kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
secondly the unfair commercial practices directive obliges traders to live up to the standard of professional diligence. traders must be open and up front about the main characteristics of the service provided.
this practice might also be considered as contrary to the standard of professional diligence which this directive requires traders to live up to.
however the honourable member should be aware that it is up to national enforcement authorities to determine whether such practices are unfair and to pursue the offending companies.
the commission does not have any enforcement powers;
consumers who have purchased cross border services can however complain to the european consumer centre in their home country which should be able to help them receive redress from traders in other eu countries.
i had the privilege of working with mr harbour which i very much enjoyed so please let me thank you specifically and personally for this opportunity over the last three years.
i think that one of these missing links is the retail market.
initially i was a bit taken aback by the opening remarks of the commissioner but then he clarified the situation.
there are great opportunities there to develop tourism right throughout the european union and i am quite happy to work with the commission and to do anything we can because it is an opportunity.
mr president i particularly wanted to be here this evening because i think that this is mrs kuneva's last opportunity to speak to us as commissioner and i wanted to pose two questions. first of all would she agree with me that consumer information and sweeps and her work have been dramatically increased during her tenure
we are talking now about health claims.
when a producer makes a claim that a product is good for your health for this or that reason then it has to be scientifically substantiated that this really is so.
that is straightforward best practice.
these are matters of national sovereignty and the freedom of the voters not the eu.
the failings of the railway package are laughable and the share of freight being moved by rail has actually fallen since the first railway package in.
was anything enforced?
the commission will not enforce the regulations on battery cages for hens which may well force producers who have complied out of business. so what is this about enforcement?
some pay fines then continue to break the same rule because the annual revenue collected exceeds the amount of the annual eu fine.
the legislation does not require clarification or improvement.
the report criticises member states for lack of investment to meet this package but we are in a middle of an economic crisis.
two thousand and one are the eu regulations enforced?
will cash strapped national governments pay their fines?
the commission has taken thirteen member states to the european court of justice for failing to correctly implement various parts of the railway package.
here the eu sought control over national policy making decisions on railways for example stopping the political will to run nationalised railways.
due to kowtowing to brussels measures are implemented which are not often beneficial to the british public and are exercised with considerable difficulty. there is also an argument that for safety reasons it would be more beneficial for railway maintenance and locomotive operators not to be commercially separate.
i have already confirmed on several occasions my intention to propose further substantial reform in the rail sector next year.
however some amendments would restrict their interventions to cases of discrimination and impede interventions to correct other undesirable distortions of the market.
the commission will present its work programme for two thousand and twelve tomorrow.
secondly debt write off by member states can only relate to so called historical debt incurred before market opening.
i am fully aware that discussions in both council and parliament proved to be difficult and subject to intense lobbying from various stakeholders.
the second would put an unnecessary administrative burden on infrastructure managers. seventhly amendments restricting or removing powers for the commission to adopt delegated or implementing acts often relate to non essential elements. we need to make technical adjustments which practically should not be done in co decision.
new exemptions to infrastructure charging cannot be justified by any objective criteria.
in some cases some of the principles and rules already agreed ten years ago have been challenged in an attempt to undermine ongoing infringement procedures.
fifthly experience shows that the competence of national regulators must be extended.
these amendments would be a step backward compared to the text agreed by council and even compared to existing law which is not acceptable for the commission. let me insist on some of these first the issue of separation between infrastructure managers and railway undertakings will be subject to new proposals at the end of two thousand and twelve and therefore all amendments in relation to articles six and
in europe as a whole. these are the basic points.
it is the uk's leading business organisation.
amendment two highlights the recent trend of companies towards returning production and services to europe and the opportunities this brings for job creation.
