kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
however removing the taliban from government was not the best way of reducing that production.
it wants to remove corruption but simply does not understand that the bureaucratic model of objective judgment and financial and resource decisions would not stand a chance of being respected. this is not because afghans are endemically dishonest but because afghan tribal society sees looking after one's own family and tribe as a self evident virtue.
the report says insecurity in afghanistan cannot be addressed by military means alone'.
the council is thoroughly naive in trying to plant the delicate flower of western democracy in the inhospitable soil of afghan tribalism.
in my view it does not.
the taliban government reduced it by ninety but since the invasion of afghanistan afghanistan is again the world's leading opium producer.
the council would like to counter the production of opium poppies.
the vertical divisions in society and the domination of tribal loyalties over personal judgment would make that impossible.
we really ought to have learnt our lesson. the taliban oppresses women has contempt for democracy and is killing british soldiers it is a thoroughly unpleasant organisation.
madam president i had the pleasure a few weeks ago of meeting some of the uk returning forces from afghanistan and i heard the same story over and over again that they were ill equipped.
she has not had any foreign office experience;
this is an important area in the world and an important area that we may need to make progress in. my problem is with the lack of experience of our high representative for foreign affairs cathy pass the bucket ashton with more than a few roubles in it no doubt.
it is quite right as some of you have said;
we need someone more experienced.
this is a delicate job;
a job that needs to change things for the better and she is simply not experienced enough.
without security and stability it is not possible to ensure good governance or any meaningful programme of reconstruction and development.
there needs to be a comprehensive international plan for afghanistan and pakistan but i have yet to see where the eu contribution fits into this wider international commitment.
madam president to read the eu action plan for afghanistan and pakistan you would imagine that the whole situation depended on what the eu does.
i believe the european union could make a useful practical contribution but this needs to be set in the context of the wider international effort and it should be focused on some specific activities where eu involvement might add real value.
on the civil side european countries and the eu itself have pumped eur eight billion into afghanistan since two thousand and one but this huge sum seems to have made little difference; do we have any idea how much of it has gone astray?
in a document of over a dozen pages i found only four brief references to the united states and more significantly perhaps only one to nato and it is after all the nato isaf mission which is central to the success of all endeavours.
adequate security will have to be achieved by two thousand and eleven while state building will inevitably take longer.
even if both the eu and the us have similar aims namely creating the conditions for the afghan state to take responsibility for its own affairs the timeframe for achieving those aims is inevitably different.
if we are to take seriously the new lisbon changes and a proper common eu foreign policy there is no more urgent place to prove ourselves than in the sands of afghanistan first to ensure proper alignment of individual member states' activities behind this new strategy and second to welcome high representative ashton's commitment today to have a formidable new double hatted representative in place in afghanistan very early in the new year.
agreeing with the presidency on the issues of narcotics what we have sought to do is develop a comprehensive response which really brings together the rural development aspects of it with social issues and of course the rule of law.
it demonstrates in very clear terms exactly where the money is going exactly what it is being spent on and what we hope to achieve by that.
but i agree absolutely there is more that we should be doing on that.
we are already building up to the london conference in our dialogue with those important and key partners on the ground.
one of the challenges of my role is to bring together what is happening on the ground to make it more coherent and make it work more effectively. a number of colleagues have mentioned the need to make sure we fulfil the commitments on eupol.
of course what has been said about the regional aspects is extremely important. we do want as part of the action plan to pull together that regional cooperation. there is work going on very practical work to develop that particularly rail links and trade cooperation and so on.
we have actually made significant progress;
just one example in two thousand and two we had health care take up support of around seven of the population;
two thousand and nine i can give other examples;
the action plan agreed by the council in october gives us the opportunity to do this.
we need to deliver this as part of a coherent eu contribution within a coordinated international response.
that is what the international conferences which begin with a conference in london next month are all about.
the commission is raising its development assistance by one third to eur two hundred million.
the european electoral observation mission also presents its report in kabul today and i would like to pay tribute to mr berman and his team for a job well done in extremely difficult circumstances.
we will not tackle this through military action alone but by helping build a secure and safe environment free from the tensions and inequalities that feed extremism.
together with the us efforts and nato security operations it sends a strong message to the region and international community about our commitment.
there must be stronger political engagement by the host governments and stronger coherence among donors including internally among member states.
