kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
these have been very difficult times for ireland with tax increases and cuts in expenditure.
it will also require some thought at eu and ecb level on the contribution made by low interest rates to property inflation.
because of the tax situation in delaware.
in the united states over fifty of companies in the copyright business register in delaware.
with the establishment of a permanent successor to the european financial stability mechanism from which ireland will be receiving eur.
i do not necessarily share in accepting the detail of the plan but overall figures are supported by fine gael. the underlying economic trends in ireland are quite good.
the last week's budget was only a mere reflection of the difficulties so many irish people are going through at the moment.
however i strongly believe that the eu imf financial package will help ireland restore confidence by getting the banks capitalised and lending again and by repairing the public finances.
i was a lone voice in this chamber for two and half years questioning mr trichet on this particular difficulty.
it will require good government and dil oversight to ensure our finances never again get out of hand.
these are the key reforms boldly and rightly set out by president barroso in the programme for his commission but already i fear this opportunity may be slipping from our grasp.
the german finance minister dr schuble seems to have opened the door to a new round of integration leading to a fiscal union and ultimately a political union.
making them automatic will hardly make them more credible if the belief remains that a political solution might be found to avoid them.
we hear rumours that a key part of the solution is to make the private sector share the burden of future bail outs.
we believe the priorities of the european council must be to agree a limited number of specific measures so that eurozone members can help each other through the immediate crisis without imposing any burdens on member states who have chosen to remain outside and then to reassert the vital importance of dealing with the long term crisis which we face
the terrible risk is that despite the talk about building europe it may in fact be undermined and while hoping for a stronger europe the failure to address its underlying economic problems will in fact just make it weaker.
what is really required is for eurozone members to have the political will to deliver on their current obligations.
it would however be a terrible paradox if the main consequence of such an initiative would be to raise borrowing costs for some of the weaker eurozone member states and contribute to the next crisis. having just finished a major reform treaty process a reform package we are told would close the book on treaty change for a generation.
ahead of the meeting we are told that more sanctions are to be a central part of the solution but sanctions need to be credible to be effective and the track record of the union in this regard is pretty bad.
we are reassuringly told including by the commission president that the changes need only be limited but that does not appear to be what the german government believes.
europe needs economic reform public finance discipline deepening the internal market changes to labour laws to boost employment and a package of measures to make a success of the europe two thousand and twenty programme.
where is this going to end? surely not another lost decade focusing on the wrong kind of reforms?
answers to my july questions only emerged in the irish rescue which i think is a matter of regret not least when the smallest fund coming from the eu budget is used for an equal share to the larger funds.
it is imperative that the mechanism is based on technical realities and is robust credible and lasting to which i would also add affordable. fourthly will member states not yet part of the euro be invited to be part of the mechanism? this seems especially relevant for those building debt in euros.
it also highlights the regulatory problem i mentioned of zero risk weighting for eurozone sovereign debt which undermined market discipline and created perverse incentives.
today i stand here to ask further details following the october council conclusions in which the commission was asked to work towards a limited treaty change required to establish a permanent crisis resolution mechanism.
parliament and my committee are indeed determined to play their role all the more so when we have been ahead in the thinking all the way along.
the measures to improve the stability and growth pact surveillance and the european semester all aim at prevention of another crisis and serve to monitor emergence from the current economic
we have this crisis because both were undermined in the past.
i actually have some sympathy for that in so far as we are in new territory and new plans need to be made.
secondly is the new instrument to be based on an intergovernmental approach for that is how the efsf works or will it in fact be community based which is how we think it should be done?
i asked quite a lot more such as the relative ranking of the different funds and the proportions in which they would be used.
firstly can we now have more precise details about the treaty change and the procedure?
but i say again that if there is not fulsome follow up to statements whether from the commission or council this negates the benefit of conclusions.
thirdly what are the technical options and conditions?
parliament needs to know that it will be adequate. a little more fiddling around with article one hundred and thirty six is not an answer.
indeed the solution for the euro is to recognise the need for full political discipline in combination with full market discipline.
they also said that there would have to be private sector involvement which spooked the market because there was insufficient explanation.
this issue is inextricably linked to the economic governance package.
parliament was not consulted despite my earlier questions.
