kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
not only was i reassured by president christofias's presentation today by his statements regarding his commitment to the european project and the community method i can also tell you that the cyprus authorities started preparations almost three years ago.
focusing on these areas and maximising their impact will go a long way towards a successful cyprus presidency of the council.
nor must we neglect our external financial instruments as an important element in our external policy.
ecb based on article one hundred and twenty seven of the treaty.
they are balanced appropriate and realistic.
focus. let us use this period in the most productive and effective
i therefore urge both parliament and member states to recognise that what we have proposed already provides a very good basis for compromise.
today. i believe for a council presidency to have success it needs determination and
in parallel to the overall framework negotiations must be brought to an end on the sectoral proposals on the main european common policies.
i very much appreciate that the cyprus presidency correctly grasps the right challenges to tackle and the priorities to work on.
and we wish you every possible success.
this would send a clear signal that when it comes to growth we are committed to action not limited to rhetoric.
we can do it very soon if we fully stand behind it and work hard for
tomorrow and the day after tomorrow the college of commissioners will meet the presidency team in nicosia where i will have the opportunity to express my appreciation for their very competent work of preparation.
the commission shares the objectives of the presidency aimed at a stronger more competitive europe based on sustainable growth solidarity and social inclusion a europe which is a major international partner on the global stage as well as in its neighbourhood.
it will require a great effort on the part of the council presidency an effort which we in the commission will support to the full.
stricter rules on credit rating agencies and on capital requirements on markets in financial instruments and on market abuse.
mr president i would like to raise just one specific point with the president of the council. essential to proposals to reform the common fisheries policy is the establishment of long term management plans giving every fishery clear objectives for the recovery of fish stocks.
three of these have already been approved by parliament but they are frozen by the council.
the council has refused to take them further.
the council and parliament disagree over the interpretation of the treaty and there are fair arguments on both sides.
these can only be resolved through negotiations but negotiations are not taking place and the current impasse puts at risk all that we are trying to achieve through the reform of the common fisheries policy.
i do not ask the cyprus presidency to find a solution to the problem.
i just ask you to start the negotiations which can achieve that solution.
i hope that the close ties between cyprus and russia will not become an obstacle to addressing the deterioration of human rights and the rule of law just across the border from the european union.
you have the opportunity of engaging in frank and constructive dialogue with the kremlin and emphasise the paramount importance of human rights and the rule of law in relations with the european union.
mr kasoulides i am not one who defends everything that was done under colonialism by my country but i do not believe my country can be accused of causing the problems on the island of cyprus.
i am not criticising cyprus.
i am asking the presidency to use the eu's influence to sort out some of the serious problems you still face on your island and i hope it will.
thank you for giving me the opportunity to develop my message.
first of all monopolies of any kind are bad and harmful to the economy i hope you agree with me on that all monopolies public monopolies as well as private monopolies.
mr president talking about growth and employment will not be enough to secure them. the single greatest cause of unemployment in southern europe is the euro.
globalism and trade agreements with emergent economies are destroying our manufacturing basis and throwing european workers out of their jobs.
the new presidency refers to demographic change in the form of ageing populations and mentions the necessary responses to that phenomenon.
i wonder what those might be.
so the third world young will be replacement europeans for unborn european babies except that they will not. they will bring the third world with them and transform parts of europe into the third world. distinctive peoples are not the product of distinctive cultures. distinctive cultures are the product of distinctive peoples.
president christofias in your history it is certainly another milestone. one of the smallest and one of the youngest eu member states is taking up such a big challenge in these extremely difficult economic times in the european union.
we have to make it very clear that all un resolutions have to be fulfilled and eu laws and values have to be respected. it should be condemned by all of us that a candidate country is knocking on europe's doors with weapons.
mr president i would like to highlight the impact on trade with the russian federation particularly road transport caused by the ill thoughtout and provocative eastern expansion of the eu.
it was a complete folly to provoke russia by the foolhardy actions of the eastern expansion and this parliament should regret its actions.
the impact on huge areas of business cannot be underestimated because the little that is allowed to enter or cross russia is subject to huge extra costs increasing the price of goods.
the eu is directly responsible for these instabilities.
because haulage companies cannot do meaningful business with russia they now have to be supported by our taxpayers with no end to the need for support in sight.