' so my report on creating a hospitable environment for business covers a number of areas.
small businesses create eighty five per cent of all new jobs in europe and employ two thirds of the workforce.
skills to compete and succeed globally we need a workforce with the skills that the market needs.
we must recognise that some businesses fail but those with the courage and vision to have started them have learned from the experience and should not be written off.
and i would like to pay tribute to an organisation which speaks on behalf of smes.
improved quality control and shorter lead times make the case for reshoring even stronger.
it is exciting inspiring and challenging to set up your own business and to contribute to the economy.
i hope that colleagues will support this report as an important step forward to creating a more hospitable environment for job creation in europe and i look forward to the debate ahead.
this of course should not come at the expense of workers' health and safety and that is something i would like to clarify before we go any further in this debate.
by making it simpler and easier to understand and implement regulations we increase compliance and safety.
i think it is fair to say that we have managed to strike a good balance.
we have reached agreement on a number of issues including how the eu and member states can improve access to finance promote entrepreneurship and develop better regulation.
i believe all of us here can agree that in order to address unemployment levels in europe we need to look at new innovative ways in which the eu can contribute to creating an environment that supports businesses and gives them confidence to invest and grow.
initially with the small businesses act and more recently the think small first' principle the sme test the refit programme and the top ten initiative which has identified the top ten most burdensome eu laws for smes. while acknowledging the broad spectrum of political views on some of the issues addressed in this report
my ambition is not to reduce the protection of workers or their rights but it is to reduce the red tape.
we must create the right regulatory environment one that will protect workers but at the same time will allow businesses to grow innovate and ultimately create jobs here in europe.
the report covers demographics market access finance labour markets smes and micro enterprises and better regulation.
the roots of this report are based on the fact that smes and micro enterprises currently provide ninety million jobs in the private sector in the eu.
it is estimated that two hundred zero jobs could be created in the next few years as companies return activities to the uk and other parts of europe.
entrepreneurship is at the heart of a competitive europe in a world of fast growing economies.
i believe that our economies have a unique opportunity to accelerate this trend of reshoring jobs and that member states together with the commission must take concrete steps to help businesses capitalise.
entrepreneurship it is troubling that the number of eu citizens who want to be self employed has dropped from forty five to thirty seven in the last three years.
investing in skills and making sure employment and social law is flexible manageable and created with small businesses in mind while ensuring a level playing field across the eu.
therefore the european institutions and the member states must establish a culture of entrepreneurship for businesses to start up survive and grow while being able to remain competitive in today's global markets.
the cost and complexity of starting up a business must be reduced.
it is the federation of small businesses.
along with eighty four other meps i have tabled a plenary amendment which i really hope you can all support.
i have here their call to european politicians in their manifesto for the elections coming up.
we differ however on how to go about it.
i feel this is unlikely.
personally i left home this morning at.
if you are a small business person you spend all day doing the real job and then you have to be the accountant the lawyer and the hr specialist at night.
mr president we have heard a number of very key points in this debate firstly that businesses particularly smes must be equipped and supported with knowledge and know how on how to access much needed finance for example through one stop shops and web portals;
the federation of small businesses tells us that the european market with its five hundred million customers is very attractive for small firms.
i am grateful to mr rbig for raising that particular issue that the whole matter of becoming an entrepreneur is what we need to teach people.
it is up to us as legislators to cut the red tape and the burden on businesses.
it is our job to cut that bit so that the business can concentrate on its core role of creating wealth growing and being able to employ more people.
i hope that we can all unite in calling for the cutting of red tape and the increasing of business opportunities to create jobs and let our companies thrive.
this report makes a significant contribution to this debate by focusing on the importance of entrepreneurship something which i myself have been advocating should play a bigger role in education for at least two decades and also creating the right climate for smes notably by looking closely at the regulatory burden which we impose upon them.
for example the greens do not seem to think that we should make sure that our education and training systems adapt to business needs through stem skills nor that the free trade agreements provide opportunities for investment and jobs.
the socialists do not seem to think that social partner agreements should be subject to democratic controls.
we should be aiming for an efficient union which keeps the better regulation agenda at its core so we need to include all the positive elements in this report.
this has many great advantages only one bank account will be needed for the whole euro area.
she would like to thank the representatives of the council commissioner barnier the chair of the econ committee ms bowles the shadow rapporteurs and all those who proposed amendments and contributed to this excellent result as well as the econ secretariat which
since moving to sepa has been too slow in the past this regulation sets a clear end date for the transition.
consumers will have real options to compare prices and get the best price.
buying a computer from the cheapest eu retailer may save hundreds of euros making prices go down everywhere in the single market. therefore sepa is in many ways essential for a well functioning internal market.
