kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
these troops the syrian democratic forces sdf have proved to be those effective feet on the ground that western leaders hoped for.
despite turkish condemnation the united states last week decided to directly support the kurdish part of sdf.
the arab part of the sdf has already received support so the us decision should be seen as a calculated move to strengthen those in syria who have proved to be reliable allies.
sdf is the armed forces of a multi ethnic region that is trying to implement democracy.
the ambition is to include all groups in the decision making.
because of this i encourage the commission to study the developments of the federation of northern syria rojava.
i also encourage the commission to work for an end to the blockade of the region.
we have to ensure that one of the main objectives of the eu strategy on syria is to facilitate a political solution which should also include a un monitoring and enforcement mechanism.
while it is important to discuss the future of syria the present does not give a lot of hope that the immense suffering of the syrian people will end very soon.
but even without this latest report of the presence of crematoria the suffering of the syrian people speaks for itself.
no one side should be exempt from prosecution for war crimes.
the use of chemical weapons must be investigated by a properly resourced un mechanism regardless of who the perpetrator is.
we should support the un rapporteur on these peace talks because there is no military solution to syria and all the sides involved must engage in the peace process in a meaningful manner.
the kurdish forces and people deserve their own standalone seat in those negotiations through the pyd and any establishment of zones must serve the innocent civilians of syria and not geopolitical interests.
' madam high representative i do not need to take up too much of your time as i have said these things before in response to the same tired old speeches that i am listening to today. whilst the extremists thrive and the people of syria continue to die we continue to have these debates about regime change the influence of president putin and how much better syria will be once we have brought in democracy.
our track record in the region in terms of the decimation of civilian populations to ensure democracy is not too impressive and i am sure the peoples of libya iraq and afghanistan would forgo the prospects of a democratically elected legislature in return for a roof over their heads
food in their mouths and the prospect of living beyond the next week.
can we forget about forcing regime change and help the syrian people rediscover some normality without us deciding what that normality should be?
we are not an aid delivery agency but we are the ones that make it possible for the un agencies to do the work on the ground.
if they agree on a political solution if the political transition starts if we go towards a democratic transition with inclusive governance and reconciliation there will be someone in the international community starting with the european union but not us alone who on the basis of that political agreement will be ready to work on the rebirth of the country. this scenario encourages
entering into the substance of what is going to be the future set up of syria.
i believe that the european union is best positioned in the world probably to talk with one of the main actors in this crisis.
conversations.
and we need to build the conditions in the region for all the different actors from saudi arabia to iran from turkey to egypt and the neighbouring countries jordan and lebanon and others to be able to live with whatever agreement the syrian parties come to in geneva. otherwise we will start again and again and
again. this is exactly the exercise we are engaged in accompanying the work of the united nations and believe me if we use our leverage and we use our power and we put our leverage and our power at the service of the un mediation this is not giving up our
i have always thought that we were all on the same page on this and that particularly at this moment it is essential for the european union to help support and feed into the un multilateral efforts to achieve
this is the work we are
they have a mechanism and they have a timetable that is also closely connected with the timetable of the talks in
geneva. we encourage the three guarantors of the astana process to work to implement the agreement and also to create the strongest possible link between the military de escalation efforts agreed in astana and the political intra syrian talks led by the un in
the us. let me tell you very
imagine. with rex tillerson the constant cooperation and coordination we have is producing similar approaches that you see in messaging and
why has it been delayed?
firstly there are member states of the union in which youth unemployment is below ten and then there are member states in which it is above.
therefore also the question what is the commission doing in order to improve the exchange of best practices amongst the member states of the union?
thirty forty therefore i truly believe that we have to do more to improve the exchange of best practices between the member states of the union in order to give the young people of europe the opportunity to be part of the best programmes which exist in europe be it in their member state or in another member state.
my two questions to you are when will the commission come up with the evaluation of this programme?
as regards the commission's findings on the member states' evaluations it is important to stress that youth guarantee implementation has started in all member states following the planning phase.
as you know we have acted by adopting a solid policy framework on youth employment the youth guarantee and by dedicated funding to the youth employment initiative for those young people not in employment education or training.
first job experiences and support for youth entrepreneurship. as a result more than.
