kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
let us just remember these long term management plans are essential if we are to secure a sensible reform of the cfp and to put in place sustainable policies. since two thousand and nine the council has been blocking the approaches of this parliament in terms of trying to put in place those plans.
so it is now obviously up to the council to take the initiative to try and find a resolution to the problem.
words fine words platitudes essentially a string of platitudes pulled together and absolutely no programme of action at all.
i do feel that the irish presidency has shown nothing but bad faith.
this has been dragging on since. two thousand and nine it has been raised successively with one presidency after another.
it is time that the presidency simply convened a meeting sat down round the table and agreed the points that must be discussed that must be agreed upon and then started to negotiate.
if we are to release documents if we are to vote for things because we are given assurances by the presidency then i expect the presidency to come back and deliver.
the lisbon treaty gives us co decision on long term management plans they are the cornerstones of the future cfp and if we want to win back the confidence of european citizens in the eu this would in fact be a good example.
i really appreciate the efforts made by the irish presidency but we cannot start all over again with each new presidency. the council as a whole needs to be responsible and to show the people of europe that it can in fact manage on decision making.
the peace agreement between the government of bamako and the tuareg rebels in mali could effectively revive an area that has been devastated by civil war. this agreement presents a concept of decentralisation of powers that has proven effective.
as stated by the agreement the reconciliation of mali must respect its territorial integrity and take account of its ethnic and cultural diversity'. i also believe that this demonstrates the possibilities for success by european diplomacy and could become a model for the other conflicts in the region. algerian leadership in these negotiations has to be praised as well.
the clauses in the prospective agreements such as the one that transfers thirty of bamako administration revenues to local entities are much needed elements in the peace agreement and need to be encouraged.
i truly believe that this agreement is a crucial step for the stability of mali;
the proposal of creating powerful elected regional assemblies led by a directly elected president should be fast implemented and the request for a greater representation of the northern populations in national institutions has to be fulfilled.
play. the eu should support it in its efforts and make sure it is given proper means to accomplish its mandate.
these eu missions are already providing advice and training contributing to the reform of the security sector. in the longer run efforts have to be pursued in the regional context through the implementation of the eu sahel strategy for security which was adopted
well. but of course security remains a pre condition for any humanitarian or development action.
we are all saddened by the recent attack in bamako on seven march which cost the lives of several people including a belgian security officer in the eu delegation. there is a real risk that increased terrorist activity will derail the political process which is currently at a turning point. all should join efforts to make sure that this will not happen.
the eureopan external action service is currently taking part in a joint mission on the ground to support this process and to convince the different stakeholders that there is no other credible alternative.
programme has just been signed on six march in brussels and would contribute significantly to this endeavour but implementation will depend partly on the speed with which the government meets its obligations.
the european union special representative was personally involved in the talks. it required substantial efforts to reach a compromise between the parties respecting the unity and integrity of mali.
the eu will play its role in making sure progress is indeed achieved.
regions should be better represented in the central institutions.
in. two thousand and eleven the adoption still this week of a sahel regional action plan will indicate additional actions to support the strategy in the years ahead. i thank you very much and look forward to a fruitful debate.
in support of peace democracy and development in the country over the years.
other tools within the comprehensive approach and in synergy with member states and other international actors could also be mobilised as
the accord foresees further devolution of economic competencies and resources to local authorities and the creation of local police forces.
it is now important for the government to demonstrate its commitment to the agreement by taking swiftly some of the actions it has undertaken to deliver.
it acted as co mediator together with the united nations the african union the organization of the islamic conference the economic community of west african states and five neighbouring countries.
of security forces both civilian and military as foreseen in the agreement.
it is the best text possible that could be adapted in the current context and there is no alternative.
we will work towards full confluence and complementarity of our actions including csdp instruments as part of our comprehensive approach.
however expectations are extremely high and the eu should not disappoint knowing that all remains to be done and depends first of all on the malians themselves in a complex regional environment.
finally the eu will make available to the government already this year a substantial amount of budget support through a new state building contract.
those facts shouldn't lead to any kind of leaning back or being selfabsorbed or think that everything is solved on the contrary because i completely agree that we are in times of change.
