kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
i am merely saying it will happen and it would be better that parliament facilitate it rather than be pushed to do so.
i am not suggesting that the privacy of my staff be compromised in any way it does not need to be. but i am saying very clearly that until we allow freedom of information on our allowances and expenses citizens will see parliament as a place which preaches transparency but does not enforce it in its own house.
my last point is about communication in practice.
recently we have seen some difficulties in relation to competition files. for this reason we need to define modalities for the treatment of classified information documents and other information covered by the obligation of professional secrecy.
another positive development is the increase in the number of friendly solutions as we have already heard.
the paliadeli report offers a clear exhaustive overview of the ombudsman's activities for the past year and the new presentation for statistics and new layout makes this report accessible and easy to read.
so all in all in two thousand and eight we saw both progress and possibilities for further improvements by our institutions.
that is also true of the fact that the most frequent claims for maladministration concern a lack of transparency namely thirty six of all enquiries. such figures need to be brought down by all institutions.
we took an active part in the interinstitutional work to reach a satisfactory solution.
for the commission i am glad to say that the trend is definitely moving in the right direction.
the work should not be duplicated but be given enhanced visibility. from the commission's side we have tried to contribute to this and the new europa website does exactly
as you know the commission has its own code and that is broadly in line with the requirements of the ombudsman.
my second to last point is about the call made in the draft resolution for a common approach to a code of good administrative behaviour.
that. it enhances visibility and citizens can easily find the ombudsman's guide in a couple of clicks.
this important matter is best brought forward by first having a constructive interinstitutional debate and dialogue before presenting a legislative proposal.
after all the commission is a fairly big institution with many more areas of responsibility likely to be targeted by complainants but of course the figures can and should be improved.
in two thousand and eight the commission contributed an opinion to the negotiations on the review of the ombudsman's statute.
a different but related subject is that of the treatment of information relating to business secrets and confidential information.
the commission has been working hard on this issue and we will soon be able to submit a proposal to the ombudsman.
when it comes to developing an interactive handbook to help citizens identify the most appropriate forum for solving their problems i firmly believe that this excellent new website tackles the problem.
here i want to commend the ombudsman on his new website.
i travel extensively throughout the member states at all times.
i am giving you an average because the simple cases are usually resolved in about three or four months;
that is exactly what i am here for to learn from your suggestions and your criticisms so as to be able to carry forward the work of the ombudsman the better to serve citizens in the future.
but let me point out that the ombudsman should not be judged only in terms of the number of complaints or inquiries that he handles.
we handle more than eleven zero requests for information in addition to complaints each year.
during my mandate i have made more than three hundred and fifty trips throughout the union and also have reached out to all sorts of constituencies and spoken in large numbers of areas. so the resources that are being expended by the ombudsman to serve citizens go far beyond merely the number of complaints that are handled and i would like this august body to bear that in mind.
the un has stated that the un secretary general is carefully reviewing the reports conclusions and recommendations and the un high commissioner for human rights has urged the sri lankan government to quickly carry out the measures suggested by the panel and ensure justice.
the panel found credible allegations which if proven would indicate that serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law were committed by the sri lankan military and the ltte some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
on eighteen may there will be protests around the world organised by many groups including the tamil solidarity campaign to mark the second anniversary of this bloody war.
given the nature of the sri lankan government it is obvious that it will not allow any international investigation.
it highlights once again the need to campaign for a genuinely independent inquiry into the war crimes and for the rajapaksa regime to be held responsible.
the day after its publication it was reported that the un secretary general would only launch an international investigation if the sri lankan government agrees or an international forum such as the un foreign security council calls for an inquiry.
i believe that it is an objective reason for further investigations.
two thousand and nine after this agreement was not honoured by the sri lankan government the un secretary general appointed a panel of experts to advise him on modalities for an accountability process.
at a time when the creditable and legitimate work of international human rights bodies is being discredited it is for this house to step up and defend international law.
of course any deliberate atrocities against civilians by the military must be punished. i agree with that but there is no clear evidence that this was deliberate government policy.
the consequences now of the international community's ambivalence towards sri lanka are clear a loss of influence and an inability to shape developments.
i hardly need remind colleagues here of china's approach to human rights.
