it is this you cannot have quotas and at the same time the principle of free movement of people.
sooner or later those refugees will get travel documents and the two things are incompatible in the long run.
mr president this is a particularly important report which promotes investment for jobs and growth in eu regions.
the cohesion policy is the main tool that we have to promote strong regions and it takes up one third of the budget.
therefore words like balanced regional development' and equality of opportunity' are meaningless until we ensure that access.
it is also about solidarity between the generations.
we sent a very strong signal from this parliament when we called on the commission to assess the feasibility and added value of a new eu financial instrument to provide a minimum income for all eu citizens living below the poverty line.
while i fully accept that minimum income is a member state competence nonetheless if there is added value to an eu instrument then at least parliament needs to know.
finally we also referred to the fact that we deplore a situation where people's patterns of employment are becoming more insecure.
members of this house have been tripping over themselves this week with hand wringing public compassion but we have to find practical solutions to this problem.
by not trying to a halt migration most of which is economic we will simply cause more migration and yet more debt.
why are the gulf states not paying for well run camps for their fellow muslims on the turkish border with syria where they could go back to their homes once this present emergency has lapsed?
i care about the human rights of these migrants very much but i also care about the human rights of my fellow citizens to jobs.
the report contains all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that are necessary to match skills and jobs.
we need to strengthen the connection between education and employment. we need to foster fair mobility and we need to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit.
finally crucially we need to support smes and micro enterprises by enshrining the think small first' principle in our law making.
every human being has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the confines of their own state.
every human when there are just reasons in favour should be allowed to migrate and settle in another country.
the fact they are citizens of a particular state does not deprive them of membership of the human family.
these principles are as much a part of those like me who seek to address the complex issues of immigration asylum and economic migrants by controlled and managed migration as they are for those who vote for motions in this parliament today that demand uncontrolled immigration with quotas decided by a select few.
this is an emergency response to an overwhelming humanitarian disaster.
we cannot turn our backs on these desperate asylum seekers and the eu must reach some kind of coherent position.
we thought that the financial crisis was a test for europe and it was but this current migrant crisis is an even greater test.
can we dig deep and act in common humanity?
i commend the proposal from pope francis that each parish take in a refugee family and i commend all of those ngos ordinary individuals and local authorities who are welcoming the refugees.
but in the medium term we need to establish safe and legal routes to the eu and perhaps a blue card but also we need to return those economic migrants who arrive illegally.
thank you for your point but there are plenty of colleagues in the chamber at the moment and i see many more coming in.
the remaining seventy five comes from other sources either from industries which contribute quite a lot of money or from regional or national funds.
we are conscious that the funding the money that comes from the european taxpayers needs to be used in research and innovations that add to the well being of the european union that provide the kind of growth and innovations and sustainability that is required within the european union.
we do not fund military research in any way. we are very conscious of the sensitivities in relation to the funding of research in israel. as you know this parliament and the council signed up to a proposal or protocol in relation to what that funding might be.
of other than the civilian dimension of security.
we are very conscious of this and always have been and we have ethical responses within the directorate general in relation to this whole area.
this is an issue as you well remember in innovation union for example in the flagship where we talked about faster standard setting and standardisation in general working not just within the european union and not just within the european continent but with other continents and across the atlantic in particular to put in place the kind of standards that are necessary.
so i think we have to come at the issue which you raised from several different angles from our own policy area from the energy policy area and also from the overall standardisation policy area.
i also think that standardisation is really important.
it is an area in which you have not just all of the commissioners working together but you have all of the services also working together to ensure that what we do is done in a strategic way.
i think first of all you need to be reassured that the commission is fully behind the proposal that it presented which included a proposal of an eur eighty billion investment in research innovation and science.
in all of the public pronouncements that he has made he has been very clear that the investment and the economy of the future is investment in research science and innovation.
this is indeed what we have said strategic programming for us means the whole research family within the commission working together strategically to programme for the future. i think that is a huge development.
i also think it is important to state here that one of the most avid supporters of investments in research and innovation has been president barroso himself.
so from that point of view i would have to say that i am disappointed.
at the same time the discussions on the multiannual financial framework have been disappointing from that point of view. i can understand that member states have their own particular priorities and i can understand that the net contributors feel that their biggest priority is to reduce the overall budget but i would have expected and i think parliament would have expected that within that reduction
we honestly depend on and need your support really strongly during his particular debating period.
