kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the statements made and the resolutions adopted by this house as well as the concrete actions taken by many members of the european parliament have been instrumental in developing europe's thinking and making our position heard.
the eu has played a key role in the various international initiatives designed to bring about a resolution of the conflict.
i am pleased to say that we have already agreed a provisional division of tasks for the first needs' assessments in libya with our libyan and international partners.
throughout these months the eu has stood by the libyan people and consistently demonstrated its support for their aspirations democracy justice and freedom to live their lives without fear. the eu has focused its efforts on three main areas first the political and diplomatic arena;
we are following closely the negotiations between the ntc and gaddafi loyalists in the few pockets of resistance.
the eu's response has been substantial rapid and effective.
the coming months will be critical.
finally madam president and honourable members i should like to thank the parliament for its strong support in the past months.
since then the eu has adopted a wide range of restrictive measures designed to ensure that money and arms do not reach the regime. now that gaddafi has fled tripoli and many of his followers have dispersed the focus today is on the progressive lifting of sanctions to allow the new authorities to meet urgent needs on the ground.
launching a process of democratic transition;
we should take this opportunity to pay tribute to them.
libya is entering a process of transition.
second immediate support for those affected by the crisis and third support for libya as it moves into the post conflict period. at the beginning of the crisis an extraordinary european council was called on eleven march as a result of which the eu was able to articulate clear messages to the regime the violence should stop immediately and gaddafi should go.
according to nato he still represents a threat to civilians.
we also identified together with the ntc areas where early support could be provided the strengthening of civil society and the media capacity building for the new authorities and security sector support.
in order to support them we have already de listed twenty eight entities subjected to eu autonomous sanctions.
the regime has collapsed and those around gaddafi have fled.
in the past months we have also witnessed the considerable suffering of the libyan people as a result of the actions of the regime.
we have been guided in this by a number of principles including libyan leadership and the need to ensure close coordination through the un with all international partners.
the high representative participated in the various meetings of the international contact group on libya and those of the so called cairo group of international and regional organisations which was established on her initiative.
we are already in close contact with the ntc's stabilisation team and with the un through the secretary general's special adviser on post conflict assistance.
the fact that most of those groups are armed and that those loyal to gaddafi who is still at large are still active complicates the process. moreover the administration of the country should be separated from state building.
the latter should not interfere with the former because if it does the discontent of the population could delay and complicate state building.
thank you very much for this debate and i look forward to the resolution that you will hopefully adopt tomorrow.
madam president one does not have to be sympathetic towards the despicable tyrant colonel gaddafi to be sceptical about the west's motives for support of the rebels in that country.
it follows gaddafi's plan to operate a rather ambitious golden dinar policy of selling oil only for gold and bypassing the dollar.
furthermore it has been admitted that british international development minister and former oil trader alan duncan arranged a deal between the national transitional council and vitol an oil company for which duncan formerly worked.
the national transitional council ntc has taken on the responsibility of rebuilding a liberal and free libya where democratic ideas must be respected by everybody.
therefore alde welcomes releasing frozen libyan assets and lifting the eu sanctions.
thus the future of trade relations between the eu and libya can be based upon fair and liberal principles.
the strategic economic sectors must be put to the service of the libyan people and oil and gas production have to be resumed in order to finance libyan nation building efforts.
the most pressing task for the new libyan authorities is ending the violence and establishing the elementary basis for the rule of law.
the stability and security of the country require the setting up of functioning state structures. from the experience of my own country estonia i can say that building democratic institutions can take some time.
on the one hand we need patience but in parallel we need to have a clear commitment from the ntc to rebuild a new libya based on the values of democracy rule of law and respect for human rights.
two thousand and twelve she claims that homosexuals pose a serious threat to uganda's children and has promised that the law will be passed as a christmas gift.
the eu needs strings of its own to protect lgbt people in third countries who are under threat of oppression.
i have spoken to this house about the brutal way in which homosexuals are treated in uganda. the law if passed will allow gays and lesbians to be sentenced to life in prison.
forty of all eu aid to the country is channelled through the general budget support which means that the money is paid directly to the ugandan government.
this is a terrible present for the ugandan people at a time when we should be celebrating peace and goodwill to all men and women.
i believe that this is a violation of human rights and the eu must respond immediately by suspending its aid to uganda.
