kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
i am particularly keen on strengthening the international links and making sure that the communications between member states are improved.
there should be no excuse for failure on the basis of lack of information. however there is also much that i cannot support;
mr president i welcome the report on strengthening the rights of vulnerable consumers as it will give those consumers an added degree of protection when purchasing goods and products across the eu.
the proposals put forward in the report are balanced and sensible particularly in relation to misleading advertising unfair contract terms and unfair business practices.
this is always a consideration for my political group and most particularly for my national delegation of british conservatives.
of course we should look at the implications of creating such eu criminal law and the political and economic costs but we know from so much experience that looking at reviewing and developing an approach so very often turns into an overweening desire to legislate regulate and impose.
i simply cannot support that. whilst i see that many of the individual issues in this report are well crafted and thoughtful it simply does not outweigh my belief that each member state is best placed to make its own decisions.
i felt that the report was an interesting one the approach was thoughtful and there were certain bits i could agree with.
i strongly believe that corruption organised crime terrorism radicalisation cyber crime challenges to border management and illicit trafficking all represent major threats to the internal security of the european union and to the lives of its citizens. therefore concrete action must be taken by the relevant bodies in order not only to fight against these threats but also to prevent them.
i support the application of the principle of mutual recognition in practice not so much to extend the scope of eu harmonised law but rather to promote cooperation between judiciaries which must be equally reliable and share the same level of quality and integrity.
i would like to make a comment following what i heard from my british colleagues in particular.
we need a strategy to protect the rights of vulnerable customers.
they look attractive on the surface but once these fraudulent companies get your credit card details you are wide open to fraud and exploitation.
i think we need to look very closely in relation to how we protect our vulnerable consumers because this report is good it is good start but we have a long way to go.
mr president i voted for this report on strengthening the rights of vulnerable consumers because i believe it is an important element of creating a single market in europe which works for the benefit of all citizens and for european business.
we are all vulnerable at some point in our lives although we may not always wish to acknowledge that particularly when we see ourselves in our prime. however the development of the digital economy really does exacerbate this situation.
we are all just one keystroke away from making a bad or a wrong decision as consumers and this can be far more difficult to rectify than such a decision made in a face to face transaction.
this is particularly the case as has been mentioned for young people but let us not forget the older consumers who whilst they may be trying to welcome online business into their lives find it creates specific challenges.
this own initiative report sets out a strategy for strengthening the rights of these people calling on the monitoring of behaviour and the development of specific protection proposals and i welcome it.
i backed the report's assertion that consumers' ability to make the best decision by themselves is optimised in a situation in which they have access to all adequate information which is both comprehensible and easily accessible.
mr president the report on the eu internal security strategy makes a number of sensible recommendations for improving security within the eu to ensure that our citizens are fully protected.
i welcome suggestions to strengthen the eu's internal security strategy in relation to combating the rising threats of terrorism and cross border crime and those relating to natural and man made disasters.
securing a good balance between research in support of policy and more basic research reinforcing social science in the work programmes promoting dissemination of results and encouraging more coordination between national research programmes.
kbbe and theme six environment.
the annual budget for fp seven will progressively increase during the last three years of the programme and both the fisheries and aquaculture sectors will certainly benefit from this increase. the commission will pursue its effort to support research in line with the report by giving more visibility to fisheries and aquaculture research in fp seven
they in turn will also benefit from improved cooperation and coordination of national research through the different european research area initiatives and within the direction of the common fisheries policy.
you have to be accountable to the people of europe not to me.
the best way to stand up for social rights is to make sure that people can with a job take care of their families and of their children.
the treaty of lisbon does not need to be repeated.
let us see how concretely we can work with member states to make sure that we remove the obstacles that deprive citizens of jobs growth and competitiveness.
and then you have an ideological position which says let us repeat a thousand times what is already in the text just to make the point that we stand for social rights.
the best way to include the social dimension is to make sure that people have a job.
i do not understand this position.
the commission has identified breaches and is going to report to the council in october on loophole restrictions which have been identified striving to maximise the economic effects.
too seldom are proportionality assessments carried out and i do suggest that the commission clarifies and provides guidance to member states on how to apply the proportionality test.
