kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
in marble arch the very centre of london we now have migrants living on the street with all the unpleasant social and sanitary consequences that involves which i will leave to your imagination.
our previous report in two thousand and ten concluded that the eu was confronted with the limits' of the existing reciprocity mechanism.
once this is adopted and in force it should act as a deterrent to unfounded applications and lead canada to lift the visa requirement for czech citizens. we are ready to explore with canada in close cooperation with the member states concerned possible additional measures to help reduce unfounded asylum applications and we plan to set up a joint working group on this issue.
it has been pointed out to the canadian negotiators that such measures are in contradiction with the spirit of an agreement like the ceta which tries to bring the eu and canada more closely together.
this is of course a serious concern and we know it could have potential negative effects on the successful conclusion and ratification of several important agreements with canada such as the comprehensive economic and trade agreement and the strategic partnership agreement.
however the eu negotiators have repeatedly in the margins of the negotiations made it clear to their canadian counterparts that this issue is important for the eu and decisive for the member states concerned.
this will include the canadian issue and will set out the future approach.
all existing countries would be re examined by the commission under this new more efficient mechanism.
europe desperately needs trade and jobs at this point.
just as mode four' worker access is not appropriate in the draft eu india free trade agreement so traveller visa matters do not belong in this canadian free trade agreement.
that is a matter for individual nation states working through their own embassies. the canadians have laid down fair and reasonable criteria including low immigration violation rates low asylum claims high integrity of travel documents and good cooperation on removals.
this is another example of that trend.
if this principle is breached however every eu member state can expect the eu to start dictating all its border matters and many eu member states may well dislike losing control of their own borders to eu diktats.
canada is not discriminating against us europeans it introduced similar restrictions for mexicans even though mexico is in the north american free trade agreement.
a legal and political border that the.
eu must not cross.
the second point of confusion is about the european union being a country.
so it is not the business of this place to force canada to treat every eu nation equally as if we were one country.
the answer is that as part of being a member of the european union every member country such as britain has to hand over the negotiation of free trade agreements to the eu.
this is an issue we are following very very closely and we have made clear to our canadian counterparts that visa reciprocity is a key issue for us in the commission for member states for the european parliament and for our citizens. we have also made clear that it may influence the ratification of the ceta process.
however this is not part of the formal negotiating mandate.
i think the message from this plenary has been very clearly heard and we will continue on the commission side to push this issue.
it will also be part of the discussion on a new eu canada framework agreement and we will set up a working group with the countries concerned the commission and the canadian authorities.
i am confident that the commission will continue negotiating a comprehensive economic and trade agreement with the canadian authorities taking due account of our international commitments when it comes to trade and economic exchanges as well as our rules and priorities for our own single market and our consumers.
the commission as guardian of the treaties and representing the interests of the union in this negotiation has a duty to make sure our economic and market rules are respected and upheld in any international agreement that is concluded.
but let us not forget that our union is not only about trade and economic exchange or about the free movement of goods and capital. it is also and mainly about people about the citizens of europe and i hope that the commission will put the core principle of european citizenship on the same level as our economic interests.
the visa situation for romanian czech and bulgarian citizens will be resolved.
looking at the situation today we still have reason to be concerned.
as you know any future eu canada economic and trade agreement will have to be approved by this house and we have made clear to prime minister harper that we are not ready to compromise on the principle of equal treatment for all european citizens.
we are also aware that other points in the negotiations might be problematic notably with regard to trade preferential markets or energy and environment for example. we are not denying or forgetting about these crucial issues but are simply asking for a fair and comprehensive negotiating strategy on the commission's part one which takes into consideration the concerns and warnings voiced by the european parliament.
i am simply standing up for equal treatment for all european citizens regardless of their member state of origin.
finally i would be grateful if the commission could clarify whether this principle will indeed become a red line' for the eu when it is concluding negotiations with the canadian authorities.
implementation of these existing rules.
occupational safety and health legislation should be evidence based and any new proposal will be based on a thorough impact assessment.
on these points we can make progress only with the active collaboration of all the relevant stakeholders.
with the assistance of the tripartite advisory committee on health and safety at work the commission intends to develop a tool to monitor better the implementation of the framework.
several measures are being implemented already such as the online interactive risk assessment tool developed by the agency and a europe wide training programme for labour inspectors.
