kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
look at what happened after the withdrawal from gaza in two thousand and five and after netanyahu's ten month suspension of settlement construction in the west bank in.
what action is being taken to leverage that financial influence to bring the palestinians to the conference table? where is the return on this investment? the unilateral action by the palestinian authority at the united nations is a deliberate provocation.
two thousand and nine we have a small window of opportunity before the situation escalates.
madam president i suppose the question for us is really what can the eu contribute usefully to developments in the middle east?
the eu is the most significant financial supporter of the palestinian authority with some eur two billion over the past four years.
let us not forget by the way that yasser arafat declared palestinian independence in october. one thousand nine hundred and eighty eight what is clear is that every time israel has made a major concession it has been greeted with further violence and seen as a sign of weakness.
i think it is our duty and indeed our honour to welcome them to this debate.
i mention them in particular because africa is affected directly by events in north africa and indeed by events in the middle east.
i would like you to explain to this house and to give guarantees to this house that the proposed cooperation between abbas and the hamas movement will not be translated into their presence at negotiations given that hamas is a terrorist movement dedicated to the destruction of israel and the genocide of israeli citizens.
the palestinian move as being deeply provocative.
i am for a free and independent state of palestine on the basis of human rights and self determination of people. what is more as a non attached member i also stand for the suspension of the association agreements between the eu and israel while the mass human rights violations by israel against palestine continue.
i wonder what her view would be and indeed what the view of the high representative would be on those negotiations including any kind of absolvement from the international criminal court for any crimes that might have been committed.
if it is true as amnesty international is suggesting that there is some idea that any negotiated peace might include excluding the international criminal court from any role in the future then i think the european union should rethink its position.
the way to defeat terrorism is to try to involve people in day to day politics.
we sponsored elections and then we refused to deal with the democratic leaders.
we need to try to learn the lessons for the future.
in this context the bid for the full recognition of palestinian statehood has become a reality whether the united states accepts this or not.
in this context too it is irrelevant that the united states has already signalled that it will veto the palestinian application because the idea of a palestinian state has garnered substantial support around the world.
probably a majority of the members of the united nations are in favour so this acceptance of palestinian statehood is almost certainly irreversible as a political fact.
what is perplexing in this context too is israel's solid rejection of the palestinian position despite all the evidence and we heard a lot of it this afternoon that the much discussed two state solution is the most likely outcome true a long term outcome of the process.
so the implication is that israel will eventually be constrained to accept the palestinian bid for statehood so the sooner it does so the better for all concerned.
it is regrettable all the more regrettable then that israel and its supporters are basically disregarding a new political fact the due arrival of palestinian statehood.
mr president as the un considers palestine's application for full state membership i would join the many others across europe and beyond in urging the eu and the eu member states to support the palestinian request.
of course peace can only be achieved through negotiation.
the recognition of the state of palestine could lead to a freeze on the building of illegal settlements on the west bank.
it could lead to the end of the occupation.
that is the way to ensure that further talks take place and that a two state solution will be possible in the future.
i agree with mr cohn bendit on the need for a stronger response to new settlement building. the palestinians have the right to be recognised as a state and that means that they would have full rights to participate in all international agreements and treaties.
amnesty international has raised concerns that the eu is promoting a compromise which would prevent recourse to the international criminal court.
this would undermine both the icc's credibility and the principle of equal access to justice and reparation for all people.
i hope that this is not the case and i would like to ask baroness ashton for her response on this.
our vote tomorrow is critical.
a vote for a palestinian seat in the united nations is a vote for abbas's non violent diplomatic political strategy.
indeed future palestinian leaders might abandon the idea of two states and take a one state solution making reconciliation impossible.
this is clearly intended to prevent negotiations getting underway.
regretting these actions will not stop them baroness ashton. we have to make it clear that these actions carry a cost.
i welcome the efforts you have made over the last while;
i welcome too the quartet's statement of last week limited though it is.
if matters come to that point the palestinians will address themselves to the general assembly.
from the above our previous position that the issue is not a clear yes' or a clear no' to the palestinian request is the wisest approach.
certain principles must guide the position of parliament the european union must reach a unanimous position on the developments and play an important role in the negotiations that follow;
we oppose any unilateral actions including new facts on the ground or the expansion of settlements. it would be wrong at the present stage for our resolution to pre empt the outcome of these diplomatic efforts.