it is a joint endeavour between member states and the eu institutions and it is the first of its kind which if successful can help shape the international civilian response to crises that have so far largely been defined in military terms.
finally on afghanistan but perhaps most importantly we are streamlining our structures on the ground.
turning to pakistan our overriding concern and interest is that pakistan should be a stable democracy free from terror and able to join with its neighbours in defence against common threats.
the potential gains from this kind of regional cooperation in terms of trade and investment would dwarf anything we can do as the european union.
we will continue to support the implementation of the recommendations of the two thousand and eight election observation mission.
the action plan also makes clear that the european union will use its expertise in regional integration to help afghanistan pakistan and their neighbours to kick start economic relations particularly with india.
we will now start to roll these skills out across the provinces to help the afghan people manage their own affairs and ensure the government provides and is seen to provide services to them.
the plan confirms that we will continue to place key sectors such as the rule of law and agriculture at the centre of our engagement.
the plan sends a message that we will support the integration of insurgents who are ready to respond to president karzai's call to work with his government.
we are already assisting the government to improve the skills of administrators in kabul.
but we need more than ideas to deliver we need the right people and the right skills and they need security in order to work.
the action plan underlines this and builds on existing commitments made at the june eu pakistan summit including humanitarian aid reconstruction support assistance to the police and judiciary and strengthening democratic institutions and civil society to improve human rights as well as agreements on trade and socio economic development.
the action plan is backed up by a substantial financial resource of just under eur five hundred million from the commission until two thousand and thirteen plus a eur one hundred million renewable energy loan from the european investment bank as well as commitments to deepen our trade and political relations. the action plan also specifies intensified dialogue on all these issues and there should be a second summit next year within the spanish presidency.
member states will align policies with the resources to back them and i hope to merge the eu special representative and the head of the eu delegation into a single post as soon as possible.
that will help us to build a coherent approach that can serve as a model for elsewhere.
we will ensure follow up since it is clear the credibility of the government and the political system rests upon a major overhaul of the electoral system.
europe has much to offer from our own experience. the action plan provides us with the opportunity to use this experience to help others and i hope parliament will support it.
it also of course dovetails the priorities set out by president karzai particularly in the fields of improved governance and anti corruption.
in conclusion implementation of the plan for afghanistan and pakistan is central to our future engagement in these countries.
our future support must help build a government that is responsive to the needs and the concerns of the afghan people. as the situation is volatile we need to both work with and to influence the situation on the ground.
we are ready to put in more resources.
we need these extra resources to repeat the successes like the extension of the primary health care system to eighty of afghans including far better treatment for women and girls and recent success in turning provinces poppy free. our member states have also committed to help get our police training programme up to strength. but that is all just the start.
this response must have the afghans working with the un at the centre of it.
madam president today terrorist bombings are a daily occurrence in both afghanistan and pakistan.
the pakistani military is successfully pushing back infiltrators into pakistan from afghanistan but i have to ask myself from where are these terrorists continuing to get their weapons?
through our new foreign affairs role high representative will we be speaking to pakistan's neighbours to encourage them to do all that they can to help pakistan through this difficult time?
madam president we cannot afford to let the nato isaf military mission in afghanistan fail.
with sufficient political will the right military equipment and more troop numbers on the ground from all the member states nato can defeat the taliban and of course this must be coupled to a hearts and minds campaign as well.
but next door pakistan is potentially a catastrophe in the making a nuclear arms state plagued by islamist radicalisation corruption and feeble leadership which nevertheless we have to help for strategic reasons.
but for instance elements of the pakistani isa have long been suspected of granting tacit support to the afghan taliban and are only now reluctantly realising the domestic dangers of such an approach.
the threat posed by pakistan particularly by harbouring terrorists to india over kashmir also poses a grave threat to the whole region.
if pakistan is to continue to receive military aid from eu countries for counter insurgency operations against terrorist jihadis and also eu economic assistance it must give cast iron guarantees that such aid will not be diverted to strengthening its conventional forces on the indian border.
finally the instability of pakistan and afghanistan contrasts greatly with the stability and moderation of our democratic ally and partner india which deserves the eu's full backing.
afghanistan is no longer a safe haven but the taliban insurgency has not been defeated because it was proven that victory cannot be achieved by military means alone and that over reliance on military power by killing insurgents was counterproductive.