the framework identifies three main challenges to improve implementation of occupational health and safety legislation in particular by enhancing the capacity of small and micro enterprises to put in place effective risk preventive measures;
in line with the regulatory fitness and performance programme the new strategic framework sets as an objective simplifying and rationalising the legal framework in particular for smes while at the same time ensuring the same level of protection.
our new strategic framework complements the legal acquis by promoting a holistic culture of prevention.
the results are expected for the end of.
statistics are critical to identify the various hazards and your suggestions will be taken into account.
it further acknowledges the need to improve statistics related to occupational safety and to set up a database.
i will continue to involve the social partners including through sectoral dialogue when appropriate.
it also provides a framework for coordinating national policies and improving implementation.
in this regard the commission has launched an ex post evaluation of twenty four existing directives.
the european union has a comprehensive body of legislation on health and safety at work in place already.
to improve prevention of work related diseases by tackling existing new and emerging risks; and thirdly to address demographic change and the ageing of the workforce.
i take note of your request in the oral question to introduce specific indicators in this regard.
a study on improving labour inspections in small and micro enterprises in the area of health and safety at work is currently under preparation. a number of user friendly good practice guides are already available with a view to supporting smes and micro enterprises.
the commission is working closely with the member states the european agency for safety and health at work the tripartite advisory committee on health and safety at work and the senior labour inspectors committee to ensure appropriate
finally let me mention that the results of the ongoing evaluation of the occupational safety and health directives will be determined to decide about possible new legislative initiatives.
when we talked about measurable goals with fixed timetables and periodic evaluation i just want to ask has any progress been made on let us say improving coverage of statistics on reliability on comparability on the timeliness?
what actions have been taken in order to promote exchange of good practices?
that was dropped by the council but again if we go to that same survey carried out by eurobarometer we see that one in every four says that ergonomic risks are very significant.
so in that context again while i am not suggesting that we might look at a directive but the last commission thought it was necessary has the commissioner any thoughts in mind as to how we might deal with that issue in a more effective way?
i just want to ask the commissioner if there are any proposals at all to promote a healthy environment and mental wellbeing at work.
i think some of those may have been provided by osha but again if the commissioner can give me any detail on that?
now i know that the european agency for health and safety at work is running an awareness raising campaign the healthy workplaces campaign but given that it is such a high risk i think that we need greater intervention on this issue and i think more needs to be done.
we have heard a lot of talk about straightforward legislation and user friendly guides.
finally you will be aware that during the last mandate the commission were proposing at least that we might have a directive on musculoskeletal diseases.
the issue of gender and age specific disaggregated statistics is very important because i believe that if we can get our hands on that information it will deliver better policy outcomes.
that is why this question was put to the commission and while there are a number of specific questions here and i do not expect the commissioner to answer all of them i just want to ask maybe to tease out one or two of the issues that we have raised here.
for example where smes might be mentored or supported by larger enterprises in the contractor supplier purchaser chain have we any examples of that?
job insecurity and the pressure of irregular hours causes significant stress for workers and leads to sick days.
part time and precarious work is becoming the norm and ireland my country has had a forty six increase since two thousand and eight in the number of workers who are underemployed.
these low wages then negatively impact on their ability to access healthcare and nutritious food.
so if we are to truly engage with the issue of health and safety for the working population then we must also tackle the issue of low pay and insecure working conditions.
however i feel we cannot on the one hand introduce measures to protect workers while on the other hand we pursue policies that are leading to precarious and insecure working conditions.
many of these workers are trapped in jobs that do not pay a living wage.
she has come with warm words and all the right noises but she has presented a strategic framework that is not strategic and is not a framework.
cancer we know is the largest single killer of people at work.
where is asbestos which kills tens of thousands of people a year now?
where is it in this supposedly strategic so called framework?
what about blacklisting? three thousand people in the uk were blacklisted mainly from construction sites for daring to raise concerns about health and safety.
what about the transposition of the list of occupational diseases into something that actually can be used at eu level?
we need a health and safety framework which reflects changing work patterns and new and emerging risks.
with any review we also need to embrace the principles of better regulation and the approach that we have heard expounded by commissioner timmermans.
we need regulations to keep people safe and i will never support measures which make workers less safe.