the british prime minister david cameron has promised that eu aid will have more strings attached.
but behind every statistic is the tragedy of young people who cannot make a contribution to their society.
mr president i do not think there can be any argument in this house that unemployment particularly youth unemployment is probably the biggest challenge facing europe at this time.
if ukip entered any such pact it would destroy our credibility with the electorate.
now ukip should never accept any such deal for the following reasons the tories can never be trusted.
if the tories wanted to offer the british people a referendum on continued membership of the european union they could easily do so.
he writes that the tory party should offer some kind of electoral deal to the uk independence party.
mr president i rise to speak about the situation in gibraltar where the spanish government is causing huge delays for people going in and out of the territory and to congratulate the mayor of la linea and her council who have themselves protested against this needless disruption to the lives of gibraltarians and others wishing to enter or leave the territory.
i know that the partido popular has many domestic problems and no doubt wishes to turn attention away by reviving this great ghost of gibraltar but it has no right to do so and i call on the european union to intervene to bring sanity.
and we know exactly what we the politicians of europe should be doing to stop them.
so to mr deltour mr halet and mr perrin i say a clear warm and heartfelt thank you on behalf of this parliament and on behalf of taxpayers and citizens across europe.
today i am calling for an eu register of beneficial ownership to form the basis of a global register and for the commission to give serious consideration to the idea of a global register of financial assets.
this much must be cause for outrage and for real change in europe.
the code of conduct group has for far too long provided a closed forum for the countries of europe to stall needed new rules and legislation. let us work together to fundamentally reform the code of conduct group to ensure that it is both efficient transparent and accountable to the citizens of europe.
i want to thank commissioner moscovici for his excellent work on the proposal for a common eu list of noncooperative jurisdictions the so called blacklist of tax havens and it has to come with clear automatic and substantial sanctions not only for the countries and territories on the list but also for the banks tax advisers and companies who are engaged in unlawful practices in these territories.
together we have entered into groundbreaking new agreements with switzerland liechtenstein san marino and monaco.
two thousand and sixteen we know exactly where they are;
so why don't we?
europe is an economic superpower and only together can we bring tax havens to change their ways.
i therefore look to the commission to come forward with a clear legal framework for the protection of whistleblowers in europe.
in reverse order we need to protect whistleblowers we need to punish those who profit so immensely from illegal tax construction we need automatic and mandatory systems to share and disclose our own data and we need to expose the shadowy practices of the industry of tax avoidance.
for years on end european progress on curtailing harmful tax practices was slowed and sometimes even stopped by some member states in the code of conduct group.
it is quite frankly a disgrace not befitting a modern democracy that two of the three have now been sentenced by a court of law for exposing the crimes of others.
transparency and accountability are our most important tools in the fight against tax havens and tax evasion.
let me be crystal clear on this point if it was not for whistleblowers we would not be gathered here today and if it was not for the international consortium of investigative journalists the secrecy would have remained and the shadowy business practices would have continued.
we need to bring them to the table now.
we know exactly what they are doing;
together as a european union we are on the brink of doing away with banking secrecy in europe. no single european nation no matter how large could bring about this change on its own but together we can and must ensure tax justice for european citizens for developing countries and for small and medium sized enterprises
it is destroying jobs in europe when small and medium sized enterprises which create eight out of ten jobs in europe do not have the same conditions as the big multinational corporations.
this is one of the reasons why we have too little investment and we have a decline in investments.
third we need to have cooperation between member states.
second tax is a national competence.
we are not a european tax court.
but what makes this issue even more complex and specific is its crossborder dimension.
unilateral actions to fight it can create unwanted competitive distortions that are harmful for law abiding businesses.
therefore when addressing tax avoidance and evasion it is important that we act in compliance with global standards and achieve a high level of international cooperation.
but to build upon them.
people asked why do i pay an increasing amount of tax while the multinationals pay very little?
we really have to ask the commission and the member states to demonstrate in the forthcoming legislation the same level of ambition as parliament has demonstrated.
the issue was strongly misrepresented by the leave side claiming that what we were discussing was personal tax. i think it is really important that we explain what we are doing here and that what we are trying to address is what many europeans feel very angry about namely that in one state
madam president like it or not if a nation wishes to provide shared public services such as schools hospitals and security through its armed services and its police it needs to raise income.