the shift in strategy is for the protection of the population building the afghan security capacity facilitating good governance at central and particularly local level and promoting development.
tend to underestimate the daily reality for people in both afghanistan and pakistan of the many deaths the targeted killings of the hazara population for example in parts of pakistan the attacks on girls' schools on the police and so many others.
i think many of us are still wondering really what it was that we ever thought we would achieve by going in.
in terms of the international response i welcome hearing the commissioner talking about kick starting cooperation and particularly mentioning india.
the regional approach is important and i look forward to hearing how we are going to deal with other areas of real tension such as kashmir which the afghan ambassador told us the other day really provides a problem for everything that people try to do in the region.
we also need in pakistan particularly to be looking at what effective support we are offering in terms of the many thousands of displaced people and learn from our lack of engagement with those who were displaced to the borders of pakistan and afghanistan in the past that a vacuum will be filled.
political commitments to open trade must be translated into reality.
on energy our discussions focused on physical infrastructure on the legal basis for our energy relations and on energy efficiency.
it must encourage innovation and entrepreneurship but also strengthen democratic values and the rule of law. this is why the effective functioning of the judiciary the fight against corruption and dialogue with civil society are priority areas for the partnership for modernisation. as the eu has in the past we raised concerns about the day to day situation for human rights defenders and journalists.
russia handed over concrete proposals which we will examine.
we also discussed crisis management cooperation with both sides underlining the good experiences of eufor chad and eu navfor atalanta.
the summit was also an opportunity to discuss a number of international issues the middle east peace process the iranian nuclear programme afghanistan pakistan kosovo the eastern neighbourhood as well as broader european security.
work on the rule of law and fighting corruption will also contribute to a more business friendly environment. investment flows to russia have fallen off and russia understands it must do more to attract investors.
it was a good summit it was pragmatic and constructive in character and it confirmed russia's desire for a stronger relationship with the european union.
joining the world trade organisation fits with this broader strategy of strengthening rules based processes.
growing instability in the north caucasus is another area of concern.
we also underlined that we see the energy charter as the most natural forum to discuss proposals for a multilateral energy security framework.
i was pleased with the joint statement that foreign minister lavrov and i made on the loss of life during the israeli military operation against the flotilla sailing to gaza.
the eu backs russia's early accession and we hope that the work to do so can be completed soon.
the demonstrations on thirty one may in moscow were an example of the difficulties that continue regarding the constitutional right to freedom of assembly.
energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gases are key in the fight against climate change.
obviously the eu decision making autonomy must remain intact.
but there have been positive developments too and it is important we acknowledge them the extension of the moratorium on the death penalty and the ratification of protocol fourteen of the european convention on human rights.
on visas russia is keen to proceed quickly but it understands the internal context on this sensitive issue in the european union.
we agreed to see if we could develop this cooperation further.
we hope that bilateral agreements on local border traffic can be concluded with both poland and lithuania which would help russians living in kaliningrad.
the implementation of the russia kazakhstan belarus customs union has raised some concerns. we have no issue with customs unions in general the eu is a customs union but we are concerned when these hinder trade rather than promote it as appears to be the case with the proposed customs union.
the partnership for modernisation will have a big part to play here. we need to see solid energy provisions in our new agreement reflecting the principles of the energy charter treaty.
the eu as russia's most important trade partner and biggest investor is a natural partner in this. our approach is clear to be successful any drive to modernise must take a broad approach.
put them at the foundation of real political cooperation and real institutional interoperation.
in ukraine a country dear to my heart the election of president yanukovich has substantially improved the previously strained relations between moscow and kiev but the controversial decision to extend russia's leases on its naval bases in the crimea should not be taken as a sign that ukraine has rejected the european union and returned fully into the arms of mother russia.
in particular we should repudiate the statement by russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov that ukraine eventually joining the european union is not in russia's vital national interest. president yanukovich only won a narrow victory and at least half of all ukrainians support closer ties for their country with the european union;
we cannot simply walk away from our responsibility to respond positively to their aspirations.
heroic struggles in the siege of malta at the gates of vienna have now been replaced by abject surrender.