there is a misconception though that better regulation means a race to the bottom in terms of workers' protection and health and safety.
we should reduce the complexity of health and safety legislation because if we do we can increase compliance.
we can achieve our policy goals of enhanced health and safety while reducing the burdens on business.
i strongly believe that health and safety inspections should concentrate on what is actually happening in the particular workplace rather than on whether they have got the right document in the filing cabinet.
so i welcome the commitment to simplifying legislation and reducing administrative burdens and we really must consider how risk assessment documentation for small enterprises in low risk sectors could be made easier.
that is excellent because it works against smuggling.
let me say a second word on the human rights question.
this will give us the opportunity and the means for discussing with the tajik authorities all related issues such as child labour women's rights freedom of assembly and religious freedom absolutely mr belder because there are still some problems.
on the contrary i think we should engage with this poorest country of central asia. having said this yes of course we are also fully aware that there are huge challenges for this country.
water has also been mentioned.
indeed it is eur sixty six million for the period two thousand and seven to two thousand and ten which will even rise to eur seventy million over the three years two thousand. and eleven and two thousand and thirteen our aid will focus on sector support for social protection and health public finance management reform and technical assistance for private sector development.
it is a territory vulnerable to spill over from these conflict areas and to infiltration by islamic militants.
i believe that we are now on the right track with tajikistan supporting and encouraging indispensable reforms.
the european parliament's assent to the pca today will help us to continue to work with tajikistan on a whole range of political and economic reforms with a special focus on democracy and human rights and also to ensure their thorough implementation.
the government has made it clear that in addition to greater trade and cooperation it is willing to implement measures to improve social welfare health education tackle corruption and improve human rights.
i am of course very well aware of your concerns on democracy and human rights in tajikistan and i can therefore assure you that the commission will take these concerns fully into account in our dialogues with this country.
greater cooperation with the european union can therefore play a part in helping to prevent the spread of instability.
the poorest of the central asian republics has been badly hit by a substantial decrease in prices for aluminium and cotton due to the global downturn.
clearly though this overarching strategy is underpinned by individual and differentiated bilateral relations that reflect the varying aspirations and orientations of the countries concerned.
the rhythm of contacts between us has gathered pace and there is now a shared understanding of the benefits of greater cooperation on security matters border management and controls education governance and energy diversification.
the strategy is succeeding in forging a new kind of partnership with the five central asian republics.
it is important and in europeans' own interests that tajikistan should succeed in tackling its difficulties.
your assent to the new eu tajikistan partnership and cooperation agreement which is before you for debate today would therefore represent a major step forward allowing us to widen and deepen our cooperation with this country.
since the eu strategy for central asia was adopted in june two thousand and seven our relationships with all the countries of central asia have been deepening to our mutual benefit.
it is my intention that before the end of this year our regionalised office there should become a fully fledged delegation to encourage the reform process and facilitate full implementation of the pca.
as to the economic reforms we see progress for example on the drafting of a cotton debt resolution mechanism which hopefully will pave the way for wider agricultural reforms and the implementation of freedom to farm' crucial to tackling poverty in the country.
judiciary reform is still making slow progress but we hope the recommendations of a recent human rights civil society seminar in dushanbe will be taken into account by the government particularly in reform of the legal profession and the new criminal procedure code in tajikistan.
the reform effort is already underpinned by a relatively large amount of bilateral assistance from the commission.
it is to be welcomed that president rahmon has created the post of an ombudsman.
this process will be supported by our delegation in dushanbe.
this taken together with a thirty four drop in remittances in the first half of two thousand and nine gives rise to concern that poverty levels may be rising and that a precarious socio economic situation could provoke social unrest.
but we must retain a sense of collective engagement as we continue to improve ties with what was until quite recently a diplomatically isolated and largely overlooked region particularly by the european union.
in particular islamist terrorists in the region have shown a determination to exploit poverty and inadequate governance to radicalise the people and spread their message of hatred.
it is fair to say that tajikistan's record in democratisation and human rights is imperfect but i am convinced that dialogue and engagement on the eu's part will encourage tajikistan towards positive change.
central asia is a region vital to the eu's political and energy security. in terms of strengthening relations with the eu some countries in the region will progress faster than others.
