kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
they divide our societies into good and bad citizens us and them friends and enemies. this undermines a democratic and open political debate and radicalisation and extremism gain ground.
we all need to step up our efforts in preventing intolerance racism and xenophobia.
the experience of the two world wars taught us not to focus on differences but to create a common space in which to live study and work.
our societies have now been learning over several generations the value of inclusiveness and tolerance.
and of course we should not forget the important role of education and the need to teach our children democratic resilience media literacy tolerance critical thinking and conflict resolution skills.
i'd like to conclude by stressing that europeans need to remember their own history in order to learn from the past and not repeat our mistakes when shaping tomorrow's europe.
by playing our part in a joint effort of protecting the common value base we are protecting the foundations of our societies and of european integration peace security stability democracy and prosperity.
at the same time we are contributing to a more resilient and sustainable union.
as our presidency motto puts it sustainable europe sustainable future'.
this is the kind of union that we want to leave for future generations.
madam president what many forget and others choose to ignore is that beneath the soundbites and the strongman politics there are real people women and men families whose livelihoods and business and indeed very safety are at risk as well as the peace on which these livelihoods are built.
this european union this democracy has been clear from day one that it is determined to do all it can deal or no deal to avoid the need for a border and to protect the peace process.
we know that any additional ideas put forward by the uk will be strongly welcomed and examined by the european commission.
however this european parliament will not give its consent to any withdrawal agreement that does not contain the safeguards outlined in the backstop.
to date the backstop is the only solution on the table that avoids any physical infrastructure.
as the great mr john hume a former office holder both of this parliament and westminster once said when people are divided the only solution is agreement.
he talked about meeting women in ireland who cross the border every day for work.
they said to him we don't want it to start up again.
' i appeal to mr farage and indeed to mr johnson visit the border hear their stories they are heartfelt and they are real.
my irish colleagues clare bailey and vincent martin have first hand experience of this.
they proposed a confirmatory vote for those who live in northern ireland let the uk exit the backstop whenever it wants but first put a question to the people of northern ireland best of both worlds in a free trade area or the uk only?
madam president membership or not the british remain among us and we live together.
so in principle we should not worry but now it seems that prime minister johnson is trying to take control away from his parliament to take control away from the british.
the eu should remain calm principled united and reasonable. we cannot decide on behalf of the brits but we will give them time if they want to clear this mess up.
two thousand and twenty these preferences are given in addition to those provided for under the stabilisation and association agreement.
any potential suspension of preferences for bosnia and herzegovina cannot in any event be seen as a sanction but as an incentive to adopt our stabilisation and association agreement taking into account the new reality of eu enlargement. the commission looks forward to the start of trilogues so that the trade preferences to the western balkan region can be extended before the end of this year.
the commission looks forward to the start of informal trilogues with parliament and the council and hopes for a swift conclusion of this important legislative file.
one of the key challenges we face internally is the greater mainstreaming of human rights across the esdp and cfsp which was also mentioned during the debate.
the presidency continues the efforts of previous presidencies to promote the mainstreaming of human rights into the activities of the special representative as well as into esdp operations.
having said this i would like to highlight some issues and point out a very controversial amendment tabled before the plenary session.
the cuban damas de blanco and hu jia be given access to the european institutions. we regret the fact that none of them were allowed to participate in the twentieth anniversary ceremony of the sakharov prize.
i speak about the amendment tabled by our alde colleagues. as we all agree that our union is based on values including christian values how can anyone imagine that this parliament will finish its term condemning the pope benedict xvi for his declarations?
paragraph one says considers that the eu needs to move towards a coherent and consistent policy of upholding and promoting human rights around the world' and to do so more effectively'.
policy. through the use of dmarches and statements and through our various political dialogues and crisis management operations the eu is working for improved respect for human rights
two thousand and nine can be regarded as a key test year for the functioning of the human rights
worldwide. to achieve results we have to adopt a consistent
as well as at the third committee of the un general assembly.
our attempt to make the report more interesting readable and useful has been partly successful but there is clearly room for further improvement. we will continue to work on this. your report will certainly help us in our reflections on how to increase coherence generally across the eu's human rights policies. discussions are under way on this issue and i would like to assure you that whatever the outcome of these discussions we will make every effort to bring greater visibility to our work on human rights issues. this could be through more effective use of web sources or by better publicising the annual report.
