kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
it is a very good thing that we are talking about the golan heights this evening but a debate about the golan heights must also refer to the grave security risk israel confronts in the north.
the eu in order to keep a balanced approach must also show commitment to israel's security.
colleagues correct me if i'm wrong but i would say that this debate does not serve any purpose as the situation on the ground is unchanged and the position of the european union is well known.
this regulation ensures this needed greater transparency while not imposing unneeded overregulation on platforms and traders.
online commerce is the future of our economy and we must not destroy our european players in a misguided attempt to attack the international ones.
some in this house saw this regulation as a political tool as a way to change competition policy through the back door.
she had the courage to seek a good and balanced agreement over fighting for one which would have had a negative effect on our economy and the digital single market.
this is why the alde group will support the trilogue outcome tomorrow at the votes and i encourage both platforms and traders to use this new transparency to its greatest extent.
it is only by adopting best practices and effective self regulation that this market can continue to be fair to all.
mr president thank you for this very important debate.
i think it's very important for us as we are the only institution that is directly representing the people of europe.
we are keen to protect their free right to vote in an election without being subject to cyber attacks disinformation vile deception or any other type of meddling in the free right of free elections.
we will see a lot of attacks on our free elections in europe we have seen it already and we will see more.
the platforms need to be very transparent and accountable and follow the law which goes on in normal society and also goes on in the online society;
madam president like some of the other speakers my group feels that this has been a real missed opportunity to fully modernise the written statement directive.
of course we can welcome measures such as the increased and better information contract at an earlier point the compensation for cancelled ondemand work but we do have problems about the definition of worker' and that the variants with the different member states means that we're undermining a certainty there.
we also have grave problems in accepting the right of member states to cover fewer workers in terms of the scope not least the exemptions as has just been referred to for example in the public services emergency services loopholes round household workers when at the same time we are also urging member states to invest in good public services as a key component of social europe
and i'm not sure how this also works for workers who work multiple jobs all on shorthours contracts.
so we think as others have said that council here could have followed the european parliament it could have followed the commission on putting in real strong sound substance to help build social europe but what council has given with one hand it has taken away with another.
madam president at a time when the two sides in libya were supposed to be sitting down to discuss a road map towards elections under a un mediated settlement we are instead witnessing general haftar's lna troops battling militarily for control of tripoli.
the british government has warned that any lna advance on tripoli would be very damaging for the political and diplomatic solutions on offer and risk a descent into more widespread violence and chaos.
prime minister al sarraj of the un supported government of national accord in tripoli has given further warnings that the advance on tripoli risks sparking a fresh migration crisis in the mediterranean if the situation worsens.
however the un mediated talks are the only peaceful options still on the table. the eu and eu member states must therefore do all they can to support these talks with one united voice.
to those who see in general haftar a potential strong man who could consolidate power and bring order to that chaotic country i would urge them to pay attention to the various reports in the public domain that question such simple assertions.
significant military and political opposition remains in his way and there is little evidence to suggest that he could easily hold the country together in the longer term.
we must encourage them to stay and develop these inventions close to their proximity in order for the local society to benefit from their achievement. the perfect illustration for this is the success story of croatian entrepreneur mate rimac.
thanks to recent european financial support this amazing successful young businessman managed to create electronic hybrid cars that not only gained world fame for its astonishing products but also boosted the croatian economy by the creation of hundreds of jobs.
madam president honourable members thank you very much for this discussion.
i would like to repeat that we fully rely on the independence and professionalism of the courts in the united kingdom.
so my question is do you share that concern and if you do how would you tackle it in terms of means to confront that risk and how would you minimise it?
just last week we saw discrimination against the peripheral countries in the mobility package.
now we want to discriminate people by having secondhand products.
we're giving people secondhand products to consume because we discriminate and let's own up to it.
do we want the same quality of product for everybody?
high working standards is one of the flagship achievements of the eu but in some cases it can also become a factor of discrimination that creates first class and second class workers which is unacceptable by the way.
mr president information techniques technology and influence operations have been used by russia against the west for quite a long time already including in elections.
this doesn't mean that our positions or our policies are determined elsewhere.