any partisan approach endangers the negotiating process and weakens the possibility of the catalytic role to be played by the european union.
secondly women have been victims of violence and they have been very active in the revolution. now is the time to support them quickly and unbureaucratically. we met amazing young women full of hope with a strong will and a desire for freedom. they were the only ones actually asking for financial support because they do not have access to the pots of money wandering around.
the military has taken a very hard grip on society again.
i want you to speak out on this.
madam president last week's un general assembly meeting and the associated media coverage was dominated by palestine's move to gain full membership of the un rightly so but that very important event overshadowed a little corner of the middle east the return of president saleh to yemen and i would like to address the high representative on this issue.
the situation in yemen has received very limited coverage though its importance to the middle east cannot be underestimated.
yemen desperately needs attention and support if it is to avoid becoming a failed state.
al qa'ida has a strong presence there and there are at least two secessionist movements trying to rip the country apart.
i know your scope for action is very limited but i would urge you to do all you can to work with the saudi arabian government and with the gulf cooperation council to do all we can to avoid yemen degenerating into another somalia.
i call upon the commission and the member states to fight in unity this time for the elimination of secret voting within cites and for the adoption of the introduction from the sea' principle.
hillary clinton has called for the creation of a global system of regional wildlife enforcement networks.
the commissioner has already addressed it.
we need an international action plan to fight wildlife crime.
i very much hope that we will succeed in giving several shark species stronger protection.
the illegal trade in animal parts is extremely profitable.
illicit trade in wildlife has exploded into a eur fifteen billion criminal enterprise rivalled only in size by trade in illegal arms and drugs.
obviously the regular cites work should continue but i also expect from the bangkok conference an intensive debate about wildlife crime.
no matter how many animals we put on the strongest protection annex we run the risk that it will only benefit the last tiger rhino or elephant alive due to the explosive increase in poaching.
but the risks in wildlife crime are so much smaller.
rhino horn is being sold nowadays for an average of eur.
i regret the fact that no one even tried to put bluefin tuna on the agenda.
the eu should be part of this as well but we need more.
but i would also like to focus on something else.
there is no guarantee that an international trade ban will be beneficial to the conservation of polar bears.
this means that we need to look in a holistic way at everything which is connected to the whole chain of origin transit and destination countries.
i do not know that initiative from the us in detail but i can promise that i will look at this.
the current harvest is done by inuit populations and only a share of this harvest is directed towards international trade which is allowed even under a ban.
one this was basically also the situation three years ago when that was the position of the european union.
it is coming from china almost exclusively to a huge degree from growing wealth in china people being able to afford ivory and from a degree of ignorance.
my question really is to both the commission and the president what are we doing to link up with african nations to talk to the chinese about the need for action for information to combat this crime at its very source?
i understand that a majority of chinese people actually think that the tusks of elephants re grow like fingernails so they don't realise what destruction is taking place.
if we are not able to persuade the chinese authorities to take action then we are going to end up with more elephants in european zoos than out in the wild.
the presidency has taken note of the strong opposition of the european parliament to the use of secret ballots as a general practice within cites and we welcome the support given by the european parliament to that proposal.
the eu has been in discussions with a number of asian countries particularly china and vietnam in order to try to address some of the misconceptions and some of the misinformation and to try to find some viable solutions so that engagement is ongoing.
i will certainly feed them back to the council. i think a lot of what has been raised has been very valuable and a lot of these issues are obviously of deep public concern as well and i know that many of them will be addressed at the cop.
i have found it very interesting and i appreciate the very strong interventions that have been made on a range of issues.
the presidency will be considering together with the commission and the member states the best way of organising these activities in order to ensure a maximum impact and ultimately the success of our proposals.
that certainly is a major concern of the eu.
the most effective way to ensure the preservation and survival of polar bears in the arctic while respecting the cites requirements.
we expect to have a number of useful exchanges both ahead of and during the conference too.
in summary i would like to thank members for their very helpful contributions.
a number of members have raised some very important issues.
i am particularly pleased with the support of members for many of the eu proposals particularly relating to transparency of voting the issue of conflicts of interest and also some of you alluded to the listing of endangered shark species.