thank you for your support and we really need that support to continue.
i think parliament recognises and has from the very beginning that research and innovation have the potential to release the kind of investments that are required in the european union but that investors need to understand and to know that there is a stable platform right into the future where they can invest and they know they will get a return on that investment and that the european commission and the european union will support that.
however this parliament has been the key ally of the commission on the proposal that we have put forward and i would very much like to pay tribute and compliments to the members of parliament because they have been steadfast in their support for this policy area and i know that you will remain steadfast.
people would look at the policy areas that create jobs that create growth and that give the kind of development potential to the european union that will enable it to remain a global player in this whole area.
two thousand and twenty i do not think we should ever put a quota on what is acceptable for participation in member states but i think we need to encourage excellence to grow when we find it.
so whether it involves grants or prizes or financial instruments i think all of those have to be tailored to meet the requirements.
we have put together a full package to widen participation and i know that the newer member states are particularly interested in utilising those elements of horizon.
but the cohesion funds need to be used for capacity building.
i think what we have to do is to develop that excellence and this is why we are very happy that parliament has put such an emphasis on widening participation and on using the synergies between horizon two thousand and twenty and the cohesion funds for example.
as regards widening participation excellence is not everywhere but it can be found anywhere.
the commissioner has two minute to reply if only one commissioner is speaking.
if more than one commissioner replies each one has one minute. two other points. the conference of presidents is discussing on thursday revisions to the procedures at question time to try and make it a little bit fairer. secondly mrs kroes has notified me that she unavoidably has to leave in the middle of question
members have one minute to put questions thirty seconds for a supplementary.
i think that will assist in the kind of issues and challenges that you mentioned.
that of course is the basis on which the funding on energy policy comes under horizon. two thousand and twenty it is funding for what is in the best interest and in the critical interest and strategic interest of the european union.
therefore i believe that what is being done on the energy side by commissioner oettinger with support from us is highly important.
it is highly visible and it also is a matter of member states coming together coming to the table and realising that in supporting different aspects of energy policy they are going to have to look not just within their own economies but at the european economy as a whole.
therefore i think that better application of the rules comes with simplification if we really want to have true simplification.
i expect that as always we will have a tremendous discussion in the council in relation to this.
no single country can solve the problems of the world on its own.
i specifically refer to problems such as climate change food security and tackling chronic diseases.
would the commissioner not agree that elbit systems and israel aerospace industry should be explicitly excluded from horizon two thousand and twenty and that the armaments industry in general should not receive any taxpayer funding?
the examples of elbit systems and israel aerospace industries which have received tens of millions of euros in european taxpayers' funds surely illustrate the point. these are firms involved in the building of the israeli apartheid wall and involved in supplying the drones and war planes that terrorise the palestinian people.
i note that research carried out by a policy department of this parliament concluded that in the current framework programme it is mostly large defence companies that are the main beneficiaries.
how does this funding tally how does it square with the rhetoric of the nobel peace prize winning european union?
so that is the first thing that invest northern ireland plus ourselves in the commission and yourselves as public representatives have a role to play in explaining what is available and how you go about applying.
executive and indeed yourselves and each of your colleagues that are here from northern ireland working with the northern ireland office representation here in brussels.
and if we are going to be smart and if we are going to specialise then we should specialise in those particular areas'.
and in good times obviously they applied to their own governments their own authorities.
that day has passed now and they are coming back to the european union so i think there is an onus on us to communicate what is available to explain how to apply to organise for them to come here and visit to meet those people in the directorate general that are involved in the various areas whether it is health or energy or agriculture or fisheries whatever the area might be that is of interest.
i think that is really a process that is happening at the moment.
i think northern ireland is like quite a number of areas of the european union where the information did not get across really well.
i am very pleased at what i have seen happening over the last eighteen months in that there is a real engagement from the authorities in northern ireland from the first minister and deputy first minister down engaging here in brussels engaging in belfast with those of us who have gone over to work with the
i think that this has worked very well for the basque region. the wire conference will be coming up during the next six months giving the innovative regions of europe an opportunity to come together to have discussions to look at their policies to see how those policies can be worked together where they can cooperate and what elements of the european policy are preventing the kind of smart specialisation that they would like to see developing.
there is a real opportunity for those innovative regions to first of all further develop themselves but also share their knowledge and the aspects of their policy with other regions in europe that are not doing as well and have not focused and are not looking at specialisation in the way that the basque region has.