in this respect as we condemn human rights violations around the world we must always bear in the mind the human rights violations that take place within the eu.
the pope should know that he is a very important influential religious leader and that his words carry weight and may directly and indirectly lead to thousands even millions of aids deaths.
i think it is only right that this house should criticise it.
over the last eight years we have lost our moral authority because of our support for the way in which the us has fought terrorism.
i think it is high time that the eu follows the example of the obama administration and comes clear on our role in the fight against terrorism.
i believe that we have coordinated well with the parliament's delegations so that meps across this house have asked hard questions of governments in our representations worldwide a process that i have been proud to take part in myself from columbia to turkey georgia to croatia.
indeed my own experiences in afghanistan the democratic republic of the congo the palestinian territories and angola have been some of the most special experiences for me during the last five years. i am deeply proud of the fact that we have engaged and represented this parliament i think excellently in relation to the human rights council in geneva. i think we have had real influence there. we have tried to move europe away from a block mentality to reach out to other regions of the world and of course we have worked closely with the special representatives and rapporteurs including the recent visit i helped host of the un special representative on business and human rights an issue which is a passionate one for me. i am delighted that we campaigned and were at the forefront of the campaign for the european communities to sign up for the first time to a human rights instrument the un convention on the rights of disabled people.
i am delighted commissioner that despite opposition initially from within the commission this parliament insisted that we maintain a separate initiative on democracy and human rights so that our funding for human rights is visible is prominent and continues even in countries with regimes that wish to resist human rights.
we are often commended for our work on human rights in this house but i commend the bravery and the courage of the human rights defenders whom we meet and talk to daily who put their lives on the line for values and standards that are universal in our world and are precious to us all.
as a proud nation of three million welsh people where rugby is the national sport the welsh team has deserved the world's recognition for their achievement in reaching the semi finals.
many of the welsh team use welsh as their first language and they all english or welsh speaking are an example of how our national sportsmen and women make a huge contribution to national unity and to promoting our culture in a global context. sport is a source of cultural pride to our nation and should be used as a tool to promote regional diversity in the eu and beyond.
to hear the welsh national anthem being sung in my mother tongue which is growing in its usage annually was a huge source of pride.
i hope that its ratification by the european parliament will encourage the rest to conclude the process soon.
i worked closely with our rapporteur in championing visa free travel and i was delighted when that was secured for serbia among others a year ago.
i think this is a really vital contribution to person to person contacts and to raising horizons and ultimately to guaranteeing security in its wider sense.
said that serbia needed to bridge the gap between its stated commitment to the arrests and the effectiveness of its operations on the ground.
we are not seeing results. serbia needs to adopt a more proactive approach to arresting the fugitives so i am afraid that there is a gap between rhetoric and reality and that gap absolutely must be bridged.
madam president serbia's progress towards eu membership is gathering pace and rightly so as evidenced by the excellent kacin report.
when i was in serbia last october i was impressed with the commitment and effort of serbia's dynamic western orientated democratic government.
i personally believe that an equitable full and final settlement based on partition and the land for peace' principles we see in the middle east would be the best way forward.
in my view the eu should properly evaluate this option during the forthcoming dialogue brokered by the high representative. to dismiss it out of hand would be dangerously short sighted and would only perpetuate kosovo's state of limbo in terms of international recognition at eu nato and un level.
the inclusion of entrepreneurs would be a precedent and a clear deviation from the general working time directive.
therefore administration time has no impact on driving time.
everything directly related to the service would be considered part of working time; for example paperwork maintenance and general administration.
it is window dressed to protect employees' rights and therefore has no place in a self employed framework.
it is also unenforceable without infringing people's liberties by carrying out checks in their homes.
in large firms people are employed to do this;
self employed doing their own administration would find under the directive's conditions little time left to do the driving itself.
i rarely agree with the commission but this would also be a welcome amendment.
there is no data relating accidents to the working time of professional drivers and no data distinguishing between employed and self employed drivers.
legislation must be based on sound reliable data and all the scaremongering about self employed drivers working eighty six hours per week and causing accidents is just that it is scaremongering and is not based on any reliable data. this legislation if it includes self employed will be virtually unenforceable.