issues marine listing or ivory trade for example were taken through secret ballots.
we propose to change that. in our view requests to have a secret ballot vote need to be supported by a majority.
the european union has been a leading force within cites in terms of tabling proposals to extend its scope and strengthening its implementation.
first making sure that the convention is fully used for the protection of marine species which are threatened by international trade.
trade. to strengthen international cooperation and capacity building the commission supports interpol with almost eur two million to strengthen its efforts to combat wildlife
it has a direct impact on trade due to the legally binding nature of its decisions and its robust compliance tools.
we have also started outreach to third countries and will intensify these efforts in the remaining weeks leading up to the cop. i am pleased to say that this time round the european union will team up with other countries when tabling proposals for listing in particular with latin american countries on some marine species. let me now set out
let me assure you that the commission will do its utmost for the european union to arrive in bangkok with a well coordinated position also in cooperation of course with the presidency in order for us to pull our full weight at this important conference.
enforcement needs to be made a priority in range states transit countries and countries of final destination.
as you know we have tabled a draft council decision containing detailed positions on all of the proposals put forward for this cop.
crime. this is especially the case of illegal trade in ivory and rhinoceros horns which is at its highest level in a
only. finally our third priority is implementation and enforcement.
they are caught in very large numbers for international trade notably for their fins but in some cases also for their meat. today no clear regime exists to ensure that such trade is sustainable. a cites listing is more justified than ever. the upcoming meeting is also the occasion to finally make progress on the definition of introduction from the
furthermore we want to introduce a clear policy on conflict of interest in the scientific committees set up under the cites convention.
two those sharks are particularly vulnerable to overfishing.
the commission has proposed a solution to this issue taking full account of the need to fight against illegal fishing and we are working hard with member states to find common ground for cop. sixteen second making the convention more transparent. at the last cop most decisions on controversial
there are currently no provisions at all on this point so we need to ensure that these committees base their deliberations on sound scientific reasoning
marine species deserve the same level of protection as terrestrial species and we think that cites can have a very important role to play when this is justified.
decade. we believe that the cop should focus on the most effective ways and means to address these problems.
the european union has been at the forefront of promoting a fully science based approach within cites and is the main donor to the secretariat for the implementation of the convention.
wildlife trafficking is more and more associated with transnational organised
we should not look for new listings or delisting proposals unless this is justified on the basis of scientific criteria.
if necessary we should use all measures foreseen within the cites framework to address persistent failures to take priority measures against poaching or illegal
it is widely seen as a very effective tool for the protection of biodiversity and promotion of sustainable trade.
what we do need is that the provisions of the cites convention are properly implemented.
cop. we will define our position on these on the basis of the criteria agreed by the cites parties which rely on science and the need to convince local populations to participate in the protection of wildlife so that it can actually be successful.
today if temporary parties so decide the decision is voted upon secretly.
crime. a further eur two million will be used to prolong our support to the monitoring of the illegal killing of elephants the so called mike programme which is a unique mechanism which monitors and addresses elephant poaching across the african continent.
this would put cites more in line with what one expects of an international convention on the environment in the twenty one st century.
we are therefore prepared to conduct the upcoming deliberations in a spirit of cooperation mutual understanding and shared interest in the protection of species threatened by trade in order to maintain a diverse environment for our future generations.
the presidency together with the commission and the member states is determined to play an active role in ensuring that cites continues to be an effective tool in order to attain its two main objectives conservation and sustainable management of our natural resources.
we are of course particularly encouraged by the strong and consistent support of the european parliament in this respect.
it is not by chance that several proposals touch the question of livelihoods.
the future effectiveness of cites and its role in a global complex and regulated world will be influenced by decisions on many specific items.
we have always maintained that any amendments to the cites appendices should be based on the conservation status of the species concerned and the listing criteria developed by cites.
as usual the agenda for this conference covers many issues from strategic questions to enforcement compliance and conservation.
during these years the convention has proved itself to be an important instrument against over exploitation of our natural resources. constant discussion and improvement of its implementation have shown many times that it is possible to have sustainable trade and also to attain the objectives of the convention if all parties apply the rules and accept necessary restrictions.
parliament will of course be informed of that decision.