the economic needs tests have to be lifted and unjustified requirements that shut down operators from other member states have to be removed.
i welcome the great job that the commission has done and in particular the personal commitment of commissioner barnier welcome commissioner to the policy of non tolerance.
i do not see these as punitive measures.
likewise i think we have to have a country specific recommendation in the european semester in the peer review and also linking to the implementation and full enforcement of the rules of the services directive.
is it acceptable to impose higher prices on non residents for rescue packages or for travel?
with the service sector accounting for nearly seventy of eu gdp and total employment it is a pillar of our economy. progress has been made but much too slowly and there are still unjustified restrictions and barriers which hamper the movement of services. is it for instance normal that nationality requirements and regional authorisations are still in place in some parts of the eu?
the question still is how many jobs are we losing on a daily basis because the internal market for services is not fully functioning?
and growth in the whole european economy. at a time when we are desperate to create more jobs it is quite clear that growing service businesses take on more people more quickly than any other segment of the economy that has been clearly demonstrated by economic analysis for many years.
it is also clear that the purveyors of services themselves have an energising effect on economies. there are many areas where we need more expertise in computer systems in marketing in the internet in designing and putting together buildings and in developing and building them. these are all services where we need more active competition. it was very interesting when i led the committee's mission to greece the other week you will be interested in this madam president that we heard from the trade unions about the lack of competition in the greek economy and how that was holding back the economy.
we heard from the minister for competitiveness how he was setting about dealing with that and services were absolutely at the heart of his approach.
this is something that applies everywhere colleagues and something we need to get to grips with.
although we generally support the new greek government in breaking with the policies of its predecessors and we welcome its anti austerity programmes we think that there is now a very important opportunity for this new greek government to break with the past and revise their policies vis vis macedonia.
however we believe that the promise to continue the talks is not enough now.
if they feel unable to do that they should step down and someone else should do it.
we believe there is much to be built upon in macedonian politics but this building needs to be done right now.
i commend the efforts of our three colleagues in bringing the macedonian political leaders to the negotiating table.
the families i talked to had hidden for their lives from a thirty hour firefight and suffered the trauma of witnessing eighteen people dead.
i have repeatedly warned that europe's failure to start accession talks risks a return to conflict and this deadly attack is a tragic and urgent reminder that this warning is crying out to be heard. what happened in kumanovo and in the country may not be the direct responsibility of europe but if we expect the political parties of the country to exercise their responsibilities and we do expect that then they can reasonably expect europe to exercise ours.
fourthly the reforms in the very areas which have caused concern the judiciary the media electoral practices civil society have already been part of progress reports action plans and the high level accession dialogue so that any fresh commitment to address them must demonstrate why this time it will be different.
we all hoped that this was a one off event with no repercussions for inter ethnic relations but the families told me they believe the event to be linked to the breakdown of political stability. this lack of trust is in itself dangerous.
it is like reviving ghosts of the past and this has to be investigated including the allegations that it might have been instigated also even by the gruevski government or even with russian influence.
one last thing i would like to call on the european people's party to stop defending politicians of their own political family who simply have drifted away from the democratic path and from the rule of law.
it is also not an ethnic conflict which is important to say and i was very glad to see last sunday albanian and slavic macedonians demonstrating together peacefully in skopje even uniting their flags.
so this is an important signal that should take us further.
from the outset of the political crisis the european union has called for the restoration of normal political dialogue between the main government and opposition parties.
let me now turn to the long term political crisis from which those events cannot be a distraction.
we have already said that this is a concrete step towards political accountability and that we hope that this development will contribute to restoring faith in state institutions. in this context we have also followed the two sets of demonstrations that were held in skopje on sunday and monday.
the commission has also sent a team of senior legal experts to look into some of the systemic issues on which the commission had previously expressed concern.
in conclusion our collective approach to this crisis is a good example of how various eu institutions and services can work together using our various tools to deliver a clear european
it is important that people were able to freely express their views on both occasions. this was done in a peaceful manner. a calm and appropriate handling from all sides will remain important.
we call on the leaders of the country to take their responsibilities seriously and put the interests of the state above those of their parties. in parallel the european union has been calling on the relevant authorities to investigate all allegations of potential
in this difficult situation we should be clear and decisive in carrying our message of support.