last july i asked when the commission foresaw the expected legislative proposal for a permanent sovereign debt crisis management mechanism and what would be the legal base.
then the euro group announced that the permanent mechanism would be based on the european financial stability facility and that it might involve the private sector on a case by case basis following imf practice.
context of
conducted by the commission together with the imf and in liaison with the european central
president barroso is not here at the moment but i think he needs to tell the council that it needs to redefine the political agenda in at least three areas.
if we have to significantly cut our public debt year on year if we have to avoid deficits above one which the commission proposes and if we have to do all of this in a low growth environment with high unemployment how can we possibly deliver on the two thousand and twenty strategy?
finally we need new public financing sources.
a financial transactions tax is well overdue and it is a scandal that the council seems to be frozen in the headlights and unable to make a decision on this tax.
the crisis has wiped out years of budgetary efforts.
these are the reforms we need urgently.
we agree that fiscal discipline will require strong rules and strong implementation but we must also align this with the proper implementation of the europe two thousand and twenty objectives in each country and that must be reflected in the legislation.
this is a wrong headed economic strategy of cost competitiveness and extreme fiscal austerity and it will set europe on a declining path at a crucial moment in its history.
second we must rebalance the proposed legislation on economic governance.
it is also true that socialist governments have entered into budget deficit problems because of a deliberate policy of increased spending and increased deficits.
i remember the swedish social democrats criticised the swedish government for not increasing the deficit and the spending.
madam president i cannot understand why the socialists are trying to escape from the responsibility of socialist policies.
we need to have stability and eurobonds will not be a solution to that problem.
do not forget that the consequences we see in a number of countries are the consequences of the debates we had in national parliaments and in this parliament when some of us argued for increased spending.
it is true that the reasons for the deficits we see in europe are different.
then we have seen what has happened.
everyone in europe including the uk has a vested interest in the strength of the euro area's economy. robust and transparent economic planning to control profligate government spending and unsustainable debt levels is a vital part of this for all twenty seven countries.
firstly what should be the nature of private sector involvement?
secondly what treaty changes are you talking about?
and finally the permanent crisis mechanism has been described as a tool to strengthen the eurozone.
those countries who seek to join the euro should be given the option to participate but those of us who have elected not to join should not be forced to contribute.
but this is being threatened by the prolonged uncertainly which risks drying up funding and stalling investments.
the eurozone countries have realised the need for a permanent crisis resolution but there are many questions some of which are addressed in this parliament's resolution.
i welcome the suggestion of following the imf precedent to protect public money with preferred creditor status.
and you never know david cameron might even keep his promise and hold a referendum in the united kingdom.
here we have a non nation trying to abolish our nation.
the reason being that the four german professors will win at karlsruhe and prove that the bail outs you have put in place already were in fact illegal under the treaties.
belgium is a microcosm of the entire european union.
well it will not be well. the failure of the euro is nothing to do with speculation.
it is like watching a slow motion car crash and now you want a permanent bail out mechanism.
for six months the belgian presidency in office have sat here telling us we must integrate more deeply.
it is nothing to do with the markets be they currency or bonds it is because the north and the south in europe cannot today or at any point be put together in a single monetary union.
you have not had a government in your own country since june.
well in many ways i welcome this treaty change because it will mean that there has to be a referendum in ireland.
belgium is about to fall to bits and the rest will follow. happy christmas everybody.
and politically of course you have to change the treaty.
i am sure that as democrats you would all welcome a referendum on the eu in the united kingdom.
so here we have another summit another crisis confidence in the euro ebbing by the week.
it truly is an absolute farce but nobody here dares to admit it because you are all in denial.
so too will be the future budget of the union and how its great potential can be used to help the task of boosting growth and creating jobs.
many people are looking to the european union for answers the markets for one our partners in the world for another but most importantly our citizens.
the economic governance package should therefore be seen as the key building block in a system which gives europeans and the markets confidence that the right structures are in place.
the purpose of the treaty change is very specific. it is a straightforward pragmatic amendment to meet a specific
need. i know that these principles are close to the heart of this parliament. they are close to my heart too so i can understand why other ideas have been floated to give form to these principles through other possible mechanisms.
our future system will be one that rests on individual and collective efforts responsibility and solidarity.
