kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the funny thing is the answers are staring at us.
mr president i think under rule one hundred and sixty four of our revered procedures i am allowed to respond to the comments you made as president of parliament some of them personally insulting. maybe you have a bit of a problem with your temper.
i've always thought this was a better approach between our country and the eu than the one we currently have.
to claim mr tajani that the european union brought about the downfall of nazism and soviet communism isn't only laughable it is very ungracious and deeply insulting to the united states of america which made massive sacrifices so that europe could be free twice in the twentieth century and to a slightly lesser extent the united kingdom as thirty zero british dead in italy will attest.
mr tusk i want to thank you for confirming that it was theresa may who asked for the oneyear extension to the transition period. i also want to thank you for your recent offer saying that if britain wants a canada plusstyle trade deal you are open to it.
many in this parliament fear as we have just heard that in the next european elections abstentions will be numerous and socalled populist extremist parties will achieve a record success.
the lisbon treaty aimed to strengthen the bottomup dimension of the union and make citizens feel it was really theirs so the functions and powers of the european parliament were increased.
members of this parliament diligently work on new proposals and laws intended to promote the welfare of all citizens.
yet it had been intended to transform the eu from a topdown construct to one that directly related and responded to the concerns of european citizens.
almost all of you have expressed your disappointment with the lack of decisions on migration policy that you were expecting from the european council.
however i cannot leave two interventions without a comment.
the real progress in the european council is that today almost everybody understands that our priority should be stopping the inflow of irregular migrants and not their distribution.
listening to the debate here i get the impression that some of you would like to see a europe where there are no member states and no governments.
finally i would like to share with you one remark.
you may have noticed that i never try to take too much of your precious time and today i will also stick to this rule.
mr president again this parliament and the commission show that they are out of touch with the public opinion.
with the rising tide of euroscepticism how do you think the public will feel when their services and food become more expensive because you have increased transport costs?
uk hauliers have already been hit hard in the pocket by paying for unnecessary training from the eu's driver certificate of professional competence.
this was an insult to the common sense of longstanding hauliers.
not only did this cost far too much for the self employed it has actually caused a huge shortage of hauliers in the uk.
hauliers already have far too much paperwork to do when dropping goods off in the uk and the last thing they need is more paperwork.
if you carry on at this rate each driver will need a personal assistant and a filing cabinet in their truck just to meet your demands. in summary this report will increase the cost of goods for our citizens exacerbate the shortage in this industry and increase the bureaucratic burden on drivers across the uk.
madam president i want to thank president tusk for the update and insight into the possible extension of the transition period. like you i hope for an agreement at the end of this process and an orderly withdrawal of the united kingdom from the european union.
the public debate has moved on from the october council.
we now know from leaks of the text that the eu will consider an all uk customs arrangement for the backstop but apparently not within the withdrawal treaty;
i'm presuming wanting to leave the northern ireland specific one in place.
while this would be portrayed as a move forward from the eu it is both a naive and negligent strategy.
the insistence of a customs or regulatory border between northern ireland and great britain would damage northern ireland economically and constitutionally.
it would ignore the principle of consent within the belfast agreement.
it would leave a hugely controversial measure in a legally enforceable treaty in exchange for a promise of further negotiation not something that could be accepted.
we fully back the assessment that negotiations have not achieved decisive progress and president tusk's decision not to call for a european council in november but to stand ready to do this if and when decisive progress is made.
we are close to an agreement but at the same time what is missing is a decisive and indispensable component of a deal.
we reiterate that without a backstop for the irish border the european parliament will not give its consent to the withdrawal agreement.
we are not demanding a border in the irish sea but a simple decentralised mostly immaterial fall back mechanism which shall not pose any challenge to the integrity of the united kingdom and we stand open to consider solutions like a longer transition and a uk wide customs union which will make the likelihood of using such a backstop remote.
we are calm open constructive but very firm on principles such as the right of citizens the integrity of the single market the protection of the good friday agreement and of course our arms are and will always be open if the uk changes its mind.
the lack of progress on the completion of economic and monetary union is a great responsibility of the member states.
