kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
in line with your request the commission will continue to work to make sure that globalisation helps bring more sustainable more inclusive growth while at the same time defending the rules and values that the international trading order is based on.
and to make eu resources available to support implementation of the sustainable development chapters in trade agreements.
both of those countries benefit from the everything but arms arrangement which guarantees completely tarifffree access to the european market for all export goods except for weapons and ammunition. however this access is not without conditions and in the case of myanmar the commission will soon send a high level eu mission there to assess the situation on the ground.
this is what the eu does with the chapters on trade and sustainable development in our free trade agreements.
with cambodia we are even a step further in the process. without clear and evident improvements on the ground the process will result in the suspension of the trade preferences that cambodia currently enjoys. the commission also has other concrete trade measures in place that support sustainable development
this is why the eu is a leading advocate of the rule and value based international trade system of course with the world trade organization at its centre while acknowledging that these rules need to be updated.
the fair and ethical trade award;
as you have pointed out in the report globalisation is profoundly changing the world economic order and we have a duty to harness this phenomenon. this is necessary to ensure that globalisation is used as a force for progress in favour of more sustainable and more inclusive growth. this report is also timely and the vote today is timely.
and eu support for responsible business conduct.
i consider that under those circumstances it simply makes no sense to continue this vote and i suggest that we discontinue the vote and that we recap with a vote on this text at the next session because this cannot continue.
they are not worried about the gadget or the knee because they presume it is going to be safe and effective and that they will come out skipping and i hope they will.
i think sometimes people might think we legislate and then forget but actually this debate is about making sure that the legislation on medical devices is implemented in full and on time.
i think when patients go into hospital and have a procedure involving a medical device they presume that the medical device is certified and fit for purpose and we have to give them that guarantee and that's the purpose of our question to you this morning.
because they are the ones who are perhaps raising this issue with us as well as the industry and what do they need to do to make sure that they get this in place in their member state and on time?
there are three different if you like dgs of the commission involved in this so how is that working and is it effective?
i understand it takes eighteen months to re designate a notified body and if many have not applied at this stage then we need to know that they will immediately and that they will be certified in time to meet the strict requirements of this legislation.
it now is and we have to take account of the implications and consequences of brexit on the medical device legislation and on the supply of devices that keep our patients safe.
so the reason we ask this question is because those concerns on implementation are being raised but our focus is on patient safety and making sure that there is a supply of devices that are scrutinised fully so that there is no interruption in the medical care and attention that our patients receive.
it was because there were scandals in the medical devices sector some of a criminal nature and some identifying problems with how the industry is regulated the fit for purpose' of notified bodies being one particular issue.
but the reason it has been tabled and i thank the colleagues who have co signed with me we were all involved in this legislation is that concerns are being raised about the timely implementation.
one of the issues that has been raised with us is the expertise available both perhaps within the commission itself but also within member states and within notified bodies and of the notified bodies that currently operate. i would like the commission to clarify how many have actually looked for re designation as is required under this legislation.
lastly are member states doing enough?
we had a very good response to our current approach to blending grants with loans under the connecting europe facility especially for projects in the area of alternative fuels. the commission is therefore in the process of establishing a blending facility under the connecting europe facility.
the directive itself foresees a possible review of the legislative framework in place by the end of two thousand and twenty at the earliest. moreover the directive has just been transposed into the legal systems and national laws in the member states.
finally the commission very much welcomes the positive reception of the european battery alliance that we proposed and the joint undertaking on fuel cells and hydrogen.
while we see of course that national policy frameworks have their shortcomings we also see on the other hand that they have acted in many member states as a catalyst of development in this field.
the commission has been and we are still closely following the implementation and we are taking the necessary legal action through enforcement through infringements of course.
it will make eu financing accessible on a flexible first come first assessed basis. when the project reaches sufficient maturity the assessment of the project will always take place according of course to the legal basis of their respective funding programmes whether it is the
in that context we will also consider the need for legislative follow up action on issues that are important for alternative fuels infrastructure but which are not regulated under this directive.
the misuse of personal data is without question not to be tolerated and the recent cambridge analytica scandal completely undermined the privacy of european citizens.