the approach taken in the report seems to be undermining the efforts now undertaken by the government of sri lanka to promote truth and understanding not least through the lessons learnt and reconciliation commission and the government actually having released more than two hundred zero detained tamil prisoners.
it is being promoted by extremist elements in the tamil diaspora the same people who have helped sustain the ltte terrorist campaign over many years through political activity and often from the proceeds of crime.
the un's darusman report which is the immediate pretext for this debate states clearly that in those final stages the ltte used the civilian population as human shields intensified the forcible recruitment of civilians including children into its ranks executed civilians who attempted to escape the conflict zone and deployed artillery in proximity to displaced civilians and civilian installations such as hospitals.
this does not excuse the shelling of civilian targets but it does put it into context and shows where the blame lies.
instead of trying to bring together the peoples of sri lanka there are those who seek to continue a campaign of hatred and division.
this approach is malicious and counter productive.
an end to a conflict does not necessarily mean that the conflict is over in people's minds. victory is not the same as peace.
therefore the sri lankan government should immediately start investigations on the violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
both sides need to be investigated.
we fully support the un recommendations.
if we are saying that we should leave the report on the table and we should not have investigations into what happened between january and may and indeed not open the door to investigate many allegations on both sides what is the point of a report of this nature?
indeed i find it compelling that one diaspora organisation of the tamil community the global tamil forum has said that credible allegations against the ltte and they have made this very prominent should also be investigated.
we have a report which ought to have a follow up and i speak firmly in favour of the need for a genuine process of accountability which would bring truth justice and reconciliation to sri lanka following what will be a painful investigation but an investigation which must happen.
what it fails to do is to outline the policies needed to heal the hurts of that nation.
too many countries for too long turned a blind eye to what was going on.
the right policies are needed now through a concerted effort by the international community to seek release and justice for all of those who have been so terribly affected.
for its potential to stimulate technological improvements and lower consumer prices.
two months later the commission also initiated an anti subsidy investigation in relation to the same product.
on six september this year the commission initiated an anti dumping investigation into imports of solar panels from china following a complaint by the european solar panel industry.
so if european industry brings forward evidence of unfair trade the commission will investigate the matter whether this concerns china or any other trading partner. we have both a duty and a legal obligation to restore the level playing field
sectors in which europe has so far had the upper hand in terms of technological advancement and sophistication are now increasingly facing chinese competition. the european union is the most open market in the world and we welcome competition
two thousand and nine this directive has established a regulatory framework that has been conducive to technological development cost reductions and innovation through economies of scale. europe must indeed be in the front line of developing this very important
flagrant patent violations nineteenth century working conditions cheap state loans and subsidies and a grossly under valued currency.
indeed the problem lies with ourselves or rather with yourselves addicted to neo liberalism and the economic and political ideology of globalism.
china might have transformed itself into a capitalist economy and country but it is not neo liberal. it competes with us with artificially depressed wage levels which not only reduce costs but also prevent the development of a market for imports from the west.
in the meanwhile they are stock piling resources and western currencies.
this provisional agreement as usual ducks the reality and promotes dangerous practices cloaked in commercial investment strategy because the eu is compounded all of the problems i mentioned by strive towards alternative technologies for fossil fuel generation notably carbon to help capture and storage which are clearly demonstrated to be uneconomic and damaging.
i believe that this violates our ambitions to create a genuine digital single market and thus these practices should be tackled.
therefore i truly welcome the commission's strategy based on more transparency and a ban on blocking website access as well as defining situations in which geo blocking would not be allowed.
madam president sixty three of eu websites use geo blocking tactics which discriminate against online shoppers based on their place of residence or so called temporary location.
two thousand and sixteen we have emphasised that the european central bank should remain free of any political interference and reaffirmed the european central bank's mandate for price stability which was especially crucial in response to the crises and the challenges.
in addition we called on the european central bank for more transparency and accountability especially towards the european parliament and stressed that it is of the utmost importance that ecb actions are complemented by sound fiscal policies and structural reforms performed by member states to generate growth
it will allow a danish family to buy a trip directly to an amusement park in france and without being directed to the danish website.
however we deceived our citizens the compromise on which we are voting is very limited.
