kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
but now let us use this debate also to reflect on what we can improve and how we can make efsi even better in the future. one element which we can improve is the geographical distribution.
it is a particular issue in the cultural sector a sector which makes an increasing contribution to the economy.
culture and education represent a tiny percentage of that.
four i am pleased that the commission has already announced that it is frontloading the creative europe guarantee facility through efsi.
i know this very well from my constituency in wales.
so what we should do to help these countries and these regions is promote efsi not only in the urban areas but also in the rural areas. encourage the advisor we have the eib to provide assistance to people who want to write projects and create also a level playing field in terms of financial market developments particularly to assist the countries which do not have promotional banks in the establishment of promotional banks.
it is good to see that there are still some issues that we need to solve because if you look at the additionality is efsi really supporting those projects that otherwise would not have happened?
if you look at the geographical imbalance is it really going to those regions where there is an investment gap?
at its meeting of twenty april two thousand and fifteen the council confirmed it had no objection to the commission delegated regulation and the commission made a statement to confirm that it will continue to collect the necessary data for monitoring the ethanol market with particular attention to imports at zero duty. the commission invites the european parliament to reject the motion of objection to the commission delegated regulation. this will allow the publication of the regulation in the official journal of the european union and its entry into force.
the commission adopted this delegated regulation in the framework of its better regulation and simplification agenda. this commission delegated act will remove administrative burdens for operators and administrators without affecting our border protection allowing the commission to continue monitoring the ethanol market in the european union more efficiently.
this has shattered consumer confidence not just in fresh fruit and vegetables but in our system of food safety and control.
the system exists to find the cause and deal with the consequences but i am afraid that not all parts of the system have been adequately put in place and i have some questions in relation to timing.
we know it is regionalised in a certain part of the european union but it is not a german only problem;
relations between germany and spain are strained to say the least and yet three weeks into this crisis we still have no idea of where the source of this contamination has come from. commissioner dalli i want assurance from you here today that absolutely every effort is being made to trace where the source of this e coli outbreak has come from because until we trace the source we cannot start the process of rebuilding consumer confidence.
thirdly we do have to hear from you what the commission intends to do to try and compensate farmers who through no fault of their own have seen their markets destroyed and are unable to sell their produce.
according to the latest information this outbreak is responsible for twenty one deaths in germany and one in sweden.
in this context i have to note that the situation is still evolving.
mr president i should like to thank all of you for this opportunity to inform you about developments in relation to the outbreak of e coli. i am very concerned about the heavy burden of death and disease that this food borne epidemic has caused the european population
finally let me stress that public perception is extremely important. in this regard the commission draws up daily updates shared with the health security committee communicators' network and food safety authorities.
the german authorities accepted the commission proposal to dispatch to germany experts in epidemiology of food borne diseases from the commission the ecdc and the efsa.
we have asked the ecdc to urgently set up a platform to exchange best practice on treatment involving both member states and professional societies.
in this respect i want to refer to the latest information coming from germany regarding the suspicion that sprouts may be the source of contamination;
the commission holds almost daily meetings with your public health authorities and food safety authorities to discuss the evolution of the outbreak the health measures taken to prevent infection and the treatment of affected people.
selling products in the eu and outside the
we have to learn lessons on this front.
in the light of this and of the steps towards the identification of the source we consider any ban on any product as disproportionate.
we now have an eu case definition which will allow member states to share the same approach on the investigation of the outbreak.
i believe that this is our responsibility to be flexible and to be fast in adjusting our processes and procedures to respond to these types of incidents.
i can assure you that the commission together with these agencies is working very hard with national health and food safety ministries to support them in containing this outbreak. to do that we need to pursue intensively the investigation into the source of contamination;
the commission is working hand in hand with the member states with one common goal to bring this outbreak to an end as soon as possible.
i have been repeating our system works.
the work is taking place as i speak.
if we manage to do this then we can learn from the lessons of this crisis and continually improve our systems.
finally i am also very sensitive to the financial impact that this crisis is having on farmers particularly vegetable producers. this is why i am working closely with my colleague commissioner ciolo to address the hardship faced by this group of our citizens that has also been hit by the outbreak.
i also asked that the causes of the contamination should be swiftly dealt with.
