kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
this is unacceptable if we want to uphold the europe of freedom solidarity and human rights. the council needs to act now because what is at stake is our own credibility.
i want to tell you that the temporary reintroduction of border controls is explicitly foreseen in the legislation for exceptional situations and as a temporary
means is not compatible with european values and principles.
we are here to preserve and guarantee freedom of movement in europe but we also need to secure our external european
yes i expressed my frustration at the outcome of the recent council but with your support and the excellent work done by the luxembourg presidency we will all go this extra mile
however the socialist family is deeply concerned about the political climate in that country.
this time it is not only about political dialogue or its absence;
the problem is not just about the current very sharp and dangerous crisis the problem is that we have seen this before in december.
it is a matter of upholding basic democratic standards which are extremely important for the negotiations.
tonight the opposition party is publishing further evidence this time alleging electoral malpractice on behalf of the governing party while the governing party has a simultaneous press conference alleging bribery on behalf of the leader of the opposition.
but let me make some things very clear the announcement of charges and the threat of imprisonment against the leader of the opposition in the country the leader of the sister party of the group of parties which i represent in this chamber is a dangerous moment for democracy in this country.
we cannot ignore that evidence and nor can the commissioner.
these practices have no place today in this country or in europe.
in saying that i am conscious that success would require genuine political will on both sides and that the longterm interests require functioning political institutions within the country rather than reliance on external assistance.
we in this chamber do not want to be drawn into a spiral of allegations and counterallegations nor into the conflicting explanations about the provenance of the tapes; but there is no doubt that mass surveillance has taken place and that at least some of the evidence produced is genuine.
for the charges to be announced by the prime minister personally only adds to the concerns generated following the evidence of tapes released in relation to apparent gross political interference in the country's judiciary and media.
these are very serious charges that need independent and proper investigation and the high representative of the union and the council has been clear on this. the council will revert to the issue any time this year on the basis of an update by the commission on implementation of reforms
i can say that the council is fully aware of recommendations by the commission and we adopted conclusions in that context in december.
two thousand and fourteen yet with respect to the current political situation the eu has expressed serious concerns.
including in the context of the highlevel accession dialogue and on tangible steps taken to promote good neighbourly relations and to reach a negotiated and mutually acceptable solution for the name issue.
on the other hand this is a part of the world which has a long tradition of animosity springing out of a shared but contested history.
i do not accept responsibility here for what is happening today in this country but we should accept that we have contributed to the conditions where this political crisis has been generated and i ask the current presidency to do better than its predecessors in actually making good the words that she has shared with us tonight.
there are now fifteen member states in the council of ministers who want to move forward on this country.
i believe that the most efficient way to do this is to stimulate the integration and reform agenda.
it is unfortunate that political stalemate has evolved into sharp confrontation between the opposition and the ruling party.
in this respect we should be ready to help the country to get back on track.
as regards the current political events in the country i visited skopje in february and expressed my very serious concerns to all political leaders. all of them must step back from the brink.
they have no time to lose.
they remain fundamental for the very functioning of the country and its eu perspective.
in my frequent and ongoing contacts with the political leadership and the opposition i continue to urge political actors to engage in constructive dialogue within the parliament focusing on the strategic priorities of the country and all its citizens.
the commission will work closely with the meps in this respect.
i will come to this in a second.
i would like to reiterate that the commission stands ready to provide support while fully insisting on the separation of powers. the commission could support efforts to improve checks and balances and address failures for instance through the assessment on continued concerns about the independence of justice.
to build on the positive lessons learned so far the review of the ohrid framework agreement is important and should be soon converted into policy recommendations. finally let me stress that renewed efforts from all sides are needed to improve relations and trust between parties and these need to
it is of the utmost importance that there are continued efforts to improve the overall climate for cooperation and trust.
good neighbourly relations remain an essential part of the enlargement process and the eu's own history shows that working out compromises on contested issues is the best way to enhance regional cooperation and move forward. i would also like to use this opportunity to highlight the importance of maintaining good interethnic relations.
turning to the issue of good neighbourly relations i agree with you that it is an essential part of the country's progress towards the european union.
