kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the problem in japan was the accumulation of events flooding loss of off site power and disruption of communications.
we have seen how one problem leads to another and that the very radioactivity of the site in fukushima now is hugely hampering the safety work which needs to go on.
the consequences ripple outwards like the radioactivity which is still discharging into the sea.
commissioner as you say member states have the right to decide their energy mix but you have the responsibility for nuclear safety.
do you agree that member states should impose a moratorium on the planning and commissioning of new nuclear plants?
twenty this causes a vicious circle of extreme poverty social exclusion precarious health and poor education.
it is now time that we reinforce the social dimension of our union and create a sensible impetus towards twenty first century reforms leading to more inclusive economic growth job creation and social convergence.
the european project was from its inception a bedrock for the economic development of our member states.
it is something that we will use from day one as a reference framework to screen the employment and social policy in member states and at european level and a guidance a compass to guide us to more convergence to upward convergence towards better employment and social conditions also working conditions for our citizens and it is indeed more than words words words.
the pillar we launched today is just the start of a process.
third there is the political imperative of tackling inequalities.
we have put an ambitious proposal on the table and i hope for quick and constructive consideration by the colegislators so that we can soon have a good directive.
the best way to make people feel valued is through a highquality job.
first the economic arguments we need a modern labour market we need social protection and we need education systems to drive upward convergence and we need to get more and better qualified people into the labour force.
i want to reassure you that this objective is addressed in the two partner consultations we are launching the one on the written statement directive and the other one on access to social protection.
regarding the request of the european parliament for legislation and also for a framework directive on decent working conditions we agree that it is important to ensure that all forms of employment enjoy a minimum set of rights and protection.
so the debate is open and we will deliver more reflection papers to feed the debate and of course we hope thomas mann that as many people as possible participate in this important debate and in the one on the future of europe.
in fact the guiding principle of this commission has been that we do not legislate for the sake of it.
this is perhaps the main outcome from our public consultation to adapt the social acquis to the new world of work.
let me first address some of the key issues in this discussion.
for example we are not reopening the working time directive we are issuing guidance to improve its implementation.
there is an economic social and political urgency to make the european pillar of social rights a success.
this is the way to build resilience and this is the way to make our economies competitive and our welfare systems sustainable in the longer term.
the social fallout from the crisis remains present and the resulting political pressure at all political levels is massive.
the labour market is a vehicle for inclusion to improve people's life chances and to help them to fulfil their potential.
i see in this house that there are different opinions.
we will have others on the deepening of the economic and monetary union on defence on globalisation and on the financing of the european union.
we need to make sure that everyone can participate and that no one is left behind.
also commissioner thyssen your proposal on flexible working arrangements should help family carers to find the work life balance that will allow them to continue to care.
today we are taking a step towards social europe and while we still have a long way to go i for one am pleased that we have made a start and i look forward to working on these proposals in parliament.
back in two thousand and five i co founded the european parliament interest group on carers with former colleague kathy sinnott and since then i have either chaired or co chaired that group with some of the colleagues many of whom having spoken in today's debate. on very many different occasions the carers interest group has called for a carers' leave directive and indeed that call has been repeatedly supported by parliament and today we have a proposal on the table.
valdis dombrovskis will give a detailed presentation on both the reflection paper and the pillar and marianne thyssen will conclude the debate on behalf of the commission. for now let me focus on one of the initiatives we are bringing forward to put the principles of the pillar into action.
work life balance is about a real choice for fathers and mothers on how to organise their lives.
in the wake of the white paper on the future of europe the first reflection paper on the social dimension has now been published setting out scenarios on what choices we could make together.
honourable members we must stop wasting all that female talent and give fathers a real chance to be with their children as well.
we introduce a paternity leave of ten days and care leave of five days per year and per dependent relative also paid at sick pay level and we also extend and modernise the use of flexible work arrangements.
today the employment gap between men and women is more than eleven and in full time equivalent it goes above eighteen because part time workers are mainly women.
our proposal once adopted will repeal the parental leave directive to replace it by a directive on work life balance for parents and carers.
women also spend five times more time than men on care and household activities. this explains partly the pay gap of sixteen and the pension gap of forty which increases women's exposure to poverty and economic dependence.
and this is not just about women it is about men as well.
the economic loss due to the gender employment gap is estimated to be around eur three hundred and seventy billion per year.
europe is not telling anyone how to live.