tajikistan still bears the scars of a brutal civil war between secular and jihadi forces that erupted after the collapse of the soviet union in the early one thousand. nine hundred and ninety s people in tajikistan have no wish to see the return of bloodshed which is why they have given courageous support to nato operations against the taliban in afghanistan.
the ecr group therefore supports a deeper strategic political and economic partnership with tajikistan based on a commitment of progress towards openness democracy and higher standards of human rights.
certainly that seems to be the european union's view with regard to belarus and uzbekistan so tajikistan deserves to be treated in the same way.
the government of tajikistan has rejected extremism and with the help of the international community is seeking now to consolidate its nation's democracy.
the isaf mission in afghanistan is vital to tajikistan's long term future and its desire to find a security anchor westwards.
favouring some countries in central asia over others risks creating a discord and division in the region.
as a mother i can think of nothing worse.
the work they have done in this area has brought peace to many families. there is much more work for them to do with over one and a half thousand people still missing.
his thirty seven year old son had died the previous year of cancer. no parent should have to go through the pain of losing a child.
i urge this house to support the work of the cmp and to support written declaration ten which is humanitarian in its objectives and seeks to bring peace and remembrance and reconciliation to these families.
but we have over two zero parents brothers mothers and sisters in cyprus who are suffering every day as they wonder about the fate of their loved one.
madam president one of my constituents in london has informed me of serious allegations against a mr vladimir perisic also known as dr vladmir de rothschild who claims to be a medical doctor and a specialist surgeon. it is alleged that mr perisic is not medically qualified is not registered with the general medical council and that he uses his spurious medical credentials to defraud vulnerable people.
he allegedly claims to have met david cameron and persuaded the department of health to consider his proposal for an nhs voucher scheme.
as a result of this an article featuring him recently appeared in good faith in a national sunday newspaper.
this could give him further spurious legitimacy to dupe those in need of serious medical care.
he is potentially a dangerous risk to the public. mr perisic should be investigated by the relevant uk authorities and the appropriate action taken if the allegations are found to be true.
for that reason i propose the following phrasing for this paragraph sixteen which you have in your papers if you wish i can read it but in fact it eliminates the words about association agreements and brings together the first part of this paragraph with the second by adding the words should comply with'.
however under eu law the uk cannot introduce a charge applicable only to foreign vehicles.
if added charges are levied across europe the extra cost is ultimately filtered to the consumer.
if this directive expands its capabilities any move by the uk government to introduce hgv charges will be overshadowed by an unwanted indirect tax which the commission also reserves the right to make obligatory in.
it is an underhand way of introducing indirect taxation and should not be voted through by anybody with a democratic bone in their body.
the uk government is looking into hgv charges to bring us in line with europe by.
the commission supports this agreement.
secondly at a time of scarce public funding the charging for external costs provided by the new directive will generate revenues and make new financial resources available for transport infrastructure.
this is part of a wider strategy to internalise the external costs of transport in all modes to get transport prices right.
i have noted your declaration on the correlation table.
whilst the proposed charges will apply to all vehicles the burden on the british industry could be fatal.
mr president the proposed directive might be the last straw to break the back of the british road haulage industry.
in the areas of tax transparency fair taxation and the implementation of anti base erosion and profit shifting standards.
we are also happy that the commission has announced that it will put forward a legislative proposal on this matter next spring.
the list of eu legislation that the council has adopted against tax evasion and tax avoidance over the last four years under the unanimity rule is impressive especially compared to the previous decades.
against this background member states are working very hard to change the legislation so that unwanted practices leading to loss of tax revenue would become illegal.
on this front we will need the cooperation of our global partners so that international tax rules could be revised and adjusted to the reality of digitalisation.
not only have these revelations been instrumental in providing bases for informed policy making but they have also helped in creating political awareness.
in some of the cases for instance with regard to hybrid mismatches the measures are just about to be implemented by member states.
however we cannot exclude that certain schemes exist with the sole objective of reducing the taxes that would otherwise be due.
more work will be needed since tax planning methods are evolving constantly.
among the results achieved so far we have seen bank secrecy de facto coming to an end a shift of our policy focus from removing double taxation to tackling double non taxation development of new eu policy instruments to combat tax avoidance and steps taken towards harmonisation of our national practices affecting the functioning of our single market.
however we cannot be complacent.
all in all these legislative and non legislative initiatives just mentioned have been politically important steps for the eu.