will the office located in the small bedroom or the attic of the self employed driver's home be defined as his work station and who will police and enforce the legislation?
the core issue we are dealing with here in this report is whether to include or exclude self employed drivers from the working time directive.
yes there are issues relating to competition for self employed but this legislation will not deal with those matters.
according to the legislation working time includes when a self employed person is at their work station.
in fact in my own country we deal very effectively with this matter through the tax system.
are we to have an army of inspectors looking over the shoulders of self employed workers to see if they are performing general administrative duties or administration relating to the job under way?
this is defined in the legislation as the main place of business of the undertaking together with its various subsidiary places of business.
it is crucial to remember that all drivers employed or self employed come under the two thousand and six driving time regulations which regulate their driving time their break times and their rest periods. therefore road safety matters are dealt with adequately under that directive and if anybody believes that they are not then we need to look at the driving time directive.
therefore we have no data on a decision to include self employed drivers.
all drivers are limited to driving times and associated work monitored by the tachograph.
company drivers have their schedule provided but true independents spend time preparing their own schedules and bidding for new business. if included in these provisions those tasks will be part of their working week so they will have less time to drive load unload and cater for passengers as compared to the commercially employed drivers.
the bigger operator will take up the slack and we will have another example of the eu promoting big business at the expense of the smes who employ half the workforce.
you do not hear that very often from this part of the house.
it is not a road safety issue.
including the self employed drivers will penalise them especially those who do not use an agency.
we remain convinced that that needs to be the case and i very much hope therefore that the proposal to reject the commission's proposal will be agreed in the vote tomorrow just as it was in plenary last spring and in the employment committee this march.
the other institutions as mme bers has said have shown not one gram of loyal cooperation but instead have gone out of their way to subvert the very clear employment committee recommendation to the plenary the rejection of the commission's proposal.
it is quite possible under the existing regime for a self employed a false' self employed driver to drive between eighty six and ninety five hours per week;
we should not make road travel any more of a gamble than it already is.
my position as rapporteur has been consistent ever since two thousand and two when we first proposed the inclusion of self employed and independent drivers.
once again this morning the rapporteur has shown confusion between the notions of driving time and working time.
if the commissioner doubts that figure he can come to see me any time he likes; i have the figures from the people working in the sector.
perhaps not every week but one week is enough of a danger in itself.
we very much regret the confusion the rapporteur appears to have encountered in discharging her mandate. rather than reflecting and promoting the clear majority views of members of the european parliament's employment committee she has actively worked to promote the view of the commission and council.
madam president a tired driver is a dangerous driver irrespective of employment status;
madam president it is vital that self employed workers remain free of the clutches of the working time directive in this way. this area of work is already heavily regulated via the driving time regulations and to listen to people saying that people are driven into self employed work is utterly ludicrous; it is a choice that people make.
the only thing bogus in all these discussions is the scaremongering claims of people saying that there are road safety dangers associated here.
we talk here endlessly about promoting entrepreneurs;
we talk about allowing them to flourish in the european union.
we are here actively encouraging small businesses and to discourage them simply cannot be the way forward.
it puts smes at risk from unfair competition and it puts increased pressure on decent employers to push their employees into self employment.
thirty per cent of drivers' working time is taken up loading and unloading and helping passengers.
ms harkin if you are still here what they do in their attic is their own business.
madam president in a time of economic challenge this parliament has made much of its credentials in encouraging entrepreneurship and competitiveness but at the same time we are setting about restricting the right to work of self employed lorry drivers.
i have to say that i reject as utterly bogus the claims in this house this morning that this is about health and safety.
we are all concerned about health and safety and do not want to see any more accidents on our roads.
it is right on the edge of europe.
the road transport industry is hugely important to the economy and the inclusion of self employed lorry drivers will only have a negative impact on competitiveness.
it is an industry that is highly regulated through tachograph rules and the financial implications of further red tape would be devastating.
it would also be hugely damaging to those hoping to set up as independent drivers.
i was here during the debate i listened to the debate and then i was waiting for mr czarnecki to finish.
it is the prerogative of the president to decide how many catch the eyes and how many blue cards he or she gives.
