kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
let me recall that the conclusion of the border demarcation agreement with montenegro is a huge step forward and it was not easy even though this is politically sensitive and we should say so.
second to strengthen their anti corruption and rule of law framework;
when the general posting of workers directive was revised there was a clear commitment to adopt specific rules for road transport. the socalled split model for the posting of directives while being different from the approach proposed by the commission strikes a good balance between the protection of the social rights of drivers
cabotage the coolingoff period and the regular return of the truck to the member state of establishment have been the subject of intense debates. we have to reach a balance
the lex specialis on the application of the posting rules in road transport.
the hauliers and the drivers need a fair and stable framework for the next years.
the message has been heard and we are ready to start immediately a comprehensive assessment on specific rules for these drivers if this house so requests.
at this stage the commission maintains a general reserve but it will continue to support discussions with a view to reaching an agreement on these priority files.
we can support all amendments which maintain the balance between the freedom to provide transport services improve working conditions and reduce administrative burdens.
and thirdly at reducing the administrative burden for operators and allowing more efficient and targeted controls through further digitalisation.
that is why a long maturation period was unavoidable for these proposals to sink in and be improved.
the stakes are very high on these proposals.
however she must participate in the informal transport council which is taking place in bucharest.
in our view the compromise proposals tabled strike a good balance and meet the general objectives of the commission's proposals better enforcement better working conditions less administrative burden on road transport undertakings and reaping the benefits of digitalisation.
let me now make a few considerations on particular points. i will start with the lex specialis on posting of workers.
in the commission's view the driver must be able to take his normal and long weekly rest either at home with his family or in comfortable accommodation not in the truck cabin. at the same time drivers also need to be granted suitable safe and secure resting facilities.
for sure our objective will remain the same improving the working conditions of drivers and road safety.
the commission supports and actively promotes the development of safe and secure parking areas including through financial support from the eu budget.
the intense work of the parliament has allowed us to reach rather uncontroversial solutions on important issues such as the fight against letterbox companies;
i can assure you that the commission will intensify its efforts including through eu funding under the next connecting europe facility.
package. i would appeal to all to be constructive and to focus on solutions that work for the road haulage sector and its workers and of course for the european union
and the freedom for operators to provide cross border transport services.
here. the obligation for the trucks to return to the member state of establishment should be assessed together with the additional establishment criteria and also the new rule requiring drivers to return home on a regular
we believe that the approach promoted by ms kyllnen meets these objectives.
of course we could make other progress.
one of the issues i wanted to raise in this report is paragraph thirty one which looks at the issue of accredited parliamentary assistants who are just a few more months or days a few days in fact short of ten years' service because of the way the electoral cycles of this parliament have worked.
i think the priority of a parliament should be the ability of members to address everyone in this union which is why i'm afraid i am opposed to the notion of removing translation from any element of this parliament.
i hope that that will be properly addressed because when we have the cart before the horse looking at finances rather than the actual operation of parliament then we risk running into trouble.
this is a big continent of five hundred and eight million people in the european union and democracy has a value.
trainees should not work for nothing and i'm glad we have started to address that and also everyone should be able to work free from sexual harassment and i'm glad we're making progress on that also.
we are told by the europhobes that this parliament is an expensive place but it compares well to other similar parliaments such as the us house of representatives.
i hope that can be addressed and i hope they will have their pension rights addressed in future.
we could scrap the second seat and if mr macron is serious about reform he can help us because he's the only real person who can help us address that. we have to as a parliament have priorities and i believe that one thing is absolutely key and that is that a multilingual parliament continues.
we should be proud that today most people living in the european union enjoy drinking water of the highest standard worldwide.
our vision of europe is that of an inclusive society which leaves no one behind.
let me also underline that as an honest broker in the negotiations the commission will uphold the important objectives of this proposal which i believe we all share.
the commission proposal on access to water is also an important step towards achieving sustainable development goal.
the commission welcomes the efforts and the fact that parliament's amendments are aligned with the main elements of our proposal. at the same time i regret that due to the slow progress in council it was not possible to reach an interinstitutional agreement before the european elections.
one eight million people and as such a tangible example of how the commission does listen to european union citizens' concerns.