state aid above this limit can only be considered under very strict conditions and would have to be notified to the commission.
above all this concerns meat and meat products fish and seafood milk and dairy products and prepared fruits and vegetables.
at a national level however road hauliers in need may benefit from some state aid.
in some areas the price of the banned goods in local markets has fallen significantly due to the oversupply that has been created.
i and my team are fully aware of this.
there is not much in terms of direct financial assistance we can offer at eu level.
how can we help the road hauliers most severely affected by the russian import ban?
this issue can only be addressed with russia in the context of our overall eu external policy towards russia.
before the import ban took affect russia was after the us the second biggest importer of agricultural goods from the eu.
just how much they suffer is a question that is difficult to answer and that depends on individual circumstances.
in particular road transport operators specialised in the export of agricultural products to russia and who invested in equipment such as refrigerated vehicles may face real difficulties in the wake of the russian import ban but again this depends on how much they were able to redeploy their transport fleet.
unlike my colleague in charge of agriculture i do not have an emergency fund for transport operators.
it is clear that many of the banned goods which would have gone to russia are now redirected and sold on other markets.
it is therefore in the hands of member states to see what they can do on the basis of their bilateral agreements.
we are suffering believe me we are really suffering!
the same situation in france and belgium they want our drivers to sleep in hotels that do not exist.
the problems are actually very severe in lithuania in particular because we have five of the working population working in this sector.
we can name it germany has come up with a minimum wage which we cannot implement at the moment because we are not rich enough we are not as rich as the germans.
let us all unite and at least help each other and not rip each other apart.
we are coming to you for help we are coming to you to be creative and find the help that we need.
i emphasise the new commission because the point that was made was that this was a commission working as a team not in silos not each commissioner for himself so when a decision is taken by the union it has to look at all the consequences of this decision namely
the grave losses that the transport sector is suffering and the indirect disruption to the transport market throughout europe.
it is no good just to tell us to go back home and look for state aid from our governments.
these are taken into account by the commission in its current work. i also promise to examine your concrete proposals there were several of them in a timely manner.
the situation is very sensitive and serious.
the commission fully shares the concerns related to the revenue losses of some eu hauliers due to the russian import ban and the commission continues to closely monitor this situation.
we expect the analysis to be provided in a timely manner.
at this point i have no evidence of severe market disruptions that would go beyond individual cases.
regarding the fourth point relief measures at national level are possible but they have to respect the relevant eu law. the commission is open to assessing possible state aid schemes.
the next point is that in eu road transport the eu has only limited means at its disposal for external policy actions.
a quick and lasting improvement in relations between the eu and russia would of course be desirable but at this point i can only hope that the political situation supports us in our efforts as soon as possible.
the european union is committed to promote human rights in particular using the link as we saw in the arab spring between new technologies and human rights as important avenues for promoting democracy.
the internet has provided a forum for the free exercise of human rights and empowered people in their quest for more just societies as we saw in the revolutions in north africa despite the serious incidents curbing internet access which we have witnessed recently.
they will be based on the united nations guiding principles on business and human rights the so called ruggie principles.
our trade agreements are instrumental in the promotion of european values and human rights. the european external action service and the commission services are committed to mainstreaming the protection and promotion of digital freedoms in all the eu's external actions
further internal discussions are taking place in the framework of the revision of the eu's security export control policy regarding the possibility of extending export controls to certain materials that might be used for internet monitoring and or telecommunication surveillance in violation of human rights.
the eu should lead by example through the implementation of its policy and it provides financial support to a large number of projects and to civil society organisations via the european instrument for democracy and human rights.
the eu has also adopted sanctions prohibiting the export of these technologies to syria and iran to prevent authoritarian regimes from using them to crack down on human rights defenders.
by the end of april next year we shall issue specific guidelines for ict telecommunications companies on the corporate responsibility to respect human rights.
at the recent meeting of the internet governance forum in baku the eu along with members of this parliament stood united in defending the principle that restrictions on fundamental freedoms of whatever kind and wherever they take place are unacceptable within the eu's
the european union will continue to send clear political messages in response to the worrying trend of increased internet censorship.
i was foreign minister in my country for a number of years before i became a commissioner so i can appreciate the importance of this subject as part of the overall foreign policy of the eu.