and this is why we do our best to enable member states to work together on important projects of european interest.
take microelectronics take the battery alliance being built as we speak because this shows the strength of coming together in europe when we do things together.
i think that it's important that we take all this achievement and put that in our fight for change for making the market the industry and globalisation serve citizens.
no trade is also about actually having reciprocity in the way things are done.
we are the top trading partner for eighty countries.
not just the big ones and we have big impressive industry in europe but also all the smaller ones who are part and parcel of the creation of this europe that we live in in which at this point where we speak more people than ever have a job.
we don't want harmful subsidies to be sort of smuggled in via trade.
although growth is slow it is still the highest gdp per capita with five hundred million europeans.
this is why it's not just a matter of a fair level playing field within the european union.
we want trade also in that to be on an eye to eye basis and that is the modern way to proceed.
one thing i think is important in having this discussion and it is that europe is the largest economy in the world.
you need access to financing otherwise how could you create the jobs.
because when we talk about industry it's important not just to think about the giants but also to think about the many smaller businesses who are either the customers of giants or the suppliers to giants to enable the network of european industry to work well.
i think that's a very important point in our discussion that we don't focus on just the big ones or just the small ones but see the network that they create and that they have the need for one another.
this is why it has been so important in the juncker investment plan to provide capital for small and mediumsized businesses because this is one of the most underdebated issues that you need capital in order to grow.
that this is now where change should be inclusive and not over people's head so thank you very much for this.
europe is an amazing place to do business.
or animal welfare that we will not accept here.
we don't want prices to be dumped on us that's unfair for european industries.
this is a global effort to make this happen.
and with all that achievement and with your engagement and our agreement on a level playing field and fair competition i am certain that we have what it takes to meet this challenge and to make this change happen for the benefit of citizens and not counter it because in that i think
but the important thing is to see what we have achieved in the european way in strong societies with social benefits with a tight fabric that allows people to have jobs where they can provide for their families.
it's the world's largest trading bloc the largest trader in the world of manufactured goods and services and we rank first in both inbound and outbound international investments.
because what she has done over the last couple of years is basically to retire the old concept of free trade and replace that with a concept of trade agreement where you actually have tools to say well i will not import despicable working conditions
because if we just abandon areas that used to be the home for important industries and workplaces and leave it at that of course everyone gets frustrated because you don't see your sons and your daughters having a fair chance.
that is important for us as the commission to enable this environment for european industry to thrive;
mr president thank you very much for your remarks. i find this is very inspiring because we obviously share the same starting point that fair competition a level playing field this is what we want.
obviously it's very important that europe master the different crafts and that is why it is important when for instance shipbuilders come together to figure out how to make sure that we have a competitive shipbuilding industry in europe to deliver state of the art.
but it is not just to change it's also to maintain and develop our industries.
the top priority is patient safety. so we should remember that the lack of effective control of the notified bodies under the old system was one of the main reasons to review the medical devices framework.
the commission has set up the entire legal and technical infrastructure to allow for the designation procedure to start as soon as possible.
again i want to underline that we have been ready from the very first legal date which was twenty seven december last year.
it is also up to them to prepare and prove their fitness under the revised framework.
we established effective cooperation with the national competent authorities for medical devices.
we are aware that we need enough notified bodies by the end of the transition period.
therefore we in the commission together we will monitor the implementation process in very close and very constant cooperation with the national competent authorities the member states of course and all other stakeholders.
i know this is an extremely important issue.
also member states have mobilised their resources to contribute to the implementation process and member states are fully committed in the form of the competent authorities for medical devices to preparing for the future.
so for now there is no reason to ring the alarm bell. but of course there is still a lot of work ahead of us first to ensure the transition to the new system but also the availability of devices over the next few years.
the number of applications received so far shows that the designation procedure is overall on track.
already prepared for the future even before the regulations were adopted.
we all want the continuous availability of safe and innovative medical devices and of course for this we need a smooth transition to the new system.
we are putting a lot of human resources on this file.
we are in continuous dialogue with the notified bodies industry and all other relevant stakeholders.
in its public notice of january this year the commission advised stakeholders to take all necessary measures because as we all know a certificate issued by uk notified bodies will no longer be valid as from twenty nine march next year. many other sectors of course face the same situation but as far as we know the uk notified bodies and industry associations have been extremely active in preparing for brexit ahead of time.
