kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
mr president recognising that fully autonomous lethal weapons are not fully operational yet however the use of artificial intelligence is already playing an important role for military around the world.
that is why i welcome that we are debating how we can shape international law and policies in this field because far too often we are behind the curve. given the eu's ambition to be a global actor for international peace and security my questions to the high representative are how does the
commission and the eeas define meaningful human control' over autonomous weapons systems and what type and what degree of human control?
how do they propose we strengthen the precedent in international and disarmament law for banning weapons without human control;
and with the intrinsic dual use nature of emerging technologies how do we achieve not hampering progress in civilian research and development while having lethal autonomous weapons internationally?
yesterday's attack on the national oil corporation's headquarters appears not to be a sign of that ceasefire breaking down with most reports attributing responsibility to isis sadly still present on the territory rather than any of the rival militias.
we cannot underestimate however the continuing sense of a kind of paralysis of a failed state that dominates the tragic situation in libya.
elections before the close of this year looked increasingly unlikely particularly as we now see italy taking a more proactive role in the process. prime minister conte has said getting the elections is right and is more important than their actual timing and i agree.
this seems also to mark a shift from the french position championed by president macron at the libya summit in may and a move now towards an italian led solution.
obviously italy's historical links to libya are extremely strong but the eu's southern neighbour's stabilisation is of course in the interests of all the member states and we need unity on this if we are to prevent a greater migratory flux in future and the creation of a base for international terrorism drug dealing and an arms trade.
the use of an anti immigrant poster borrowed from ukip in the same election campaign; the accusations of limiting the freedom of the press in hungary; and the moves to introduce legislation that could close the central european university in budapest.
frankly mr orbn what i want today are straight answers and responses from you on all of these issues not generalities like you gave us in your opening speech.
my constituents and grassroot members are rightfully bringing these concerns to me about your party's place alongside mine within the ppe.
it has nothing to do with teaching research academic freedom or freedom of thought.
this is absolutely unacceptable.
so i suspect the same will happen in hungary.
so prime minister orbn it may very well be that the authors of this resolution are your unwitting or perhaps clandestine supporters.
let's be honest between each other the inconvenient truth is that under these circumstances it would be impossible today mr orbn for hungary to join the european union. that is the reality of today.
you are not hungary you're the government of hungary and the leader of a political party and hungary is far more and far more eternal than you are.
applause my intervention is not to you it is especially to our epp colleagues and i have one plea which is that hopefully this evening they will follow their conscience when they decide on this.
we are talking about somebody of the family and i can tell you that i had the same problem at a certain moment.
we did it in the end also based on counsel because we thought that more important than size and power are in fact principles and values.
the second reason is for european reasons manfred.
what we are living today is the survival and existential battle over the survival of the european project.
if mr orbn is publicly siding with salvini openly discussing the disruption of this european project well we need that not to happen in the coming years.
my last argument and reason is mainly because and i will recognise it that doesn't happen often that the european union has been based on christian democratic principles beliefs and energy for decades.
i want to use the words of one of these giants of robert schuman and i will quote him christianity teaches us equality of all men without distinction between race colour class or profession.
dignity of each human person in protection of his individual liberty and with respect for his individual rights by practicing brotherly love to all'.
so i want to plead to you my christian democratic colleagues to recognise that the way schuman looked at christianity is in many ways exactly the opposite to the divisive narrow and destructive actions and opinions of mr orbn.
dear colleagues please for once see that he is the seed of discord that will ultimately destroy our beautiful european project and please together with us stop this nightmare this evening in your group.
madam president my congratulations to the cyprus presidency for making the best of one of the toughest economic crisis to hit europe since the second world war and my congratulations also if that is the right word to the european commission for its instrumental role in creating that crisis.
the commission swept the problem under the table in the interests of political expediency instead of bringing diplomatic pressure to bear on turkey.
in may of this year displaced residents of the northern cypriot town of kyrenia plan to cross the border for the first time since occupation in order to attend to their religious duties in their own church.
was it right that the commission should have even mooted the possibility of turkey becoming a candidate country whilst its armed troops are occupying northern cyprus?
in two thousand and four the commission missed its chance to right one of the gravest wrongs in europe the turkish occupation of northern cyprus.
