kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
there is though a democratic price that we should acknowledge.
immediately one side lost the incentive to negotiate and the chance for a peaceful confederation was lost.
one of the two communities voted for the eu peace plan and has been blockaded and punished.
turkish cypriots would give up an amount of territory in exchange for recognition as equal partners in a bizonal bicommunal federation.
as that deal was on the point of being signed in blundered the european union with its unilateral recognition of one side claiming jurisdiction over the whole island.
it is not turkey whose actions are causing tensions in cyprus it is the european union by its one sided intervention.
the trend is away from great multinational empires and towards independent states south sudan being one of the most recent.
here alone powers are being centralised decisions instead of being devolved are being taken by a smaller and more remote elite.
i offer for your consideration the idea that this may be connected to the fact that we are now living in the only continent on the planet that is experiencing no economic growth at all.
every other continent has bounced back from the crash.
we in the eurozone particularly we in the european union stand on the brink incredibly of our third recession in six years.
because we have taken more and more power away from local people and centralised it with remote elites in brussels.
we are therefore the only place in the world that is falling behind.
mr president every country contiguous to russia has felt the pressure of putinite revanchism sometimes in the form of oil and gas diplomacy sometimes as in the case of ukraine georgia and of course bessarabia which we are discussing now in the form of military occupation.
the way in which the west has responded the way in which the european union in particular has responded has been an unfortunate middle way.
or we could have decided to buttress the states on its border and to pursue a forward policy.
considering the ongoing situation and breakdown in relationships between russia and the west and in particular the eu not to mention the humanitarian and military crisis that we are seeing in ukraine it is important that all the participants involved treat this sensibly.
the signing of this association agreement with moldova especially with regard to transnistria risks further deepening the crisis.
mr president our party and our group have opposed this amendment and the further expansion of moldova into the european union. we have made it clear that once again the european union is acting like an aggressive colonialist.
just like those countries including my own that decided in the past that we needed to ensure that we had economic control of countries within our sphere of influence the european union is ensuring that they will control moldova.
in doing so they are acting like children by ensuring that they poke the bear of russia which also has a sphere of influence in the region.
instead of being sensible and negotiating with russia there are those in this chamber who believe that by attacking russia in this way they are atoning for the sins of russia in the past.
this is not sensible diplomacy this is not sensible politics but one does not expect sense from the european union.
mr president i voted in favour of the resolution pertaining to the peace process in ireland and i want to take this opportunity to thank the members of the european parliament for adopting this resolution in such overwhelming numbers.
i come from a town along the southern side of the irish border.
i know at first hand and my constituents know at first hand the detriment of partition of conflict of the lost lives and lost generations that we have seen as a result of the conflict that took place in our country but also the
difficulties that we have in the fact that there are now as we speak two currencies two tax regimes two health systems operating back to back.
what i would ask is for this parliament's and the european union's support in ensuring that we can develop an all ireland economy as well as supporting the continuation of what has been a very successful peace process.
i voted in favour of this report on the irish peace process and i think the overwhelming support it received today is a testament to the international concern and backing for the north to overcome the impasse that has been reached in the progress of the peace process.
as a member of the committee on employment and social affairs i was particularly pleased to see explicit reference to the need for further economic and social development in order to consolidate the ongoing peace process.
this is especially significant given that the tory led government are currently trying to impose harsh and unfair welfare cuts on the north's poorest citizens both unionists and nationalists. we defend and stand with all working class communities in the north opposing cuts and the conservative ethos of cutting benefits such as disability living allowance to those most in need.
i think it is one sided it is unbalanced and it will not contribute positively to solving this very delicate issue.
and what we do have are valleys of despair of people in our region who cannot get into work who cannot get to see a doctor and who cannot get their kids into the right school.
so really the only mountain that the people in the west midlands really want to talk about is mount freedom'. i want them to ascend to the pinnacle of mount freedom' on our referendum day and have a look at the view when we can look at all of you across the channel and say hi guys the view is lovely but we love it at the top and we love it being free.
i find it interesting that an mep from the west midlands of the united kingdom is here talking about mountainous regions.