at the same time eu level mutual legal assistance agreements as we all know are lengthy to negotiate and to enter into force. they also require a high degree of trust in judicial systems. this means that standards in third countries third states as regards for example the rule of law independence of the judiciary fundamental rights the fight
this facilitates close and swift judicial cooperation in relation to third countries and ensures that the financial interests of the union are protected and misused funds can be recovered in a proper way.
the commission agrees that this is essential to strengthen the effectiveness of international cooperation in asset recovery and supports the development of carin a network of operational law enforcement and judicial contact points on asset recovery which covers more than one hundred and fifty countries and jurisdictions.
the eppo will not only change the way member states cooperate inside the eu but will also have a major impact on the way the eu and member states cooperate with partners in third countries.
as we all know it is our shared duty to protect the financial interests of the european union.
finally eu level mutual legal assistance agreements can be good vehicles for judicial cooperation in criminal matters and they can also complement the existing agreements member states have in place.
there is a strong complementarity between the commission's anti corruption work and that of the council of europe group of states against corruption the.
only the resolution on khashoggi has to be voted on now as urgent.
and that's good for consumers and for companies.
it is prohibited in a fair single market that taxpayers pay for jobs moving from one country to another.
and when we think about the challenges ahead of us in particular those that relate to digitalisation it's important that we factor in how competition helps us to make our industries competitive.
the commission is working to enforce the existing rules so that when we trade with japan and with the us well we don't only trade we also discuss how to strengthen the world trade organisation's rules on industrial subsidies.
but we should not confuse the size of the individual company with the strength of our economy.
just last month we authorised slovakia to support jaguar and bring new jobs to the disadvantaged nitra region jobs that may otherwise have been created outside of europe.
in other words europe's part is in a value chain where the jobs are and where the value is created and this is how we have brought it so far.
as to procurement we already have rules in place which allow a buyer to reject an offer which is unrealistically cheap but also here we can do more.
so in our merger cases we ensure that steel companies continue to compete so that prices stay competitive for all the many many businesses that need steel in their production.
but first of all we want it to serve our citizens and that's why we defend open and fair markets in europe as well as in the rest of the world.
europe has a very large deficit when it comes to raw materials in particular energy.
well we approve almost all mergers that are notified to us.
a rule based system which is fair where open markets is the rule that's our interest.
so now that ninety seven of state aid measures go ahead without needing commission approval member states decide for themselves on the basis of a common rule book.
so we have a solid industrial base thanks to european innovation thanks to european productivity and thanks to our internal market which rests on fair competition and openness.
once adopted it will ensure reciprocity and not only that it will also strengthen our leverage in trade negotiations with third countries to open their markets for fair procurement processes.
i think the important thing in this debate is that europe has a good and strong starting point.
all companies big as well as small should have a fair chance to achieve this also when they are faced with large multinationals and that is why we stop dominant companies from shutting down competition from new competitors and this is also why we have to review mergers
we can do more to level the global playing field and to create opportunities for a fair and open internal market.
but we also need to make good use of the tools that we have already.
we continue to work with the parliament and the council to make progress on these proposals.
but we can do more.
for instance to apply modern trade defence mechanisms to maintain fair competition worldwide.
and we also have proposed a framework to screen foreign direct investment that affects our security and public order.
over the last ten years more than three zero mergers were looked at but only seven were prohibited were blocked and in only slightly more than five of cases companies proposed solutions to our concerns for example to sell a factory to a competitor to preserve competition in europe.
there's plenty of work ahead of us to remain competitive and to shape globalisation so that it serves our citizens and builds on a level playing field in particular when it concerns subsidies reciprocity in public procurement and screening of foreign direct investment.
these are not necessarily the same thing.
the commission also simplified the rule book for state aid that doesn't harm competition.
and if you don't want to look at the statistics look at the magnificent european companies as you see them and as you see their products every day.
foreign bidders take part in public tenders all across europe yet european bidders they often find buy local restrictions' when they bid in foreign countries with european goods and this is why the commission has proposed an international procurement instrument.
steel is a good example of that.