our positions are determined on the basis of the conviction of what we believe is in the best interest of peace and stability in the region which is also our european region and on respect for international principles and international laws and this doesn't change.
reaffirming clearly and in a united manner as you mentioned our position doesn't mean being hostile to interlocutors or partners that in the meantime might change their position.
it means being self confident about the fact that we've always believed and we continue to believe that first might makes right' is not a good principle on which to base foreign policy. the idea that you can change borders with the use of military force is a dangerous one in europe in the middle east and elsewhere. this is why
our position on the golan heights has been so clear because we believe that international rules international law and international standards must be upheld and that this is a principle that it is in the interest of everybody to uphold in a very consistent and coherent manner.
if you think of the situation in the middle east but also if you think of the situation in europe or elsewhere international law affirms it very clearly borders cannot be changed by military force and this is a principle behind which the european union will continue to firmly stand in a united manner. i think this unity
and this clarity together have made us relevant in upholding a principle and a situation in very difficult circumstances.
the image i have in my mind at this moment when i think of the middle east where you actually do not have a process at all it's not that the process is stuck you do not have a peace process currently the image i have in my mind is that of i don't know if this is an english expression but in italian we say put your foot in the door to avoid
to tell you the truth to start a peace process that is consistent today we would need to have an international and regional consensus on the parameters on the need to have a two state solution and you would need to have political will on the two sides and also in washington.
on the european side it's full and it's clear.
what we have to avoid today together with our partners in the region starting with the arab countries and i think in particular of egypt that has such an important role both in the arab league but also on gaza and of jordan that has such an important role on the holy places what we have to avoid is that this trend continues consolidates and becomes irreversible to a point where as elena valenciano mentioned the twostate solution becomes impossible and avoid that the dismantling of the twostate solution gets to the impossibility of achieving it whenever the political will is there.
i still believe it because the international parameters are clear but without the political will of the parties and without international consensus which we don't have at the moment on those international parameters i do not see this process producing an outcome in terms of a two state solution.
we europeans know very well that if it's not going to be a two state solution it's not going to be a solution.
so i believe that as friends of israel as friends of palestine and as friends of the region let me also refer to the arab peace initiative that i still consider a good basis for negotiations the european union is convinced and will continue to be united and clear on this conviction that it is in the interest of the israelis the palestinians and the region
to continue to have in mind a twostate objective and a twostate solution.
that is also vital.
i think i will stop here on this point.
the scale of the disaster we are witnessing in southern africa is a painful reminder that there is much work to be done in both of these fields.
we need to ensure that our emergency response is complemented by our development cooperation efforts in southern africa.
when the emergency phase is over we will need to help the affected countries build back better and improve their resilience and preparedness for future shocks.
as much as we would wish otherwise the scale of climaterelated hazard is only set to increase in the future.
i regret to see that this parliament is divided not on ideological lines but on geographical lines where members from the western states seem to think that this deal is good enough even though parliament has given up on its position of banning dual quality and the central and eastern european members are asking for a better deal.
the greens efa group is not divided on this.
we consider this a matter of treating people equally in the eu and this is at the core of what european citizens expect that they will not be discriminated against because of where they live by being sold an inferior product.
this is why we would rather take the time to do it right and not adopt a trilogue agreement that has been rushed through and where parliament has given up on its promise to citizens to ban dualquality products.
whether it's a person who works as a software developer or somebody selling their own products platforms make it possible for the small players to compete with the big players and to reach customers that they would otherwise never have reached which is sometimes perhaps also a reason why some big european companies wanted to extend this regulation more than is reasonable.
but platforms do become a problem when network effects make them so large that they can dictate unfair terms to their business customers.
we have achieved a regulation that provides transparency and fairness in the platform market and i think it's to a great extent testimony to the steady hand of the rapporteur mrs schaldemose who has ensured that there is no free ride for platforms but that there are also no unreasonable obligations that would kill the small players in the european market who are very important for european businesses.
so i would really like to thank all who have contributed on this work.
we must give our citizens major freedom and protection while reporting such weaknesses.
if we want people in the eu to be more engaged and participative in european politics we must give them the instruments.