the decisions taken whether on plant or animal species will show whether cites parties are prepared to find acceptable solutions between different countries and views between conservation needs and economic justification.
each issue involves a different degree of complexity and at times may lead to controversy.
indeed it becomes impossible to demonstrate that such decisions are based on the use of the agreed scientific criteria.
they should furthermore take account of the contribution that cites controls can make to improving conservation status minimise unnecessary administrative burdens and ensure that the parties' resources are directed towards issues of real conservation concern.
it is our intention to engage with other parties not only in promoting our proposals but also in looking for acceptable solutions that encompass the need for species conservation and at the same time respect for the means of subsistence of populations with fewer or insufficient resources.
finally we remain convinced that undertaking specific steps to move such governance reforms forward will not only result in tangible benefits in terms of increased protection and better management practices but will also sustain and reinforce the spirit of partnership amongst parties in the realisation of a common objective.
transparency should be at the heart of the development of conservation policies and practices within the convention for a number of reasons.
the eu and its member states have always tried to find a way forward in cooperation with other parties especially those who are not in the position of having sufficient resources for the satisfactory implementation of cites. i am hopeful that other parties will share this view. however we also go to bangkok having put a number of important proposals on the table. as at previous
we have a common agricultural policy we have a model of agriculture and we need to defend it.
what i would say to our trade commissioner and indeed to all of the commissioners is that they must look very carefully and calculate the combined impact of all these trade agreements on the agriculture sector.
the commission is currently consulting on this area and i very much hope that one of the outcomes will be the strengthening of those aspects of the consumer rights directive on complete price information.
this directive seems to have been broadly effective in ensuring that consumers can make purchasing decisions with full information and without hidden charges.
there are still however many areas where digital trading pushes the boundaries of good practice.
for example in sports and music ticketing where demand is especially price inelastic leading aftermarket sites frequently add outrageous service and delivery charges well after the point where the buyer is emotionally committed to the purchase. meanwhile the technology applies pressure to buyers who are prepared to pay whatever it takes to see their favourite performer band or football match.
i hope we will see the commission addressing this issue in the near future.
however i object to the creation of european union bodies that would exercise power over member states in areas that are wider than necessary to deal with this problem.
familiar as we are with the eu structures we have ceased to see how anomalous how outrageous it is that we have supreme executive and legislative power in the hands of an unaccountable and unelected bureaucracy. the majority of laws in the member states come from a european commission whom nobody votes for and nobody can get rid of.
the only bit that pretends to democratic authority is the rite that was just carried out in this chamber which i cannot help saying put me in mind of one of those occasional meetings of the people's assembly in the old comecon times where we all stand up and congratulate ourselves on having rubber stamped the decision.
if we are going to have a federalist president of the commission and i can see that is the will of the house it might as well be him as anyone else.
but all they will do at this summit is say ah the sweet smell of success!
mr president as we prepare for the eurozone summit i think it ought to be reminding this house of some of the statistics that the politicians and commissioners and the senior people will be looking at on that day. gdp across europe is.
private investment falling.
unemployment rising;
thirdly i very much agree with the commission proposal in terms of capital market unity right the way across europe. it is very important that we get on with that task commissioner ensuring that new funding opportunities are provided in non bank ways.
i believe that the euro will succeed and that what is essential at this particular time is to do two things for the eurozone economy and especially for the twenty eight member states of the european union.
i come from a country that has seen enormous reductions in the amount of available expenditure and increases in tax because of the financial crisis yet in ireland the gdp growth is at one of the highest levels across the eurozone system.
so even countries that go through enormous adjustments can actually have a much more competitive and productive model of economic growth into the future if that is pursued.
we must stick to the targets we have set in terms of stabilising the eurozone system and it is crucially important that we continue to reduce deficits no matter where they are across the system.
firstly i believe it is crucially important that we continue to reduce tax on work within the european union.
two thousand and eight the future for the eurozone system and the future for europe is based on strong development and growth.
when money is tight there is little choice but to make savings but there is always a choice as to how to make those savings.
we should use the existing economic governance framework more effectively to support the adoption of the implementation of structural reforms.
a more efficient and citizen oriented public administration can especially benefit those in need of social support but also promote job creation by enabling a better investment climate.