kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
monotony. everything that can be done better or just as well at local regional and national level must be done at the lowest level
europe is really deeply rooted in our regions.
i thank you for your contribution today about the future of europe' discussion. the idea of the discussion is not to talk about the headlines of today's newspapers.
the european identity begins in our schools;
i say europe is built on diversity and not on
today i want to focus on the foundation of the state structure.
world. i want to add another aspect when we talk about regions. i want to talk about the regional egoism which we see from time to time in
providing. this was one of the battles which we fought here in the european
democracy. staying close to our citizens means staying close to our region and that is why we as parliamentarians must stick to our homes our constituency and forget about abstract ideas like we discussed on the transnational
thanks to the regions europe is grounded but thanks to europe regions can take off.
believer. these three elements belong
it is about participation and responsibility which we can learn in our regions. without a community without a region europe falls apart.
we talk a lot about identity when we talk about europe.
only with europe we can preserve our regional identities.
our identities are not based simply on national thinking and culture;
europe creates a net of regions that can develop. in fact some of the most economically advanced regions in europe are on the national borders.
possible. that's why i ask for a competence check to do again an initiative on checking the competences the distribution of competences between the
europe is rooted in every region.
without regions europe would be homeless.
important. let's keep the power of
brussels is the heart of europe.
prime minister i do not absolutely do not doubt your attachment to european values and i heard that in your speech but i have a big concern a very big concern because there's a huge gap between your very nice speech of today i do not agree with everything but it was a good speech it was a pro european speech and what belgium these days does on an everyday basis in the council.
that is what our group the socialists and democrats fight for on a daily basis.
prime minister that is what europe is all about.
brexit is the first brick out of the wall.
is going to prove to be just the first brick that is knocked out of the wall.
in fact many of you have decided that migrant quotas are a good idea so that individual member states cannot make their own decisions so is it any wonder that there are countries now voters everywhere waking up to the idea that you cannot be an independent democratic nation state and a member of this union. brexit i think
identify as europeans but you are missing something.
you do not want to talk about brexit.
you are losing votes.
i know the answer more europe.
because nobody ever dares tell the truth about belgium.
they do not identify with these institutions.
and maybe that is why you are happy to sign up to a higher european level.
it is an artificial creation. i know the brits did it maybe once again we can be blamed but the truth is there are two parts of belgium they speak different languages they dislike each other intensely there is no national tv station there is no national newspaper.
look at the stunning results in hungary the other week.
you've learned none of the lessons.
if you really think about whether this european project can survive or not it all comes down to what is a nation'?
that magnificent victory of viktor orbn and about seventy of voters in hungary voting for parties that want the nation state to be the key to everything.
the days of this project are over. we want to live in nation states not false artificial creations. thank you everybody.
what is the unit towards which we give our allegiance to which we pay our taxes to which we would in extremis be prepared to defend them? there are some like mr verhofstadt here who seem to think that this flag represents a european identity and he clearly identifies as a european many of you in this room
and i wonder whether it actually ever occurred to you mr juncker that when david cameron came here to negotiate with you had you given him just a few modest concessions had you given him the ability to control our borders a little bit more brexit would not have happened.
belgium is not a nation.
no what we do is we say to ourselves that our citizens want more europe.
mr president it is quite extraordinary that we can have in this room the head of brussels mr juncker the belgian prime minister the leaders of the big groups to discuss the future of the european project and there has barely been a mention of the biggest most dramatic event that has ever happened since the foundation of the european treaties sixty years ago namely brexit.
well if belgium wants it that is fine but i can assure you and you can scream and shout all you like just look at the election result.
we have a problem with unemployment among the youth of the mediterranean.
there is no oh well if you're on the payroll it's easy to say it works isn't it?
just look at the results in italy a few weeks ago.
oh and enjoy the european elections next year they're going to be great fun.
we have a problem with growing terrorism in our countries something that we have caused ourselves but we decide no the answer is or in the case of the belgian prime minister michel to have a european cia. we decided that on taxation on regulation no member state can make their own decisions it has all got to be decided here in brussels because we need more europe.
the peoples of europe do not identify with that flag.
in my view one of the greatest deterrents to wrongdoing fraud embezzlement whatever is the fear of being caught but if wrongdoers are safe in the knowledge that those who are in a position to whistle blow will most likely keep quiet then they are likely to continue with their actions. commissioner we need to explore action at.