we share parliament's view that uncensored access to the open internet mobile phones and ict are important in safeguarding human rights.
several eu member states and the united nations have now identified access to the internet as an enabler of fundamental rights and the commission agrees that digital freedoms are part of the copenhagen criteria.
initial policy steps through the european instrument for democracy and human rights and the no disconnect strategy are welcome but we need to be much more ambitious.
tomorrow we vote for the first strategy to mainstream technologies into the eu's external actions.
i am not suggesting over regulation that would hurt the open internet but in some policy areas rules are needed and need to be updated to match the revolutionary impact of technological developments with adequate democratic oversight.
the commission is working on a cyber security plan which this parliament is eagerly awaiting but let us ensure that there is no zero sum game between cyber security and digital freedoms.
the struggle for human rights has a growing technology component prisons are increasingly populated by dissidents confronted with their own internet and mobile communications having been compromised by the authorities.
people facing repression deserve eu support and in any case should not be targeted with tools and technologies developed and exported from within the eu.
while the recent eu export bans on repressive technologies to syria and iran are important ad hoc sanctions generally more transparency and accountability are needed.
technologies tools or services custom made for targeted human rights violations should be categorised separately as single use technologies and should be restricted.
in trade agreements but also in development assistance we need to include digital freedoms in conditionalities and to enforce them.
there are a lot of opportunities in eu development policies we can bridge the digital divide build and install basic ict infrastructures provide people with access to knowledge and information and enable online education in remote areas.
in the first critical hours after natural disasters or during humanitarian crises ad hoc emergency mobile and internet connections should be set up.
icts are also essential for effective citizen election monitoring.
in turning these opportunities into actions we must be vigilant and recall that the eu cannot credibly promote or protect digital freedoms in the world if they are not safeguarded at home.
european companies should be reminded of their corporate social responsibilities.
we need human rights impact assessments in the r d phase and must implement the concept of human rights by design.
the external action service should take the lead in globally promoting and protecting digital freedoms by synergising trade security and foreign policies and by aligning our eu values and interests.
we need to do justice to the new reality that technological developments create and update our laws and regulations to mainstream digital freedom.
the internet is now governed by a so called multi stakeholder approach which developed organically into a network of public and private stakeholders.
this model can only function when it is inclusive including small businesses internet users and consumers who need a seat at the table.
we must consider the internet public and public interests.
i would like to thank the shadows who contributed to this and all the stakeholders who gave their input to the discussion paper.
now it is time for greece's european and international partners to deliver their part of the agreement.
this violence must cease immediately.
citizens and politicians must be allowed to express their views freely in the media.
but many supporters of the government are also out on the streets of caracas.
the eu and latin america and the caribbean share a strategic bi regional partnership where the community of latin american and caribbean states is the eu's interlocutor.
demonstrations in venezuela started two weeks ago as students complained about high crime rates and a lack of security in universities.
we take note of president maduro's statement that his government would not tolerate violence from his supporters and the security forces and we hope he will prove his words in deeds.
over the past weeks.
we call upon the government to reach out to all segments of venezuelan society.
nobody should be detained for exercising their right to freedom of speech and assembly.
political intolerance and continuous public statements critical of one or the other side can only add tension to the political discourse and further divide society.
those voters should be allowed a voice in public debate.
mrpresident what a spectacle we have in this parliament the rightwing discovering the human rights that they forgot about in iraq that they forgot about in bahrain that they forgot about in colombia and rubbing their hands in glee together with their counterparts in venezuela and in the us hoping for the fall of the venezuelan government!
this attempt can also be defeated. people can mobilise people can force the forces of reaction back and push the revolutionary process forward including by ending the power of sections of the opposition over the economy through their private ownership of key sections of it and by democratic public ownership of such key sections of the economy and of the financial sector.
i have a message to all of you no pasaran you shall not pass.
the last coup was defeated by mobilisations of workers young people and poor people.
the alde group strongly condemns the acts of violence that led to so many deaths and so much pain.
at the same time as the media rapporteur for this parliament i am also very concerned about reports on media and web censorship as well as limited access to blogs and social networks.
according to the national press workers' union more than sixty media workers have been the victims of abuse committed either by the police forces the national guard or ad hoc armed groups of protesters.
