kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
as the report recognises water policy is well developed and comprises very good legislation such as the water framework directive that can protect our water resources if adequately implemented. indeed implementation will be an important focus of the blueprint as we will try to put in place additional tools to make improvements on the ground.
finally with regard to global aspects the blueprint will focus on ways of delivering on our rio twenty commitments in particular in relation to the water related millennium development goals and to a human right to drinking water and sanitation.
we know that treating sewage and waste is expensive so perhaps it is not surprising that poorer countries have had trouble meeting the original targets.
i did not realise that luxembourg was an impoverished country that could not afford to deal with these problems but apparently so.
ensuring that we deal with our own human waste and stop polluting our rivers must be a top priority for the environment but as so often we come back to the problem that we must not simply pass laws in this parliament;
building on the urban waste water treatment directive some good progress has been made over the years. lots of rivers are cleaner across europe.
corruption and tax evasion are crucial in gaining my support.
we now need to combine our forces in the run up to next year's un summit to make sure that the european year of development lives up to its name.
it is simply awful that companies are withholding a hundred billion from the poorest countries through tax dodging each year money which they so desperately need to develop education health care and infrastructure.
mr president i voted in favour of the stier report on the eu and the global development framework after two thousand and fifteen first and foremost because it stands up for the poorest and the most vulnerable in our society. the report's increased focus on sexual and reproductive health tackling inequality and bringing an end to
zero seven meaning that those with a job are not necessarily guaranteed to meet their basic needs.
mr president i applaud the fact that the final text of this two thousand and twenty strategy includes important references to the creation of quality jobs policies focused on growth instead of austerity the fight against precarious employment and the inclusion of national parliaments and social partners in decision making and stronger language on the eradication of child poverty.
in my region of the west midlands employment rates have improved but they are still extremely high.
we are asking the council and the commission to embed europe two thousand and twenty targets in a new social and economic governance architecture which sits on an equal footing with the economic goals and is linked to an ambitious social agenda.
we have tried to introduce such issues into the resolution but unfortunately they have not been incorporated meaningfully enough and for these reasons we abstain in this vote.
we have been calling on the council and the commission to end the policy of austerity and to stop putting pressure on salaries and labour. the commission should instead launch new policies which would create jobs and promote training research and innovation education reducing poverty and the fight against climate change.
just as we saw a huge economic and commercial shift from the mediterranean to the atlantic some four hundred years ago now we have seen a similar shift to the pacific.
the only thing we can do is step back and allow the people who actually create jobs to get on with it.
we still assume that the world is centred in europe and increasingly it is not.
this is the only continent on the planet that is not experiencing any economic growth.
due to climate change the world will have to face the consequences of struggles over scarce resources conflict violence and hunger.
there are two parts in particular which i think run counter to what the ethos of the report itself was for namely those which touch upon a minimum wage and those which touch upon a financial transaction tax.
these are things which we do not have here in our own continent;
we have been careful and cautious as we have discussed them recognising sovereignty and member states rights and yet for reasons that remain unclear we have felt the need in almost a neo colonialist approach to include these particular provisions within this important piece of work.
two thousand and eighteen the agreement was reached at the conciliation committee meeting on seventeen and eighteen november.
we demand in this report that both serbia and the kosovo authorities really clamp down on traffickers who feed into these illusions so that in the future we will not have these many asylum seekers in member states.
this is something that again raised the context of the situation in kosovo.
this blocks progress and i am glad to hear from commissioner hahn that the saa will be put to the council later in the spring;
there are still things that have to be implemented.
otherwise the trust of citizens will not improve.
it is about certain individuals of kla who might have committed crimes.
i also hope that the kosovo assembly will soon pass the law on the special court.
these are harming the credibility of the european union;
we need swift investigations.
let me say one thing this is not about kla in general;
of course the economic and social situation has to improve especially for young people and the fight against corruption and organised crime has to be stepped up by the new government including in highranking parts of their own parties and organisations;
i hope there will be an agreement and that soon kosovo will be on its way.
so i hope this will come through very soon.
last july we completed the negotiations of the stabilisation and association agreement and initialled the text with kosovo.
if the saa is to come into force in early two thousand and sixteen which is what we continue to aim for it will be essential that the dossier is processed efficiently. of course we stand ready to provide support throughout the process.