the tour is one of the sporting wonders of europe and the world and yorkshire provides a perfect location for the race. the steep hills and bracing conditions of the yorkshire countryside will make a beautiful backdrop for the tour and provide demanding challenges for the riders. i am sure that the tour will do many good things for the local economy as all the tour fans will come to yorkshire to watch the race and tv coverage of the tour will
the promise of the good friday agreement for a new society in which all citizens are respected and where justice and equality are the guiding principles has to be advanced.
the loyalist paramilitary group the ulster volunteer force and the british national party have been actively involved with police officers being injured and attacks on the catholic district of the short strand.
without doubt the overwhelming majority of people want the irish peace process supported and progressed.
mr president i want to serve notice on the irish government as they take up the presidency of the european council that they face a mass revolt at home against the property tax.
they are giving the revenue commissioners the power to pursue working people who have paid tax all their lives meanwhile the real tax avoiders the googles the facebooks and the starbucks are positively encouraged by the irish government to continue to avoid paying tax.
at the national rally there was strong support to call for a massive boycott of the registration process and to build on that boycott with massive street protests direct action and industrial action to put massive political pressure on the government and to defeat this bail out tax.
five hundred people gathered in dublin on saturday at a national meeting organised by the campaign against household and water taxes.
this appears to be the extent of his transgression.
individuals and organisations across europe and the world are calling on the spanish authorities not to take any action until mr firasat's lawyers have lodged his appeal with the spanish high court.
spain granted him asylum in two thousand and four because as an apostate his life was at risk.
it would be a betrayal of all western liberal and democratic values if mr firasat was sent to his death for criticising a belief system.
mr firasat produced a film entitled the innocent prophet' as part of his critique of islam. an altered version of the film was released last december without mr firasat's consent.
if mr firasat is deported he may face the death penalty for alleged blasphemy.
and eventually become technology entrepreneurs.
so i would ask people to come on that particular day.
mr president i rise on the issue of very serious flooding in my constituency last month involving costs of many millions of pounds and damage to the main railway line from london to the south west of england and indeed damage to the great western canal
my main concern is that in all of the work that we are doing to combat climate change in the european union we are looking at the impact and at how to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change outside the union.
we are not looking at what climate change is doing within the union which is very much in line with what some of the scientists particularly the potsdam institute have been telling us to expect.
we need to be adapting all of our policies competition policy and other policies to fight the impact of climate change that we are already seeing in the european union and i call on the commission to hold a special conference and get its act together as to what will be needed to do this.
yet what are they to make of the fact that the uk independence party's local mep godfrey bloom is a former president of the european alliance for freedom a body that includes the french front national belgium's vlaams belang and the austrian freedom party whose leader has recently been compared by a judge to a nazi? these parties are the natural recipients of racist votes.
i have called on the ukip leader nigel farage to expel godfrey bloom but instead he has hugged him close giving a nod and a wink to the racists.
website references to some of the links between ukip and these parties have strangely disappeared in recent weeks but i have kept copies.
nigel farage denies that ukip has racist associations but the characters of parties just like people are formed by those with whom they choose to associate.
in conclusion i welcome the report's recommendation that the progress microfinance facility should be continued.
however as you know the investment period under this instrument draws to a close in april.
i am very pleased to announce that the recently launched guarantee scheme with about eur ninety million for microfinance and social entrepreneurship has made a very promising start.
in addition to guarantees and funded instruments easi financial instruments will offer funding for capacity building.
it will continue and expand activity in this area and deliver on the improvements highlighted by honourable members in their findings on the progress programme thus bringing even better results in the fight against social and financial exclusion and opening up routes to good employment.
our ambition as highlighted several times by president juncker is to create quality jobs and get europe growing again. microfinance is an important tool to promote entrepreneurship and help europe get back on the path to growth and ultimately to reduce social and financial exclusion.
to promote the potential of microfinance for enabling entrepreneurship on nineteen october this year my colleague commissioner thyssen opened the first european microfinance day in brussels together with the luxembourg presidency and representatives of the european investment bank the european parliament and the european economic and social committee.
moreover the financial instruments under the successor eu programme for employment and social innovation could also play an important role in addressing some of the challenges posed by the intensifying refugee influx.
your report precisely points to the fact that while progress microfinance can be considered successful as a whole there is room for improvement. indeed these improvements such as greater outreach to target vulnerable groups and improved social impact reporting