mr president the eu is not a market or a currency those are instruments. it is not just about consumers who consume it is about citizens real people who are trying to make a living getting their kids through school struggling for a better future.
i am more than convinced that we need this package now.
with this package of legislative and non legislative action we want to increase women's participation and representation in the labour market and ensure they are not obliged anymore to choose between a family or a professional career.
i do not want my daughters to be in the same situation as my grandmothers were.
we are in times when we see around us a so called cultural counter revolution emerging throwing us back into the past often to the detriment of women.
the main drivers of the problem relate to parenthood the unequal share of care responsibilities the shortage of childcare and long term care facilities and financial disincentives in tax benefit systems for the second earner.
existing policies have not brought equal opportunities that allow fathers and mothers to work in care together for the welfare of their children elders and society at large.
in the context of demographic aging we cannot afford to leave this huge talent untapped. this is a social and an economic imperative and of course above all a moral imperative.
this is our message it is great to be a mum it is cool to be a dad and it is fantastic to be able to combine both roles with a carer.
when families have young children the gap widens hugely.
we propose maintaining the existing four months' parental leave entitlement for each parent but paid at sick pay level and non transferable.
there is not one right balance but i do not accept that our daughters have to fight again the battle that their grandmothers won.
we are also here today to speak about the pillar of social rights and the principles that we believe are important to help member states to reform and together converge upwards.
we will ensure better implementation and effective enforcement of the protection against dismissal provide guidance to member states and monitor the development of their work life balance policies.
at the same time we will promote the provision of affordable and quality formal care services across the union including by optimising the use of available eu financial support.
it is not that we do not care.
on the issue of work and life balance i also think that it is really important that you have recognised the shared responsibility between men and women in childcare.
why are they a national competence?
because wages working time pensions parental leave and unemployment benefits are a national competence.
but i do think that legislation and implementation should be at national level. i welcome that you made it clear that subsidiarity is your guiding principle.
it is that we have to do at european level what is best dealt at european level and it is more effective because we have different systems.
mr president social policies are really important and i wish to congratulate and thank commissioner thyssen for the twenty principles that you have presented. the focus on gender equality in particular is very very welcome and also the access to the labour market.
the essence of our proposal is the following investing in people is investing in their future as well as in our economy.
but today's package is not only about reflection.
the commission is responding to your request for a framework directive on decent working conditions in all forms of employment by consulting social partners on two possible initiatives.
we are also responding to your request to ensure better monitoring by issuing a social scoreboard.
the social dimension is needed to create a resilient economy and sustainable growth and to strengthen our competitiveness.
the rome declaration emphasises the need for a social europe based on sustainable growth which promotes economic and social progress as well as cohesion and convergence. it is time to look ahead at what kind of social europe we want what kind of future we want for ourselves for our children and more importantly how we want to achieve this.
mr president i wish to congratulate my socialist and democrat colleagues because we have worked together to push the commission and member states to move forward on social rights in europe and here it is now back on the agenda.
i am proud to be part of the political group that fights for a true social europe.
with the snap general election in the uk the labour party is right to insist that it will maintain the eu's high social standards and indeed britain's standards must be raised up along with the rest of europe regardless of brexit.
so my party the british labour party must send out a clear message a message which so many young people are desperate to hear we will maintain freedom of movement we will say loud and clear that we reject a hard tory brexit and we will protect our hardwon european social rights.
but we are willing to move in this direction and that is why we call on all governments also to co sign such a proclamation and such a commitment.
we need to make sure that we are really meeting the new conditions of labour markets and welfare systems to fit them for the future.
that is why the pillar must deliver on best conditions first of all to provide a good future for children in europe.
we cannot have children in poverty. that is why we need to have a youth guarantee delivering more and better jobs for the best generation we have in europe. that is why we need to have these new leave schemes paid schemes for both men and women
to take care of their children and their relatives and most of all that is why we need to make sure that all people in employment whatever their kind of job they have a clear set of working conditions and they have access to social protection.
but in order to deliver this we need to have real means in order to have a credible social pillar and real means implies that even of course social partners should be consulted.
secondly we need to make sure that the european semester will bring about real upward economic and social conversions by monitoring standards economic and social policies.
one such proposal sought to politicise sport by having the eu flag flown at all major sports events in the eu.
i certainly do believe we should encourage sports participation in schools increase the awareness of social responsibilities in sports stadiums highlight the importance of volunteers in sport increase the attention to the needs of disabled sports people.