patient questionnaires for outbreak investigations are being collected and compared by the ecdc.
it noted that laboratory tests have not been concluded and that consequently premature conclusions have to be avoided. this illustrates that it is important for the member states to introduce well sustained and scientifically based alerts into the rasff and to trigger the rasff when member states are confident regarding the scientific evidence supporting the alert notification.
i would like to stress again that the outbreak is limited geographically to an area surrounding the city of hamburg so there is no reason as of today to take such measures at european level.
the early warning and response system and the rapid alert system for food and feed have provided a solid basis for exchanging information. second we have asked the european centre for disease prevention and control to do a scientific risk assessment which is being updated regularly as the situation evolves.
the commission follows any new development closely and will decide on the appropriate course of action the moment laboratory tests confirm any epidemiological finding.
we need to learn lessons as we go along.
this advice is now available in all official languages on the commission website.
before closing i would like to raise briefly two more points.
the networks are in daily contact and allow for the timely exchange of information laying the ground for rapid action.
here i should stress that it is crucial that national authorities do not rush to give information on any source of infection which is not proven by bacteriological analysis as this spreads unjustified fears in the population all over europe and creates problems for our food producers
coordination and clear lines of information and communication remain the core of our ability to be effective in such situations.
i would strongly urge members of the european parliament to support this science based communication to the public in order to reduce unnecessary fears and to reinforce our common efforts.
in addition we are in constant contact with third countries in particular russia to ask them to lift their ban which is considered disproportionate.
on sunday five june the experts started their mission to assist german authorities with the ongoing epidemiology verify the results and contribute to the ongoing investigations to identify the source. as we all know the initial suspicion raised by the german authorities that cucumbers from spain were the cause has not been confirmed by any test results available.
first we have immediately activated all our networks responsible for managing crises.
most of the cases reported outside germany concern either german nationals travelling or persons who visited this part of germany.
and want to take the opportunity once again to express my condolences to those who are suffering as a result.
sporadic cases are reported in eleven other member states. switzerland has also reported fifteen cases and the united states.
ecdc is publishing daily updates.
it also brings into play the importance of having a european agency such as the european centre for disease prevention and control to monitor collaborate and inform the member states.
this outbreak demonstrates the importance of cross border cooperation in the field of preventive health.
we are relatively lucky in the uk to have had only three reported cases but that is today tomorrow things could change and we must be vigilant. in addition to finding the cause of the outbreak we need to keep the public informed and therefore protected.
through cooperation we can control this outbreak.
before it does so we must have a full and thorough investigation of the facts.
we must also urge calm in such a situation. national governments have been quick to apportion blame. in the past we in the uk have suffered as a result of such scaremongering around our produce and this speculative blame game must stop.
can i also say that this house constantly rushes to introduce regulation.
economically it is farmers who will suffer while this goes on farmers whose food is perfectly safe.
however i would also like to make a special point about the way current events have been communicated to the general public by german and european authorities with the serious consequences we know for the fruit and vegetable sector not only in spain but in all our union.
mr president commissioner you are right that this is a public health issue a very serious one and our focus should now be on caring for the sick and identifying the source but then we have to look to the long term and find out how we stop it happening again.
a few weeks ago i met a representative of the us food and drug administration.
she was telling me about the problems of e coli in fruit and vegetables in the united states and we discussed how this was not common in the european union.
now we have had this outbreak so we have to ask ourselves some questions.
is it about our farming practices as peter liese just mentioned?
would more accurate food labelling have helped us to identify more quickly the source of the contamination?
i hope they will listen to this debate in the future.
too often we hear from this commission and from many in this house about over regulation but as with the banks i am starting to wonder whether we tend to put the needs of market and supply chains ahead of those of public protection and the consumer.
it is not normal that people in europe go out for a salad and die as a consequence and we need policy change to address this.
mr president first it was cucumbers yesterday it was bean sprouts.
the truth is that the experts just do not know but each time such allegations are made they destroy livelihoods in countries' economies.
you must always learn from the lessons of your mistakes.
mr president yemen is a state party to the convention on the rights of the child and the international covenant on civil and political rights both of which expressly prohibit the execution of juvenile offenders those convicted of crimes committed when the perpetrators were under the age of. eighteen the impending execution of muhammed samoum and indeed the detention on death row of several other juvenile offenders is an affront to international law.