not only was this data breach an abuse of such personal data but the use of improperly obtained data to build voter profiles with a view to influencing elections was a complete manipulation of the electorate.
it is essential that facebook takes the necessary measures to prevent further breaches of data and makes changes to its platform to comply with eu data protection law and provide sufficient protection to european citizens' data.
however there is an amendment tabled for the plenary which has been rejected in the inta committee on a sanctions based enforcement mechanism in the eu's tsd chapters. this would oblige the eu to find ways to determine how a breach of social or environmental standards can be transformed into economic compensation and this narrows down the scope of the tsd chapter. we cannot agree with this.
the text of the oral amendment is in the voting lists it is presented by the s d and ppe. i propose that we go ahead and vote on it.
the text is there it's very long.
madam president trade and the markets are organic they are almost a living organism they're made up of individuality and people's wants and desires. if you try to stand in the way of the flow of trade in the free market and of enterprise all you're doing is being a modernday king canute and you will get washed away.
the important thing is to bring down trade barriers to bring down protection to bring down tariffs to trade freely with the world to make our people wealthier and better off. if you allow this to happen what happens then is that when people are wealthier and better off they start to make their choices.
they will then choose if they wish to buy from morally and ethically correct companies because they will then have decisions that they can take.
it's about people.
employing and putting and imposing rules on they're all about politics and good intentions.
while globalisation has lifted many out of extreme poverty globally it has increased the inequalities in our societies to breaking point.
that's largely because trade policies focused almost exclusively on trade liberalisation and market opening without any real consideration of the negative impacts on some sectors regions and parts of society.
just as the emerging eu single market needed a social dimension so too does our trade policy.
our trade and sustainable development chapters need teeth as well as incentives for good behaviour.
the commission's opposition to trade sanctions for labour and environmental roles means serial violators fear no economic cost of human rights abuses.
you can do what a lot of europe did in the post war era which is to ship people en masse from overseas and put them to work for the government that creates delays with integration it creates regional and linguistic blocs.
or you can just allow people to sneak in and then give them citizenship if they manage to stay long enough.
and that by default is the approach that most western countries are now taking.
now i just pose the question what's likely to be the attitude of a settler who has come by cheating the authorities and whose every interaction with the forces of the state in which he is settling have taught him to despise it? isn't there a way of ordering the need for legal immigration so that we disempower the people smugglers and allow those who have done the right thing and applied properly to take priority?
madam president this report is very important as our trade policy has implications across many other areas.
as a socialist i am proud to be part of a parliament that takes the initiative to reflect on the need to fight inequalities created by globalisation.
european companies are responsible for many inequalities and human rights violations in the world and it's our responsibility to put in place legal safeguards to prevent them from harming populations in third countries.
regarding foreign policy trade is a powerful tool for the eu to promote international law particularly human rights.
but to do that we must step up and improve the way we engage with partners in the trade area.
free trade agreements should be designed so they don't undermine national and international laws and should include strong mechanisms including the sustainable development chapters to be respected by all parties.
commissioner regarding the impact of globalisation and robotisation on the future of work i wish to remind you of our conversation about occupational literacy at the recent eif debate.
mr president i'll be very quick colleagues but i have to do this.
madam president i would like to use this opportunity to pay tribute to the important work of dame glenis willmott who until a year ago was the leader of the british labour delegation here in the european parliament.
glenys knew her subject because she had worked in the health sector as a trade union representative.
her work on the safety of medical devices was promoted by the scandal of leaking breast implants;
an issue that seriously threatened the health of women and i am proud that we have real experts in our political group working for the benefit of all europeans and i have to say that my colleague mrs mcguinness is correct brexit threatens the future health of people in the uk and ireland.
it also threatens research ground breaking research is what makes medicines and health innovations possible and outside of the eu the uk is taking a retrograde step in terms of its position on the world stage.
but the resolution is not enough.
just take the example of the recent parliamentary election in latvia hate speech and violence have become almost normal for some political forces to attract the attention of voters.
the request for a restructuring fund like the one in the sugar industry is difficult to accommodate within the budget allocated to the potato starch sector.
in fact the commission had proposed a more gradual approach phasing in the decoupling in two steps.