they must be approached as a whole put together in an articulated way so as to create a comprehensive response to the crisis and to ensure that nothing like it ever happens
action. let us not kill the idea for the future but concentrate at this stage on what can be the solution to achieve a consensus among member states and can be done quickly and decisively.
the reality is that in both situations the eu was able to act but we need to put far reaching reforms in place to ensure that such situations do not arise again in the future.
it. so let us resist the temptation to overcomplicate or to make artificial linkages with other subjects and let us not allow ourselves to be distracted from the task in
that is the objective of the european stability mechanism.
at the same time public finances must be consolidated. sound public finances are needed to restore the confidence which is so essential for growth. in many member states the current course of fiscal policy weighs heavily on the long term sustainability of public finances and requires corrective measures.
euro. both the temporary mechanism and now the permanent mechanism are key decisions which show that member states are as willing as ever to put their weight behind the stability and integrity of the
these are far from exhausted and can be improved and adapted far more quickly than any alternatives however interesting they
what we do not need is a beauty contest between leaders a cacophony of diverging scenarios or announcements that are not followed by action.
this offers a real growth prospective for europe.
i see more and more member states fully grasping the potential of europe.
mr president president of the council honourable members this week's european council will focus on two main goals to agree on the key features of a future permanent european stability mechanism for the euro area and on the limited treaty change that will make this mechanism legally waterproof.
another important element of our approach for far reaching reforms must be a permanent stability mechanism.
need. it needs no more than a simple change to implement
on this point let me be
after intense consultations which went very well we were able to come forward with an outline for this mechanism at the end of last month. i am confident this will be endorsed by the european council this week although the precise contours will have to be worked out over the coming weeks. the mechanism should also be supported by a decision to move forward with a limited and focused treaty change.
idea. the commission itself put forward the idea back in two thousand and eight when assessing the first ten years of emu but we are in a crisis situation and we already have financial mechanisms to address this crisis like the european financial stability facility.
real european economic governance is a necessary precondition for this.
now that there is a consensus between the member states to take the treaty change route this approach must be swiftly implemented.
it rests heavily on fundamental principles of solidarity of collective responsibility of sharing the risks and bringing mutual support at times of
i hope that this parliament will continue to treat these commission proposals as a priority so that they can be fully implemented by the middle of next year.
euro. all of these elements economic governance fiscal consolidation securing growth enhancing reforms effective banks the european financial stability facility and its successor the european stability mechanism are interconnected.
may be. so while i can understand that you want to think about every possible solution this is a time for immediate
we must also look at our banking system and take the necessary action in order to ensure that banks are in a position to finance the economy appropriately particularly smes.
we are working hard to bring forward the first annual growth survey in one month's time. i am confident that this will be a major theme for this parliament next year.
what are they expecting?
again. the action that the european central bank is taking is of course a vital contribution to this
this is no better for the economy and is really a different way of doing exactly the same thing which is unsustainable.
i do not think that you or anyone else in this chamber can point to a socialist government that has not run into deficit problems.
crisis of the euro may not end with ireland and we may have not seen the worst yet.
this will be achieved as a result of collective wisdom.
fiscal discipline economic governance and the rescue of the euro will be incomplete without a mutually agreed plan at european level to stimulate growth.
in the past an american marshall plan saved the economy of europe.
the challenge today is an equivalent from europeans for europeans.
now is the time to start the single digital market.
we are reliably informed that these controls and of course these treaty changes will apply to non eurozone countries too.
the coalition government in the united kingdom has promised a referendum in the event of any further transfer of power to the european union.
although many of us in the uk always thought that the euro was a historic mistake both for our own country and for europe as a whole we of course take no satisfaction in seeing this situation.
we want to see it resolved at a european level by a decisive return to fiscal discipline across the union.
it will not be solved by more borrowing either at an eu or at a local level.
but let us be clear where the responsibility for this situation for the euro lies.
it is the duty of every member state within the eurozone to fulfil its commitments to that zone and it is the job of other participating states to ensure that they do so.
this is one of the key reasons why they have a separate meeting of eurozone ministers.
to put it bluntly the stable management of the eurozone is primarily the responsibility of the members of the eurozone.
one of the tasks we have set ourselves in my party the national league for democracy is to teach our young people to ask questions and not to accept everything that is done to them without asking why.