all member states' allocations under the investment for growth and jobs goal of cohesion policy for the years two thousand and seventeen two thousand and twenty were reviewed and compared to the actual evolution of gdp. the effect of the adjustment is an increase of eur four six. billion at current prices in the two thousand and seventeen two thousand and twenty ceiling for commitments under economic social and territorial cohesion
the youth guarantee has also accelerated progress on delivering the skills that employers are actually seeking.
youth. europe cannot afford to let the human resources that our young people represent go to
years. we urge these member states to use the additional funds for stimulating youth employment as well as for the integration of refugees and promoting investment.
they outline the timeframe for youth employment reforms and measures the roles of public authorities and other organisations and how the measures will be financed.
about. as i have said many times before it is the commission's firm intention to steer the european union more strongly towards social fairness.
for example member states are strengthening their public employment services to improve the outreach to those furthest from the labour market.
member states are making substantial efforts to implement the youth guarantee which has proven to be a driver for structural reforms.
these are strong indications that the youth guarantee schemes are on track now even if much still needs to be done.
as regards uptake of the youth employment initiative the additional pre financing swiftly decided on by the european co legislators in two thousand and fifteen concretely helped to increase the work opportunities for young people on the ground.
in this context the two thousand and seventeen draft budget includes a technical adjustment of the cohesion policy national envelopes for two thousand and seventeen two thousand and twenty in line with article seven of the multiannual financial framework regulation.
waste. therefore together with member states we should continue our efforts for the implementation of the youth guarantee and provide the appropriate financial support.
in addition they are building closer partnerships with the private sector to increase the number and improve the quality of job offers apprenticeships and traineeship opportunities.
this means that no one should be left behind in particular our
i believe that all member states have to pursue the youth guarantee including by directing the necessary national resources to those dedicated actions. as regards a possible extension of the youth employment initiative the upcoming report on progress with the implementation of the youth guarantee and the youth employment initiative
in two thousand and fourteen all the member states presented their youth guarantee implementation plans which identify precisely the measures to be taken to implement the youth guarantee.
union. that is what our social market economy is
one three million young people in europe have benefited from work and training opportunities.
the substantial european financial support available underpins the successful implementation of the youth guarantee. three years into its implementation the youth employment initiative worth eur. six four billion when including the esf contribution is proving to be a key lever for those member states worst hit by youth unemployment. there is an indication that the youth employment initiative and the esf have an important influence on the design of youth employment policy in member states.
heading one b and concerns member states particularly affected by the economic slowdown of the past few
but as we all know the effects of the crisis are still being felt in many member states and regions and young people in particular have borne the worst of it.
they want to shape the future of europe together;
they want the european union to solve the political problems of today and to fight for their future. the second thing that we can learn from this referendum is that sadly many young people especially those who are unemployed did not go and vote.
they feel detached from political processes.
for exactly these young people we need to provide answers. the youth guarantee is one of the concrete areas where we have to deliver where we can give answers to those young people who feel detached who are unemployed and who cannot find apprenticeships or jobs.
madam commissioner young people did not let us down in the vote last week.
i beg you do not let young people down not now.
it means we provide a definite assurance we promise we pledge to young people that they will receive a quality offer of employment a traineeship an apprenticeship further education within four months of becoming unemployed or of finishing education.
when we make that pledge we must deliver.
in order to do that we must have evidence based policymaking.
it is certainly about adequate resources but equally it is about effective spending.
that is why we posed this question to the commission today.
the only information we have to date are the three comments from the court of auditors. they talk about having concerns about adequacy of funding the definition of a good quality offer and how the commission monitors and reports on the results of the scheme.
i listened to the commissioner here today and perhaps the information is not yet available.
yes i hear positive comments but as to the specific question i am not a lot wiser.
one of the questions asked was how we streamline access to the youth guarantee and access is crucial.
in this context i made a complaint to the commission that young people with disabilities in ireland are not able to access the youth guarantee.
i received a reply from the commission saying that they are satisfied with the irish government's response which said there were alternative back to work supports for young people with disabilities.
but the very point of the youth guarantee is that it is a guarantee for all young people and there must be no exceptions.