those who do not understand that we desperately need to complete the banking union to establish a european unemployment benefits scheme to make tech giants pay their fair share of taxes and to enhance our investment capacity are making a big mistake. a special mention has to go to the cynical irresponsibility of the italian government which is challenging the very logic of any common rule and is doing this not to support growth and jobs but to pay with the money and the savings of italian citizens for its electoral campaign giving amnesty to tax evaders and paving the way for further austerity making any battle for a better eurozone and more risk sharing more difficult.
it's often better to make your key point first.
mep stated the risk to british farming is huge.
what i really really am concerned about is the degree of increasing red tape that this proposed legislation will produce.
the sheer scale of surveillance and veterinary resources required will merely see more cost to the consumer.
using trade deals as a control mechanism is equally unlikely to help unless the european union anticipates cctv cameras in chinese and dutch pork farms and eu vets visiting usaargentinian cattle ranches frenchvietnamese duck and uk poultry businesses.
this legislative framework runs the risk of driving antimicrobial sourcing under the radar into the cybermarket and potentially into the black market and we've got no assurance that some of the eu trade deals will actually adhere
mr president i am pleased today to support this ambitious report on singleuse plastics.
i believe that the european union can and should lead the way in cleaning up the world's oceans.
the scale of the problem is staggering with eight million tons of plastic waste ending up in the oceans every year.
it's an ecological catastrophe but with firm action we can solve the problem.
a lot of the plastic that's in our seas from food and drink packaging can be replaced with something more sustainable.
this report is a step in the right direction but there is much more that we need to do.
madam president unfortunately i could at this moment repeat the same conclusions from any of the past three years' council meetings because it's very obvious that the leaders are failing european citizens' expectations miserably and profoundly.
we have delivered on climate change and security but when it comes to migration there is a complete failure.
after careful studies and consultations we made difficult compromises and came up with a text on the reform of the dublin regulation that a twothirds majority of this plenary this house could tolerate.
meanwhile in the ivory tower far away from any contact with citizens and reality heads of state are throwing insults at each other and refusing any compromise.
sometimes it is necessary for antibiotics to be used in a sensible manner.
never be used as a substitute for proper feed good hygiene practices in an appropriate environment and animal welfare standards.
antimicrobial resistance amr in both animals and human beings is a growing cause for concern.
veterinary medicines have to be prescribed and we also have a strong distribution system allowing medicines to be distributed by vets suitably qualified persons and pharmacists depending on the type of medicine.
in the spirit of the peaceful coexistence of countries all of us should refrain from meddling in the political diversity of the uk as well.
i welcome the council tackling hybrids cyber disinformation and cbrn.
mr president in today's budget vote it is highly regrettable that the shortfall in funding for the european union agency for railways was not reversed as proposed by the committee on transport and tourism in this parliament.
to answer the previous speaker this is a specific new responsibility.
although the budget resolution amendment did highlight that extra funding for agencies with additional responsibilities must now be found this on its own is insufficient.
i call upon the commission and the council to follow that up with concrete action and find the money for the european union agency for railways.
thank you commissioner for pointing out that it has nothing to do with finger pointing at each other but there are some rules of different institutions in the european union and that is exactly what we are doing and i think we shouldn't lose sight that this is a good legislation and that we did already make a good improvement that we have a database but however this does not prevent us from improving the implementation and that is exactly what we have tried to do during our presidency and i pointed out that we are organising discussions
and also international conferences to raise the awareness and with the help of the commission and with working together i think we can improve the situation for all of us and for our health.
i take this opportunity again to reaffirm that the presidency is ready and willing to work with the other institutions towards implementing any course or action that will be ultimately recommended by the commission.
on the comment related to eu manufacturers most eu manufacturers already have clean vehicles on the market and are investing to further expand their offer well before the date of application of this revised directive.
many eu cities regions and transport authorities have also already taken strategic decisions to advance the introduction of clean vehicles.
on the contrary it will facilitate their investment planning and help them remain competitive in this market.
this is particularly needed in light of the quickly accelerating global competition and increasing market share of non eu manufacturers.
in addition the commission is open to considering an alternative approach based on alternative fuels only if the proposed subtargets for zero emission vehicles are maintained at a necessary level of ambition.
finally let me stress again that i warmly welcome your ambition to conclude the negotiation before the parliamentary recess. there are of course certain aspects that will need to be clarified in cooperation with the council but i am confident that the right solution can be found and swift agreement can be reached between the co legislators.
the treaty is a reflection of what member states collectively want and require from the eu.