sepa is good news at present concerning the euro and the eu. it will open up national markets to competition and make the payment sector more effective.
a member state may also allow consumers to use their old bank account number instead of ibans for two extra years.
easy payments also make it very easy to buy goods and services via the internet from all over the eu.
makes our work possible. the completion of the single european payment area is of great importance for the european internal market and has numerous benefits for our citizens.
if a person is working abroad he or she will not need a new bank account in that country and may receive his or her salary to the one bank account in his or her own home country.
with sepa only one bank account is needed for the whole euro area by using the international bank account number or iban.
sorry but we need to change europe needs to change.
we need to strengthen our economic position in the world. payments are the lubricant of the single market certainly with a view to e commerce and therefore i hope that all the member states will meet the deadlines which are very generous.
quite frankly if you listen to the benefits that we expect to get from sepa it is completely incomprehensible why it has to take so long why there are such long transition periods and why there are so many exemptions.
we are in the middle of an economic crisis.
we need to complete the internal market;
for instance a capital increase of eur ten billion would allow the eib to lend approximately eur sixty billion which in turn would attract other financing sources for a total investment of eur one hundred and eighty billion
to provide without any delay additional capital to the european investment bank.
the eib with a lending capacity several times the size of the world bank has been playing a key role in tackling the crisis since two thousand and eight but it is reaching the limits of what it can do with its current capital base.
for new projects of infrastructure innovation and so on.
i sent a letter to these governments in order to encourage them to reconsider their decisions and in the forthcoming employment package we also point to the importance of this.
so my question is why do you want to make it an exhaustive list and why do you not change the logic of the ecb instead of aligning with it when it comes to control measures?
governments have to address these situations.
indeed the objective is fully in line with the commission's belief that we have to create a dynamic and inclusive labour market.
especially to open up competition in product and services markets to improve the business environment and to make better use of structural funds for investment will be crucial in delivering their full benefits.
each member has one minute to put his or her question and thirty seconds to put a supplementary.
the commission has two minutes to reply if only one commissioner is to be responsible for answering. if more than one commissioner is to reply each commissioner has one minute's speaking time.
there was a reference in the forthcoming employment package to the continuing work on restructuring and we will soon after evaluating these summaries decide on what the next follow up should be. we will of course coordinate with the social partners about this decision but let me just finally mention that there is also an important financial implication because in such situations the governments can request the globalisation adjustment fund if the conditions apply.
this discussion has a certain history with strong involvement by the social partners the trade unions and on the other side the employers having strong views especially because in the crisis period there have been heavy implications as a result of corporate relocations
in this phase the commission is summarising the answers.
i think such examples provide lessons for how to develop this discussion.
yes indeed this is a very important initiative and a very practical initiative of the european commission.
i would like to ask the commissioner whether he does not think it is going a little bit too far to take this to european level considering that most member states do not have these provisions in their whole legal framework.
this applies particularly to those member states that have developed economies based on large numbers of very specialised contractors.
in fact these contractors are largely thought of as suppliers.
perhaps that dimension should be looked at in slovakia and strengthened in the coming period. when i have an opportunity to meet officials of the new government i will certainly raise this point.
well i think that we disagree on that interpretation but we can probably discuss that in the future in a follow up.
is the commission satisfied with the explanation you received from the member states which are still keeping the restrictions claiming that our presence will distort the labour market?
we have about half an hour left and i have too many questions for that time.
i think it is also important to note that most of the famous so called controversial cases in the history of the posting of workers in europe come from countries or areas where this liability regime is not applied.
however when exercising their power the member states must comply with union law in particular the provisions of the treaty on the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services.
the court clearly stated that the right to strike does not fall outside the scope of the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services.
i can also add that the regulation lays down general principles with respect to the exercise of the right to strike within the context of the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services.
i just wanted to point that out.
however the freedom to provide services must also be respected.
in order to provide for legal certainty the enforcement directive indicates clearly which control measures are proportionate and justified.
most of the uk's energy network is now operated by non british firms.
in my own constituency of wales rwe a german company recently spent gbp four hundred and fifty million on non renewable energy generation and a further billion pounds on a state of the art gas power station in pembrokeshire.