by far the most interesting comment in the report though is that which castigates the council of ministers for a lack of desirable standards of pace strategy consistency coherence or transparency.
the tone of this report tells us that the first shots in the struggle between the european council and the european parliament are being fired.
they understand that successive governments of every kind have handed over the democratic governance of our country to unelected unaccountable power hungry functionaries of the european union.
well we in ukip have been pointing this out for years and it really is not surprising when you look at the reduction in the standards of living of so many people in europe.
union address of his own because i think that would tread further upon the prerogatives of the president of the commission. i must say that i would have preferred a slightly wider scope to this
report to include criticism of the rotating presidency of the council of ministers because i believe that a reformed european council could bring much greater
possibly the most urgent point in the report concerns the election of the president of the commission.
respect for the choice of the citizens of europe as articulated in the elections to the european parliament is a necessary condition for the legitimacy of the european union as a whole.
broadly speaking the underlying thinking behind the report is to strengthen the community method and to dilute the growing trend towards intergovernmentalism in the governance of the european union.
in this connection the role of parliament as a primary body with direct legitimacy is an essential counterweight to intergovernmentalism.
in the light of the crisis in the mechanism aimed at strengthening financial stability and economic governance and of the legislative work carried on since the beginning of this term we have witnessed important changes. in particular the role of the european council and of its president has drastically evolved sometimes beyond what was foreseen in the treaties.
therefore it is important for this parliament to assess the evolution of the role of the european council and the changing nature of its relationship with the european parliament.
the evolution of the institutional practices we have witnessed with the crisis calls for much more transparency and democratic accountability.
is worth exploring.
i agree that there is a need to improve the working relations between council and parliament. it is evident that we have not yet found the magic formula to effectively implement codecision between the two peoples in europe.
however parliament is not yet adapted to effectively fulfil its role as a co legislator.
this report highlights the council's legislative deficiencies but what about our legislative deficiencies here in parliament?
close cooperation between all the institutions of the european union in the pursuit of the treaty objective is vital.
that includes of course any initiatives to strengthen democratic legitimacy and accountability.
in particular the commission welcomes the plenary debates in parliament prior to european council meetings.
since the report touches upon the annual state of the union address by the president of the commission i would like to emphasise that this address reflects the role and prerogatives of the president of the commission and his unique relationship with the european parliament.
in the future you will be electing the commission president.
i therefore find it natural that he or she once a year addresses this house with a wide ranging analysis of the state of the union far beyond the annual legislative programme.
equally it is easy to deprecate the behaviour of the european council in trying to extend its role.
however whatever i think of particular members of the european council its members represent member states and are ultimately responsible to their electorates and removable by them.
the parliament whatever its merits is not responsible to a single electorate with a consciousness of its identity so it cannot take a conscious collective decision as to the choice of commission president.
in the twenty first century mobility of persons goods and services has increased dramatically increasing the potential of sickness and disease to become more widespread in a shorter space of time.
we know that this can be done from previous cooperation and it is essential that it should continue.
as sickness and disease transcend all national borders it is vital that member states have a coordinated approach to prevention and response planning in the event of future pandemics and environmental disasters.
however it is my belief that cooperation not integration is the key aspect to any eu health strategy.
therefore it is essential that member states work together to create a more coherent cross border programme while respecting the principle of subsidiary.
mr president the ucits brand is an eu success story an example of where good regulation of a product has been copied around the world allowing people to invest their money in a reliable product that can then fund the wider economy.
at the same time however i support the moves towards increased transparency in the funds' performance pay and fees and if anything i would have liked to have seen us go further in this transparency.
investors employ a fund manager instead of investing directly because of the expertise the latter brings to the table.
my biggest concern as we negotiate ucits five however is that all the changes being proposed and these additions should not put additional costs and rules around the funds that will negate their attraction to this broad investor community.
we need to empower the investors.
indeed according to the greater london authority my own constituency flooding is also one of london's highest risks threatening more than six hundred and eighty zero properties across the uk capital.
it also must be noted that respect and flexibility should be afforded to individual eu member states who are best placed to judge their own distinct needs and peculiarities and can consequently select the most suitable projects for flood prevention within their own national borders.
i am therefore particularly supportive of any initiative that seeks to simplify the eu solidarity fund and helps to increase critical drainage infrastructure and enhance flood control measures.