they have very much applied themselves to the kind of smart specialisation that the commission talks about now.
for researchers for example earlier last year i had the great opportunity of meeting about eighty european researchers who are working in the harvard mit area of massachusetts.
each one of them said they would like to see themselves at home and i asked whether this meant their own member state and they said that it meant the european union.
we need to be able to prove internationally that europe is a good place to come and work and a good place in which to invest.
mobility was difficult.
the grants are substantial and it is a huge badge of honour not just for the researcher but indeed importantly for the institution within which the researcher operates.
they know what the rules are and they know there will be a stable environment into the future. also for researchers they know that we are putting in place the kind of environment in which they feel comfortable working.
the european research council is a perfect example of a case in which we have the organisation that is now accepted worldwide as the barometer for excellence.
it funds researchers no matter where they come from to come and do their research in the european union.
horizon two thousand and twenty is all about creating the landscape and the architecture to prove to investors and researchers that europe is a place to come and invest.
taking a funding grant with them across borders is impossible so they need us to put in place the kind of landscape that is necessary to encourage them to come back.
that is what it is about and that is what the european research area is all about.
i hope that we can organise such a visit for the smes and i would like to play a part in that.
however i think that we need to focus on getting more women involved in science at a very early age.
eighteen that is the exact target age group that we have for science it's a girl thing' because that is when students make decisions about their future and where they would like to study.
can i just say on the last point that the commission has a policy in relation to quotas of women on state boards which is fully supported by every single member of the college of commissioners including every single one of the women.
my second point is that in relation to women we are very conscious that in the whole research area we have a high percentage of women coming out of college and getting involved in the research area and then a period of time during which that high number falls away and in which it is very difficult them for them and sometimes impossible when they decide to come back into the workforce to get back into research. so we are very conscious that we need to do something to stimulate that and make it easier.
but one of the crucial elements is that in the whole area of stem education which is a problem and a challenge for all the member states it is an even bigger problem to get girls involved in this whole area.
but we lose them somewhere along the way when they leave education.
i think that is an area that we need to concentrate on and certainly we are putting the proposals in place together with the support of the commissioner responsible for education commissioner vassiliou who has been particularly interested in the whole area of gender and how girls get involved in this whole area of research and innovation.
i had a great privilege over the weekend in the member state that i know best of visiting the bt young scientist technology exhibition where again and again the number of young women who are enthusiastic involved have their projects are confident and can describe in great detail what their project is about is amazing.
so we proposed a policy science it's a girl thing' which we launched last year.
from a gender point of view generally if you look at different areas of the programme there is a higher percentage of women involved in certain aspects of the framework programme health for example is an area where a lot of women are involved and continue to be involved.
that is why i believe that we cannot decide that we should have another four kics or five or six kics without also specifying the themes because that is what makes it attractive to business and for other partners for that matter such as research centres and education institutions to participate visibility clear rules and flexibility.
this is what makes it attractive for business to participate.
we will have the financial instrument that i talked about earlier the risk sharing instrument which is targeted at smes and we will also have the national contact points which are there already for smes but they obviously will be reinforced.
following on from that as more and more knowledge is created in third countries what instruments are offered under horizon two thousand and twenty to entice researchers and investors to the european union?
food poverty is not just an issue for developing states in my own region there are more than double the number of families needing help with food bills than there were a year ago.
it is critical to drive innovation and growth and it is also critical to meet society's biggest challenges.
ten they have also sliced money of health and transport just when our small companies and families are finding the cost of transport unaffordable.
four seven billion invested in food research;
i support investment in research.
i believe many of the changes made by this committee were made to get short term political headlines without thinking through the long term impact. what is your view commissioner?
we recognise maternity rights we give women the same rights when they come back after a career break so it is a very conducive environment for women.
in addition to what commissioner geoghegan quinn said i would like to add that as commissioner responsible for education it is one of our priorities to encourage from the very early stages in primary schools to encourage young girls to show inclination and
we stand by the proposal that we put forward.
of course we are open to discussion as we always are.
let me say that the commission has put forward a budget proposal and the commission stands by that budget proposal.
therefore for us when we set down our budget proposal we were very conscious of these grand societal challenges that are out there.
as you say they are not just challenges in the developing world they are challenges that are right with us in parts of europe now.