i share your concerns that delays in setting a date for the start of accession negotiations have added to the frustration of the population in the country and also affected the sustainability of previous reforms as well as the leverage of the union as such.
this includes a negotiated and mutually accepted solution to the name issue under the auspices of the united nations. we call for progress towards bringing the longstanding discussions on this issue to a definitive conclusion without delay. in the light of the overall importance of maintaining good neighbourly relations it is essential to continue highlevel contacts between the former yugoslav republic of macedonia and bulgaria and to translate them into concrete
however i would point out that the council conclusions of december two thousand and fourteen emphasised serious concerns about an increasing politicisation of state institutions and growing shortcomings in relation to the independence of the judiciary and to media freedoms.
this will take into account the highlevel accession dialogue and the tangible steps taken to promote good neighbourly relations and to reach a negotiated and mutually accepted solution to the name issue.
failure to deliver on these issues has damaged the sustainability of reforms.
action and results. finally let me add that the council broadly shares the commission's assessment that the political criteria continue to be sufficiently met on the basis of the cumulative progress achieved.
concerning the interethnic situation greater trust between the communities needs to be built. the ohrid framework agreement continues to be an essential element for democracy and rule of law in the former yugoslav republic of macedonia.
as shown by the latest developments political crises between government and opposition parties are recurrent. the council shares the view expressed in parliament's draft resolution that a more constructive and inclusive political dialogue is needed.
the council reiterates that maintaining good neighbourly relations remains an essential part of european integration.
you shouldn't be looking at farm europe on the website because they are giving you the wrong information. i look forward to france being very strong supporters of getting member states particularly denmark the netherlands sweden and austria in unanimity in order to do more so that we can reduce this particular impact on our farmers.
strengthening the farmers' position in the food chain is also important.
in an effort to improve market transparency the commission has established a dedicated sheep and goatmeat dashboard which is published on its website.
maintaining current production levels in sensitive sectors is one of the reasons why the cap foresees the possibility for member states to provide voluntary coupled support for the sheep sector.
supporting it is in the interest of all of
ms herranz garca's report is another valuable contribution to the discussion about this important sector.
the first countries that actually objected to this were the united states australia and new zealand and these are supposed to be the best friends of the united kingdom when it comes to a future trading relationship.
the commission shares the rapporteur's view in regard to the importance of small ruminants not only for producing a whole range of market goods like meat milk wool and skins but also in relation to landscape conservation the fight against countryside desertification and the preservation of our cultural heritage.
i look forward to the leadership of france in this regard. mr president i want to thank the rapporteur ms herranz garca for her report on the sheep and goat sector. this report rightly highlights the very specific features that are associated with this type of farming in the eu. recognising the contribution of the sheep sector as well as its vulnerability i established a sheepmeat forum in the autumn of two thousand and fifteen to provide our stakeholders together with my services with the opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities that face the sector.
this gives regular market updates and provides stakeholders with information about the main market developments inside and outside the eu.
i can assure you that the commission will continue supporting the sector's efforts to become more market orientated and secure its long term sustainability.
the report's suggestion to increase this level of support has to be seen in the context of the proposals for the future cap.
the first one is around how we are going to allocate the tariffrate quotas that come from new zealand and australia to the european union and maybe the commissioner would respond to that because that is a significant issue.
as i understand it the plans such as they are by the uk and the european union on this issue are not acceptable to the countries involved.
you might comment.
the second issue is also brexitrelated because many of the lambs produced in northern ireland come to the republic of ireland for processing and then go to france for consumption.
clearly we will have problems around that issue when brexit happens and we're not clear as to the shape of brexit around customs around borders and around standards.
they tell me an end to eu grants to the iwf and the uk safer internet centre puts at risk the amount of child sexual abuse material they will be able to remove from the internet.
uk safer internet day is the biggest safer internet day in europe reaching nearly three million children and their parents each year.
we should not forget that it is afghanistan that should have the ownership of its economic and political processes. therefore we should particularly support local initiatives and support the infrastructures to improve its citizens' participation in political life.
if you want our development efforts in afghanistan to be successful we firstly need to contribute to security building and we need to take steps in preventing radicalisation fighting corruption and establishing a strong and independent civil society.