we have all of these things and we can thank the eu and its cohesion policy for much of it because the reasons why we cannot have these things is because our industry has been destroyed we were the home of the industrial revolution and we are subjected to mass uncontrolled immigration into our area which means we do not have the places for people to go into the schools or the houses or the hospitals.
therefore i believe it would be useful if the commission could monitor the use of these new tools to see how far they have been used currently but also to learn lessons for cohesion policy post.
indeed when you read the report it does say that there seems to be a lack of trust between the different levels of government and i believe this is particularly the case between central government and local and regional government.
mr president i rise to discuss the topic of integrated territorial investment.
but this is not just about money this is about propaganda.
the public in my country have seen through this and the citizens of other eu countries will see through it soon enough.
as with many eu policies this is disguised as having an economic purpose when in reality it is about political control.
this report brags about how costeffective this is but the eu does not have a good track record when it comes to fiscal efficiency.
jean monnet himself openly bragged about how political federalist policies could be disguised in this way and that is the exact word he used epitomising the lies and deceit that so characterised the eu and its supporters.
in britain our own social cohesion is at risk as uncontrolled migration from the eu leads to greater pressure on housing schools and rationing of healthcare.
as a referendum approaches in my country the eu claims it gives us lots of money.
i represent a beautiful isolated rural and mountainous area in the northwest of england.
i do not need to repeat what my colleagues have already said demonstrating the positive impact but i would like to say that proper support for social and cultural cohesion policies should be more prevalent.
mr president the uk recently experienced a very concrete example of the importance of eu assistance through regional funds because during december two thousand and fifteen the uk was hit by the extra tropical cyclone storm desmond followed by storms eva and frank causing severe flooding in the north of england and scotland well into january.
following intense pressure from the labour party the uk government finally applied for eu solidarity funds in february two thousand and sixteen on the eve of the deadline and we are now waiting for the first payments to be made in order to support affected communities.
so i know first hand the positive impact that the eu cohesion policy can have on sustainable economic social and cultural development of the regions and i am very proud to say that the eu flag is proudly fluttering outside my office in workington town hall today.
those in the british referendum who dismiss this simply as our own money should recognise that these eu funds leverage additional match funding that would not otherwise be attracted include transnational partnerships where we can build bonds and learn from each other and foster genuine european level innovation for the benefit of all.
they bring people into the world of work they help the vulnerable in our societies and they stop communities from being left behind.
mr president european regional aid and social funding make a difference.
i have mentioned modulation of eu co financing rates but also integrated territorial investments and community led local development.
for this new funding cycle member states are required to set out in their partnership agreements an integrated approach to address the specific needs of geographical areas suffering from severe and permanent handicaps.
i noted that many mentioned capacity building and it is worth mentioning the several administrative capacity building actions proposed by the commission in areas such as public procurement and state aid and the taiex regio peer two peer platform designed to help officials involved in the management of the european regional development fund and the cohesion fund to exchange knowledge and to exchange good practices. also
but following the adoption of the esif programmes now it is up to member states to take up these new tools and to translate our funds into to growth and jobs for european regions and european citizens.
the legal and policy framework for the european structural and investment funds for two thousand and fourteen two thousand and twenty has entailed a major leap forward in taking account of the diversity of european regions in particular their mountainous areas and developing specific tools to exploit the potential
it was also suggested that the commission needs to communicate its policies better such as fc and esif complementarities and the commission recently published a brochure on fc and esif complementarities which is available on the commission's website as well as a technical website on the same topic.
we are jointly examining those programmes where particular efforts are needed. we have set up a high level group on simplification.
it is their responsibility but the commission is actively supporting them in this endeavour.
the commission strongly believes that the introduction of these new territorial tools will facilitate promoting an integrated place based approach to territorial development in cohesion policy as well as to foster a bottom up approach.
the commission is confident that this work will bear fruit allowing investments to result and sustainable growth for people on the ground which is after all our common objective to us all.
furthermore they have at their disposal new instruments to reflect these specificities.
of this diversity.
we are supporting administrative capacity providing a great deal of guidance so that they can accelerate implementation without having to compromise on quality.
the european structural and investment funds have a long tradition of supporting regions with specific geographical features which includes mountain regions.