at the same time we are deeply worried about the government's transparent strategy to take advantage of the current situation and send members of the opposition to prison along with civil society leaders students and journalists. it is time that the venezuelan government took responsibility for its own huge mistakes and acted accordingly.
we urge both the government and the opposition to turn to peaceful dialogue and to try to find a middle ground for the sake of their people.
what is at stake is the fundamental right of people to protest against their own government without fear of violence or oppression and to express their views in a free press and through the internet.
he must release the journalists and the students in custody and ensure that the groups acting on his behalf are disarmed without delay.
particularly when the next elections come they have to be monitored internationally so that they are free and proper. with regard to the results whoever gets into power must respect the freedom of everybody.
and assembly. journalists and broadcasters must be allowed to exercise their profession freely. citizens and politicians must be able to express their views in the media. the concerns of the people of venezuela are legitimate and so is their right to demonstrate peacefully.
there are mobilisations of the right within venezuela itself.
if you look at the character of the protests who is participating it is the elite layers in society the rich students etc.
you know that these words are words against political repression.
it is an astonishing litany is it not of failure?
i hope now that you have been in office for a little while you will understand that perhaps such a parochial approach will not do. i still worry commissioner. i still fret that we will have regulation from the usual mishmash of ignorant bureaucrats parliamentary committees with their usual complement of cryptocommunists anachronistic socialists journeymen politicians fringe greenies a sprinkling of well meaning housewives and grandmothers exploring their new third age.
in fact you must understand that big salaries and big pensions do not grow on trees.
i am desperately cross that the british conservative party has given away the city of london regulation.
commissioner i also mentioned to you that we could learn something from the old dominions australia canada who have not suffered from this problem and you rather charmingly and in a very gallic way suggested that australia was a long way away.
you would think the european union would get something right once by accident.
the outcome will be the same as all the other eu projects fishing agriculture energy employment immigration and horror of horrors the ticking time bomb of the single currency.
a financial crisis has given life to new agencies which are much needed and very welcome at this time across the european union and perhaps even across the globe but the power invested in these institutions also has to be a responsible power.
ambition therefore must have a purpose in order for there to be any fulfilment and that purpose must be shared by our citizens whose jobs and livelihoods depend upon us getting it right.
there is no doubt that the discussion between member states and parliament has often led to tensions during this debate but none of us have completely got our way and all of us have been successful in delivering what will i believe be a success.
parliament has pushed for greater powers at european level. of course this has been against the background of being against the wishes of member states.
some in this house will want to go further in creating direct supervision particularly in the area of central counterparties for example. we all have to caution against adventure over ambition but let us have proper measured responses when we get to fill in the blanks which will come later.
financial stability at this time depends upon the years and sometimes decades of experience of thousands of nationally based people who have experience of financial services. they have been the first front line in preventing problems.
the national governments have proved that they can also bail us out when it comes to meltdown.
these new institutions give us the chance to have design.
that is what has been missing and that is why it is so important to have it fulfilled. the agencies do have practical issues involved.
the joint committee should be a vehicle for coordination exchange of information and joint decision taking.
these agencies work on eliminating systemic risks.
we have also insisted on giving the head of the ecb control over monitoring risk at the aggregate level but if we have to ask mr bernanke whether his reputation was enhanced i think he might say no' about having such powers.
so avoiding the casino style financial operations of the past yes but being responsible ourselves as regulators we have to be very measured as well.
i welcome the supervisory infrastructure that we have.
i believe that this actually provides the best of both worlds. if you are to imagine that sitting on your island a moat alone will protect you from the real issues of the real world then you are a fool i am afraid because the realities are that the global crisis has taught us a real lesson.
the european union sees crises as opportunities for gathering power to itself always at the expense of the power of national governments.
whilst it is true that the crisis in the united kingdom was handled in a woefully defective way that is because successive uk governments have not imposed sufficient control over the activities of their private banks.
they are the creators of credit a large part of the money supply and that cannot be left in the hands of unregulated private business.
madam president the legacy of this financial crisis has been a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the financial services sector and our public finances. the banks the financial markets governments and corporations are feeling this uncertainty daily and in order for our economies to show signs of recovery we need to ensure that this uncertainty is dispelled.