in a country with such severe challenges it is important that the democratic institutions and mechanism work.
there are serious revelations coming from the wire tapping scandal which have to be addressed by the relevant authorities. at the same time politicians need to address the question of political accountability.
please let us keep in mind that the european integration processes are in this situation one of the few tools which could help to overcome this crisis.
it is important that all politicians show responsibility and openness.
i mean the politicians in macedonia but also the politicians in this very house.
this concerns especially the parliament which is the platform for a political dialogue and mechanism for political oversight.
in this situation we have to see reflection political responsibility and more political dialogue.
he described the violence and killings in the north and he referred to the long running political crisis in the country.
from the european union's point of view what is important is that it brings another entry country into its great empire.
the commissioner is confident that fyrom can soon be brought back on track in its candidate process in joining the european union. indeed as recently as eleven march this parliament voted in favour of the progress report on fyrom's entry into the eu.
like so many countries before it it does not matter how corrupt or unsuitable fyrom is.
i am sure he understates the seriousness of the nature of the problem but never mind because he tells us that the eu is sending legal experts to sort out the systematic problems there.
however today we are facing a very deep political crisis and we should be aware that it is not just a momentous situation; it is about very fundamental issues which are enshrined in the european idea.
this is a very serious problem. i was there on sunday at the civil rally which gathered in skopje.
as one of the speakers from the students' movement said it is not about power but about how the state will be functioning and this should not be repeated.
but my question is this is very much about regional cooperation about engagement and really practical things that might be changed because of bilateral and multilateral relations.
you allowed one blue card two blue cards;
a lot of them were not even questions.
i came in here like my colleague over there in good faith. i wanted to listen to the debate;
that i will get to the airport and i will be safe;
i invite you to have a look at for example the connectivity index.
so this says what this report is aiming at and i believe that if we vote for it this is yet another important step in the right direction.
well i am afraid that she cannot recall the deliberations because she did not have the time to join us for one single meeting otherwise she would know that the social aspects were present from the very beginning.
i am rather in favour of reports that will outline exactly the tools the instruments with which we will manage to do it.
a number of major airports in the union and their respective state's authorities has been approached and consulted in order to have such an arrangement in place.
this issue is therefore worth exploring further.
it has been estimated that many of the indirect co two emissions at airports originate from surface access transport.
developing important public transport systems is therefore key both for environmental reasons and for fairer competition between airport modes and we are pursuing this goal.
in recent years regional airports have begun to pursue commercial objectives and are competing with each other to attract air traffic.
as a prerequisite such travellers need to enrol and a programme determines the level of risk posed by the individual.
this needs a series of procedural and infrastructural modifications to the current configuration in place at union airports.
each year around eur five billion are wasted because we have not been making progress with the single european sky.
in this regard the commission will launch this year a feasibility study for the creation of a single european upper airspace to see how that could contribute concretely to the efficiency of our skies.
eu aviation today represents twenty six of the world market. it therefore deserves all our attention.
these measures are expected in the spring and should include the following first new guidelines on ownership and control rules to bring clarity and facilitate their application;
the commission is committed to strengthening social dialogue in aviation.
third a proposal to replace regulation no eight hundred and sixty eight two thousand and four on unfair practices with more effective instruments our objective being to present a credible instrument that will allow us to act effectively when eu air carriers are injured because of the discriminatory practices originating from third countries;
this will ensure a level playing field and equal treatment for all airlines flying in europe.
aviation is a global business and no country must be left behind.
a lot of progress has been made so far and i am confident that we will conclude this file under the maltese presidency.
on the environment issue following icao's landmark agreement we are now focused on getting the global scheme up and running.
this is closely linked to the importance of having fair competition.
safety is our top priority and easa is continuously examining the safety aspects of emerging business models. we will continue to closely monitor developments in the market and take action where necessary.
furthermore the eu court of justice is expected this year to provide interpretation of these matters in particular as regards the home base of aircrews.
i am pleased to note your support for our proposal on the revision of the aviation safety basic regulation and in particular that easa should be equipped with sufficient resources and staff.