he could of course have gone further and said that if southern european countries in the eurozone were to revert to their own currencies each being left to find its own value those countries would enjoy export led recoveries.
he admitted that the policies implemented on a pan european level had not succeeded in providing a solution to the crisis.
we have stopped the existential threat hanging over us earlier.
in fact this is the main lesson i draw from what happened and from what did not happen over the last few months those speculating against the euro have underestimated the political capital that is invested in it.
however the conditions were not yet met to reach agreement. clearly these have been the most difficult and complex budget negotiations ever.
but this is just part of the answer.
i hope making the final step for formal adoption is a matter of weeks not months.
likewise we have not had the chance to break the deadlock in the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework something both parliament and the commission would have welcomed.
mr president president christofias honourable members i want to start by thanking and also congratulating president christofias and through him all the people and authorities involved in the running of the cyprus presidency.
be if we could not have the predictability that a multiannual budget can give for investment in europe.
we also took stock of the implementation of the digital agenda for europe halfway through its five year strategy and found that it had achieved many of its targets and is on track to meet most of the others.
as long as unemployment remains very high the crisis is certainly not over yet.
after some thirty years of debate and based on commission proposals an agreement was finally reached between member states even if not all on the single european patent.
finally and i could of course quote other matters but among the most important progress was also made on the asylum package and it has brought us very close to concluding the discussions on the common european asylum system and with our groundwork important steps have been achieved in negotiating with this house on the schengen governance package preparing the ground for an agreement in early. two thousand and thirteen i truly believe that over the last few months while many important and difficult challenges remain notably the social ones we have regained trust we have reaffirmed composure and recovered momentum.
the line the commission has been defending and will continue to defend is of course about putting our public finances in order.
despite the important efforts deployed by the cyprus presidency and by many of you in the european parliament we have not been able to finalise the two pack.
we have highlighted constantly that the approval of the parliament is indispensable. and we need that agreement. we have seen in the extremely difficult negotiations on the european union's budget for two thousand and thirteen and the amending budget for two thousand and twelve where by the way the cyprus presidency made a tremendous and at the end successful effort how negative it would
no more no less.
but as i said we are not yet there.
president christofias dear friend thank you very much for your kind words regarding the role the commission and myself have played in contributing to your very successful presidency.
this next chapter will be about building confidence by further strengthening our economic governance by completing the banking union and by exploiting every means possible to create growth sustainable growth and jobs and to address the most pressing social problems in our countries.
this will be difficult but certainly not impossible. that was also clear from the debate on the road towards a european banking union.
this is a matter where member states can give a concrete demonstration that they are committed to growth and to tackling the very serious problem of unemployment namely youth unemployment.
overall public finances are improving slowly but surely.
a lot still has to be done.
the mff is a fundamental european tool for growth for investment for solidarity concrete solidarity.
it is the only way for europe to keep its focus on the long road still ahead to provide coherence and also to structure our day to day efforts.
the ever sceptical financial markets have taken note of these efforts and acknowledged them. private investors are finding their way back to eurozone countries in need.
after a year of negotiations with thirteen trialogue meetings i believe it is time to conclude and send once again the signal that europe is capable of decisive action.
at the same time we have not neglected to prepare the ground for the major debate needed before the european elections in presenting our blueprint on a deep and genuine emu the commission stuck its neck
this is a matter very close to my heart.
competitiveness notably of the least competitive member states is improving leading to the gradual rebalancing the eurozone so far has lacked.
let us continue to prove them wrong and take care not to disinvest at such a crucial moment just when our investment is starting and i underline starting to pay off.
i wish all governments of europe could share the same priority the commission is giving to the need for investment at european level.
this proposal will be by no means less important than the ssm and neither will it be less complex to frame in legal technical and political terms.
i was happy to be in cyprus for that occasion and i believe this can be a real contribution to boost growth.
this is also why it is crucial to complete our work at european level.
the commission will continue to work towards an agreement between member states and also between our institutions.
further efforts will be needed to bring positions together.
and we have agreed to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement with japan.
the commission will continue to take the lead in this.
the centrepiece of the cyprus presidency was to make progress on the commission's proposals for a single supervisory mechanism.
a very good contribution of the cyprus presidency was the limassol declaration giving a new impetus to our integrated maritime policy.