however we ended up voting for the socialist amendment which i believe will not work well.
after all savings are good in any language or i would think for any political party.
the parliament pays out over eur fifteen million per year on translations for twenty four languages and worse still in two thousand and twelve the parliament wasted eur.
i welcome this report which proposed a system of interpretation on demand.
for their benefit i will try to speak slowly avoid jokes and refrain from littering my speeches with quotations from shakespeare!
it is a shame that this house has missed an opportunity to save more money.
to regain the public's confidence in the industry now it is absolutely essential that a zero tolerance approach is taken and that those found to be abusing the system are criminally prosecuted. this proposal under ms mccarthy's report will introduce fines of up to fifty of turnover for companies that commit unlawful behaviour as well as providing the option of imposing bans on operating but i believe that custodial sentences also need to be considered.
such importance however should not exclude the industry from supervision and effective policing and regulation where necessary.
streamline the interpretation and translation given in committee meetings while guaranteeing and i think this is really important that the principle of multilingualism is not compromised by any changes made.
investing in energy efficiency measures can bring about immediate and tangible benefits for both households and business in industry such as reduction of costs creation of employment opportunities and growth as well as an encouragement in the transition towards a low carbon economy.
that said we are facing a severe challenge to meeting the objective of reducing the overall energy consumption by twenty by two thousand and twenty where policies fostering energy efficiency could and should play a stronger role.
mr president i voted in favour of this report because we must continue to make sure that energy efficiency is at the very centre of many of our eu policies.
being energy efficient is very important in terms of getting it right from the very start of new projects.
energy efficiency improvements are decisive for european competitiveness and represent a win win option in the fight against climate change.
with twenty four official languages the european parliament's interpretation services have to cover a total of five hundred and fifty two language combinations.
adopting this officially would only serve to bring more transparency and dynamism to the workings of parliament and send a signal to eu citizens that the eu is serious in its aim to make efficient and budgetary savings.
the un with one hundred and ninety three member states operates with just six and the forty seven member state council of europe has just two official languages.
mr president the eu has twenty eight member states and twenty four official languages.
working towards a more efficient and cost effective interpretation process is of course welcome but the recommendations do not offer the radical solution which would be the logical step for an expanding supranational institution such as the eu.
however these proposals are not as bad as they could have been thanks to the intervention of conservative meps.
at a time when it is difficult enough to get your feet on the property market it should not be up to the eu to decide whether or not parents help their children with their mortgages.
at least we prevented a range of unintended consequences for the uk mortgage market.
as previous speakers have said the importance of the report cannot be overstated in view of the fact that a mortgage is often the most important and longest financial commitment a family makes.
as we know transport is the backbone of the european economy. without it the tourism industry could not exist manufacturers could not get their goods to market and life would be impossible.
it is crucial that we reduce the impact of transport on climate change while at the same time contributing to improving the health of eu citizens and their quality of life.
we must not look negatively on the need to reduce the impact of transport on our environment but rather see it as an opportunity because jobs can be created in the r d sector while at the same time we are meeting our environmental targets.
mr president in all sectors across the eu maximising our research and innovation potential means we can deliver competitive high quality and sustainable services and the transport sector is no exception.
however the principle of subsidiarity must remain foremost in our consideration of the commission's communication on european transport technology strategy.
i am concerned that this report points to the initiatives which would be best formulated and executed by the member states themselves.
most mortgages are local to the country from which the applicant derives.
every country in the eu has its own culture as regards home ownership and that should be respected but consumer protection should be the defining principle when considering cross border rules and the compatibility of national systems. i congratulate mr snchez presedo on his report on this issue although i still have concerns about how the directive is likely to be implemented across the eu.
mr president i welcome this report because it is very badly needed in order to enhance investor protection and confidence in the markets and confidence is all important. the report would establish a common regulatory framework on market abuse to ensure the integrity of financial markets in the union.
the proposal extends the scope of the market abuse framework applying to any financial institution or instrument admitted to trading.
there will be no place hopefully as a result of this for market abusers to hide within the european union.
the regulation will lay down a set of administrative procedures sanctions and fines to ensure a common approach in the member states.