once in force i am sure there will be very few practical differences between it and other saas.
emphasis remains on the rule of law reform of public administration and strengthening socio economic development.
this should be completed later this month.
once parliament has given its consent the council will be able to proceed with the conclusions of the saa.
for the first time there will be a contractual relationship between the european union and kosovo. this relationship provides for rights and benefits but it also creates duties and obligations. i am sure both sides will need time to get used
as you know the kosovo saa is eu only not mixed. however i should like to emphasise that it is both comprehensive and robust and that it covers all key areas covered by the other saas in the region.
therefore the normalisation of relations should be one of the key tasks for kosovo.
the council also welcomed the end of the protracted political stalemate and the formation of the new institutions. it called upon the new authorities to engage swiftly on the reform agenda and on the high level dialogue with belgrade.
kosovo must maintain an active and constructive engagement in this process.
kosovo should also as a matter of priority implement the political commitment to establish the special court to hear cases arising out of the investigation led by the special investigative task force by adopting all the necessary
this means implementation in good faith of all agreements reached so far so that kosovo and serbia can continue on their respective european paths.
in this regard the need for structural economic reforms addressing the high level of unemployment is becoming increasingly urgent.
this is an essential principle of the proposed stabilisation and association agreement that will underpin the development of relations and cooperation between the eu and kosovo.
particular attention should be paid to improving the rule of law including judicial independence and to intensifying the fight against organised crime and corruption.
this is a step towards full implementation of the brussels agreement which we expect to be achieved as soon as possible.
the increased focus by the commission on the national economic reform programmes also applies to kosovo.
important reforms such as electoral reform and public administration reform remain a priority. the protection of minorities must be addressed.
we also welcome the agreement between prime minister mustafa and prime minister vui to work together to tackle regional concerns among them the acute problem of illegal migration from kosovo which is also reflected in your resolution. the council will continue to monitor closely kosovo's continued engagement towards visible and sustainable progress in the normalisation of relations with serbia.
we called on kosovo to focus on implementation of the comprehensive reforms necessary to enable it to meet its obligations under the proposed stabilisation and association agreement.
there are huge issues with regard to healthcare education housing poverty unemployment and opportunity. the roma are increasingly taking their chance and heading west across the european union.
from my perspective this long history of discrimination is not acceptable.
more efforts need to be made to strengthen the rule of law and the judiciary to combat corruption and organised crime to reduce unemployment enact structural economic reforms and promote sustainable development.
it is clear what will be the consequences of failure in economic and social policies.
kosovo needs urgently to address the economic development and extremely high unemployment. the recent growth of asylum seekers is just one among many visible consequences.
on the other hand it is crucial that the new government prioritises the issues of the fight against corruption and organised crime. also we still await the results of the investigation concerning the allegation of corruption in eulex.
not respecting the new recovery plan will have serious consequences and will lead to a collapse of the stock.
i cannot emphasise enough the crucial importance for all contracting parties not least our own fishers to respect the newly agreed measures.
on the point that was raised by mrs fraga estvez i cannot agree more that for the recovery plan to succeed we need to bring about a reduction of capacity in particular of the purse seine fleet which is the one which causes most pressures on the bluefin tuna stock.
as i stated at the start the measures agreed in marrakesh need to be transposed as soon as possible in order to apply from the start of this fishing season. this year will clearly be a test of our ability to demonstrate our commitment to the sustainability of this endemic stock.
i hope that we will be able to deliver on this plan.
any delay in the adoption of this regulation should therefore be avoided especially if we want to ensure the credibility of the community at international level and to promote the process of the recovery of this stock.
the fishing seasons for all years are reduced in particular for purse seiners which account for the bulk of this fishery.
overcapacity has been identified for some time as a key driver of overfishing.
finally i wish to express my appreciation for the constructive approach and the cooperation adopted by the european parliament in dealing with this sensitive subject reflecting our shared interest and commitment to ensuring that the community fisheries policy and our international obligations are fully respected.
consequently decisive and effective action is immediately needed at the european community level.
on the atlantic pelagic trawlers no longer benefit from derogations while the derogations applicable to the artisanal coastal fishery have been removed except for one case.