when the european parliament the european union the european commission the free world recognised our movement for democracy in burma it gave us the strength to go on despite great odds.
it is because of this that we feel that our quest for democracy is not yet at an end. we will not achieve perfection as i said earlier but we do want to get to the point where we can say that the laws of the land and the institutions of our society
we have not got there yet and we would like you to be aware of the fact that we still need your help and support and your understanding that we still need to make a lot more progress before we can say we are where professor sakharov would have wished
we are still trying to achieve such a reconciliation but in order to achieve this reconciliation we need the help of all our friends all over the world. i accept and i am very proud to accept that it is the people of my country who must do most who must work hardest and who will ultimately be responsible
' and that makes it very interesting and very challenging.
in these elections my party the national league for democracy won over eighty two of the seats that were contested but we were never allowed to take office;
when i read professor sakharov's book i was struck by the fact that he was so down to earth and so practical and scientific in his approach to politics. i have to confess that i did not quite understand some of his scientific comments but it made me feel very good simply to be reading them.
but i think there is something rather nice and challenging about imperfection.
there are many countries in the european union now which at the time when we started our movement for democracy in one thousand nine hundred and eighty eight did not yet enjoy the fruits of a democratic society. it is sad but i am proud and sad at the same time
' is one of the most important words in any language.
we only have to have the will and the determination to pursue our goals.
in us. friends ultimately are those who believe in us enough to want to help us in whatever it is that we are trying to achieve.
i think we have to look at this in a very practical way.
during the years of repression many of our people were arrested almost on a daily basis and we had to teach them to ask those who came to arrest them why?
we want to be free from want and free from fear.
to achieve this position of a society which would have had the approval of professor sakharov we will have to work a lot
people. i hope you will give us the understanding that we need to resolve the many problems that our country is having to face today. i hope we will have your help in freeing our people from want and fear because it is a fact that fear is still very much part of our
there is something very nice about the smell of fresh printer's ink.
' even that many of our people did not know.
that is why we insist that the present constitution must be changed into a truly democratic one.
i have never claimed that democracy was the perfect system because we human beings are not perfect.
but before i talk about this i would like to say a few words about what the prize meant to me at that time.
how many of our people over these past few decades ever asked themselves why they had to submit to the authority of people who did not have the mandate of the general public? i do not think very many did. it was taken for granted that those who had power and authority could do exactly as they pleased.
not sufficient progress.
because we wish to live free from want and free from fear we have had to face want and we have had to face our own fears and overcome them.
it is only if you respect yourself as a human being and have faith in your ability to achieve what should be achieved that you will be able to help others.
hope has no meaning unless we are prepared to work to realise our hopes and dreams but in order to do that we need to have friends.
i was sent a copy of his memoirs while i was under house arrest and i remember the day when i received it because whenever i received books from my family at that time it was always a very exciting moment for me this was my contact with the outside world
we have already decided how many years you are going to be imprisoned for'.
said sometimes to the annoyance of many of my colleagues that i have a great fondness for the burmese military.
solidarity is a beautiful word because it means that you reach out to those who are different from you and who have to cope with different circumstances because we recognise that we all share the same human needs and the same values.
to have. the future of our country is in our young people as the future of the world is in the hands of our young
us; they went forward and we were left
because of this it is so important that we teach our children our young people the importance of freedom of thought.
this brings me back to freedom of thought.
so. we all have to be responsible for ourselves.
a joyous one because i have been given the opportunity to thank all of you for the support that you have given me and my party and all those who believe in democracy in burma for over two decades.
but we have made progress.
and one of the great aims the main aims of our democratic movement was to bring about national reconciliation which means reconciliation between the then ruling army and the civilians who wanted democracy.
freedom of thought is essential to human progress.
but at the same time in this day and age we cannot ignore the fact that the weight of international opinion is immense and that the world has great power over any particular society anywhere.
if we were all perfect i think it would be a very boring world but as it is because we have to cope every day with our imperfections every day can become a day of excitement.
assured. but in order to achieve progress in those areas we need basically the kind of political system that will give our people the right to shape their own
we were never allowed to implement the wishes of the people as had been expressed through those elections.
this is still what we need in burma the right of our people to shape our own
to help us when you think we are doing the right