i closed it and now they can kill themselves until they come to the conclusion that they need to leave facebook as well which is not to say that digitalisation and social media should not be developed but it must be controlled.
mr president the elephant in the room' during many of the discussions on this horizon programme has been of course the position of many uk institutions that contribute in such a major way to the predecessor programmes. it's not the fault of the rapporteurs or the negotiators that the situation over brexit is yet to be resolved but it is at last now clear that even this uk government
will seek closely to associate whatever the outcome of brexit with this programme.
the only remaining threat is the extreme brexit sought by climate change deniers and anti science populists.
i'm glad to see however scientific excellence maintained as a key criteria for horizon europe funding.
excellence is not enhanced by throwing money around it is enhanced by collaboration with excellence.
the contribution of the uk's world class research community makes horizon europe a bigger better and more successful programme.
establishing notification and collaboration platforms will facilitate information exchange between national and supervisory authorities.
this is just one of the proposed tools for encouraging convergence and cooperation in the insurance field.
i'm in favour of this consumer focused approach to supervision.
improved communication between member states balanced by the supervision of data reporting service providers will protect consumer interests.
i support the strengthening of the single market for insurance as part of a broader continued european integration in financial supervision while preserving a balance in the competences of the european insurance and occupational pensions authority and of national authorities.
mr president this package reboots consumer rights for the internet age bringing new protections and empowering consumers with information whenever they buy.
i'd like to thank the shadow rapporteurs the romanian presidency and the european commission for their hard work and commitment to achieve an agreement before the european elections.
we had just three weeks from start to finish of the negotiations and we focused on a single trilogue.
it turned into a very long day but after ten hours of negotiation we got an agreement.
now as some of you will be aware this agreement was subject to further adjustment from the commission which had made it clear in the talks that it needed to confirm its mandate.
the final text addressing dual quality was therefore tweaked but the crucial substance remains consumers can no longer be misled by products made to different standards but marketed as the same in different member states.
it's not right and the agreement we vote on tomorrow will stop those egregious breaches of consumer trust.
now i know some colleagues feel that we should have gone further and i have tabled amendments to that effect for tomorrow.
but let me be clear if any of these amendments pass this will collapse the entire agreement.
the council and commission have made it clear that they are already at the edge they can't give any more.
this will not help consumers who are currently being misled.
it will not help consumer authorities.
they would not for example be able to give out penalties that they need to enforce all the other consumer laws.
and it would not help producers who would continue to be undercut by competitors who flout the rules.
i struggle also to see how it would meet political reality.
dual quality products now for the first time are addressed and in the coming years the commission will have to review progress seriously.
those are concrete steps of progress rather than unrealistic amendments.
and we should remember that this package is about more than dual quality.
there are vital improvements to the consumer protections we cannot in good conscience delay.
we have banned bulk buying of event tickets following an earlier law in the uk.
and this will now stop because it's been cheating everyone and it's good news that we are able to ban it here.
we've also succeeded in introducing requirements to improve trust in online reviews marketplace ranking and the pricing of discounts all to the benefit of the consumer.
i also believe that in the internet era we should trust the informed consumer.
the online world contains a wealth of information that can empower the consumer but it needs to be genuine to be useful.
our measures on online consumer trust will make sure that consumers know when they're getting information that they can rely on helping them find the product that they are looking for.
i'm glad that we could also get support from the commission and the council for a tool to build consumer awareness and use of their rights.
the european consumer rights or as i like to call it the ecr app' will give consumers a single identifiable point to know their rights and easy access to the complaints procedure that will help them solve their problems.
this is an important right for consumers and for their trust in e commerce and if we can adopt this agreement tomorrow it will be just over a year from the adoption of the proposal by the commission to the conclusion of our work.
so i would like to thank the shadows again who all helped to ensure the compromise also the imco secretariat and the legal services for their hard work and dedication.
these rules will make a real difference to consumers' everyday life.
so let's not delay their implementation by one more day and let's adopt the text tomorrow.
i think that it is correct to say that we have made progress.
it is also correct to say as the commissioner has said that there is still an effort to be done by all means.
