kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
it is all the more urgent and in the long run will be essential for the viability and territorial integrity of that country.
we want to deploy that mission as quickly as possible and certainly more quickly than we had planned.
two things have become very clear firstly that the malian army's job is to defend the people and not to run the government;
as i have said the foreign minister of mali is on his way to brussels to meet with me bilaterally and then to join us at the foreign affairs council.
it is important that the rebels understand that the international community is united in supporting the malian people against those who wish to impose an undemocratic and violent regime on them.
we have also undertaken to support those african countries providing troops for the un african union mandated african led international support mission to mali.
so under no circumstances can we be indifferent to the situation.
we are also looking at ways in which we can support the president and his government in putting the country back on the proper democratic and constitutional path.
i am working with commissioner piebalgs and the member states to ensure that our financial support through the african peace facility can be provided in a timely manner given that this is now being deployed more quickly than originally planned.
since the end of last week the external action service and our commission colleagues have put together a package of measures that will provide immediate and longer term help to the malian government and people.
this will be very much a collective effort but the eu which has taken the lead in defining a strategy to resolve the problems of the sahel region has a critical role to play.
we also have to think about logistical support as the deployment of this african led force is key for fighting against terrorist groups and restoring territorial integrity to mali.
furthermore we have in place a good strategy which having got ourselves ready for action we are now able to engage and to move forward.
one key part of this international effort is to underline the need for a genuine african ownership of this whole initiative.
i intend to appoint an eu special representative for the sahel which will enable us to increase our capacity to deliver help to all the countries of the region to coordinate better to work closely with the neighbours and international organisations and to be even more active in the necessary coordination from the international community that is going to be even more relevant
i want to pay tribute to those member states particularly france as well as the countries of west africa who have come to mali's aid.
this will help the malian army restructure and enhance their capacity to defend their people against threats.
so we are going to adapt accordingly the details of our mission get the agreement from member states when we bring them together in the foreign affairs council and send without further delay in these next days the first preparatory and technical elements of that mission.
terrorist groups based in northern mali use this territory that they control for all kinds of traffic for drugs and arms smuggling. they have taken many hostages many of them originated from european member states.
though circumstances have changed there is still a real need for mali to have an efficient and professional military under civilian control.
secondly that the malian government has to respond to the needs of the people helping their development and respecting their diversity.
as i reiterated yesterday we need to accelerate our course of action.
a failure to do so would be a great political strategic and humanitarian mistake.
like other international organisations not just the un but the african union and ecowas as well as a number of member states led by france and other african countries we have responded to the appeal made by president traor of mali for help. coordination and involvement are absolutely necessary.
so we need to make sure that we protect promote and respect sovereignty unity and the integrity of the malian nation.
yesterday i chaired the meeting of the eu's crisis platform to pull the threads together and i spoke again to the foreign minister of france on the state on the state of play on the ground.
the consequences of this are already clear from the actions that have been perpetrated in northern mali by the radical groups.
in. what you saw was a member state responding very quickly very effectively and which is now being supported by other member states and we will see that solidarity coming into action.
we do not have a european defence force. what we have are the groupings of defence ministers foreign ministers and the intergovernmental work that they do.
we do not do that.
it may not be what all of you or some of you would want.
you need to be able to be sure that you are working with them.
us. that mission is specifically designed to help the malian army be able to cope with the situation it finds itself
no one has ever suggested that we should do anything other than that.
but please honourable members do not underestimate the challenges of what is happening in that part of the world and do not underestimate the amount of work that is going on to try and secure a political future for the people of that part of the world.
so it is not always that we are delayed it is that actually the recipients need to be ready to receive
the second thing you have to do is to build the political structure that is going to bring together the countries of that region to tackle some of the security challenges that they face.
it is a really important mission and it is never to be underestimated how important it
this is no exception to that.
now what we face is a sudden offensive an offensive that actually did take people by surprise.
up. we have managed to speed this one up rather dramatically because a lot of the planning was done.
if you talk to any military commander on the ground and i have spoken to many and if you talk to any military planning team and i have spoken to many the first thing that they will say to you is that it is not enough to think of military action important though that may be. what you always need is a political developmental strategic approach to what you can do.