i urge the high representative to take all possible steps to persuade him to grant clemency in this case.
however the difference between the two countries is that yemen receives massive aid from the west including the eu in order to root out al qaeda terrorists whereas iran is an international pariah.
having announced that he will shortly relinquish his post president saleh has a real chance now to leave a positive and enlightened legacy in his country which has been brutalised by conflict and terrorism for so long and now dreams of a democratic future.
therefore we have considerable leverage here in the eu over president ali abdullah saleh.
we want to remind the yemeni government of its international commitments regarding the convention on the rights of the child and the international covenant on civil and political rights.
we need to follow up with actions.
in both cases the execution was halted after eu intervention to allow for presentation of evidence of age.
we are thus taking this extremely grave issue very seriously and using all available means.
whereas many protestors have been attacked or taken into custody by the security forces' that is our first amendment.
the young generation wants hope to replace cynicism opportunities to replace poverty justice to replace impunity and internet freedom to replace repression and censorship.
we have a long list of serious concerns about developments in yemen in relation to democracy human rights and the independence of the judiciary as well as to the persecution of journalists bloggers and human rights defenders.
there is a lack of adequate means to determine the age of defendants so it is difficult for people to defend themselves.
we call on the president of yemen and the authorities to at least respect yemen's own laws and commitments to the international community and halt the execution of juveniles.
we also stress the need for reforms in yemen as called for by so many demonstrators in the streets and we want their living conditions and their rights to be improved.
while not exhaustive these include the possibility of member states implementing temporary trade barriers and the reference to laboratories and to their duties as well as the inclusion of stray animals and anti microbial resistance to the disease categorisation list in the annex of the regulation.
there are however a few areas of concern.
nevertheless these proposals contain important measures aimed at ensuring the health of animals which is crucial to ensuring not only food standards everywhere and their safety but also the proper care and welfare for animals which as a longstanding supporter of animal rights i am very much in favour of.
mr president the gross exploitation of one million so called posted workers is a daily reminder of the emptiness of any talk of a social europe.
where the european court of justice in cases like laval luxembourg and viking has given a legal right to so called service providers to exploit workers in another country.
the court has made it illegal for states or for unions to attempt to enforce any standards of workers rights above the absolute minimum.
today we had what was supposedly an attempt to deal with this exploitation but it was a completely unacceptable compromise that compromises on those workers rights failing to address all of the real problems that they face lack of information fraudulent companies not paying wages health and safety social security contributions;
look at some of the things we are voting on. this is a very good example controls and activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law rules on animal health and welfare plant health plant reproductive material plant protection products.
we are having an unprecedented extra voting session this evening to get through this mass of legislation despite all the promises about doing less and doing it better.
why do we have this volume of work?
it is impossible to repress the suspicion that the authorities in parliament are worried about the composition of the new parliament;
that as a result of the european election there will be a different complexion in this house;
there will be people who are opposed to giving more and more powers to the european union regardless of the case for doing so.
therefore we have this rush to try and get everything through while there remains a federalist majority in this chamber.
i accept that membership of the european union means the right to work in another country but it does not follow that free movement means entitlement to benefits let alone to pension rights.
that is not something that was fundamental in the single european act or implied in the treaty of rome.
it has been created interpretively by a series of acts of contentious judicial activism in a number of court judgments and commission extensions of jurisdiction.
i cannot and nor can any representative in this place justify to his or her constituents the need for some inward migration of people if there is a belief that you will then have an entitlement to draw on a pot which others have filled.
this report introduced operating restrictions in accordance with the icao balanced approach to help limit the number of people affected by the harmful effects of aircraft noise.
whilst i did have some concerns about the initial proposals which would have had a negative impact on some of our regional airports and local businesses to the detriment of local employment the report in its current form has come up with a balanced and suitable compromise.
furthermore the provision allowing for representatives of affected residents is a positive move in recognising their needs as well as involving them in the process on a consultative basis.
one of my proudest achievements in this parliament was my role in this parliament's resolution calling for nigeria to hand over charles taylor to the court which is what eventually happened through the mediation of the un.