at all times but especially in times of crisis citizens want to see equity in the tax system and transparency in the tax system and they want to know that their governments and at an eu level cooperatively that we are trying to ensure tax justice.
we know that but i am wondering has the commission nothing more to say on this issue?
in regard to the protection of the luxleaks whistle blowers which is the topic we are discussing this evening i waited to hear what the commissioner might say but i heard nothing except that where there is no appropriate eu law it is up to the member states.
the european ombudsman has asked us to change our culture admit that bad things happen and while she argues that whistle blowers are not enough to keep fraud corruption and mismanagement out of eu institutions they do have a role to play in that they sound the alarm.
as i said we need a cultural change because otherwise wrongdoing in all sectors at all levels whether it is big small or in between will go unchecked.
they must be free to criticise the state without fear of prosecution.
in other words the restriction must be no more than is necessary and appropriate and not excessive in the circumstances.
there is no harmonised system in place in the european union for the protection of whistle blowers but eu rules on whistle blowing exist in some specific areas as in eu competition law or in the new rules of the market abuse regulation addressing unlawful behaviour in the financial markets. these concern whistle blowing to public authorities.
i am not sure i fully understood the question.
it seemed to me that i was asked what we do about those who commit tax evasion and point the finger at other people as well.
mr president saudi arabian liberal blogger raf badawi was deemed medically incapable of enduring the remaining punishment of one zero lashes after receiving fifty and we needed no doctors' reports or doctors' assessments to confirm the barbaric nature of such corporal punishment which goes against un conventions that the saudi arabian authorities have themselves
these blatant violations of raf badawi's rights must be jointly condemned and i think it is high time to rethink the sense of our relationship to saudi arabia.
in light of the broader human rights violations in saudi arabia that impact all citizens but especially women and critics of the political system its membership of the un human rights council frankly and we can say it right here is a farce.
it is not a credible actor and ally in fighting islamic state when it has not only exported for decades the fundamentalist islamist views that this ideology is also based on but also applies the same brutal violence as an ordinary everyday punishment that we condemn so strongly when the so called islamic state terrorist group applies the same.
sadly also in this house it is difficult to speak out jointly on the violations of human rights in saudi arabia and i urge all members of the european people's party group to support the joint motion for a resolution that the other political groups have put forward.
signed up to.
we have been closely following developments related to his case as well as the overall human rights situation in the kingdom of saudi arabia.
this is certainly a positive development and it is to be hoped that further execution of the sentence will be definitely suspended.
when the european union announced on monday cooperation with saudi arabia on countering terrorism we have to remember that the saudis have called raif a terrorist.
if europe's cooperation with saudi arabia is to mean anything we have to use it to free raif.
we have seen how quickly that can change.
i count myself as a friend of saudi arabia i grew up in riyadh i have many happy memories of my time within the country. and it is precisely that friendship and our values that oblige us to be true to our values and to be vocal about the systematic deliberate and widespread human rights abuses going on within that country.
he is important because the saudi authorities chose to make him important they chose to make an example of him.
it is right that we should react to his plight. but there are thousands of others and this resolution is for all of them.
as mr howitt rightly said if our cooperation is to mean anything we must be true to our values.
however for many women this is not the case and this report addresses this.
this report is also important because it introduces the issue of elder abuse something which we in this house all condemn and something which needs to be given a higher political priority.
it is a miracle that we are living longer and healthier lives and we should be celebrating this.
therefore it is vital that we policy makers should be kept aware of the issue and the concerns of older people especially women in order to ensure that they are not marginalised.
in this regard it is necessary to continue fostering our efforts both at eu and national level towards the full use of existing instruments and future measures in the areas of pensions policy health and long term care policy employment policy migration and integration policy and infrastructure development.
it is not about shutting down debate but we need equality of opportunity for all sides and transparency of electoral spend.
this week websites targeting undecided voters with claims of providing unbiased facts have been found to be linked to the no' side in the referendum.
once exposed the website disappeared but it took with it a cachet of information on the identity of undecided voters voters to target in the run up to polling day.
clicking on the adverts identified you as an undecided voter vital information to have if you are an active player in the campaign.
ireland needs to get real on regulating social media platforms.
it was nothing but window dressing an attempt by facebook to be seen to be doing something. citizens have a right to know who is behind advertising campaigns and what data is being harvested from them.