in this regard i would suggest that the eu makes more of an effort in raising the efficiency of military spending including optimisation of industrial sectors and so on.
the european automotive industry must adapt much faster to mobility transition.
i agree entirely with these priorities so i was proud to vote for the report. in addition it was good that the amendment to the report seeking to promote incentives to use mega trucks was defeated as these are dangerous and unnecessary.
however it was disappointing that the point in the report on phasing out new emitting cars by two thousand and thirty five was not approved.
this excellent report calls strongly for a change towards more sustainable modes of transport a deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure and an ambitious action plan for the increasing use of electric vehicles.
trillions of pounds euros and dollars are being siphoned off through loopholes to avoid tax while our public services are starved of money and the world's poorest are hit hardest. this is a global problem but the panama papers revealed britain to be top of the leader board with the greatest number of offshore companies and trusts amongst eu nations.
i welcome the blacklist of tax havens and sanctions against them more transparency more cooperation as well as a globally recognised definition of a tax haven.
it is high time we end having one set of rules for the super rich and another for the rest of us.
mr president it is an extraordinary thing when we think of the blood and treasure that was poured into afghanistan in an attempt to keep out other countries one way or another the huge damage done to that state because of rival powers attempting to gain influence there.
the one thing that was never really properly tried and which still has not been tried is properly integrating afghanistan into the world economy allowing the institutions of private property and free contract to flourish there.
we are still i am afraid playing these great game power politics which end up treating the ethnic groups and the tribes of afghanistan as pawns rather than as constructs made up of individuals each with their own interests in markets and success.
i hope that the time for afghanistan will come.
we need to develop deeper and more active relations with hong kong as it has the potential to become an example of democratisation and liberalisation for other states in the east and south east asia region.
it was a while before the stories of the atrocities suffered by the rohingya people began to spread beyond newspapers that were either in muslim majority countries or muslim oriented in their readerships.
but i think we have now got a sense of the magnitude of what is taking place.
i wonder whether we were slow because it challenged our western perceptions.
we simultaneously struggle to see people as victims and as doers of violence. there is at the moment no worse human rights crisis on the planet and we cannot leave overwhelmed bangladesh to try and deal with this issue bilaterally.
if ever there was a case where we needed to step in this is it.
we are currently implementing a lot of measures from the steel action plan.
it has to be tackled both on the national and the european level.
we need strong modernised and innovative european industry and this is the basis for all of our actions.
i am responsible for this together with commissioner vella.
we should address at this conference with all of the stakeholders the very critical issues such as investment including the role which the investment plan will play in these sectors energy the circular economy package trade and last but not least research and development in order to secure the future of our industry.
firstly i want to say very strongly that we need strong european industry. we need a strong european steel industry.
in this context the commission is also willing to consider opening investigations based on the threat of injury.
trade defence action is triggered by applications from industry.
table. given that this is a legal process subject to scrutiny not only by the member states but also by the courts and in some instances the wto time is needed to ensure that any action taken is in line with the legislation and our international obligations.
the report offers a very interesting perspective for the current debate on how to support the sector something that is really vital for our economy. the report also highlights fundamental issues that have been at the centre of the commission's report.
as regards opening cases there is nothing to be gained from this time wise as it still requires the existence of sufficient evidence and this can only be furnished by the industry.
the austerity policies are much more destructive than energy prices.
mr president we want the european steel industry to have a sustainable future but it is obviously just not good enough for the commission to say it will try to come back with some solutions
without even mentioning the core fact that we have vast overcapacity in europe in the steel sector.
it would be counterproductive in fact the steel industry would be biting one of the few hands that can feed it if it were seduced by certain conservatives to go against climate policy because only investment in infrastructure and the transformation of our economies can provide new uses for steel.
edouard martin's report offers long term solutions to this crisis and if implemented correctly it could put european steel on the path to a sustainable future.
we in britain like to think that we are different from the rest of europe.
today i am calling on the uk government to stop hiding behind their excuses for inaction to stop blocking the vital reform of eu trade defence measures and to recognise that steel is a strategic foundation industry on which all of our manufacturing is based.
other countries believe in industrial policy.
it is clear that the global steel market is saturated with overcapacity especially from china driving down prices to unsustainable levels.