would be able in the future to see their favourite films tv series and songs that were not available in their country of origin.
it will allow a swedish customer who wants to buy a toaster to go to the german website and buy it but only if he can secure the delivery by himself.
unfair practices of unjustified geo blocking often prevent consumers from ordering a product and services in other member states or having to pay higher prices than the locals.
the removal of such artificial barriers means that european consumers should be able to purchase products and services from the retailer or supplier of their choice from other member states.
they should have wider cross border access to products and services and smaller businesses should have access to bigger markets that are potentially more profitable.
so under the new rules consumers will be able to choose from which website they wish to buy goods or services without being blocked or automatically rerouted to another website due to their nationality place of residence or even their temporary location.
madam president to what problem is this proposal a solution? we are talking about highly competitive developed markets where there is no evidence of market failure and where individual businesses are pricing according to what they regard as the most profitable way of doing it.
why do we sitting in this chamber with absolutely no idea of what those considerations and calculations are for individual enterprises presume to tell them what their own pricing structure should be?
there is a legitimate role for government in setting overall regulations.
it is i would say legitimate for example for this chamber and for the european union as a whole to say that you shouldn't discriminate against goods or services on grounds of nationality that you are providing a level playing field for consumers but this is going way beyond that measure which by the way i think the uk should retain after brexit.
this is telling individual companies that regardless of what their own plans and their own profits show they need to follow some arbitrary political criteria of ours rather than their own commercial considerations.
guys we are not the best people to decide that.
madam president i supported this text which we voted on today. the text welcomes the commission's communication on accelerating clean energy innovation.
we needed this action and we got this result today.
this proposal lays out a strategy using a market based approach which would help to accelerate private investment to boost clean energy innovation. i am very hopeful that in this way we can ensure a better funding of energy science and technology and create a dynamic business environment for energy innovations. the environment will benefit from those innovations and people will live in a cleaner environment as well.
at the same time they reinforced the procedural guarantees for the persons concerned.
i therefore would like to take the opportunity to take a brief look beyond this report at what we have achieved over this last four and a half years.
this is the last anti fraud report by this parliament and the last one to be published under the mandate of this commission.
two thousand and thirteen both have streamlined olaf procedures and increased the effectiveness of the office.
moreover based on the strategy specific anti fraud provisions were introduced into the new spending programmes for.
i agree with all of you who say that we need to do better.
i believe that together we will achieve a better and stronger single market.
several of you highlighted the importance of the regulation of financial markets and the importance of fast decision making and how we should achieve
what is the european contribution to resolving the difficulties in ireland other than resolving the issues of the banks?
i think it is entirely putting the cart before the horse for any member of this parliament to talk here about establishing a minimum corporation profits tax across the european union without also talking about a common fiscal policy without also having a budget strong enough to provide the cohesion necessary for weak and
i also welcome the poverty platform but i have no evidence at all that the commission is using the two thousand and twenty strategy on which the platform is based for instance in the current negotiations with the irish government about resolving the problems there.
could i also make the point that it is extremely essential that we introduce legislation to provide legal certainty for those in the member states who provide social services of general interest?
two thousand and nine as long as we embrace globalism we shall not dig ourselves out of the crisis.
we must protect our economies from piratical and slave labour economies.
coordination of economic and fiscal policies broader and enhanced surveillance of fiscal policies better coordination of macro economic policy and more chillingly new enforcement mechanisms.
perhaps we should follow demographic policies that foster those talents and protect and preserve that creativity.
mr president reading the commission work programme for two thousand and eleven one principal point stands out use of the crisis to grab power for the commission.
the two thousand and twenty document refers to member states being the most innovative in the world but if emerging low wage economies are able to steal inventions with impunity innovation will not help us.
on the demand side a priority will be to strengthen consumer confidence with our proposal on alternative dispute resolution as an important instrument to speed up the often much too slow process of resolving consumer problems.
therefore bringing together the policies on climate change energy transport and environment will be a priority.
the preparations leading to this year's commission work programme have indeed been a premire' and in my opinion a very successful one.
through initiating the so called european semester' and the follow up to our proposals of twenty nine september we will reinforce the european fiscal framework and broaden macro economic surveillance to prevent imbalances.