mr president honourable members thank you for your questions on the future of the potato starch sector. the commission welcomes the opportunity to give its view on this sector.
even if all current beneficiaries including the growers of starch potatoes agreed to renounce their coupled aids to set up a restructuring fund to finance the dismantling of potato starch factories the available budget would be unlikely to provide a strong enough incentive.
the sector's main argument had been that the additional delay before the aids were decoupled would allow potato starch producers to prepare for a market without quotas and without transformation aids.
individuals here have spoken and i share their concerns about the future of the potato industry and as the commissioner pointed out in the newly funded cap post two thousand and thirteen the potato sector would have to be given very careful consideration.
we have started negotiating an association agreement and a strategic modernisation partnership.
we maintain our offer to base our relations with azerbaijan on a new legally binding basis. it will have to be inspired by common values and in particular human rights and fundamental freedoms.
of a thriving civil society for a thriving democracy and we will keep on reminding our partners in azerbaijan that the best way to achieve stability and prosperity in the country is through a functioning multiparty democracy open societies and open economies.
in a dramatic escalation since last july the government rounded up the country's most senior human rights and other public figures imprisoning them on politically motivated charges.
in addition the governments already tough restrictions on the activities of non governmental organisations have been further tightened.
now they are on that list.
many groups have been effectively forced to shut down after their bank accounts were frozen or their sources of funding blocked. on the other hand azerbaijan is making the most of new opportunities to boost its international profile.
according to human rights watch and according to freedom house the authorities have imprisoned at least forty political activists human rights defenders journalists and others on various trumped up charges including drug possession tax evasion and even treason in the last two years.
due to the crisis in ukraine the middle east iraq we have been looking at other places but it is good that we now turn our attention to this country where the situation for human rights defenders has got worse and worse.
i also note the most recent news that the un subcommittee on the prevention of torture has decided to suspend its visit to azerbaijan due to obstructions it encountered in carrying out its mandate under the protocol against torture of which azerbaijan is a signatory.
in our own resolution we call for all bogus charges against the human rights activists to be dropped and urge the azerbaijani authorities to end the practice of selected criminal prosecution and imprisonment of critics of the government.
in relation to our own eu institutions we call on the council and commission and our high representative to ask for the immediate release of all azerbaijani human rights defenders and to apply the more for more' principle with a specific focus on their situation.
i strongly reject any move to introduce the use of the death penalty.
the draft also includes a provision that could lead to the imprisonment for up to three years of anyone including heterosexual people who fail to report within twenty four hours the identities of everyone they know who is lesbian gay bisexual or transgender or who supports human rights for people who are.
any teacher who does not report a lesbian or gay pupil to the authorities within twenty four hours would face the same penalties;
this bill's provisions are draconian and among them let me inform the house are any person alleged to be homosexual would be at risk of life imprisonment or in some circumstances the death penalty;
hence further undermining public health efforts to counter the spread of hiv. it is vital that this afternoon in this house we put aside our prejudices and we defend those who have no one left to defend them.
therefore i warmly welcome the statement by the commissioner on development and humanitarian aid commissioner de gucht statements from the british french and swedish governments as well as president obama and the chair and vice chair of the us house of representatives' committee on foreign affairs. i urge the house to give this the high importance which it deserves and to speak out for those in uganda who currently are not being heard.
any landlord or landlady who happens to give housing to a suspected' homosexual would risk seven years of imprisonment. similarly the bill threatens to punish or ruin the reputation of anyone who works with a gay or lesbian population such as medical doctors working on aids and hiv civil society leaders active in the fields of sexual and reproductive health
breaches of international obligations the cotonou agreement and breaches of human rights as we have always shown have everything to do with us.
the minister while mentioning traditional values and cultural traditions that take time to change and alleging evidence of orchestrated campaigns to take advantage of poor people and recruit them into homosexuality took note of the eu positions and committed himself to reporting them personally to the cabinet and to parliament in order to enable them to take an informed decision. the commission hopes that
however he expressed his confidence to the president that under his guidance such retrogressive legislation will not be allowed.
the bill if adopted raises serious human rights issues which are of great importance to the commission.
commissioner de gucht personally raised these concerns in a letter to president museveni last november.