the people who pay that taxation demand two things they demand fairness from those who pay the taxation but they also demand that the governments who spend that money be fiscally responsible.
clearly my nation has decided to vote to leave the european union on the basis of the second point.
it did not believe that the european union was fiscally responsible.
we want to have a trade arrangement with the european union because it is in our nation's interest and your nations' interest to have a thriving global economy that has taxation clearly at its heart. so we say when you look at this report do not tax yourself out of competition with the world.
you need to have a taxation system that is fair but competitive with the rest of the world.
look into this report because some of it is going to make europe less competitive and ultimately drive down your economies and we don't want that at all.
i think latvia is beginning to do that now and we should welcome that.
there are qualified women out there who are quite capable of doing a very good job on company boards.
this is an eminently reasonable measure that we are putting forward.
we tend to move in fits and starts but we are moving forward.
i urge you and the council to keep the discussions moving forward on this essential topic.
this house is testament to the fact that it is not true.
the disparity on company boards is undeniable and there is no justification.
the absence of women in leadership positions creates a vicious circle.
the lack of women as role models reinforces the belief that women simply cannot make it in the corporate world.
that way we can make full use of everyone's talent regardless of their gender.
the adoption of the directive on improving gender balance on company boards will be an important step on that road. the directive will help smash the glass ceiling that prevents qualified women from holding top jobs.
their talent should not be wasted in particular in light of the demographic changes we face in europe.
if we want to maintain europe's competitiveness and stay ahead of demographic changes we need more women at work especially qualified women.
it requires a comparative assessment of all candidates on the basis of objective criteria.
only a legally binding measure at eu level can effectively contribute to greater gender equality in the area of economic decision making.
this is very welcome and there are concrete results from these efforts.
in particular the italian presidency has worked intensively on this directive and i am convinced that on this solid basis it is possible to agree that subsidiarity concerns be fully addressed.
let me remind you that what the directive seeks is progress and fairness.
we do not want women to be privileged because they are women.
we will therefore intensify our efforts to speed up the process of the adoption of this directive.
this should ensure the support of a sufficient majority of member states.
since there are highly qualified women capable of being selected as candidates this approach is the right one to take.
the proposal is moving closer to achieving a qualified majority in the council.
this is why rather than imposing a particular result the proposed directive requires member states to ensure that qualification competence and professional performance play the key role during the process of selection to board positions. this approach is in line with the case law of the court of justice which has set rules and conditions for positive action for the under represented sex in employment.
it is well recognised in numerous studies that a range of talents experience and skills in the boardroom improves business performance and governance and drives economic growth.
the directive is smart and flexible it puts qualification and merit centre stage.
at the same time sixty of new university graduates in europe are female.
this is not only a minor problem of justice in the european union.
it was debated praised and condemned. we as women and also men in this parliament need to stand up for it now.
it is a frustrating scandal a scandal that we could change.
it does not provide for binding quotas.
there is a broad consensus in europe on the need to increase the number of women in decision making especially in businesses. i firmly believe that parliament the council and the commission already agree in principle on the most crucial thing namely that equality
views still differ between the member states regarding the best approach.
there is no reason in the twenty first century why businesses banks and the economy as a whole should be mainly run by men.
it. the member states are taking action but in different ways.
it is a generally political question and policymakers have divergent views on approaches and what tools we should use.
building on this work we will continue our search for a solution under the latvian presidency.
others are wary of interfering with company law and prefer self regulatory measures.
the goal we share can be reached by different roads.
we must also remember that the member states start from very different levels. one thing is becoming clear from the subsidiarity perspective any future measures at european level should recognise the fact that there is no one size fits all solution.
six this is a clear sign that concrete measures must be taken to remedy the situation.
i note that the european parliament already adopted its first reading position on the commission's proposal in late.
as the commission has also stressed european business needs the talents of europe's highly educated women and increasing diversity is also a way to improve the performance of companies.
it is no secret that the negotiations on the council side have been challenging.
the subject of the gender balance on company boards is a very important topic.
instead it sets quantitative objectives. the main obligations that the proposal contains concern the procedure for selecting board members which should be fair merit based and transparent.
two thousand and thirteen in that opinion your institution broadly endorsed the approach suggested by the commission.
as you know some member states have already introduced binding quotas.
this was the spirit of the approach taken by the italian presidency.