they have come together and pooled sovereignty because they see there are challenges that no one member state can address acting alone.
as jean claude juncker said in the state of the union address this year and i quote european sovereignty is born of member states' national sovereignty and does not replace it. sharing sovereignty when and where needed makes each of our nation states stronger. ' end of quote.
too often the discussion on sovereignty is a pretext for the question of how we can stop things but the real question we should ask is how can we act effectively and legitimately in the face of challenges or crises? i also want to react to some of the things mr zanni said.
there is no imposition.
every single member state has signed and ratified the treaty.
we are based on the rule of law and that means that this union can only function if we can accept that those who sign and ratify the treaty also apply the treaty.
if we have a problem with that the commission can intervene and at the end of the day it's the court of justice that will rule on this.
creating the impression that this is an imposition from outside is i think fooling your own people and it is irresponsible.
it can create a certain feeling of we're being dictated to from outside' but it is not a reflection of reality and it is also hiding away your own responsibility.
you have a responsibility vis vis your colleagues in the council vis vis the european parliament vis vis the commission but you certainly have a responsibility vis vis your own signature your own ratification and i think we should be talking about that more.
decision through qualified majority voting qmv has increased.
i hope we can use the coming time to look into areas where qmv can be increased especially in foreign policy.
if you have to take decisions on international human rights or if you have to take decisions on commercial issues i think qmv could be a helpful instrument. again and i come from a country where the temptation of thinking that the veto was the best thing you had has sort of waned.
people understand that a veto can only give you the instrument to stop something temporarily but it doesn't give you the opportunity to act to actually do something proactively and so i think the discussion of qmv will have to move forward.
we need to do this at the european level and for that i think qmv would be important as well.
the core of the issue is that we need to make sure that all those who in the end have to work with legislation are also involved in preparing the legislation helping us to evaluate the legislation to make sure that we avoid duplication to make sure that we avoid unnecessary complexity.
it is now also my experience that the issue is not in general should competences be returned from the eu level to member states?
we've challenged everyone to give us some examples and the examples are few and far between but not really very concrete.
how do we do this?
can we not do this in a way that is less complex that will help local and regional authorities to have ownership of these processes?
where can we evaluate existing legislation to make sure that we take out what is no longer necessary etc.
we need to do things europe needs to do and we need to stop doing things that are nice to do.
we only need to do what we need to do.
i believe that if we start from that premise we will understand that there is a tremendous amount we still need to do and i couldn't end my intervention without referring to the momentous decision this parliament took today to embrace the plastic strategy.
it is now up to the council to do something that a vast majority of europeans want us to do and they want us to do it now.
however this is easier said than done as it requires the commission to undertake a formal human health risk assessment which must follow a defined procedure.
the commission has not done this with the potential consequence that large quantities of meat will arrive into the uk from farms that use antibiotics prophylactically as a medicated feed.
it is even possible that the antibiotics in this feed are of a type that the british livestock industry voluntarily does not use because of their extensive use for human patients.
i urge the commission to delay implementing this legislation until either brexit is safely achieved or they have squared it with the wto.
in any event the legislation should use sound science when laying down prescriptive rules for medicated feed for example the threshold at which carryover in mills becomes a genuine issue.
british livestock vets are high grade professionals who need flexibility in how they prescribe and use medicines.
if this legislation becomes too restrictive welfare problems may ensue with culling as the only solution.
i hope that the future independent uk government will think outside the box as regards antimicrobial resistance because big advances have been made in commercial genetics.
among our wild bird population we find genes that will tolerate a bacterial attack and shrug it off after a few days of lethargy.
these genes could be transferred into our own poultry so that medicines are not required in the first place.
above all else we must educate our consumers into taking antimicrobial resistance seriously enough to insist to the supermarkets they do not expect to see substandard products on the shelves.
i feel that the commission is not paying sufficient attention and taking responsibility its responsibility for this totally unacceptable situation. the commission takes the kind of attitude that it knows about this and is taking it into consideration and doing what is necessary.
there should be a sense of real urgency that growing inequalities are the central threat to the very future of the union.
when china wants to increase chinese power we need to support african democracy.
regarding frameworks and agreements for trade investments modernisation new infrastructure doing what we can in order to have the best possible development in this continent of huge opportunities and one of our most important neighbours.
let's hope that the millions of people wanting to stay can make their voices heard.