i would like to underline that a significant amount of guidance has been provided to member states and to local actors both on integrated territorial investment and on community led local development to promote the use of these tools.
to maximise their impact a reformed cohesion policy framework was advocated and adopted in agreement with the member states.
these efforts translate the commission's willingness to assist member states in ensuring quality implementation of cohesion policy.
the reformed cohesion policy requires good quality implementation subsequent to proper programming planning and preparatory work.
finally regarding the oral question.
this should be less of a concern
however under shared management actual implementation of the programmes is the responsibility of the member states.
have introduced tools for integrated strategies such as the eu macro regional strategy for the alpine region. the commission will ask in its monitoring and review meetings with the member states how they address the specific situation of mountain regions and how the possibilities offered by the esif regulations have been taken up. it is therefore important to make the most of what the current regulation has to offer
regarding the new territorial development tools in cohesion policy as underlined in ms tomai's report integrated territorial investment and community led local development are decisive for the involvement of local and regional actors. the commission strongly believes that the introduction of these new territorial tools has been a significant step forward in promoting an integrated
furthermore the number of payment claims received is still low.
the esif regulation already provides several possibilities to take account of the situation of mountainous regions such as the modulation of co financing rates and the use of the new territorial tools that is community led local development and integrated territorial investments. the esif support programmes and strategies specifically targeting mountainous regions
member states are strongly encouraged to continue and to intensify their efforts and there is scope for political pressure in this regard.
the commission provided targeted assistance for eight member states covered under the task force for better implementation initiative reducing significantly the risk of decommitment of funds at closure for the two thousand and seven two thousand and thirteen period to below eur five billion
the reduction in administrative burden this brings about will ensure a more rapid reimbursement of funds with a greater focus on the results and a lower risk of errors as compared to reimbursement on the basis of real costs. regarding automatic decommitment of funds in the third year following commitment
the commission notes that designations of programme authorities took place for less than one quarter of programmes.
this framework puts the emphasis on the results which concentrated funding on priority teams and areas and investments based on good strategic planning.
this is due to the generic application of the three year rule instead of the two year rule across all member states and to the annual refinancing payments made to the member states.
the commission will continue its strong efforts to share information and share best practices both with member states as well as with local actors.
due to considerable joint efforts with member states the commission adopted half of the cohesion policy programmes already in the course of two thousand and fourteen in spite of delays in adoption of the regulatory framework.
the targeted approach centred on member states and programmes at risk of implementation continues in two thousand and fourteen two thousand and twenty and that includes closure related tasks.
place based approach to territorial development.
would you agree with my characterisation that cohesion policy realistically is the taking of money in tax from taxpayers in net contributor countries like the uk to be spent across europe to improve governance and cohesion for a closer eu project in years to come?
using the e justice portal as an electronic access point to legal provisions information about registers and european and national databases is an inspired choice.
they need this information.
this makes them able to assess to a larger extent the risks and benefits of starting a business or doing business in a particular country.
eu economic actors will benefit from updated and reliable information on potential business partners and on foreign legal systems.
initially designed to support judicial and police cooperation this tool is now being extended to administrative cooperation in relation to the functioning of the single market.
navel gazing is not the answer.
the legal certainty and increased transparency that comes from the sharing of information in this way will help them conduct their business in a more streamlined way once again linking into our growth focused strategy.
certainly the misguided contract sales law proposals are deeply unhelpful and unwanted.
i strongly encourage the commission to come forward with other such genuinely growth focused measures rather than as i said before unhelpful and unwanted instruments like the proposed sales law.
our smes and other businesses and companies are crying out for a growth strategy at eu level and in these strained times we are duty bound to deliver on that.
i thank him for his approach. this is of course one of the proposals in the single market act communication which outlines fifty proposals to strengthen the internal market. it addresses an obvious missing link in the sharing of company information which will reduce administrative burdens for those seeking information across borders. it is actually estimated that it will save more than eur sixty nine million
the interconnection of registers rather than a centralised approach makes this much more efficient as companies will not need to supply information on multiple occasions or go beyond existing requirements to provide information.
we have to be brave and we have to look outwards and reach out on their behalf.
seasonal employment will be defined in the same way throughout the eu it will concern activities that depend on the passage of the seasons and there will be a maximum time of stay.