i want to pay tribute today to cyprus which as one of our smallest member states with its particular geographical location and itself facing important political and economic challenges these days has proved its pro european commitment professionalism and efficiency
but we have turned a page in the crisis.
the commission presented its proposal for a council recommendation on youth guarantees.
of course we must avoid any kind of complacency.
the cyprus presidency can therefore look back with satisfaction at a number of important achievements in economically and socially difficult times.
because without that there is no confidence without confidence there is no investment without investment there is no growth.
we have safeguarded the integrity of the eurozone.
looking at the past year i feel encouraged that we will be successful.
the cyprus presidency made the first attempt to reach a consensus.
the focus that we had to give to the financial sector to the fiscal situation and to questions of economic governance does not mean europe is losing sight of the real economy.
crisis hit eurozone countries have made important progress in bringing their budgets in order and in tackling deep rooted structural problems.
we have at the same time highlighted how important it is to have reforms for competitiveness and also investment because investment is indispensable for growth.
next should be a swift conclusion on the pending proposals on bank capital rules bank resolution and deposit guarantees.
they have done so with determination and resolve.
this is the first opportunity we have to keep the reform momentum going.
following the adoption of the ssm the commission will make a formal legislative proposal for a single resolution mechanism in the banking sector before the summer.
therefore i strongly support all those who are calling for the completion of very important legislative work on the two pack.
we are advocating important and necessary structural reforms and targeted well oriented investment.
we have to work hard to complete banking union which would finally restore confidence in our financial industry.
some are of a really groundbreaking nature like the decision on the single supervisory mechanism.
on behalf of the commission i would like to assure you that the commission always advocates and calls for a comprehensive approach.
we cannot be complacent about the current situation and we still have to work very hard to make this achievement consolidated and solid.
a small island with so much diversity looks like europe in a nutshell.
but you are also the only communist i know who is against the financial transaction tax so please convince your comrades over there.
at the end of your presidency i want to be honest mr president i think you your government and your officials did very well.
but oddly enough it is held to ransom by the leader of the liberal group mr verhofstadt. he demands mutualisation of debt like redemption funds and eurobonds in return.
it is our fault. the parliament should approve this piece of legislation soon.
one dossier remains stuck however the two pack to assure fiscal discipline in the eurozone.
cyprus established a good record as rotating president.
progress has been made on banking supervision.
but it struck me that he always wants to jump from a to z whereas he is not able to get from a to
b. to get proper underpinning for the euro we need the two pack. we need to progress step by step from a to b to c and so
there is a budget for this year.
the single european patent was agreed after thirty years.
the president studied in moscow at the party school so i am sure that he speaks and understands russian.
i also spoke within my speaking time by the way.
madam president cyprus's first presidency has shown that such a small country is well capable of taking over such responsibilities in these tight and really very difficult political times in the european union.
you were in my view quite realistic cooperative and open for discussions.
i am also in favour of the two pack and i agree with the president here that the two pack is needed.
such as reform of your land laws and the establishment of a banking ombudsman.
we are also deeply concerned about discrimination by your broadcasters especially cybc or rik as you call it against our candidate in your current presidential election but we hope that your experience of seeing how other member states function will inspire the domestic reforms which will make your country a well functioning modern democracy.
consumers have been treated with contempt for a long long time.
this was a scandal that was waiting to happen.
the rde testing means cars that will be tested on the roads not just in the labs.
thirdly we have a new forum which the commission will direct and with independent peer review.
every member state has to apply the same rules.
i do not think we should confuse that issue with an agency.
i have yet to see a consumer who wants an agency that is remote from the market and hidden from the consumer.
i also want to touch on the agency because we have had a big debate about the agency which is still raging today.
agencies are just as susceptible to political pressure as the commission or member states and this gives an excuse for national member states not to act when they should be acting.
it. i would also remind everyone that type approval is not just about emissions.
if someone wants to cheat the system they are going to try and cheat the system but we need to make sure that we have a system that is as strong as possible to catch them when they do
let us be clear this will cost a lot of money and we need to be right sure and confident that it is going to do the job before we propose
secondly we have a new market surveillance system.
it is not the right way to fund an agency or any of these measures.
no one change in the system will prevent fraud but together all these changes will guard against firstly cars incorrectly being put on the market and secondly cars being on the market for a long time before a fault is found.