i am convinced that the establishment of the annual fishing plan is a key tool in ensuring the full respect of the quota. the new recovery plan also improves the existing one and introduces new control measures to address those failures identified by the contracting parties
within the framework of the two thousand and six recovery plan for eastern bluefin tuna and on the basis of an evaluation of its implementation during the two thousand and six two thousand and seven and two thousand and eight fishing seasons and in the light of new scientific advice iccat decided to adopt a new recovery plan.
it should also be noted that at the initiative of the european community the new recovery plan introduced the obligation for annual fishing plans at iccat level.
furthermore iccat contracting parties identified certain failures in the implementation of the two thousand and six plan and so decided to adopt a new plan.
this is an effective instrument to avoid overfishing by identifying the vessels that are over twenty four metres which are fishing for bluefin tuna and setting their individual quotas.
furthermore the derogations to minimum size are adjusted.
the measures to freeze and reduce fishing and farming capacity are a brand new and decisive component of the new plan.
now is the time to address this issue in a real manner and the community like other iccat members has to share in the effort to do so.
the best means to achieve this is the speedy adoption by the council of the new recovery plan for bluefin tuna.
i find this surprising because there are also members in the epp group who come from a tradition of transparency and openness.
if you read i believe it is recital c in the epp resolution they do not seem to have a very high opinion of citizens' intelligence because it reads the legislative decision making process is very complex with very many preparatory confidential and secret documents being vital for the whole legislative process'.
colleagues we all know that the trust of the citizens is at an all time low.
secondly transparency must be the rule and secrecy the exception.
we should always tell the press freely and frankly anything that they could easily find out some other way'.
we have made a couple of very pragmatic and practical recommendations.
now it is a very random process which is left to high ranking civil servants to decide.
we have plenty of civil servants;
we can appoint somebody to oversee the process make recommendations and develop a culture of transparency.
that reads a bit like do not worry your pretty little heads over it citizens.
we want a regulation laying down criteria for the classification of documents and an independent oversight body to monitor that process.
for half a century the european integration process has been driven by diplomats and civil servants who did an excellent job incidentally.
for example every eu institution including this house could appoint a transparency officer today.
and here i quote yet again yes prime minister' where his assistant bernard says to sir humphrey appleby but surely the citizens of a democracy have a right to know' and sir humphrey replies no they have a right to be ignorant.
i would like to start my intervention with a little quote from one of my favourite television series called yes prime minister' where sir humphrey appleby is saying to the prime minister open government prime minister freedom of information.
now that may be fair for a comedy on television but it is surely not fair for the way that we do politics in the european union.
so this is the moment when we need to make eu institutions more transparent and give the citizens more trust.
it seems that the practice today is the other way round.
this is really urgent and it is unacceptable that the commission and the council keep blocking progress.
secondly having extensive experience with litigation in court i feel that we need lighter procedures to challenge negative decisions on requests for access to documents.
as a matter of fact they are the very nationalities that have driven the process of transparency in the european union.
for instance more than four out of five requests are granted at the first stage and there is a relatively low average number of confirmatory applications approximately two hundred per year.
in doing so the commission takes full account of the comprehensive case law of the court of justice of the european union which has developed over time and to which the rapporteur herself has made reference.
this illustrates that citizens are increasingly aware of their rights in this area.
the commission for instance handles more than six thousand access requests per year.
the commission remains clearly committed to implementing access to documents legislation as fully effectively and positively as ever.
in these institutions. this joint responsibility of the institutions also applies to one of the most significant instruments in the field of transparency the right of access to documents implemented by the so called access to documents' regulation.
at the moment secrecy seems to be the rule.
i also have some experience in court litigating for more transparency.
first of all let me say that i am actually not happy that mr cashman is leaving us after having done a great job for fifteen years.
they have the right to know how public money is allocated and spent.
let us open our doors. let us encourage citizens to participate more.
let us make them feel that they are part of a community where decisions are taken for them in a democratic way.
mr president can i congratulate sophie on her excellent work which i am pleased to say follows the revision that i have tried to undertake on behalf of parliament.
but i am hopeful that when we look at sophie's report which i think goes a bit further which if you allow me sophie is a bit more avant garde it will send a message to the council and the commission that parliament far from backing way and taking perhaps a less moderate position is increasing its demand for openness and transparency.
it is a great shame but not a surprise that parts of the epp have tried to undermine this report my revision that is and indeed the whole report because what we need is more transparency not less.