i can assure you that the commission is committed and will do its utmost to support the next european parliament as well as the incoming finnish and croatian presidencies so that they can start negotiations as soon as possible.
the obligation in the revised drinking water directive to provide the most vulnerable amongst us with access to clean water pursues this vision. it is the result of the first ever successful european citizens' initiative the right to water initiative supported by over.
finally let me recall that safe drinking water is crucial for european citizens.
the proposal would improve the situation of about two million people in the european union.
i would like to recall that the main objective of our proposal is to ensure the safety of drinking water in the european union for the twenty first century.
on the contrary i know that the majority of the european parliament which is the house of the european citizens wants it to be regulated.
in their compromise text a fragile equilibrium was found with very limited requirements on access to water.
i invite all my colleagues to come together and to be open to my proposals.
we have to deliver a proper legislation that the drivers and in particular the honest companies deserve.
but what we have to do and what we have to deliver is that we have to guarantee that the legislation will be fixed within this term.
it is only with the consent of the people of northern ireland that there will be any moves towards a change in the constitutional status of northern ireland.
the democratic unionist party wants to leave the european union in an orderly fashion but this deal will endanger the constitutional and economic integrity of the united kingdom.
i think this house owes them some respect and should acknowledge their democratic choice instead of focusing on everyone else.
after two years of negotiation our prime minister has concluded a draft withdrawal agreement that has twice suffered historic defeats in the house of commons a draft withdrawal agreement that would see northern ireland leaving on different terms to the rest of the united kingdom under the backstop;
it's time we caught up in these institutions.
seventeen four million british voters signalled their desire to leave the european union.
mr president this friday twenty nine march should have been an historic day of significance for the united kingdom a day when after forty years of membership of the european institutions the united kingdom would again be an independent nation a nation working sidebyside with europe but free from the federalist agenda of brussels and free to grow our own economy and control our own laws and destiny.
it is not a price that we as unionists are willing to pay.
an agreement from which the attorney general advises that there is no legal right of withdrawal.
you would do well to remember that.
for example we've had difficulties in financing the training of soldiers in somalia and we have not always been able to provide the central african republic with the equipment it needs as was recalled to complete its transformation from civil war to a functioning modern democracy.
two thousand and sixteen the idea of the peace facility was born out of our experience as the rapporteur was just setting out.
given the growing and evolving threat picture which we face we need to have the capacity to respond to a variety of security challenges.
second it will enable the eu to contribute to military peace operations led by other international actors.
first it will cover the common costs of eu military missions and operations.
would be subject to strict controls such as respect for democratic principles and fundamental rights.
it will provide the union with the ability to finance all operational actions under the common foreign and security policy with military or defence implications in a flexible responsive manner.
in conclusion let me underline that this is a key part of the work that we're doing collectively to make our citizens more secure to better support our partners around the world and to contribute to our most precious common good which is of course peace and security. so let me thank you again for your support for this important initiative.
the high representative's proposal benefits from the support of the commission in accordance with article. thirty one this support will help to facilitate synergies with our other financial instruments and to underpin sound financial management.
and third it will allow the eu to support the armed forces of our partner countries with infrastructure equipment or military assistance when the council so decides. the nature scope and limits of these actions will be defined by the council but the proposal makes very clear that any support to our partners
this new facility when adopted by the council will make a real difference.
indeed more costs should be funded in common to better meet operational needs and to facilitate deployments.
in particular there are three main strands of action that the peace facility will support.
as you rightly recall in your report the union's ambition is to be a global security provider something which is obviously in our collective strategic interest.
that was clearly acknowledged in the global strategy in.
this reflects the need repeatedly emphasised by this house for funding in this area that is more flexible and efficient and which better embodies solidarity.
the eu is active on the ground but there are strong limitations to what we can achieve currently.
the cost of eu military operations fall too much on the countries which are contributing troops and that acts as a deterrent to others when it comes to participation and deployments.
as for data ownership has anyone in the commission or even at council level really considered how five hundred million european union citizens feel about their personal data being collated managed and accessed in this manner? i am hopeful that the european union does not envisage a police state but the question has to be posed does it? finally i will remind you that the european union's sacrosanct pillar of human rights is under siege here.
we have numerous instances of crime perpetrators destroying their identification removing all or any traceability and thus any accountability for their actions.