that is a fundamental change from the system that existed before.
this is not the right way to deal with the issue.
there are fewer opportunities now for forum shopping and independent auditors will check on a periodic basis that rules are applied fairly and clearly. fees cannot be paid directly by manufacturers to testing centres which deals with the concerns that many had about manufacturers' influence. and we have a proposal on consumer redress. the fines will go into a fund that will help consumers and the environment. this is a big broad and ambitious package which got huge support in the internal market committee.
it is primarily about safety standards for cars on our roads.
we cannot stop all non compliant products getting on the market.
but now i am looking forward to hearing all your remarks.
i am not against an agency if it can be proven that there is a benefit from the agency but so far i have not seen a benefit.
member states have an obligation under this proposal to test twenty of types every year. they have to have their plans approved by the commission and the commission is also empowered to do whatever tests it wants to do in addition.
so the commission will get all the information it needs from member states stakeholders ngos and civil society in order to know the problems much much earlier and have the tools to deal with them.
firstly we have new tests.
but what we have here in front of us now is a fundamental change from the current system and a very good compromise.
they long ago gave up any trust in the fuel consumption claims that are made by manufacturers and now they know that the emissions claims are wrong as well.
that is not actually the key thing in this report.
we have to sort it out in a vote and i will support the outcome whichever way it goes.
now most speakers wanted more independence transparency obligations on member states compensation a stronger system all of that is in this imco report.
the details are much more important.
the key is to make sure that we get them once they have cheated the system. i think that we can do that.
i think that the commissioner is sitting on the fence a little bit clearly not convinced about the agency;
we have a national system of type approval with mutual recognition across europe and as mr schwab said one type approval for the whole of the eu. that is good for consumers it is good for jobs it is good for industry but it is in everyone's interests to know that the system works in other eu countries because this affects everyone. people in germany for example need to be confident that the system in italy say
it is a compromise. everyone has had to move from their original positions everyone has had to give things up and i think we need to recognise that.
we need a role for the commission as the report recognises.
on the agency this is the last time i talk about the agency i promise!
it will always come back to the commission to act but it is clear that as a parliament we are split down the middle on this issue.
it is the most important measure to restore confidence in our system and the credibility of the industry.
these proposals go in the right direction and we are ready to consider them constructively. i believe that we should concentrate our efforts on these main pillars so that we can make swift and effective progress. other issues such as the provision of repair and maintenance information can be better addressed through parallel strands of work. let me tackle now the main open issue which is the creation of an eu agency for vehicle market surveillance. i know that you discussed this at length and that you will continue discussing this today. in
we discarded the idea at the time mainly in the interest of speed efficiency and budgetary resource implications.
this was a huge effort and we know it has not been an easy process.
it is time for citizens to see that we are all pulling in the same direction and that we are all putting their interests their health and their environmental concerns first. so the commission very much welcomes the good progress made by parliament.
context. we are eager to listen to your opinions and concrete proposals
when they buy a car consumers must be able to trust the promises on emission limits fuel consumption safety rules and so on. this is the aim of our proposal and we are very pleased that the internal market committee report supports the main pillars of our proposal namely
we have to show that europe can make a difference to people's lives.
agency. let us take the discussion further in that
these pillars are fundamental to ensure that industry will comply with the rules and that there will be high quality high transparency and a level playing field between manufacturers.
no exceptions no gaps.
an agency by not
it is not only manufacturers who need to change.
everyone involved will have to follow the rules strictly and to apply the requirements in a harmonised manner whether they be importers testing bodies and laboratories or type approval and market surveillance authorities.
in the meantime we have seen how difficult it is to ensure proper enforcement in a system of twenty eight different national authorities. so far only a handful of them have taken action against emissions cheating and only one member state seems truly decisive so effectively the remaining member states are making the case for
reinforcing the independence and quality of the car testing system introducing a system to control cars on the road and reinforcing the type approval system with greater european oversight.
air quality in many of our cities is unacceptably poor and it causes premature deaths and citizens have been cheated.
acting. you will have noticed that the white paper on the future of europe refers to a possible enforcement
you are sending a strong and a clear message to our citizens and to our industry. type approval must put safety environmental protection and the well being of citizens first.
today. mr president honourable members whichever option we finally choose we need to make certain that it delivers a real one hundred and eighty