there are people who are hungry there are children who are not educated and there are communities that do not see any representative of anything that we would vaguely call a government.
you have the development necessity of needing to build from every aspect of life something that people can actually have in order to create the circumstances where you can get some kind of security for that dimension.
with the support of all member states which we have built with the support of the african union and with the support of the united nations we have pulled together the creation of a strategy which looks at the different elements of what you need to do.
we can think about the last two or three years and reflect on areas that yes we might have thought could be volatile but we did not know when and how and in which way.
i am afraid the world is full of surprises.
the structures may take too long i am not disputing that but they are the structures that i have been given that we have been given in the service that either have been determined through regulations or determined through the intergovernmental methods and yes i would like to see some of them speeded
if they did suggest it they would be wrong because that is what we have done and that is what we have built and pulled together.
this is the european union in operation.
but if you are going to send a training mission to another country you also have to have it ready on the ground and that means working with the military forces and the government on the ground.
we have had meetings with the foreign ministers and with many officials from all of the countries of the sahel to get them to work together to develop that strategy too.
is. but it is part of a much bigger programme of how you bring political security to that part of the world.
we work on a strategy that has at its heart the desire to see that it is owned by the people and the governments of the region and is supported in this context with african ownership for the security strategy that needs to be set in place.
you may want to have in reserve a force that can go
this is not about turning up in a country and doing things to people.
in. there are elements of that training which we can start even now even though they are engaged directly in trying to secure part of the country.
it was responding to a situation that people did not predict and did not know about so it has actually been a very very rapid deployment.
at that point a member state was asked to give support. we have been in constant touch with france throughout that whole process as they took their decision on what they should do.
that is the structure that we work with.
first of all there are those who constantly condemn military intervention in all cases even in the case of peace enforcement and it seems to me extraordinary that we never hear their voices on occasions such as this.
collectively to intervene in these situations even if it is right on our doorstep.
what if france was not prepared to act?
i think we have to ask ourselves about this for the future.
secondly i want to say is that i was thinking we should expedite the european military training mission.
in my own country we have participated in peacekeeping and peace enforcement in many african countries and in the most recent past in chad.
this is something which needs to be put more firmly on the agenda and i think it is something that perhaps the foreign ministers should be discussing next week.
lastly if i may say so i really do regret that our humanitarian and development aid budgets are under such stress when we see the sort of situation in these countries.
it is not just the stick we need we need the carrot.
the atrocities reported now in northern mali of widespread sexual violence recruitment of child soldiers and public amputations have shocked us all not to mention the cultural desecration of timbuktu and other heritage sites.
such an outcome would be catastrophic not only for mali but for africa and the wider world as well.
it is not an easy course of action and nobody likes the sight of planes dropping bombs on any country but we must appreciate the exceptional circumstances of this operation.
algeria must be thanked for allowing overflight rights and the uk prime minister david cameron is to be congratulated for his military assistance to french president hollande and to french troops in their transportation by aircraft. this is another sign of european states working together to help an african country achieve the objectives of peace stability and freedom that we in europe too often take for granted.
calls for urgent international support.
last week we heard the president of the african union calling for help from nato. it is now mandatory that all eu member states and institutions rush in solidarity in all forms including boots on the ground with the initiative of france supporting the african union led regional forces in the lead.
at stake is not just the protection of the people of mali and the integrity of their country at stake is europe's own security our people our interests threatened by the terrorist group aqmi with its links to nigeria somalia and all sorts of criminal networks operating in west africa.
the solution cannot just be military.
the political implications of the tuareg rebellion and other conflicts in the region from western sahara to guinea bissau must be part of a comprehensive strategy for peace development and good governance in this region so close to europe.
mr president as the previous speaker said this is a very important topic but not many people realise how important it is.
mr president the european court of justice ruled in september that all jars of honey have to contain a label that says this product contains pollen'.
of course honey contains pollen even a five year old child could tell you that.
it is like putting a label on a bag of peanuts that says this bag may contain nuts'.
we have been dealing in this parliament for months with the consumer information regulation dealing with labels.
it is up to us as legislators here in this house.