we have had enough high level meetings.
the european steel sector is in crisis. sites are closing with thousands of well paid highly skilled jobs lost.
we have had enough summits;
now we need to see action from the commission and from national governments.
it should be supported when it comes to plenary.
other countries have supported their industries within eu state aid rules;
we need to modernise and strengthen our trade defence tools to make them more effective acting quicker tackling social and environmental dumping and opening them up to give the workforce the ability to initiate complaints.
but we have a secretary of state who refuses to say the words.
but this is a difference which is killing our industries and communities like my own.
i suspect it would be as successful as extending the ets to the airline sector proved to be.
mr president the steel industry is important for our economy providing employment for thousands of our constituents.
eu climate policies are at fault here hurting competitiveness raising prices and ultimately driving industry out of europe.
i would ask the commissioner to explain what she is going to do to support the industry and combat the anti competitive practices it faces.
this month's meeting of eu ministers called by the uk business secretary sajid javid showed strong agreement on the need to take concrete action.
many countries around the world have reacted to this threat including the united states india and brazil.
the steel sector now needs action not proposals that have no prospect of success.
i do not believe the carbon border adjustment mechanism proposed by mr martin in his report is the answer.
since two thousand and seven despite rising demand for aluminium eleven of the twenty four smelters in the eu have shut down.
i fear it will invite retaliation and encourage protectionism around the world.
secondly look at the electricity prices which will be up forty seven by two thousand and twenty and immediately rethink the persecution of our manufacturing in the name of green dreams.
manufacturing matters.
totally uncompetitive dumping from china.
first of all combat the dumping by china.
mr president it is clear from listening to tonight's debate that colleagues from all over europe are concerned about the crisis in the steel industry and i would like to thank the uk government for calling the emergency meeting to see what more we can do to help.
yes this is partly due to overcapacity in the global market but decisions we take now in this sector have long lasting consequences because moth balling is not viable.
i am not asking you to bend or break competition rules but rather to make the decisions quickly please commissioner.
we should apply a more systematic approach.
we urgently need to have this debate but more than that we urgently need the commission to take rapid action to make sure that we are using all the anti dumping measures that the commission and the eu have at their disposal.
incredibly thousands of jobs have been lost.
that action needs to be taken now and i am calling on the commission to do so in order that we can have a uk steel industry that we can be proud of.
we are proud of our uk industry but we also need to make sure we can retain the skills that we have and also be able to compete in the marketplace.
as i stressed in my remarks there the un human rights council has a responsibility to ensure that stated intentions are translated into real action and real progress.
what matters in the end is not the number of resolutions that are passed but results in the real world that make a difference to people who are in need.
already before the high level segment the council had called for an inquiry and recommended the suspension of libya's membership of the council which as you know has since been confirmed by the general assembly in a unanimous decision.
for obvious reasons on that occasion the situation in libya was at the heart of our discussions.
the rights to free speech freedom of assembly justice and equality are not european rights they are universal rights.
this is a key objective of the ongoing review process.
let me conclude by stressing once again the importance of the human rights council for the eu the debates the resolutions and the rapporteurs.
faced in recent months with an increasing number of acts of religious discrimination and violence in different parts of the world we need to send a strong collective message against religious intolerance and in favour of the freedom of religion or belief for all people everywhere.
the eu also is engaging with the tunisian authorities to jointly present a draft resolution on the subject of boosting un technical assistance on human rights in the context of ongoing transition.
we believe that in both cases the severity and number of human rights violations justify the extension of the mandates of the respective un special rapporteurs.
the eu also supports the initiative to create a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in iran as proposed by several countries and regions.
the eu welcomes egypt's invitation to ms pillay to send members of her office to the country.
that is why we speak out and we act against human rights violations wherever they occur.
the real test is whether we make a difference on the ground.
we have several priorities for the sixteenth session of the human rights council and we have discussed these actively with our partners.
we must never fall into the trap of believing that people in other parts of the world whether it is africa asia or latin america should be any less passionate about their rights.
we also recognise that europe's own path on human rights protection has not been a straight line and that constant efforts are also needed inside europe. at the human rights council we are ready to discuss our own challenges share experiences and offer support to those working to improve respect for human rights around the world.