kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
we all know that the eu could make a difference.
we have a unique negotiating position but also a moral obligation to stand up for the oppressed and abused people of cuba.
however any normalisation of relations with a dictatorship needs to include conditions for democratic reform and respect for human rights.
the pdca establishes a dialogue on human rights.
at the same time no specific demand on the regime is presented by the commission a fact that has been described as a political victory for the communist regime.
the brave men and women of the political opposition in cuba have advised us the european parliament not to support the treaty.
personally i will follow that advice and dear colleagues i urge you to do the same.
this seems to be also confirmed by the number of arbitrary detentions in the recent months and a letter from the to the president trump administration.
in order to be able to proceed with this agreement in my opinion the european parliament which stands for the protection of human rights and is the parliament which condemns exercising any sort of pressure of governments on their people i think we should demand respect for human rights especially considering the fact that sakharov prize winners still have the problems with leaving cuba and
this is quite important.
we need unity in effort and we need to be ready to act quickly and decisively.
where i come from they will be critical of this proposal.
that is very clear.
i find that dangerous not because i am against it necessarily but we know that this is going to be a tough discussion with the council especially with more northern european countries.
lost. when disasters strikes we need the authority to take rapid decisions on deployment of rescue capacities in particular in cases of competing requests and this is the most critical
my presence here today gives me the opportunity to thank you in person for your work all of
and also even some corrective measures.
we need to support member states in their efforts for better prevention and the european union solidarity element is strengthened by higher co financing from the eu budget from the existing voluntary pool.
thank you very much for your commitment.
it is an evolution of the current system. prevention also begins at home.
we need stronger prevention and preparedness activities if we want to address natural disasters in a comprehensive
colleagues you will also be voting on this very important issue.
well in fact a lot.
i urge you to support the view that money should not be taken from funds allocated to the key european policies such as those promoting rights equality and citizenship including all the funds allocated to gender equality and women's empowerment programmes and projects.
gender equality is a fundamental value of the european union and therefore in the context of the union's civil protection mechanism member states must consider gender in all phases from prevention to preparedness and response processes because natural and human made disasters as well as environmental policies affect men and women differently.
i gather that seven members of the council want to cut next year's budget which does not augur well for the future of the agriculture budget post.
your response to my colleague mr aylward on biodiversity and your comments about the agriculture budget lead me to ask you about the council's view.
also leadership is required on a number of important resolutions most notably the resolution on the death penalty and further work towards the negotiation of an international arms trade treaty.
however given the fact that rural development measures and the common agricultural policy can significantly contribute to the strengthening of biodiversity what measures can the council put in place to support european farmers who are the greatest protectors of the environment in their vital role of further protecting the environment and biodiversity?
surely the case is clear and all it takes is for a directive from the commission.
the commission believes that the reason that motivated the adoption of the directive on summertime arrangements in two thousand and one which was to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market through harmonisation of timetables is still valid.
be assured that the commission is taking the concerns of citizens seriously. the commission has examined different studies on the subject matter but these studies present mixed results and no conclusive argument was to be gained from them regarding potential impacts on health energy savings or other impacts for instance on road safety or productivity levels.
the commission does not have estimates of the economic benefits and costs of changing clocks or adjusting schedules. neither does it have estimates of the impact of energy efficiency of electric lamps and appliances under the current summertime arrangements in member states.
citizens mainly point to health problems but also question if the reasons that led member states to introduce summertime have proven valid.
representatives of all parties are here discussing this issue.
we have to understand that legislation cannot be efficient without correct and timely implementation at the national level. i strongly believe that the single market forum is an excellent initiative that ought to be continued in future and that this is the way forward in order to progressively eliminate the remaining barriers and to bring our citizens closer to the single market. this is why i firmly support
sometimes this is very true but i was very happy to see that the forum attracted citizens who came to tell their own stories in relation to the single market. this clearly shows that the single market is firstly about citizens about normal people who unfortunately experience difficulties in enjoying their rights. i would like to thank the polish presidency for their full commitment to the single market and for taking the krakow declaration to the competitiveness council.
there is one thing that came out of the forum which i consider to be extremely important.