and so my message to ceo steve easterbrook who hails originally from watford also in my constituency is that your big macs would taste so much better if we knew that the workers who prepared them were getting a fair deal.
mr president yesterday morning i was proud to stand alongside the mcstrikers on the picket line outside mcdonalds in cambridge.
better working conditions an end to zero hours contracts union recognition a gbp ten an hour minimum wage. across the uk across all of europe mcdonalds workers are hungry for justice.
but there are many suppliers not just in the united kingdom but in ireland and across europe who are terrified of this merger because the company plans to bring about a cut of ten in the price of popular products and you can imagine who will take the hit for that ten it will be the suppliers and the producers and farmers.
mr president i just want to highlight the merger that was announced between two retail giants sainsbury and asda in the united kingdom to create a mega retail company and there has been much reporting of this in the business papers saying it's a wonderful thing.
they will enjoy and it is been described as never before seen bargaining power and in my view the bargaining power they will have is appalling.
myanmar's neighbours must mediate talks for a resolution.
one hundred and twenty zero civilians have been displaced; the un has received reports of military abuses including killings rape abductions torture and forced labour;
we have seen the result of the escalation of myanmar's human rights violations in rakhine.
this is a military with unfettered power that targets ethnic minorities in violent campaigns.
the longest running on going civil war in the world is being fought in the same country and is being waged by the same military.
a peacekeeping mission should be appointed to kachin state.
mr president we're all aware of the violence perpetrated in myanmar in rakhine state. but i want to draw your attention to another conflict.
the similarities between kachin and rakhine are obvious.
this just shows how difficult and sensitive this enlargement process is.
farmers making a living in less favoured areas face additional hurdles in trying to make a fair return for fair work. the market does not respect nor take into account the additional and costly challenges facing farmers in areas at a natural disadvantage. in this regard we must be sure that lfas under pillar two are adequately financed within the overall cap budget
and that the principle of subsidiarity is upheld and that member states are given the utmost flexibility to utilise the criteria in a manner that works best for their farmers and that they have the freedom to fine tune it so as to best serve rural areas. i understand that member states have been facing delays in the preparation and submission of the maps of areas that would be eligible for less favoured area payments and judging from today's debate it would appear that some member states have refused to hand over these details. the process for delimiting and classifying these areas is proving problematic for some areas.
we need to look at all these aspects.
we had hoped that this debate would bring clarity but this is certainly not the case and like others minister i am embarrassed that you have come to this house with such flimsy information. as co legislators in the cap process i would have to say that this is simply not good enough.
it is my understanding that land currently designated as disadvantaged will be excluded.
farmers in northern ireland need to know the effect that this scheme and the new criteria will have.
mr president as many people have said in this debate lfa is important.
in northern ireland we also want to be reassured that we will have regional flexibility on the administrative unit to be used in the designation of the new boundaries in this land.
currently this is two thousand and fourteen with payments on a degressive basis until such time as the areas of natural constraint scheme is completed.
we cannot proceed without this information and i will not proceed without it.
we lose precisely six hundred and twenty two square km under the new criteria;
you as president to be defending.
now perhaps the others have discovered gold or something and are not willing to tell us this great news but this is a highly sensitive political issue as those who have links with the original designations know. on the other hand without clear information this parliament can make no decisions on lfas in relation to the reform of the common agricultural policy.
i would therefore urge the council not to tell parliament that we should ask the commission for the information rather i would ask the council to work as one and to encourage those less willing to provide the information to do so immediately. i have listened to the concerns of colleagues from other member states and clearly this issue seems to be widespread.
mr president we did not receive clarification from the council about the number of member states who have the information or perhaps i missed that point. i understand that twenty member states have the information and that twelve are willing to share it with us in camera.
i would like to hear some answers to questions.
we have to overcome the obstacles and a one size fits all approach will not suit on this occasion.
i believe that the current scheme has worked very well and i do not wish to see it in any way jeopardised.
in conclusion i am beginning to wonder who exactly is driving the cap and the reform.
it seems that the court has criticised the commission's every move even this week regarding the reform package.
in order to safeguard the effectiveness of the lfa scheme i wish to see a broad and flexible approach.
currently seventy of agricultural land in the region is designated as a less favoured area. the payments received by farmers who are covered by this scheme are vital to their livelihoods especially as many are only part time farmers.