so i would suggest to the judges that they drape a large banner above the door of their hq in luxembourg that says this court contains nuts'.
the health of bees is strongly affected by various factors while to date science has not yet determined the exact causes or the extent of bee loss.
let me express here my appreciation for the excellent work of the rapporteur mr tabajdi who has produced a balanced report on this complex area.
the commission has already completed several key actions such as the designation of an eu reference laboratory for bee health and an increase in the eu's contribution to the financing of the national apiculture programmes. i appreciate parliament's support for these initiatives.
parliament's report certainly gives us food for thought on those items and on many more additional points.
i can assure the honourable members that we will look into all your suggestions with close attention.
i am confident that our action will place us in a better position to decide on the best actions and strategies.
i would remind you however that the commission has limited resources and tools.
member states and stakeholders have an important role to play.
this could mean for instance investing further efforts in developing and putting on the market veterinary medicines.
similarly member states and stakeholder organisations could further promote good apiculture and agricultural practices facilitate the dialogue between crop producers and bee keepers and disseminate practical information to bee keepers.
then we would be told that this demand was unfair and even discriminatory and would put manufacturers and the roma out of business.
what is true for manufacturers and the roma is also true of bees and honey makers.
unreasonable demands that cannot be complied with will indeed drive firms out of business.
before everyone jumps to their own conclusion about the causes of the problem this report actually talks about the lack of reliable and comparative data on issues around honey bees and colony loss and that we need an effective system that gives us information that we can actually work from.
i think that is really important. the idea of pesticides being a problem needs to be looked at but the idea that farmers should use as little pesticide as possible or that they use too much should and is being regulated with new legislation on sustainable use of pesticides.
that needs to be acknowledged.
i do accept that in terms of habitats all insects need the appropriate area and to my colleague who has just mentioned this i have planted a number of hectares for bees on land that i have and it does work.
the events have also drawn unparalleled attention in the local and international media.
it is in this spirit that the eu supports the efforts of the federal government.
our regular high level dialogue on human rights has allowed for several open and frank discussions on core human rights issues including the fight against organised crime and reform of criminal justice. the international community should join forces with mexico
these appalling events and the collusion between local authorities and criminal gangs which they have brought to light have shocked mexican society and the international community alike. we have seen a wave of public demonstrations over the incidents which continue to this day.
to support it in facing this difficult and complex challenge the fight against organised crime and impunity.
mexico belonging to the same group of like minded partners as the eu has been a strong supporter of many eu initiatives and resolutions in geneva and in new york.
of course in order to fully exploit the potential of devolution we need to ensure staffing levels for the future.
we are simply not credible in saying that we want a more innovative european union and at the same time cutting eur four hundred and ninety one million from innovation and research programmes.
the european commission has understood in the very first half of the year that growth jobs safety and security have to be our priorities and they have put together a very meaningful budget.
we are now entering a decisive phase in the procedure to agree on an eu budget for. two thousand and eighteen we have spent the first half of the year agreeing on political priorities and we have done important work together in agreeing that growth jobs and the safety and the security of citizens have to be the political priorities of the budget of the union for next year. these are the right priorities because this is what the citizens of europe expect the union to deliver and these are exactly the areas where the union adds value.
there is no worse signal that the union can give to smes to citizens and to ngos than not being able to pay its bills.
this is why i am calling on all sides to come together in the upcoming weeks to put forward a meaningful budget for the union in two thousand and eighteen a budget based on investments supporting research innovation smes and important projects to put money in
the commissioner has outlined this with examples from the digital area in a very convincing manner.
we are not credible in saying that we want infrastructure in europe to be better energy digital highways railways and at the same time we cut eur one hundred and eleven million from the connecting europe facility and eur ninety nine million from large infrastructure projects.
now we need to deliver on the promises which we made together in the first half of the year.
with regard to subheading one a competitiveness for growth and jobs the council acknowledges the importance of this policy area which shows implementation rates.
the second priority for the council is to ensure a high level of security and grant adequate financing for migration and related external policies.
as regards heading five administration the council after a very attentive scrutiny set the budget of the relevant institutions at what we deem to be an appropriate level taking into account the specificities of institutions.