the participants engaged in a very constructive dialogue which gave us a useful insight into what they consider to be the priorities for the future development of the single market.
the majority of citizens and sometimes even some of us consider the single market legislation to be very technical.
now if this forum is to make any difference we and here i mean the commission the council and the european parliament need to prove that we take into account the priorities outlined in the krakow declaration and that we have the political will to come up with efficient solutions and also to implement them.
i also believe that next year we should mark the twentieth anniversary of the single market by organising decentralised events in all member states as was already proposed. last but not least i would like to thank all those who worked hard for the organisation of the single market forum.
they put it at the top of their priorities and it is good as a number of colleagues have said that they reported back to the summit about it.
i think that the energy behind that and behind the single market forum contributed to this.
neither is it something which can be delivered by member states working on their own because the lessons about making the single market work are that member states have to work much more closely together and to exchange information to look after consumers better;
the lessons which are clearly apparent from the success of the single market forum and i think that everyone believes it was a great success are the fact that completing the single market is fundamentally an exercise in partnership and teamwork.
it is not something that can be delivered by one commissioner on his own.
great work on the internet that is enabling my committee to get our information across to citizens about the single market.
it is a shame that the presidency is not here because the polish presidency played an absolutely crucial role in this.
mr president as chairman of the committee i want first of all to particularly thank both commissioner dalli who participated energetically in the forum and made the closing speech and also commissioner barnier who i know tonight is in malta in his campaign to get round every single member state and discuss the single market.
to have the sort of dispute resolution system on line that you commissioner have just proposed.
your determination will provide solid political support for the results of the single market.
everybody has to move together to make this single market a reality. i can vouch that in the commission we are fifteen commissioners who have committed to delivering the global act encompassing several policy areas.
there were some discussions but no decisions have been taken and everything is still being discussed.
we believe that its success indicates to us the importance of developing this activity on a permanent basis to try to deliver it in a series of similar events.
i believe that we must continue to build on what we have achieved so far.
an action plan for smes to increase their access to funding in the form of venture capital on the stock market and through bank loans;
we want citizens to have confidence in the single market and to know their rights when making a purchase in another country or on the internet or moving within the eu for personal or professional reasons.
finally we aim to renew our relationships with third parties and to introduce greater reciprocity into public procurement in particular.
and simplification of the rules for public procurement.
the recognition of professional qualifications online purchasing public procurement and the protection of intellectual property between countries in particular. we have now noted the krakow declaration drafted by the participants in the forum and we undertake to do what it has called for by taking the measures determined in connection with the single market act.
two thousand and twelve will be a crucial year for the delivery of these reforms.
it is therefore right for us to take a couple of steps back to consider the ultimate objective of all our reforms the social and economic wellbeing of our fellow citizens.
it was a great success from which we can draw two conclusions.
thirdly support and facilitate public action. we are going to review the directives on public procurement in order to make the lives of public and private operators easier and increase the integration of social and environmental issues and issues relating to project innovation.
we must constantly strive to disseminate information about our initiatives from the time when they are discussed to their implementation.
and by addressing businesspeople directly and improving the conditions in which they must operate in order to increase their competitiveness in a more competitive market and reduce their administrative burden.
moreover with regard to e commerce we need to de mystify this new form of consumption and make it safer also for our companies because it is still under used to a very significant extent.
secondly make the economy of the internal market more dynamic by ensuring full implementation of the services directive and improving the distribution channels for goods in europe;
we must show them that the single market can give rise to concrete benefits.
it has enabled us to back up our political discussions with concrete examples which are also calls to take action to improve the lot of the people of europe during this period of crisis and allow us to see our choices in relation to their real needs. it has enabled us to directly communicate the reforms that we are undertaking.
we are also going to fill the legal void currently surrounding the procurement of services in europe in order to improve the relationship between contracting authorities and private contractors both when a contract is put out for tender and throughout its implementation.
the comments that were collected reflected the results of the survey concerning the twenty main concerns of european citizens in their day to day lives. the study has reaffirmed the need for citizens and companies to be better informed and for the rules of the internal market to be applied more effectively with regard to health social security
we have placed all these measures within the framework of the single market act and we must ensure their implementation.
