kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
mr president first of all i would like to express my appreciation for the work of mrs mcguinness on this report which i know she did in difficult circumstances. she has succeeded in illustrating the great variety of the work of the committee on petitions and i would like to reconfirm as i have no doubt she expects the commission's willingness to cooperate
besides agreeing on the importance of working directly with citizens the second thing i would like to pick up on is the general issue of fundamental rights.
some of these petitions are common to many other member states as well but many were quite specific to malta.
i agree and i should know.
they crop up in many places in your report whether about nationality and related rights individual and family rights or the right of property and as you know it very often happens that people who petition parliament about their fundamental rights end up being disappointed.
in addition it is also true to say that a good collaboration with the national authorities and the organisation of fact finding missions are definitely useful ingredients for your work.
in all ways we can with the work of the committee. i would just like to pick up on two of the points she makes in the brief presentation of the report.
i sincerely hope you are not telling us here tonight that nothing will change because if that is the case that is unacceptable certainly from my point of view and from the point of view of consumers throughout the european union.
but that is something that has got to be kept right; and it is not right if we allow other countries to break that. and it is even more wrong that you say talks with mercosur will go on and the negotiations there will go on.
and you are quite right you told us here tonight that we in europe are the best we have the highest possible standards that anyone can hope for.
they must be ended as well.
i asked him to provide more information on the state of play and the next steps that he planned to take.
it was also confirmed that importers would be liable for the cost of these reinforced checks.
that is how you act to defend your citizens and your consumers.
tolerating and asking for guarantees is no good.
madam president commissioner andriukaitis talks about current and future safety. i notice he did not talk about our past safety because we have been let down and it is too late on that. then he goes on to talk about continuing these trade talks but surely the best way to guarantee the safety of european citizens is to give them access only
to meat that comes from the safest system in other words from the european union.
surely it makes sense to have a short supply chain and interestingly enough i have not heard many people talk here about the fact that we have signed up to doing something about climate change.
how on earth pardon the pun does it makes sense to bring meat from that far away across the planet and potentially send it the other way although we are not allowed to do that yet though potentially with trade talks.
because apparently we are not going to do this.
as for safety checks how can you increase physical checks?
what are you going to do have x ray vision?
four plants eligible to export to the eu were implicated in the scandal.
this is very manageable in terms of an investigation.
this applies both to the delivery of consumers' expectations for quality as well as ensuring that the eu producers are not penalised for adapting to ensure these standards are maintained.
i would like to see a full report identifying lessons that we can learn and measures to be enforced.
madam president i would like to thank the commissioner for his detailed response. however i have just some comments to make. on our first question we did look for some details and i am not sure that you have provided us with the details we would like.
this investigation which is a criminal investigation was going on for two years and in that time products that were unfit for purpose were placed on the market and we need more clarity about the extent of it and where they were sent to.
the second point i would make is in relation to the return of products on the high seas.
i have to say if i were a brazilian consumer and i heard that this product was being returned to brazil i would be very frightened.
i would want this product destroyed somewhere and to have a guarantee of that if there is any doubt about its quality because insofar as i worry about european consumers i clearly would have a worry too about brazilian consumers.
in relation to how this was discovered probably the only good part of this story is that there was an investigation and the system was found wanting.
while i like what you are saying that there would be no lowering of eu standards these are very fine words but the problem is that if you have this type of activity in an industry that is supplying the european union today how can you guarantee that it will not continue tomorrow?
not a single mention whatsoever in that statement of the complete breakdown in trust following the emergence of the meat scandal just ten days previously.
it appears that revelations that rotten meat meat treated with carcinogenic chemicals meat mixed with cardboard that had made its way into the eu under your watch could not dampen the enthusiasm of this commission to try to conclude dangerous and regressive trade deals.
this time last year commissioner hogan told us that beef was temporarily off the table of these negotiations.
but where is the follow up timeline or detail of the conditions under which it will be brought back to the table? where are the assurances for poultry the sector which is actually the single largest category of meat consumed in ireland for example and which faces far bigger brazilian import quotas than even beef?
what about the other sectors that stand to be impacted by cheaper improperly treated agricultural products?
where are the assurances for consumers who should be confident that what they buy in the shops or order in the restaurants is properly treated?