forecasts suggest that under the current proposals a substantial amount of currently eligible land in the united kingdom as a whole will lose lfa status.
however in many other countries as other members have said they are keeping the impact of these changes a secret and are refusing to give the commission permission to release the information to the european parliament.
i would say to the council here today that this is a matter of principle and as co legislators parliament must have the same access to the same information as both the commission and the council.
i would ask colleagues to support this call for all information relating to cap reform to be shared with parliament on an equal basis with the commission and the council.
the countries concerned must come clean and reveal this information to us as soon as possible if the legislation is to make any progress through this parliament.
at least in the united kingdom we have had a clear idea of how the new criteria impact on uk farmers and on scottish farmers as the maps showing the changes have been published by both the uk and scottish governments on a regular basis and consulted upon.
i urge the commission therefore to consider three points.
but they are also areas which are most vulnerable and indeed these are the areas where common agricultural policy support is a vital lifeline for the livelihoods of the people living and working there.
mr president i want to express my concerns at the consequences of some of the commission's proposals to reclassify less favoured areas.
and finally that they show a degree of flexibility in the way that natural handicaps and biophysical criteria are measured in order to classify the area.
in the united kingdom these areas are some of the most beautiful and biodiversity rich parts of the country.
can the council enlighten us as to whether it is possible to secure payments under the current less favoured area maps pending the completion of the new maps?
supporting active farming in these areas delivers a wide range of benefits not least of which is the sustainable management of the landscape resulting in amenity enjoyment for hundreds of thousands of people.
it creates uncertainty and makes sound business planning something we want to encourage extremely difficult.
it is therefore completely unacceptable to compound this uncertainty by allowing member states to fail to fulfil their obligations in the policy of less favoured areas.
yes farmers in areas like mine see a glimmer of hope in the inclusion of the concept of field capacity days etc.
but they will be appalled at the attitude being shown here. if you want to retain any credibility at all maybe you are too far away from the farmers but i know because i hear it all the time please to use the vernacular get your finger out provide the information and let this institution do its job on behalf of its constituents however much you might resent its power to do so.
i may not believe that these institutions and structures here are the right ones.
let us not impose a western mindset upon other the countries though and go too far in looking at issues which go beyond human rights but to our own personal views;
i wonder whether when we in the european union seek to politicise trade as a matter of course we are guilty of doing exactly that.
we see actions by the north korean government with a level of nastiness and a lack of respect for humanity which is frankly terrifying. we see cases like that of raif badawi which is still going on today.
finally let me express my deep appreciation for the very constructive and enhanced cooperation with this house to ensure that we all speak with one voice in upholding the universality of human rights and supporting the democratic aspirations of our partners.
in increasing the overall coherence effectiveness and visibility of human rights in eu foreign policy cannot be highlighted enough.
during the last year we remained strongly committed to protecting children from violence exploitation abuse and neglect.
certainly we want to tackle and redress human rights violations in conflicts and crises.
we will continue to speak out on injustice and human rights violations all around the world.
we have also strengthened our capacity to act in a coherent and effective manner by adopting guidelines on freedom of opinion and expression online and offline and on freedom of religion and belief.
at the same time the implementation of the one hundred and thirty two human rights country strategies has resulted in more intense collaboration between the eu delegations and member states embassies on the ground and has led to more coherent human rights dialogues.
not least thanks to your valuable proposals we managed to make remarkable progress in defining a new ambitious long term policy document for promoting and protecting human rights worldwide in the next five years.
in the end our ability to achieve sustainable improvements on human rights worldwide will also depend on our own ability to live by and adhere to these standards.
the threat of terrorism poses an ever growing challenge to our free and open societies but we need to ensure that counter terrorism activities are guided by the same principles that formed the foundation of our democratic societies.
finding an appropriate response to the manifold issues arising from these dire circumstances is often not easy.
almost sixty million people are displaced worldwide. these millions of people fleeing their homes to find refuge from violence and economic hardship are an easy prey to violations of human rights.
to ensure that the human rights of migrants are duly respected we need to address all parts of the chain providing immediate measures to save lives and fight traffickers while at the same time working on long term strategies to tackle the root causes.
in. two thousand and twelve it includes multiple dedicated actions focusing on those areas that require renewed political commitment and additional efforts.
our main financial instrument in the area of human rights the european instrument for democracy and human rights has continued to support civil society organisations and human rights defenders worldwide.