the european union is responsible for many of the problems that beset europe and your solution is always the same to have more power. the european union was always about creating an undemocratic state a united states of europe' and it has always been about deconstructing nation states and transferring political power to brussels. that would be bad enough in itself but you have actually made a complete mess of governing the member states.
meanwhile our security is endangered because of the results of mass immigration.
the tide is turning against the eu and best of all we have brexit a modern peasants' revolt against their out of touch overlords.
you have decided to surrender and submit on behalf of your citizens.
the dead hand of european bureaucracy impedes business and makes it increasingly harder for small businesses to operate to create new jobs and to grow prosperities.
most people want a europe of genuine trade friendship and cooperation.
this is not immigration this is invasion.
you have turned many parts of europe into foreign countries.
two thousand and sixteen the dutch voted against the ukrainian association agreement and that has been ignored.
now europe can have a great and prosperous future but not if the european union is planning it.
you use the emotional blackmail argument of talking about helping defenceless refugee families and yet the reality is that the vast majority of these migrants are young men from islamic countries.
when britain leaves the european union we can point the way for a europe of independent democratic nation states.
they do not want rule from brussels.
rebellion is now stirring in hungary poland the czech republic austria and elsewhere.
but some states are resisting.
your policies have blighted the lives of millions of people.
islam offers two options submit or resist.
there are two areas in which this is obvious to the ordinary citizen the economy and security. the creation of the euro was a political project not an economic project and was an entirely predictable disaster and has brought about financial austerity and unemployment.
under mrs merkel's leadership you have brought in millions of people from africa the middle east and beyond and you intend to bring in millions more.
that's the message i want you to bring back to the european council that if you want our support we look for your support as well.
let's be ambitious for a change.
let's agree the eu budget before next year.
on the eu budget can i ask you this?
let's do something differently for a change.
mr president i would like to welcome prime minister rutte to the european parliament. prime minister i think if you were to answer all our questions you'd be here for the next week so can i give you just one reflection as an irish colleague? you said earlier that you need the support of the european parliament. can i say to you that the european parliament and the pro european forces in the european parliament need the support of the european council to get more of europe working? there is a majority in this house for an ambitious european project. we come from the centre right and the centre left from the centre ground and we represent the majority of european citizens who are ambitious and want the european project to succeed across the five hundred million citizens.
are you willing to take a stand and to open a constructive dialogue with your colleagues and with us for a roadmap for treaty change;
you said prime minister let's show the people that we practise what we preach'.
it doesn't close its borders;
to me it's absolutely clear that applying the law to one group and letting another off the hook creates legal inequality.
the report stated that over the last decade there has been no prosecution of extremeleft violence.
a second issue i would like to address is illegal migration.
the eu is in a complete deadlock on how to deal with illegal migrants.
when you are president of the european council recommend the whole package that we proposed yesterday to the member states.
i advise this monitoring group to take the netherlands as a reference case.
in the netherlands the prosecution doesn't have the obligation to follow up on any reported offence.
therefore millions of citizens in the netherlands see prosecution as a political tool.
if you want an eu where the rule of law applies start at home. and i quote get your house in order' and have the prosecution take action against illegal activities in general not just against so called populists.
the eu has no solutions.
it doesn't expel rejected asylum seekers; it doesn't fight islamisation and radicalisation.
we do depend on each other. if we work together well then we can all benefit from that but if we work apart then we will all lose out.
my question directly on that would be what exactly are you what exactly are the netherlands going to do in council to support the article seven procedure on poland but also when it goes beyond poland what exactly are you going to do?
this is a really good way forward because climate change is a threat to humanity and we need to act. we need to get our act together and we have to move first because if we don't no one else will do so.
this is how it works.
i think that's not the first time you have said that you; you have said that repeatedly. but putting your house in order doesn't work if you say everyone puts their house in order and everyone does their thing and then all will be well.
you've been very critical again here today of others not getting their budget in order but i would say one of the reasons other countries are not managing to put their budget in order is because of you it's your government and previous dutch governments which by being a tax haven through a long history of blocking and frustrating and delaying european action against tax avoidance.
we need to get to a social union we should not forget that the european union is not just a market it is a place where people live work experience inequalities have social insecurities and that's where we need to get.
the economy is i understand a very central point in how you view the european union and even how you view the world.
that's money missing from our taxpayers.
tax dodging by companies leads to costs of eur fifteen to seventeen billion a year in the european union.