what better mechanism and latest example but the one we have before us this evening?
even worse it is actually cost inefficient.
along with other colleagues who have already spoken i'm going to argue that this approach is both misguided and misdirected.
the projected cost of this legislation to the european union taxpayer is projected to be eur four hundred and sixty million.
this everybody is a mere drop in the ocean and if the european union is serious then a serious detailed and transparent budget must be proposed.
false european union passports we know are on sale on the black market and they exist in various forms on a very large scale.
establishing a european search portal to centralise biographical and biometric data is wholly dependent on the quality of the information submitted.
i should also mention that while fully supporting the agreement reached in the interinstitutional negotiations the commission would like to make three declarations.
secondly on the very short timeframes envisaged for the adoption of commission implementing acts as the commission is concerned about the feasibility to comply with these deadlines in time. lastly on the unnecessary inclusion of a definition of biodegradable plastic because it does not have a direct impact on the directive implementation. clearly we should all be very proud of these new rules because they tackle pollution from singleuse plastics and fishing gear in such a comprehensive manner.
the european parliament also pushed for very strong measures to ensure that the bill for proper waste management and cleanup of litter is picked up by the producers who have the greatest influence on improving collection of onthego consumption waste.
prevention of plastic litter is a common task for public authorities producers and consumers alike. all actors across the plastic value chain will have to work together.
the agreed measures should improve the design of products raise consumer awareness by labelling and also reduce consumption by banning certain products for which more sustainable alternatives are available.
far from mocking haig as a belgian he should be a great hero to you.
but even if they do that the one thing that's inevitable is that we're headed for an article fifty extension.
mr tusk if you think the british people have changed their minds on brexit you sir are deluded what we actually now see are opinion poll leads of fifteen and in some cases nearly twenty in favour of leaving. if we had another referendum leave would win it by a bigger margin so why put yourselves through years of agony?
it is highly professional.
so i would say to all of you and to the national leaders reject the british extension beyond twelve april get britain out and then we can all just get on with the rest of our lives.
do you really want me back in this place?
do you really want brexit to utterly dominate the next couple of years of your business to the exclusion of your many other ambitions?
do you really want the united kingdom to contest the european elections to send back a very large number of leave meps just at a time when you're fighting populism as you see it across the continent?
sticking with belgium i thought what happened at the summit last week was a national humiliation an impasse because we have in ms may a prime minister who hasn't got the courage who hasn't got the vision to carry out her many repeated promises to take us out of the european union this friday twenty nine march. it is not happening and we are witnessing a slow motion betrayal perhaps the greatest betrayal of any democratic vote in the history of our nation and the reason of course is this withdrawal treaty.
and i think you should ask yourselves do you really want that?
we have a reparations bill of gbp thirty nine billion we have to pay for nothing in return.
it shows that actually leaving with no deal is not going to cause huge disruption it even suggests that with no deal there's no need for a visible border in ireland.
you have prepared your no deal scenario.
because brexit is going to happen anyway.
well there we are.
we have the annexation of a part of our national territory in the shape of northern ireland. this treaty is a bad piece. it is unacceptable it is not brexit and it will not pass. i know that you're all getting terribly excited about what the house of commons may do over the course of the next week and we know what they'll do they'll come back with some form of agreement around a customs union and the continued free movement of people.
don't kill the countries that support europe the most with this horrible horrible directive.
this will put people out of business hard working people who want better wages.
but in the case of kosovo we are behaving like these countries and how can we do that?
i don't really understand.
now it is time for us to deliver our part.
on how exactly this works what can we do how can we improve it.
i think all the work that we've put into this has led to a very good result. i'd also like to thank all the colleagues here who have expressed their support for this.
i think most of us support this most of us have also spoken about the balance between security and fundamental rights.
it is good news if you care about fighting identity fraud.
it is good news if you care about making our security policy in the european union more effective. it is good news if you care about giving our police officers our border guards our custom guards the right instruments to do their jobs and also very helpful with the elections coming up as mr avramopoulos also referred to.
if you don't care about any of these things.
to working conditions which respect his or her health safety and dignity.
we know that in the case of longdistance cross border professional drivers those conditions are overwhelmingly unhealthy unsafe and undignified with access to many of their social rights being deprived by shady employment and letterbox companies.