at what cost is this commission actually prepared to continue pushing with these deals?
it is time to protect our consumers and to protect our farmers.
it is time for you commissioner to ensure that we withdraw from the mercosur trade talks.
madam president this is the second time that the british beef consumers have been let down by the eu.
in the first instance our consumers were conned into eating horsemeat when they thought they were eating beef.
they were obliged to rely on the eu hack up process of traceability which is only as good as the least honest person in the food chain.
now we discover that relying on the commission to monitor the conduct of the brazilian meat industry is a very naive aspiration.
the commission did not have a clue what was going on as grossly substandard meat arrived on eu shores from brazil.
this is particularly worrying as the commission had ambitions for yet more brazilian beef imports in its mercosur negotiations. british beef producers are subject to rpa inspections assurance scheme inspections and the scrutiny of animal rights organisations whilst the cost of meat processing is higher than it need be due to the eu's insistence on expensive veterinary surgeons to attend abattoirs when the experienced reliable british meat inspector had done an excellent job.
brexit gives us the opportunity to address these problems.
madam president it is vitally important to take food quality and food security seriously and the brazilian meat scandal has reinforced this message.
there can be no place for corruption at the heart of any food supply chain and we must congratulate the brazilian police for tackling the problem.
in northern ireland we make enormous efforts to ensure the safety and traceability of our food.
however many of the farmers and processors that i represent are questioning the ability of the commission to guarantee that product entering the eu is of a comparably high standard.
why did the inspections not uncover this problem and leave it to the brazilian press to break the story?
why is it that only now additional measures to ensure food safety are being adopted?
as the commission races ahead with the mercosur trade deal what measures will be put in place to ensure food standards and consumer safety?
many farmers in northern ireland believe that the commission has a laissez faire attitude to imports which is quite contrary to the stringent and over burdensome requirements placed on them.
all affected plants must be delisted from exporting to the eu and any product from these plants removed from the food chain.
if we do not get a satisfactory response from brazil then we should be prepared to consider a ban on imports until such times as we have a proper reassurance.
ten years ago in this parliament we were discussing the absence of traceability of brazilian beef and tonight we are discussing an even bigger scandal which shows systematic failures in controls at all levels in brazil.
european consumers rely on the commission to ensure safe food.
european farmers rely on the commission to ensure verifiable equivalence in the food products we import.
the commission has failed in this duty.
several countries moved swiftly to ban brazilian beef.
some have relaxed that ban but we sat on our hands and failed our citizens and farmers again.
it cannot be business as usual in the mercosur negotiations.
the mutual trust that should be there has been shattered.
that is why the commission recognises the importance of e democracy and e participation.
two thousand and twenty five one of these is for all european households to have access to download speeds of at least one hundred mbps.
the eu citizenship report two thousand and seventeen underlined the commission's commitment to promoting best practices to help people vote and stand in eu elections.
lastly let us remember the importance of media pluralism and freedom of expression values that are enshrined in the charter.
we need to accelerate the transformation of government and improve people's participation in decision making processes.
we also need to ensure that everyone can benefit from new opportunities that are presented by the new technologies.
citizens and businesses expect better services from public authorities greater transparency and less administrative burden.
media literacy is a key factor for people to make the most of the unprecedented amount of data information and views that they can now access thanks to digital technologies.
this means making the internet accessible for everyone including the elderly and people with disabilities.
it is part of our broader vision for creating a digital single market.
for the dsm to work our digital networks have to be protected.
it concerns issues that are fundamental to how we evolve as democratic and innovative societies and it recognises the strategic role that new digital technologies play in shaping public policy and public services.
in its report parliament highlights the importance of all of this and calls for greater eu wide cooperation but we also need to recognise the challenges.
that is why the commission has proposed connectivity targets for.
governments and administrations need to be open transparent and collaborative.
this means open data open services and open processes.
for e democracy to be efficient and thrive people must also have access to information as well as the necessary skills.
these best practices should also address e democracy remote voting arrangements like e voting and cross border access to political information.
in its communication last year a new skills agenda for europe' the commission proposed a skills guarantee to help europeans to get more access to basic literacy numeracy and digital skills training.
it aims to promote open and transparent government as well as to improve the interaction of government and individual citizens.