we know that it is very difficult to reach the eu in a legal way.
and it will clarify the procedures for employers who need workers during their busy seasons.
we consider this to be a balanced compromise.
seasonal workers coming for periods of less than three months will also be covered by the directive and will have the same rights as seasonal workers staying a bit longer.
we need harmonisation and it would not have made any sense for all the member states to retain parallel schemes for seasonal employment.
it will increase transparency in sectors where irregular migration and exploitation have traditionally been too frequent;
this will ensure that third country migrants fill real gaps in the labour market that cannot be filled by eu citizens and migrants who already reside legally in europe.
seasonal workers will now enjoy equal treatment with nationals in the host member states in terms of social security employment and working conditions.
this directive will establish a fast track procedure for the admission of non eu seasonal workers.
yet there will be a gap in the regulation and the treatment of seasonal workers.
it is very important that since the treaty of lisbon we have had the new legal powers to deal with that gap.
that is the dry justification for what we are doing today.
colleagues will remember however that three years ago the stimulus for the legislation that we are carrying out today was not just our legal obligations to fill this very important regulatory gap but the scenes that we saw in rosarno in italy where we saw riots and where we saw cardboard cities of very vulnerable
exploited seasonal workers.
if we look at those memories not just in that one country but across europe north and south we have to understand that there are many good employers of seasonal workers who are not exploited but there are many vulnerable exploited seasonal workers.
we should be proud of that because although it will not cure all the problems of vulnerable seasonal workers and exploitation that we see repeatedly across the european union we have broken a barrier and we have done it with great consensus an almost unanimous vote in the libe committee across the political spectrum.
we have tried to say to the good employers of seasonal workers carry on doing what you are doing.
but we have said to bad employers you must have minimum standards to protect seasonal workers but also to increase productivity and to harmonise the communities in which you live.
so this report which has been praised even by the un which noted with optimism that the seasonal workers directive could have a positive effect in tackling the exploitation of seasonal workers will have some very important wins that we had in our trialogues and in our negotiations the right of seasonal workers to adequate accommodation at affordable costs and according to national procedures and practices.
all seasonal workers will be entitled to a change of employer at least once during their stay.
now these are rights given to seasonal workers which mean that they are not just paper rights but actually give some flexibility which many have said is essential for workers to be treated not just as commodities but as human beings with some flexibility.
there is a strong article on equal treatment that builds and improves upon the text of the single permit directive.
in particular there is new text providing protection against dismissal or adverse treatment as a result of a complaint being made against the employer.
again this is about lifting our standards to what we expect within the european union for decent work and building on the good work which came before us.
where an employer has been found to exploit seasonal workers we have introduced a new article on sanctions including the right to compensation for the seasonal worker if his or her permit is withdrawn due to the actions of the employer.
employers will be permitted to extend the contract of a seasonal worker once within the maximum duration permitted. all of these measures were fought for very hard in an area which is very sensitive immigration at a time of austerity.
i hope that when we talk about illegal immigration and the negative stories that we look at seasonal workers' protection and that we understand that working together we can improve the lives of migrants as well as the lives of the eu workers they are working with and we can improve the local communities they are working within.
decent work improves lives for all of us within the european union because civilised standards are the values that we live for within the european union.
that is why we are here and that is why this is one small step forward for all of us within the european union.
in two thousand and nine we had the ridiculous situation of the commission paying money to ireland because dell had relocated to poland.
that is the single market working.
the functioning of this fund has been appalling.
rather than pouring this money down the drain we should return it to the taxpayers who will spend it far more wisely than the european union ever could.
mr president the globalisation adjustment fund has been a complete failure. every year the commission takes eur five hundred million of taxpayers' money and sprinkles it about in the vain hope of being seen to do something about job losses.
i wholeheartedly support the british czech and other governments who are blocking the extension of this absurd fund.
it is bureaucratic and inefficient with the commission making up the rules as they go along.
since the commission presented its proposal in the middle of last year the polish presidency made a tremendous effort to find a solution which would meet the concerns of all member states.
since then the danish presidency has made further attempts and tabled a new compromise but even recent efforts to try to break the deadlock through direct contacts with ministers failed to achieve an outcome.