i say to those elements and ms sommer in particular what are you afraid of?
if you are afraid of democracy then please give up this job and find another because democracy is all about accountability.
let me finish on this we need to look at one of the problems that was not envisaged and that is the burden on ngos of continuous and systematic requests of documents which undermine them and their ability to do their work.
i agree with those people who said that we are just in the beginning of the process.
when talking about the low portability of digital content we are talking approximately about one hundred million european citizens a year.
on this day we are creating a small exception to those borders.
let's put these words where they belong not on the screens of european internet users but in the dustbin of history.
some feel that they have come to rely on geo blocking as the sole means for their business model.
it locks european audiences out from european works and it locks artists' international borders.
let us be clear geo blocking is a form of discrimination.
people will no longer be blocked from accessing the videos that they have already paid for just because they are visiting another country.
it is common sense and it is an important step forward but this has to be the first step of many in the fight against geo blocking;
let us work together to find solutions to that but the solution cannot be to accept virtual borders.
it is failing at making europe's amazing cultural diversity accessible to all europeans.
our own parliament research service has estimated that people are actually willing to pay almost a billion euros extra per year if geo blocking is abolished altogether.
we have to provide legal access to digital content for our citizens.
we know that twenty of european citizens spend at least ten days during the year in some other eu member state and many of those people travelling in some other eu member state would like to get access to their legally bought digital content;
so i am happy that we were able to reach consensus in this cross border portability proposal and i am absolutely sure that all the european citizens will also be happy. i would like to thank the european parliament
we have to address this and we will be addressing this through a variety of legislative initiatives the avms directives platforms copyright reform and electronic communications code in the setcom legislative proposals just to name a few.
watching the content you have paid for when on holiday or studying or working abroad is a no brainer and this is especially important when it comes to publicly funded content.
i think we should all be responsible to keep the big goals in mind.
after abolishing roaming costs supportability is another concrete step that internet users all over the union should enjoy.
but i think this message is more directed to the council that sometimes seeks to enjoy the fragmentation and the positions they have without looking at the common interest of a strong and well functioning digital single market for europe.
at the digital single market mid term i therefore urge you to be more ambitious and focus on the coherence between the various initiatives at our tables. of course we support you as members of the european parliament members of the liberal group to ensure the public interest is preserved in a hyper connected world.
and the risk of course is that the different pieces of this legislative puzzle won't fit and that the bigger picture gets lost.
now we need to go on to ngo blocking and ensure modernised and harmonised copyright fit for the twenty first century enabling access to content not punishing audiences.
it is essential that in our policies we look at the public interest and at our principles not at certain business models or niche interests.
for far too long we have tried to work towards deconstructing borders only today to find ourselves in a situation where our citizens can physically pass through a border but a big part of their life stops as soon as they do so because they cannot access the digital
therefore it was essential that this matter was dealt with and i congratulate you for the approach that you have taken and the well balanced inclusive solution that you have arrived at.
it was essential that this parliament delivers a strong message of support to the rapporteur's work.
i will certainly do that and my group also through the trilogue outcome which we will be voting on tomorrow.
i truly believe it is a digital single market success story.
it strikes the right balance between providing online content to consumers while they are temporarily outside of their own member state whilst ensuring that sufficiently robust residency verification safeguards are in place for rights holders.
i am happy to see that the verification methods strike the right balance between being effective but respecting data protection rules in order to avoid abuse.
service providers will do so by verifying a subscriber's country of residence through payment details an internet contract or an ip address check.
slowly but surely the digital single market is being addressed and consumers and rights holders can both be happy with the outcome of this report.
the portability regulation will ensure that when you go on holiday to another country you can access content that you have already had access to in your home country.
but those who find themselves permanently on the wrong side of the border for example linguistic minorities or language learners cannot benefit from that.
i think the overall effect of geo blocking on the film industry is negative.
on average a european film is only legally available in two to three countries outside the eu.
this means that there are a lot of paying customers who do not have the possibility to access this content legally. we need to take into account the possible revenues that could be created if there was a legal offer.
the creation of this legal fiction will ensure that all europeans who travel to another member state will have access to the content they have paid for in their own country. it abolishes borders for all kinds of online services that many people use be it for music e books or movies.