simplification of accounting rules;
we can identify three main courses of action firstly make the single market a safer place on a daily basis for the citizens of europe.
it will be a milestone in our project to relaunch the single market on the twentieth anniversary of its creation. to turn this celebration into an exciting event we intend to work with all the players on the single market to organise a single market week focusing on new growth along the lines set out in the krakow declaration.
we must accept this responsibility for our fellow citizens who are also consumers workers taxpayers and savers;
there are a number of specific measures intended to achieve this the creation of a single patent which is a major milestone in supporting creativity and innovation in europe and other measures to increase the observance of intellectual property rights;
we therefore intend to simplify mutual qualification recognition procedures in order to encourage mobility on the part of our fellow citizens in the internal market and ensure that their aims are not stymied by administrative barriers;
we will propose reinforcing legislation concerning the posting of workers and clarifying the balance that must be struck between economic freedoms and fundamental rights;
this financial support helps strengthen the competitiveness of smes.
in the council we have not yet had an opportunity to discuss this issue and we are looking forward to receiving the commission's survey.
it therefore seems natural that we have a thorough discussion and a proper analysis on a possible change of the definition and we also look forward to hearing the opinion of parliament and discussing this issue with it.
i would like to close by emphasising that while access to finance is of course extremely important smes also need a favourable business environment in which to be able to develop. the small business act adopted in two thousand and eight has been key in helping smes through the creation of a comprehensive policy framework.
they complement grant financing and are more sustainable because the money can be recycled and used again in the future.
you have chosen to focus this debate on two specific issues that of access by smes to structural funds and that of the definition of smes.
in fact it is correct to address the commission on both these issues and i am sure that the commissioner will be able to respond in more detail to the particular points which i know are of concern to this parliament to the commission and of course to the council.
both of these have been the subject recently of oral questions to the commission.
as far as the presidency is concerned i would like to share with you a number of points which are important to the council.
given the current difficult economic climate it is all the more important that smes which are the principal contributors to our economies are provided with a climate in which they can flourish and grow.
a further valuable source of funding comes from the various initiatives set up jointly by the commission and the eib.
mr president honourable members commissioner the focus of your interest this morning is the issue of access to finance by smes and rightly so given the current economic climate.
on the matter of the definition of smes i am aware that the commission is preparing a survey to assess member states' opinions on the current definition and whether it could be beneficial to change it.
during the credit crunch ensuring that smes have access to adequate finance has become even more important.
we need to cut out the middle man fund our own small businesses and leave the european union.
but mr president it is our small businesses and our shopkeepers that employ the vast majority of the workforce in the united kingdom.
absolutely disgraceful! as i said we are the second largest contributor to the european union;
business rates are too high; there is not enough training;
we raised nine specific questions to look at and we should be looking at specific answers.
my point is that we need to get specific about finding solutions where we can.
it is a very lonely matter for small businesses to start and to grow and even to survive and we need to give them all the assistance we can that is reasonable. the concerns of small businesses are fairly consistent over the years.
first of all they need access to information.
they need assistance in finding out where to get help.
secondly they need assistance to gain access to finance.
it is particularly difficult for people to raise small loans;
they like big amounts which they can manage and charge good fees on.
complying with regulations is more difficult for small businesses than it is for larger firms.
mr president my region of the north east of england is taking advantage of jeremie but it took many months to put the scheme in place.
we need to go a step further now and help smes by mainstreaming revolving funds loan guarantees and similar systems so that they are part of cohesion policy instruments.
there is no one simple answer to the problem of smes' lack of access to credit.
my colleague sharon bowles has been doing her best through amendments to the capital requirements directive but smes need other avenues to finance in addition to bank lending.
crucially along with the financial instrument itself there must be proportionate corporate auditing and reporting standards because there is no point in making finance theoretically available to smes if there is so much red tape that in practice no small business has time to put in an application.
mr president wales is one of the poorest regions in the eu and also has a very high dependence on micro and small businesses.
as the commissioner said in his opening remarks if each sme were able to employ one new person it would have a major impact on economic growth.
therefore we need to ensure that regions are explicitly encouraged to take action to allow smes access to structural funds on a priority basis and not just through jeremie and jessica.