how do we ensure that our largest companies can benefit from the talents and dynamism of both women and men?
the diversity between member states needs to be respected in term of company law the degree of gender balance already achieved and the national measures already taken to improve
we should therefore not be surprised if more time is needed to agree.
the proposal itself is a compromise of sorts.
the commission's proposal for a directive in this area seeks to answer the question in its own way.
allow me therefore to thank the european parliament for keeping this issue on the agenda and for insisting on progress.
thank you for the discussion and for all the arguments put forward here today.
they are criticising the instrument we are going to use. we need to explain better that the quota is the necessary instrument and that the legislation itself including sanctions is the necessary instrument because all the other ways have already been tested and they simply did not work. these are the arguments and we have some time ahead of us during the latvian presidency
we also note that the new commission remains fully committed to its proposal for a directive for improving the gender balance on company boards.
gender balance in the company boardroom sends a positive signal all the way down to the company floor.
it also creates more role models that benefit society as a whole. this is a modern and fair way.
an equal society should be equal at all levels honestly.
the latvian presidency will certainly play its part in seeking to demand a discussion in the council on this important file.
thank you very much for this great discussion.
the unemployment rate is higher for women than for men;
and moreover while more education is an effective tool for increasing earnings it is not an effective tool in fighting the gender pay gap. sadly many people out there still argue that women themselves are the problem.
needless to say this is certainly complete nonsense.
it is a shame and for me unbelievable that we all including parents still accept that the opportunities for young boys are still better than those offered to young girls.
the high cost of complying with all of this red tape is not reflected in the prices our beef farmers are getting for their cattle.
it is madness that we apply more stringent red tape and regulation to our own eu producers than we apply to our competitors outside the eu.
our farmers are bound hand and foot by red tape and yet we import vast quantities of foodstuffs produced under welfare and hygiene conditions that would constitute a criminal offence in the eu.
top of the list is the individual electronic identification of sheep a rule which is not applied to many other member states and nor is it a requirement for imports of sheepmeat from third countries.
we have producers in this area running the two systems side by side before the deadline to try to recoup some of the gbp four hundred million pounds we have spent complying with your rules which of course is putting more eggs on the market.
deregulation in this area is highly necessary.
overhanging the entire british livestock sector like a lead balloon is the spectre of the eu opening bilateral trade talks with mercosur.
the impending ban on battery cages is producing huge distortions in our egg market as caged eggs from non compliant member states can undercut our more expensively produced colony eggs.
we must give our farmers a fair chance and in my experience that is all they want.
surely it is time our farming and market system was stronger and i hope the commission and the commissioner notice yet again that the political groups in this house are further calling for an adequate cap budget post.
we as a parliament must intervene when we feel the situation is urgent and to be quite frank commissioner our beef poultry and pig sectors immediately need positive intervention.
two thousand and thirteen the costs of inputs and overbearing regulations are making eu farms uncompetitive and the viability of our farm sector is deteriorating. our grassland system of quality and environmentally sustainable beef production is being undercut by third country imports.
the eu's lack of self sufficiency in grain is becoming a serious issue not just for the beef but also for the pig and poultry industries.
this is not an attempt to cry wolf but if we do not rectify the problems identified within the motion we will as a consequence face higher food prices and be more reliant on third country imports.
countries like china and the united states are all increasingly aware of the importance of food supply security and as a result are continuing to increase the support which they provide to agriculture.
in northern ireland the beef price is well below the cost of production.
as long as the cost of inputs keeps rising and extra regulatory requirements continue to increase then many farmers will exit the industry resulting in land abandonment lack of economic activity in rural areas and a reduction in food production across the eu.
it is high time we recognised the importance of food security and the value of the work carried out by farmers across europe. finally the current trade talks with the mercosur bloc are having a destabilising effect within the industry. coupled with difficult market conditionings and increasing costs the livestock sector has been burdened with the further uncertainty created by reopening of the talks.
at present the eu livestock sector is experiencing difficulties caused by a range of factors including rising production costs competition from imports from third countries and of course various issues which contribute to the rising cost of feed.
we are far too dependent on third countries for our feed and need to begin cultivating more ourselves.
however the situation at present is that we are forced to import a lot of our feed and i have said many times before that i strongly believe that the process of approving new types of gmo grain for import is taking far too long and feedstuff from soya urgently requires to be speeded up.