many drivers are expected to rest in their cabs with no access to basic hygiene facilities such as toilets and showers.
but this isn't just a question of rights;
when you look at the statistics you'll find the driver fatigue is a significant contributor to accidents in the majority of cases.
so with that in mind our party is wanting to see as an absolute minimum that we retain a two week reference period that would not encourage an increase in nomadic driving.
an extended weekly rest should be in a hotel. i'd like to add that this appalling mishmash of thousands hundreds of amendments is no way to discharge our responsibility as some colleagues have said.
instead of sanctioning some national measures going against the single market the commission seemed to elevate the very same restrictive practices to eu level.
firstly it goes against the principles of the single market stifles competition discriminates against a large number of member states throws environmental consideration into the dustbin and in no way does it pursue the best interests of all member states and citizens. if we took a step back from simplistic slogans we could see that in the pursuit of protectionist interests we decrease the competitiveness of our industries create monopolies and raise greenhouse gases and prices for consumers.
at the same time we split europe into two.
i absolutely deny it because you're confusing oxo degradable with oxo biodegradable and the system that symphony uses actually destroys the plastic.
it is no longer plastic by the time their system is finished.
the european commission recognised that kosovo has met all the criteria and i would like to remind you that kosovo had more conditions than any other countries of the western balkans.
but they managed to achieve it including with a fight against corruption in high political elites.
so today i will with all my criticism point to the european governments and say that didn't deliver their promise.
we are losing our credibility.
the campaign is ongoing and we have to deliver what we promised. i would remind you that in other cases when we delivered visa liberalisation to ukraine or to other countries overnight it was an easy political decision and now the european governments are blocking a little country in the western balkans without
acting. we have too many cases today where the european governments are blocking our credible european policies and visa policy is something that is really at the heart of europeans.
we did our task but the task is now in the hands of the european governments.
we've always heard that new technology was going to cost us jobs and whatever but in reality it only brought us a brighter future.
the same will happen with a cleaner economy.
it will bring us new jobs additional jobs and as a bonus you will get a clean planet.
what else would you like to wish for?
what we are dealing with is a large scale information system and at no point as s d were we ready to compromise on the principles of union law on data protection and the fundamental rights of individual citizens.
for us security was always a priority but so is data protection.
through our negotiations we always wanted to ensure effective and efficient information exchange between the eu information systems for the professionals on the ground police officers border guards migration officers and consulate staff members.
that's why as s d we were pushing to include very strong wording on non discrimination and fundamental rights provisions together with specific references that will protect our citizens' privacy and their personal data.
we pushed for this because we wanted to provide the possibility to people wanting to challenge the data held about them incorrectly by directing them to the correct authority responsible for rectifying those data.
we need to ensure that in our quest to address security issues we do not sideline rights that our citizens have worked hard for including the right to protect fully the data.
it will contribute to improving access to online radio and television content across our european union and it is a significant step forward in the completion of the digital single market.
it will ensure more and better access to radio and television content across borders.
from our side we believe that this needs to become a reality as soon as possible and we will follow up.
we agree that together these measures will help facilitate the free movement of capital as well as the freedom of establishment for businesses by putting in place a european approach removing the obstacles that can result from the differences in national laws and procedures on preventive restructuring insolvency and second chances.
this development of a so called rescue culture in the eu is key for encouraging entrepreneurship and economic growth.
this directive puts in place minimum harmonisation provisions ensuring firstly that viable enterprises in financial difficulties have access to effective national preventative restructuring frameworks which will enable them to continue operating. secondly it also ensures that honest insolvent or over indebted entrepreneurs have a second chance at creating a business after a full discharge of debt following a reasonable period of time up to a maximum of three years.
thirdly the directive will improve the effectiveness of restructuring insolvency and discharge procedures in particular with a view to shortening the amount of time that they can take.
this in turn will help increase investment and job opportunities across the single market reduce unnecessary liquidations of viable companies thereby reducing job losses prevent the build up of non performing loans and reduce costs and increase opportunities for those entrepreneurs whom we want to support
if they need a fresh start.
i look forward to this debate and the vote tomorrow.
the study report will be ready before the end of this year so not so much time will elapse before you will know this.