thereby it has the legal obligation to respect them without distinction or discrimination. domestic legislation must be consistent with international human rights obligations. the bill would also go against the eu supported un declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity of eighteen december two thousand and eight regarding the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
the presidency and the heads of mission in uganda also raised this issue with the ugandan government on several occasions during meetings with the prime minister and the minister of justice in article eight meetings and with the uganda human rights commission.
in the vein and in the spirit of the ongoing eu uganda partnership these dmarches together with those of others will lead to a review of the proposed legislation to make it compatible with international principles of non discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
this would not only apply to these alleged criminals but also to those who failed to report these so called crimes or who support human rights and other work in uganda.
we must of course be sensitive about forcing our more liberal and tolerant values on others because it can sometimes be counterproductive.
but we should not be afraid to speak out against this outrageous bill because it is clearly a draconian and hugely disproportionate piece of legislation.
uganda has made many great strides in the past two decades and in some ways can be seen as a model for africa's development.
why should they seek to place their country alongside brutal iran which regularly executes homosexuals in public? let us hope that through our mutual outrage in this house and in many other parliaments throughout the world at this piece of brutal legislation we can convince the ugandan president to veto it.
ensuring fairness for all member states and allowing those who choose to do so to stay outside single systems can and does make a difference both practically and emotionally to my constituents.
big political projects which fail to take into account the realities on the ground are part of the reason why we have had a wider sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone.
uniquely in the european parliament the ecr group has more members from countries outside the eurozone than from countries within it.
the many safeguards and democratic accountability mechanisms that we are all used to in our national context have been assured in this new pan european supervisory structure although the ecb as an independent supervisor should be aware that independent does not mean unaccountable. parliament's negotiating team has insisted on an interinstitutional agreement which allows parliament greater scrutiny over the ecb's decisions on banking supervision.
monetary policy should always be free from political influence and i am happy to say that this has been achieved with separate staffing arrangements and separate reporting lines as well as specific supervisory board decisions to be agreed within a structure that will then be proposed to the governing council for endorsement.
i fully recognise that it was hard for some parliamentarians to support a dual voting structure within the european banking authority but safeguarding the single market for those who have chosen to stay outside the eurozone is yet another key to economic recovery and future stability.
i can only ask that my colleagues working on the other legs of the banking union are also open minded in considering the views of those who remain outside the ecb single supervisory regime.
this package which we will vote on today establishes the single banking supervisor for the eurozone area whilst respecting the integrity of the single market.
a more integrated financial system for the euro area is becoming a reality within a broader single market.
mr president recent events have once again reminded us all how important it is that we share information in order to ensure the security of eu citizens. swift has been a valuable tool in achieving this.
luckily having met with us government officials particularly mr david cohen the assistant secretary for terrorist financing in the us treasury department recently in washington i was reassured by the multi layered control systems and safeguards and independent oversight which i hope will lead to the implementation of this new agreement being beyond reproach.
where i must express grave concern as others have done is in the council's substandard consultation with parliament and alleged commission delays.
it is essential that parliament and the elected representatives of this house are frequently and properly informed and parliamentary consent must not be a retrospective tool.
for the council to treat it as such undermines the values and democratic principles that lie at the heart of this chamber and this parliament.
i do hope that the council and indeed the presidency will take careful note of these remarks.
they are certainly european citizens and they have exactly the same rights as we all have.
you will hear that i have also taken some very positive steps towards alleviating the position of the roma population.
for the first time the council in its conclusions calls on member states to adopt an effective approach on roma integration through national strategies or a set of policy measures. the commission has managed to keep roma integration high on the political agenda including in the current economic and financial context.
the evictions are subject to national law.
finally let me welcome the european parliament's support for the preparation of the national roma integration strategies.
the eu framework expresses the idea that the social and economic aspects of integration are complementary to the existing eu legislation and policies in the areas of non discrimination fundamental rights and free movement of persons.
these people will work with local communities across europe building trust and helping roma families to enjoy their full economic and social rights.
in addition to these policy developments the commission has redoubled its efforts to make sure member states correctly transpose and implement the existing legislation protecting the rights of the roma people.
for this reason the commission decided to set out an eu framework for national roma integration strategies'.