ict is a great tool to engage people to improve transparency and to increase the accountability and relevance of public administration.
at the same time people who do not have the full means or skills to participate should not be excluded which is an essential part of building trust.
they will also focus on improving the low voter turnout.
we also work with member states under the education and training two thousand and twenty initiative to bring more digital skills to students and into school and university curricula.
recently the web accessibility directive entered into force.
if we can use digital technology to support an increased public involvement that is good for legitimacy accountability and ultimately trust in government. the new e government action plan will contribute to this digital transformation.
this risk to our democratic processes is unfortunately real and we need to take it very seriously.
political parties and elections increasingly attract the attention of cyber criminals and other cyber activists.
despite many eu projects over the years to develop concepts tools and solutions for participatory democracy the pace of modernisation is still too slow.
our approach continues to be one where the internet is anchored in the defence of human rights and democratic values where the same rights that apply offline are also protected online.
so once again thank you to the rapporteur for raising these subjects in an interesting and important report and thank you for the opportunity to discuss them so fully this evening.
that is why cyber security needs to be a top political priority for us all and it certainly is for the commission. e democracy also requires equal open and neutral access to the internet.
it helps us to make sure our policies respond to individual and business needs and so increases trust in our political systems.
in addition given the investment challenge ahead especially in less densely populated areas eu cohesion policies complement private investment and support broadband deployment to the tune of some eur six billion up to two thousand and twenty with a particular focus on under served and rural areas.
with european elections in two thousand and nineteen the aim is to support turnout and broad democratic participation.
in the two thousand and fourteen european elections every third estonian voter used this opportunity.
democracy is a keystone of european identity and european values.
so far we do not have all the necessary data to use technical solutions to organise i vote in a safe and reliable manner.
it is about empowering people and developing a digital public sphere.
in the commission we are trying to do our bit. we are promoting the use of online participatory platforms for example the european citizens' initiative which allows direct participation in the development of eu policies.
the refit exercise and the e government action plan have created participatory platforms that engage european citizens directly in the decision making process.
projects such as d cent demonstrate clearly that citizen led organisations can transform democracy and help them to develop the next generation of open source distributed privacy aware tools.
the commission is looking at a pilot project funded by the european parliament on making the best use of modern technologies for more active and democratic voting procedures.
but as i think we have recognised in this discussion for all of this to work you need digital skills and digital inclusion.
one of the main challenges we face therefore is to bridge the digital divide that exists in some of our societies.
thank you again to the rapporteur for giving us this opportunity this evening to discuss this very important subject.
madam president there can be no e democracy without digital inclusion especially inclusion of vulnerable people.
there is indeed significant contrast in broadband speeds in rural and urban areas in many member states and this presents a severe disadvantage to rural areas and puts at risk the social cultural and economic life in the communities there.
we are also asked to prepare young people to a fast changing world which we cannot yet imagine but one thing we know is that this world will be more and more digitised and connected and that is why digital skills and media literacy are key.
but here again it should not limit itself to learning about the tools and technologies;
there is no question in my mind that e democracy is already happening and will assume ever greater importance in the years to come.
there is an ideal typical model of edemocracy something along the lines of each and every citizen participating in political decision making thanks to their computer or smartphone this sounds a little bit like a futuristic version of the classical athenian agora.
in the first place not everyone has easy and inexpensive access to the cyber world;
equally the enabling software has to be designed with special care.
finally cyber security.
the provision of this is a constant struggle but the technological leap that quantum technology promises in ensuring complete security is not that far away.
wanted to ensure that youth employment initiatives were protected and that funding for the youth guarantee has been held and that funding increases for the youth employment initiative are agreed as a matter of urgency.
as we approach the end of this mandate we must ensure that we leave a good framework in place. that means funding must be maintained for important employment lines like the european social fund and the year on year increases that have been proposed in smart and inclusive growth and indeed in economic social and territorial cohesion are welcomed. in particular the committee
of course one can argue that the budget is still not green enough and i hope that next year the commission will come up with a better proposal but in that context i would like to underline the great help and understanding given by the alliance of liberals and democrats for europe group and in particular by mr deprez and ms jtteenmki to improve their understanding in the budget to address the climate change policies.
clearly this would be budget neutral and so in our proposals parliament has indicated that it is willing to make provision to cover this transfer in the two thousand and eighteen budget.