the council and the presidency will strive to reach an outcome on next year's budget that will take the union forward.
under heading two sustainable growth and natural resources the council proposes some adjustments mainly affecting the first pillar of the common agricultural policy.
further no reductions were applied to the completion lines of the two thousand and seven two thousand and thirteen programming period in order to maintain a successful path for phasing out the backlog of unpaid bills.
the council also supports the commission's proposal to mobilise the flexibility instrument to cover the priority needs under this heading.
under heading four global europe the draft budget largely based on the commission's proposal shows a reduction of appropriations compared to two thousand and seventeen due to last year's exceptional contribution of eur seven hundred and fifty million from the eu budget to the facility for refugees in turkey.
the moderation of expenditure growth in the two thousand and eighteen budget as compared to the two thousand and seventeen in certain areas that the council is suggesting have been put for your consideration after serious scrutiny by the council.
we also retained financing to core areas of horizon two thousand and twenty a research and innovation programme to the initiatives protecting union financial interests the energy projects to aid economic recovery the completion of former programmes and pilot projects and preparatory actions.
the council considers that the level of staff needs to be kept under continuous monitoring to ensure that the savings achieved are consolidated.
in some budget lines however under subheading one a the growth rate has been adjusted downwards mostly due to the expected realistic absorption capacity and reviewing the scope of administrative expenses. moving forward as for subheading one
the council is bringing forward a draft budget that both in commitments and payments proposes increases compared to the two thousand and seventeen budget.
first on behalf of the council i wish to emphasise and be very clear about the facts.
the council also accepted the level of appropriations as proposed by the commission for new initiatives like wifi four eu the european solidarity corps as well as the european fund for strategic investments including an amount in the reserve for its extension.
sustaining growth and job creation remains one of the council's most important priorities.
there is still some improvement possible in order to fully achieve the target by all institutions.
at the same time and respecting the budget process as outlined in the treaty the council sees room for savings and re sizing of estimates in the initial budget proposed by the commission without endangering the effective implementation and execution of eu programmes.
now allow me to address the issues of headings two and five in a few words.
the guiding underlying principles of the prioritisation were first limiting budget growth of some programmes in order to increase flexibility through bigger margins under the mff ceiling and secondly seeking savings in the administrative expenditures whilst reflecting the progress of the programmes and their past execution rate.
the council carried out targeted savings and increased the standard flat rate abatement on salaries for most institutions and offices.
the council seeks to emphasise the expenditure on areas which have the highest european added value and stem from the political priorities of the union stimulating growth and jobs strengthening security and tackling migration.
the adjustments anticipate the upward revision of agricultural assigned revenues in the forthcoming autumn forecast. some additional savings were identified under the annual actions of the sustainable fisheries partnership agreements based on past underimplementation.
no reductions were applied to the core activities of humanitarian aid.
second the council attaches great relevance to the fiscal stance of the union and has therefore moved to increase the contingency margins for next year. we need the eu budget to provide flexibility as much as we need predictability. on this basis
with this in mind as regards heading three security and citizenship the council accepts the commission proposal and continues to provide resources for the programmes and agencies related to migration.
b cohesion policy the core instrument of the european union for creating growth and jobs the council maintains the level of commitment appropriations as proposed by the commission while targeted adjustments are being suggested in payments appropriations.
mr president i ask this house to bear in mind that if you agree with me that the figure agreed for this parliament of.
two thousand and eighteen i am also conscious that the european external action service faces significant rising costs in part due to increased staffing levels but also partly due to the cost of the strategic communications programme.
but in part two we have to exercise budgetary discipline and in so doing we will have to redistribute some of the funding.
mr president in april this year this house agreed to an increase in the parliament's annual budget of.
faced with these extra costs therefore it is my judgement that the council has cut some of the funding levels too far and i recommend to this house that we reinstate some of those levels.
three bearing in mind the level of inflation i thought that was a realistic proposition and i recommend it be taken as a benchmark for the other institutions.
first the european data protection supervisor has been tasked with expanding his activities and of course this would involve an abnormal expenditure on his part in.
so i am happy to report that the majority of the other institutions accept that point and i am happy to say that they have made similar proposals.