civil servants cannot generate economic returns but allowing our small businesses access to finance for employment and competiveness could provide a major stimulus.
micro businesses should be exempted from large swathes of eu legislation and when they are included they should have a light touch regime.
some suggest increasing allocations of eu budgets for smes but here again bureaucracy can be overwhelming.
i have had many complaints from small businesses that have taken part in eu projects and have then waited for months or years for payment and sometimes the money has never arrived.
if a company is being contracted to carry out work and the work has been delivered then it should be paid on time.
we need to stop just talking about smes and take some action.
in calling for the debate today we asked nine specific questions and commissioner i look forward to getting nine specific answers.
secondly we have not spoken much about insufficient information on funding opportunities especially information on additional funding for example from the european social fund or european investment bank.
in relation to my own country and i know we have the two thousand and two legislation the ecpat report in relation to ireland's performance has been pretty devastating four hundred and forty one children unaccounted for.
thank you minister for your very comprehensive reply.
it is obvious that the council is taking this matter quite seriously.
i am interested to hear about the fact that you are looking at carer and family leave that the same standards would apply to those who want to go back to work. you also mentioned the gender aspect of it.
another aspect is that a lot of young people end up caring and i often think that is forgotten.
i think that is what carers want.
they want to have the choice as to whether they work or care.
i am also very pleased to hear that you are taking into consideration the whole issue of pensions because what happens sometimes is that people give up work to care they lose part of their salary they cannot continue to make their social contributions when they are caring and then they lose out on their pension so i do think that is an area perhaps where the council could make recommendations to member states.
mr president the fact that we had only three votes on this particular report indicates how unanimous the support has been and listening to all of our colleagues it is obvious that the sme sector has the biggest potential in terms of creating jobs.
the fact is that we do not have it in our power fundamentally to change the basis on which the eu was set up. the only thing which we do have it in our power to decide is whether we want to be part of it.
incidentally when we are now talking about giving away the rest of our rebate it is worth remembering how grateful all the other countries were on the last occasion that we gave away the rebate.
in absolute terms and in the way in which it works the common agricultural policy is still run along the essentially or socialist lines in which it was conceived in.
i have every confidence in the good sense and perception of my countrymen to make the right decision when the time comes.
this provision is relevant in the case of the smaller aegean islands.
therefore i share the view that increased budget appropriations for the special supply arrangements should not be made at their expense.
the use of which we campaign against strongly in this house. we spend large amounts of money trying to persuade people not to use the product that we are now apparently going to pay people to produce.
mr president i voted against this report because under the guise of an apparently reasonable set of measures specifically tailored to the outermost regions of the union we find a number of unacceptable issues coming forward
this in my house keeping would still be an increase it is still more money it is still spending that we cannot afford and we should not be making. secondly i will not vote for eu aid to the canaries and azores or indeed anywhere else to cultivate tobacco
to my mind they are the most important issue on the growth agenda.
most of all i would like to say that i regret the amount of talking we do about this.
we do a lot in this place to try to encourage young entrepreneurs but the most important thing we can do is to get them money to start their businesses.
lack of access to finance is a crucial limiting factor for entrepreneurs.
getting the climate right is incredibly important.
mr president in two thousand and eleven as part of the posei programmes the european union devoted more than eur six hundred and fifty million in specific supply arrangements and in measures to promote local agricultural production benefits for these regions.
for instance border controls on imports from third countries should be introduced in the outermost regions to prevent unfair competition from local products.
without discussing the amounts and the cost benefit of this i would like to refer to some additional measures that are needed.
these range from the family run businesses to the faster growing enterprises.
i welcome this report and i welcome the steps set out in this report to improve access to finance.
the best way to support jobs and growth in northern ireland is to support smes.
can i very quickly mention the regional aid guidelines which have a real potential to disadvantage smes in northern ireland. we share a land border with the irish republic which has an aggressively low corporation tax.
sugar prices in europe are now eighty higher than in the rest of the world.
i cannot accept that this parliament has increased the commission's budgetary neutral position by eur seventy million a year. however if we are to fund farmers in the caribbean and atlantic let us make sure they are pulling their weight.