related to the competitiveness of the eu aviation sector i take note of the emphasis you put on attracting foreign investment.
the sectoral social dialogue committee on civil aviation offers opportunities for the aviation social partners and the commission to better assess and address together the social challenges of aviation. moving on to safety let me be clear that the same safety standards apply to everyone regardless of their employment relationships.
we are evaluating the concept of whether this notion of principal place of business is still fit for purpose.
and last but not least guidelines for atm service continuity. on the third topic standards let me first say a few words on safety.
social dialogue is essential.
i look forward to a trialogue on this file which should have started this monday and i sincerely hope that a new date will be agreed without further delay.
we are serious about achieving carbon neutral growth for aviation and we will provide technical and financial assistance to make it happen globally.
on social issues let me now touch upon the social policy elements of your report.
in its proposal adopted earlier this month the commission is proposing to continue with the current geographic scope of the eu emissions trading systems for aviation covering flights between airports in the european economic area.
we are currently working on new measures aimed to promote or safeguard regional and overall connectivity in europe as announced in the aviation strategy.
this is part of our ongoing evaluation of the air service regulation and this work should be completed next year as foreseen in the aviation strategy.
second new guidelines on public service obligation;
we are talking about more than two million direct jobs and a direct contribution of eur one hundred and ten billion to the eu economy.
it is clear that we have our work cut out all actors both at national and european level so allow me to turn to the key points raised in your report. first regarding the internal market i fully support swift progress on the blocked aviation files.
on foreign investment the commission welcomes your continued support and interest in the eu level comprehensive aviation agreements. in line with our commitments we will keep you fully informed at all stages of the negotiations.
i fully agree with your call for completing the eu single market for aviation.
aviation is the most highly regulated form of transport. it is held to the most stringent legal safety standards with contracts of both pilots and crew having to be compliant with easa eu ops and flight time limitations.
fifty four unbelievably their text infers that professional pilots on european airlines are employed on illegal bogus contracts thereby putting passengers in danger.
to conclude this sends out the wrong signals for this committee.
to make matters worse we have been unable to amend the contribution by the employment committee.
why should they book flights?
i hope this message has got through commissioner namely that we have to be very careful when we allow other committees to have so much input on certain dossiers.
an opinion would have been quite sufficient.
therefore i am not prepared to appease this ill thought through element of the report which has been included and which we have been unable to change but i thank again for the hard work and i know he understands this position.
this was incorrect;
to suggest it is not safe for european citizens to fly on european carriers is quite disgraceful.
therefore these accusations are misleading provocative and have no foundation.
we have already made numerous references to good working conditions high skill jobs and training throughout the report not least because all of us here support good jobs and good contracts of employment.
none of their references are evidence based and in addition comments regarding business models such as home base' criteria also have no place in this report showing breathtaking ignorance as seventy of flights across europe come under general aviation.
this is to a certain extent the purpose of this report to try to find some practical alternatives for what is not working today and to make some proposals for the future.
competition is an opportunity for our airlines.
this is of course very welcome and we have already started working on some of it but at the same time we still are still awaiting some of the proposals. the aviation sector undoubtedly requires heavy investment in a fast evolving environment.
first of all develop a connectivity index based on added value of all modes of transport in order to rationalise investment and improve the overall resilience of the transport network in europe while improving connectivity. this index can help policymakers to take the appropriate decisions without undermining territorial cohesion.
competition with third countries digitalisation it is now more than a year ago that the commission came with its plan to address these and some other challenges.
i promised that i would make it clear to the commission that this completely means that we are putting an eu stamp on a part of the airspace and saying that in this airspace the eu should have priority over national flights.
if we want to be efficient then we need to set a clear vision for this sector for the investments we make today and in the future. we need to have a vision for the next even i would say fifty years.
that is why the commission is invited to consider the creation of an eu pre check system where passengers could voluntarily register in order to go through smooth security checks once at the airport.
this is only going to be detrimental to passengers.
i am afraid i cannot list all of them today but at least allow me to make a few points.
on the contrary this is only about recalling some obligations that we should have towards the european union.
we also have the challenges of environmental targets and of course the files that are still sitting have not been resolved single european sky slot regulation passenger rights.
congestion is going to be a difficulty.