i don't see the recognition on the side of a number of member states on different levels that we are facing the threat that some of the colleagues have already spoken about whether it is the question of european elections and the other elections lives or safety. we even see trojan horses in the european union;
we are confronting a war which is led against us not by means of arms but something as dangerous as that and i think that unless we recognise it and unless we are consistent in our attention and our efforts and not just before european elections we will be hit we will be vulnerable and we will be damaged.
thank you for the question;
it's a well put question.
i do share that concern.
i don't want interference from any agency that gets in the way of free elections.
but if it were a choice between the risk because life is all about risks of giving up that ability for people to freely express themselves and freely make their views and the risk of the state and potentially a road towards totalitarianism i choose the risk
involved in free speech but i do accept that we need to try our best to avoid foreign agencies.
there are parties who in the coming weeks will have nothing useful if anything at all to say about these issues but i'm proud to have voted in this parliament for measures to tackle insecure employment to tackle low pay and exploitation and to ban zerohours contracts.
so when people vote in a few weeks' time elect meps labour meps who are committed to contributing positively and constructively in this place committed to working here in the european parliament to tackle unfairness and inequality and who will ensure people in all our communities whether they voted remain or voted leave have hardworking serious representation in this parliament.
mr president i know that the negotiations were difficult and it is not easy to find a good balance between the need to enforce better consumer rights and the need for businesses to be competitive and efficient.
mr president i'm happy to support this report as an important first step in recognising the problem of zerohours employment and a first step to ensuring that those employment practices are brought under control.
it is not unreasonable to ask for equal treatment of people at work regardless of the contract that they have.
we know that the flexible economy is here to stay and it's a reality and therefore it's essential that we regard framing the rights of those individuals as a trans european problem because if it isn't at the moment it will be eventually.
it is not asking too much to expect predictable employment hours and income from a job it is not unreasonable to expect to be able to plan your budget.
it is unreasonable to want exclusivity from people in that position of taking flexible work and it is unreasonable to insist that they pay for their own training.
we will show the innovators clearly that this continent is all in favour of new innovations. we want to protect you and at the same time we have created a level playing field for those who are producing generics and biosimilars. so this is a very good decision for
our patients for our consumers and also a very good decision for producers for industry and innovators.
on the substance however the commission's position differs from the one taken by the council and the european parliament as regards the possibility for all member states to join the geneva act in view of the european union's exclusive competence in this case.
the commission would very exceptionally have been ready to agree that in this particular case the seven member states that have been parties to the lisbon agreement for a long time could have been authorised to accede to the geneva act in the interest of the european union.
when i looked at this proposal initially i did have some questions around its added value and the impact it would have on eures the platform for undeclared work etc.
but i believe that the piece of legislation that we have now has in short the necessary cooperation and streamlining to give us an efficient and effective ela. the other question i had at the beginning was what problems are we trying to solve and will this piece of legislation actually solve those problems?
free movement of workers is working but from time to time issues arise that can undermine the trust in the system and that question fairness and compliance.
those issues i believe require an independent authority that will strengthen operational coordination and cooperation between member states mediate in cross border disputes and facilitate dispute settlements.
i believe that the final piece of legislation addresses many of the identified problems around the day to day operational free movement of workers and by doing so i believe it facilitates free movement of workers for all eu citizens and a more streamlined system because of cooperation between member states and crucially it will help to restore trust
in the system trust between member states and trust between citizens.
this won't be my final intervention in parliament but it's one of the last and i'm especially pleased today to be able to say that i was part of a team that helped to deliver a piece of legislation that will enhance the free movement of workers while at the same time reassuring citizens and member states that this is a system they can trust and believe in.
we thought your last speech previously was going to be the final one but you've had an opportunity a day extra.
so thank you mr nicholson and i am apologising to the time keepers here.
mr president allow me straight away to say congratulations to both the rapporteurs and the commissioner for adopting the new framework programme before the european elections because this can now allow for the smooth implementation of the many funding instruments processes and programmes involved.
i am glad that this parliament took the issue of the research and innovation divide in europe seriously because for far too long we had closed clubs and it's high time that these closed networks opened up to the lowerperforming member states. i believe that this is the way forward if we honestly want to have a european union that develops a modern competitive innovative and truly sustainable economy.