mr president thank you and thank you very much for having this debate. it's a very important debate to have about the environment for our industry to grow to create jobs but also to innovate and
but it's being challenged by some of our partners questioning the global rule based system and cooperation.
many of the mergers that we have approved well they have strengthened european companies like peugeot and opel like inbev and sabmiller like siemens and gamesa world wide known competitors.
but we do approve state aid that creates jobs in europe if they do that without distorting competition.
but the thing is that we have a very large trade surplus in manufactured goods like cars machines chemicals.
in relation to my portfolio as commissioner for competition we also have started a dialogue with china about subsidies and fair competition.
steel users well they employ over thirty million people in europe.
both programmes would let national funds be combined with european funds and we want to make that as easy as possible because industry is at the heart of our european economy and we want an industry that's competitive and creates jobs and wealth in europe.
if you want to take a look at the statistics.
when a company is a consumer champion in europe well it can conquer consumers in all corners of the world provided of course that it has open and fair market access.
and just to finalise a few words on the state aid rules because companies cannot get state aid simply to shut down a factory and move it to another european country.
companies have to compete and when they do well they are encouraged to make the products that consumers want to develop new business ideas and attract even more businesses.
let's remind ourselves of the facts before we started on this process of updating our legislation there were eighty notified bodies across the european union.
so let me just put that down as a marker.
i'm not calling for any delays in implementation.
for example many would believe that because we will hopefully have a withdrawal agreement there will be a transition or implementation period and that nothing will change around the medical devices sector until the end of that period.
is it at the end of march or at the end of the transition?
more detail please on what those notified bodies that are located in the united kingdom are doing so that they can continue their work because i fear if they left the stage then we do have an alarm bell and we will be ringing it.
i think it's also true to say that if there was a scandal tomorrow on the medical devices industry this chamber would be full so we need to understand that.
some colleagues raised the issue of the reduction in the numbers of notified bodies.
but i want to make sure that we will actually do that implement in full and on time.
i'm quoting my notes here we're on track there's no delay there are no alarm bells and as commissioner you need to show that confidence.
so i do need you to come back to some of those questions and give me more assurances that we are on track and that there are no delays.
but as i heard from you that is not the case so please clarify when the change comes.
the second question and perhaps the more pertinent one is that the uk is a major player in this industry and also has many notified bodies.
i'm not raising an alarm bell but i am raising concerns that i am hearing from regulators from patient groups and from industry about whether we can implement in full and on time.
we hope that those fifty nine are all fit for purpose that they will apply for re designation and that it happens on time.
when we sent in the auditors we found that many were not fit for purpose and that there are only fifty nine of that eighty still operating.
we've lived through a really bad experience and the reputable industry suffered while the rogues perhaps were not penalised sufficiently.
i think that would be a really bad signal to our citizens because it took us a long time to get to this place.
i want to respond in particular to the answers you've given us commissioner.
there have been no delays so far in the assessment of notified bodies that have been submitted to us.
the two other notified bodies ul and lrqa have approached the same national authorities for a possible application according to our information.
the largest uk notified body bsi is in the process of new designation in the netherlands; this is expected to be completed in november.
brexit an extremely important topic.
it does not mean that we are not monitoring proactively everything that is going on that we are not watching the process.
according to our plans a first release of the plan for the implementation of the functional specification was accomplished by the legal deadline foreseen of twenty six may this year and the draft functional specification i expect to be ready by the end of this month again.
work has so far been advancing and again not optimistically but realistically we are in the timeframe.
you mentioned the transition period but of course the transition period for brexit is much more general and much broader than only the medical devices industry.
but for now we are in the timeline we are on track and in the timeline and this is the most important thing.
i would rather put it in other words im realistic and confident.
for now we have sixty of them and thirty four applications so more than half have been received by the commission.
the commission also concurs that its vitally important to preserve the multilateral world economic order to ensure that it remains rule and value based.
eu values are furthermore promoted through an updated regulation preventing the export of goods that could be used for capital punishment or torture.
this report also rightly underlines the importance of promoting sustainable development with our trade policy.
the monitoring role of social partners and civil society;
the commission totally subscribes to the report's recommendation that we should avoid resorting to protectionism.