of course the united kingdom is an important part of europe and an important country and we need to safeguard the best possible relationship.
cyber warfare hacking destabilisation warfare as in ukraine repression corruption let's be strong in standing together and do what we can regarding africa safeguard ourselves against russia and ensure that we can have the best possible economic development.
open debate and dialogue of course is the best way to build trust and the commission will continue to support measures that will help to build that trust which have been suggested by you here this evening.
mutual trust in the quality of the education system of each single member state is very important.
this along with the continuous focus on high quality education is the basis of automatic mutual recognition of diplomas and learning periods abroad so i want to assure members that the commission will continue to work with member states in this direction.
we have already achieved a lot but much more still needs to be done as has been explained here by many members.
we need our young people to be able to live in a european education area which does not hamper their free movement as learners and we have received a strong push to do more from our heads of state and government in the council conclusions last december.
we are responding in a very concrete way to give effect to these concerns and this push.
we need to address social inequalities by fully implementing the social pillar and we need to support investment into the future.
we have all the proposals on the table.
we need the political will to complete the banking union to reform the european stability mechanism and to create a budget capacity in the euro area in order to support member states to invest in the future.
either we support countries which want to move ahead with social cohesion and turn to the future or we will have a fragmentation of the european union.
the choice is there on the table of the next european council in december.
but what i would say is that i believe in freedom of speech.
but if i have offended you and clearly i have i apologise unreservedly.
i hope you will accept that.
but it maintained and enhanced the system of intergovernmental policy coordination which was very different from the community method and for many of us this has been a disappointment.
as a result important policy decisions and actions are based on the voluntary commitment of member states with all its consequences.
eventually all decisions including on the mff should be taken by qmv even if a very high one in some particular cases.
mr president first of all i would like to appreciate your generosity because i was to replace you in the chair a few minutes ago and thanks very much for doing the overtime.
but let me make maybe two or three somewhat different remarks because i can subscribe to basically nearly all that has been said.
i think that we need to perceive this as an issue which still needs a mindset change.
we still are working through legislation which is correct.
we still need to sort of impose we still need to motivate but it's not yet genuine.
and if we look at the policies one policy one regulation one directive one piece of legislation will not make a difference.
that is something that requires a mindset and also stimulus and let's say motivation not just thresholds.
i am getting a little bit tired mr tusk of the monthly hollow words that we are hearing of the bored look on your face when you are listening to the debate.
you are the co legislator but the council has become a completely dysfunctional body.
it's a bit like the bermuda triangle of politics you put proposals in there and they disappear never to be seen again.
it's not just that the council is totally unable to solve any crisis at all;
and i dare to say more the council in its current paralysis is a threat to the future of the european union.
you have to ask yourself as president of the council mr tusk am i going to assume my responsibility for the european union or am i just going to enjoy this job for as long as it lasts?
' it is about time that the government leaders understood that they are also european politicians;
they have a responsibility for this continent for the european union and they cannot content themselves with travelling to brussels or salzburg or whatever having a photo opportunity and then agreeing not to decide anything because i don't think it's even an inability to decide anything it's deliberate.
the government leaders don't want to decide anything.
they are quite happy keeping everything that they have. but what they don't seem to understand is that by not deciding anything they cannot keep things as they are because the world keeps turning they cannot stop it.
finally on the asylum package it is an absolute disgrace that after three years' deliberation there is still no decision.
in fact your task is not an easy one. i know that you have to cope with prime ministers presidents and if i look at the czech leadership one of the most critical to the european union in terms of the abilities to solve migration issues then the same leadership is undermining issues or instruments such as frontex.
you can provide leadership and you can really deliver. at the moment whether it's migration whether it's governance we are failing.
we believe our focus should be on delivering results for our citizens in particular right until the end of the present term.
be assured that the austrian presidency will be focused on this.
on this i would simply note that the ordinary legislative procedure which is now generalised after lisbon works well and i would like to thank the european parliament for the good cooperation and that the relations between the council and parliament on the whole have indeed improved. beyond this
there is certainly a debate about the evaluation of the treaty and more generally about the future of the union.
we appreciate that parliament has been working on several reports on certain aspects of the treaty.
i am sure that in today's debate a variety of views will be expressed based on respective political perspectives.
that said i will listen to your debate attentively.
thank you for this opportunity.