one thousand nine hundred and ninety four we therefore know the potential of such courts to help war torn regions by ending a climate of impunity and moving on. in many ways justice delivered in this way is as valuable as financial assistance from the european union.
that is why the international community should continue to support the special court for sierra leone by providing secure jail facilities in the member states if necessary and when required for jailing convicted tyrants.
but there are plenty of others who will escape unpunished without a robust and well funded special court for sierra leone.
mr president international humanitarian law is a relatively new and somewhat imperfect body of jurisprudence but it has already achieved some major successes.
fighting unemployment requires more efficiency consistency and cooperation regarding the integration of the long term unemployed.
the fight against long term unemployment is heavily dependent on the ability of both the commission and member states to cooperate in an efficient way.
an individual approach assessing people's abilities and needs is also crucial and a written job integration agreement can be beneficial. however on the basis of some negative experiences of the european youth guarantee we call on the member states to consider regional differences.
the eu writes legislation which pushes up the price of energy and sets renewable targets which do not provide a secure future for any sort of industry let alone heavy industry.
the british taxpayer will end up picking up the bill for the extra people who find themselves unemployed again.
no section!
not a word about the black asian and minority ethnic people that make up fifty of the long term unemployed people in the united kingdom.
actually no sentence;
one of the issues which was very clear was that all the different notified bodies in the different member states were not operating at the same high level and that such gaps in regulatory controls had to be dealt with and they were in this proposal.
i think we have ensured an effective streamlined authorisation process which gives certainty to manufacturers and puts patient safety first.
recent events such as the pip scandal and the issue of certain hip replacements causing damage to bones are clear indications that we needed to review our legislation.
we now have a new medical devices coordination group and the new assessment committee for medical devices.
the report is proportionate and we recognise that the pip scandal was fraud.
three eight in the current economic climate it is crucial that emphasis be put on education and skills development as a means to stimulate innovation and economic growth.
twenty four the scheme provides work experience with an employer giving youths the chance to sample particular types of work improve levels of confidence and motivation and help develop employability skills.
in northern ireland the youth unemployment scheme is designed to give help and support to those looking for permanent work if they are between the ages of eighteen and.
when adopted this regulation will replace the existing directive and we hope it will address inconsistencies in member states' interpretation of current rules thus increasing the protection of public health and safety and removing obstacles to the internal and external market.
medical devices are a very large employer in my country employing twenty five zero people in total. my constituency particularly galway is very dependent on this industry. therefore it was important that this report not place unnecessary barriers on manufacturers.
indeed that is our first duty.
but it is not our only duty.
we also have to ensure that we have a streamlined effective system which ensures new technologies get to market as soon as they are fully approved. the principle of subsidiarity is also important and the issue of prescription policies for class d devices should be at national level and not at eu level in my view.
this proposal regulates products' safety and not medical or other practices set out at national level.
finally i was fully supportive of the alde amendments put forward with our epp colleagues which aligned our position with that on the medical devices directive.
confidence in all aspects of health care especially in the safety of medical devices and of medical procedures is paramount to both healthcare professionals and patients.
as technology evolves and further innovation brings yet more progress in the field of medicine we ought to ensure that such innovation does not come at the expense of patients' safety.
information is also vital and i believe that for many patients there is a vacuum of information whether relating to benefits or risks regarding the medical devices which are becoming more prevalent in treatment.
madam president i share the concerns raised by this report surrounding the violation of fundamental freedoms in the sahel region of africa.
we think of widespread tolerance of violence against women in these societies.
we also recognise the unacceptable reality of child labour child soldiers and rising levels of human trafficking.
as an mep for northern ireland i know all too well the dangers that such wanton acts of terrorism present for protecting the rights of all in society.
there is a clear recognition on the part of most stakeholders that the policy guidance has become more integrated across policy areas and is more focused on countries' central priorities. it has also been clearer and more concrete which should facilitate implementation.
in our democratic societies reform efforts can only be sustained if they have legitimacy both in terms of being anchored in the democratic process and carried by the elected representatives of the european citizens as well as in terms of delivering what serves the common good.
the commission has also decided to advance the presentation of the annual growth survey to late two thousand and eleven.