now is the time to maintain momentum.
throughout this fruitful process i have been encouraged by the large degree of convergence on the overall direction and on concrete initiatives. it is a process which has acted to consolidate what i have called a special partnership'. european action must focus on those challenges where the eu can bring a tangible added value.
as an example of action at european level we will develop a more integrated european standardisation system as an important platform for sharpening the competitive edge of our companies particularly smes.
work. i therefore take this opportunity to encourage parliament and the council to engage in trilateral discussions on how to implement the treaty provisions on union programming. in the commission's view this could translate into agreements to move forward quicker in negotiations on selected initiatives of particular importance to attaining our political objectives.
in two thousand and eleven the commission will table the remaining pieces of regulation. key priorities such as transparency and consumer protection will be pursued while a bank crisis framework will aim to prevent and tackle future crises.
our proposal for smart borders' will facilitate travelling in and out of the eu while deterring irregular immigration.
we will continue to deliver and to pursue our dialogue with you on
mid. two thousand and eleven the specific financial instruments and programmes will be presented in the second half of two thousand and eleven in conjunction with the overall framework.
this. i believe the european union institutions should respond to citizens' concerns.
for the sake of transparency the programme moreover includes one hundred and fifty other proposals which the commission is working on.
not least smes are often overburdened or indeed discouraged from pursuing otherwise promising cross border projects.
the same applies for international negotiations as their conclusion depends on third parties.
two thousand and eleven our efforts will continue along three main tracks strengthening governance completing financial sector reform and accelerating our implementation of the europe two thousand and twenty strategy for smart sustainable and inclusive growth.
with the single market act the commission has launched an ambitious process to make the single market deliver on its full potential.
as a concrete example by clarifying the rules on collectively managed copyrights we can simplify the current framework conditions encourage further cross border activity and release important job creating potential not least in the promising digital sector.
to maintain the political nature of the work programme implementation work as a rule has not been included.
sustaining economic recovery and securing our societies for the future remains the overarching priority in.
our companies should focus on business not bureaucracy.
an ambitious financial sector reform is already well under way and important legislation has been accomplished.
strengthening security should always be a means of helping citizens to benefit from the opportunities of the european union never an end in itself.
meanwhile these activities remain an important part of our core business.
before concluding i would like to briefly explain what you will not find in the commission work programme and why. as announced we will submit the proposal for the next multiannual financial framework by
such a concerted effort would demonstrate our determination to deliver concrete timely responses in the face of the crisis which has shaken us all. europe's citizens would expect
the forty strategic initiatives which the commission commits to present in two thousand and eleven reflect the main political priorities that we have identified together.
the ambition of making the eu a tangible reality for citizens must go beyond the single market.
on the other hand the adoption of the programme is the conclusion of the enhanced structured dialogue which was opened with the state of the union debate in september here in this parliament.
long term growth must be based on a sound macro economic foundation.
to keep europe open we will also take action against those that try to exploit our economic system for illegal purposes while the framework for data protection will respond to a very real concern of citizens in the internet
by advancing the implementation of our revised framework agreement we have been able to engage in in depth discussions on the political priorities for the coming years.
when competitors are cheaper we must be smarter.
as such the work programme announces concrete action to project our two thousand and twenty objectives for jobs and growths internationally. we will also modernise our development policy and humanitarian
key proposals on posting of workers and working time will be developed and tabled in. two thousand and eleven meanwhile the revision of the state aid rules applicable to services of general interest will be a tangible step towards establishing a quality framework which takes account of the particular nature of these services.
for europe to remain competitive and secure more and better jobs the transition to a low carbon resource efficient society must be carefully planned.
we are therefore looking forward to an ambitious multiannual financial framework proposal in.
the only reasonable way to achieve this is through the single market. i welcome the commission work programme and specifically your proposal on the single market act.
we should focus on simple things which have an obvious impact on europe's competitiveness such as resource efficiency cutting energy costs reforming the agriculture policy and the future of transport.
two thousand and eleven i hope you will succeed in proving this in boosting growth and jobs not for some but for all.
it seems we have too many strategies and a lack of interest in making them a reality.
we still do not seem to know where we want to go and what we want to be.