mr president i would like to begin by expressing my sympathy for our neighbours and colleagues in central europe who were affected by the recent flooding natural disaster which wreaked devastation on parts of austria the czech republic germany slovakia and hungary all countries i know well.
it should also take up and challenge the neoliberal policies that these undemocratic attacks are helping to implement. a new left anti austerity force with a socialist programme needs to be built to struggle against neoliberalism and for real democratic rights.
resting on openly racist and far right forces it is attempting to consolidate a dictatorial regime.
a mass struggle to defend democratic rights is necessary.
it is a shame that this report does not go further but the time pressure for climate change is too great and we need to act now by withholding these units of co.
must be said that the emissions trading scheme has been an unmitigated failure as part of the eu's climate policy. the unending new records for low carbon prices needs to be addressed and uncertainty averted.
thirty whilst i completely disagree with the ets as an inappropriate tool to fight climate change we unfortunately have to work with what we have.
of course it attracts some bad people there are bad people everywhere man is fallen but i do not think there is a higher proportion of wickedness in the eu institutions than in any national government.
unlike a national parliamentarian we in this chamber are not raising money directly and that means that we have a very different attitude when it comes to spending money.
is it because the european union attracts particularly bad people?
if we want to reduce fraud we should take decisions more closely to the people that they affect.
the more remote government becomes the further from the eye of our constituents the easier it is to engage in nepotism graft and other forms of malpractice.
the problem rather is the lack of democratic control and scrutiny the lack of a link between taxation representation and expenditure.
having negotiated a budget agreement which reflects the need for reduced eu spending it is crucial that we now see the eu prioritising targeted spending on areas of growth and job creation which would see the benefits right across the union.
many of my constituents be they farmers university researchers or local administrations are recipients of these eu funds which are allocated to wales and i hope that now this agreement on the mff has been reached we will finally be able to provide many of them with the certainty and assurances they have been waiting for with regard to future funding. in a time of continuing economic difficulty and all too high youth unemployment i hope that this agreement will also mean the start of delivery of smarter spending from the eu.
the business of international finance can be undertaken anywhere in the world.
but amongst the world's top five global financial centres only london is in the eu.
the eu financial transaction tax will kill jobs and have a negative effect on the economy and worse still the tax will not bring in anything near the eur thirty five billion a year the commission thinks it will.
the eu needs to be competitive and not surrender its financial services to the rest of the world.
if the eu continues with its foolish plan for a ftt how long will it be before we see more businesses moving to hong kong singapore or tokyo?
we are throwing a dog a stick and instead of fetching the stick the dog is turning around and biting us in the leg.
the european union is lucky enough to have financial centres in frankfurt luxembourg and of course my constituency of london.
yet according to the european commission this figure is much lower eur four hundred million.
however the commission's refusal to recognise the scale of the problem is yet another indication of why we need a truly autonomous anti fraud body.
this means redesigning funds so that they are less vulnerable to mismanagement and supporting an effective fight against fraud by ensuring that the investigators are both impartial and independent.
i am aware that fraud occurs both at member state level and at the level of the commission but instead of blaming the member states for fraud committed on eu funds the commission first needs to ensure that it has a robust system in place within the eu institutions and in the distribution and accountability of funds.
it is important that we actually look at the evidence and not just yield to lobbying by people from the financial services and the financial sector.
the financial sector has received eur.
i hope that the podimata report is the first step in an eu wide financial transaction tax and ultimately will lead to a global financial transaction tax.
but i believe that the podimata report has actually tried to address these concerns.
one six trillion in public support between two thousand. and eight and two thousand and eleven an ftt would make sure that financial institutions make their contribution to society.
i commend the structures that are already in place to coordinate and control communicable diseases across the european union and i am pleased that the commission is striving to formalise and regulate these structures now to include biological chemical and environmental threats.
coli bacterial infections of two thousand and eleven the two thousand and ten volcanic ash cloud and the influenza h one n one pandemic in.
indeed the report does well to act on lessons learnt from the e.
two thousand and nine i also welcome the sufficient flexibility that will allow the united kingdom to respond quickly to protect public health within its own borders and protect its own citizens.