specifically i would give the example that i propose a freeze on the budgets of the committee of regions and the economic and social committee and while i am grateful to those groups who have supported this initiative i am disappointed that the larger groups were not prepared to do so.
finally the eu special representative.
i was particularly pleased to note that the council followed our lead when they too set their budget at an increase of just below.
i am aware that many in this house consider this to be a key priority and i know that this view is shared by a number of the member states.
i also want to record my thanks to the shadow rapporteurs for their continued support throughout the process.
he has been tasked with a new role for which we will have to make provision.
i look forward to that negotiation and i look forward to reporting a favourable outcome in november.
three however it has not been possible or indeed desirable to peg all individual institution budgets at that level. i have had to take into account a number of exceptional cost demands for.
colleagues in voting on this budget and resolution this house will set the mandate for the forthcoming negotiation with the council.
two three be taken as the benchmark against which all other institutions would be measured and the level be the target for the overall budget increase.
so to meet that expectation we shall have to oppose the cuts which are currently proposed by council when it comes to the coming negotiations.
thirdly the question of strategic communications.
both parliament and the eeas have been pressing for some time to transfer the cost of special representatives over to the eeas budget.
members will recall that in april this year this house agreed to increase the european parliament budget for next year by.
both have significantly increased workloads as well as a number of significant security issues which will have to be addressed. second the data protection supervisor.
i recommend to parliament that these cost increases are both reasonable and justifiable but i would however wish to remind members of the importance of exercising fiscal discipline in order to keep public expenditure under control.
to that end i have identified a number of areas where cost savings could be made.
it is detrimental to mutual progress and we should find ways of moving forward.
mr president i acknowledge that this is a budget about normal budgetary procedures and is in a pre brexit scenario.
two thousand and nineteen that is not to say that we will cut and run we should honour existing commitments under a fair and reasonable settlement. however this cannot be done in isolation.
the block on trade talks is about coercion and not cooperation.
for my part i believe it should be directed at growth jobs and prosperity and not the usual list of unnecessary items.
cepol. in terms of external relations because it is in the fundamental interest of the union to be surrounded by safe countries we believe we have to allocate our resources primarily to the immediate neighbourhood.
more; the sme instrument by eur ten million more because there is a very high demand it has a very good implementation
days. the draft budget is a very good starting point because the commission is the institution best placed to evaluate the implementation of projects and the real needs on the ground.
it is a future oriented
task. commissioner i believe that the draft budget which you presented at the end of may is a very good starting point for the upcoming negotiations between council and parliament that will start tomorrow with our vote and which will go on for twenty one
we want to do more in terms of defence at european level because it makes much more sense to spend money once at european level for defence and then share the benefits of our work of our cooperation amongst twenty eight member states many of us being also in nato and nato saying it is good that the european union does more on defence together that member states of the union are also cooperating together. this is a new task for the union.
beyond this draft budget in order to achieve the priorities of parliament which i have just outlined the european parliament proposes to increase financing by
when it comes to our relations with our partner turkey with which we have jointly managed to overcome the migration and refugee crisis i want to say the following very briefly as long as turkey is drifting apart from european standards we should make sure that particularly the pre accession funds targeted at supporting political reforms in turkey should be reduced because in terms of political reforms turkey is moving for the time being into a direction which is completely opposite to european standards.
it is there that the big risk for the union is coming from. so we propose to use the resources existing in the budget to finance the southern mediterranean appropriately and to increase funding there by eur one hundred and twenty million.
rate; the marie curie excellency research programme because there are many good research projects applying by eur ten million;
mr president it is clear that there are not enough funds available to deal with the migration crisis as well as the security challenges we currently face in the eu.
in tomorrow's vote i call on our colleagues to give the rapporteurs a strong mandate for their discussions with national governments in order to ensure that the union and its agencies can respond in the most effective way possible to the challenges we face.
in addition we pushed for more funds for the agencies which are at the forefront of the union's response.
indeed polls have suggested that these areas are the ones europeans expect the eu to do much more on.
we stand to stimulate jobs and growth bolster security and work with migration.
the council is however extremely concerned about significant increases to certain appropriations proposed by the european parliament that go beyond the ceiling fixed in the multiannual financial framework.