just as the us did after the second world war and just as the soviet union did during the revolutionary period so the european union attempts to encourage other parts of the world to form regional blocs in mimicry of its own structures.
in reality it is the little countries that are doing well. the wealthiest countries of the world are the monacos and the uaes.
people often do not realise the extent to which organisations like mercosur the central american union and the african caribbean and pacific union are not just bodies encouraged by the european union but were really creatures of the eu sponsored by the commission and largely dependent on it for their financing. this creates a beautifully circular argument for european federalists who say we have to be part of this big bloc because that is what the rest of the world is doing' when of course they are obliging the rest of the world to do so.
it does not just make its aid dependent on reproductive rights and so on but it very often and far more damagingly requires countries to be part of whatever regional bloc is nearby.
in the top ten only one state has a population of seven million.
we are cabined cribbed confined in a dwindling customs union.
we should raise our eyes to the broader brighter and more distant horizons that our fathers took for granted.
i replied that is precisely the problem'.
we foolishly stood aside from the parts of the world which are still developing where the growth still is not least the anglosphere and commonwealth markets to which we are tied by habit blood and speech.
he said what you have to understand hannan people like you is that we sell more to the netherlands than we sell to the whole of brazil.
can i also pay a special tribute to italian prime minister mario monti who as competition commissioner ten years ago when i know him in this parliament really put this essential eu competence on the political map as far as the countries like the united states were concerned.
it has aided the free movement of goods and services as well as capital and has become a vital part of ensuring the prosperity of the single market.
we support what the report has to say on the main areas it addresses particularly state aid collective redress fines and settlement procedures and strongly believe that with the suggested measures in place it will continue to be a very useful tool in preserving the economic level playing field within the single market.
it is clear on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of this important report that the eu's policy on competition has indeed brought many benefits for the welfare of european consumers.
the question now being asked across the united kingdom is what happened to the veto what happened to the stand of principle to not allow eu institutions to police the fiscal compact? this agreement represents a new precedent within the eu.
this was what was vetoed in december yet this was accepted in january.
the people of the uk deserve an explanation but most of all they deserve a say in our relationship with the eu which is like a juggernaut which rolls on while a uk prime minister refuses to man the roadblock.
we were sadly disappointed.
one where if ten fifteen twenty or twenty five member states cannot find agreement across all member states they simply go ahead and are allowed to use the mechanisms of the eu.
i support good relations with the countries individually but i am under no illusion that china remains a one party dictatorship russia has an authoritarian government which openly tolerates high level corruption whereas india and brazil are liberal democracies with the same fundamental values legal checks and balances and freedoms as eu member states.
such access would have obvious benefits in the fields of health the environment and economic development.
nevertheless on this occasion i did not participate in the final vote of the neuser report.
madam president the millennium development goals set out a laudable collection of aims that the international community has pledged itself to achieve by. two thousand and fifteen for these to be realised however an essential prerequisite has to be fulfilled first and that is universal access to modern and sustainable domestic power sources for the developing world's population.
the daphne programme and others like it can play a pivotal role in the fight against domestic violence and abuse.
i believe that such organisations are the key to combating issues of violence and abuse as they are best placed to cater for the individual needs of citizens in their region.
in northern ireland there are many excellent programmes carried out at local level with outstanding work being done by local community groups across my constituency.
in my own constituency of northern ireland figures show that domestic violence accounts for approximately one third of all crime with the police service attending an average of sixty domestic related incidents per day with a large amount still going unreported.
the one thing we could do is to get out of the way so that entrepreneurs can make things buy things sell things and create employment for other people.
we are if you like recipients of the largesse of the private sector which does create the jobs.
will no doubt be familiar with descartes' famous thought experiment of the little malicious demon which could control our reality by limiting our senses.
there is this extraordinary gap between our proclaimed intention and everything that we are doing in reality.
at the recent summit we had declaration after declaration about the need to create jobs to reduce unemployment.
and yet almost every measure that comes out of the european union on maternity and paternity leave on limited working times on the forty eight hour week on all the health and safety stuff has precisely the opposite effect.
but we do have the capacity to destroy jobs and we have been doing that by these intrusive regulations.
this is reinforced by the sheer number of petitions and letters received by the parliament where eu citizens including a number of my welsh constituents have also directly expressed their concern about potential breaches of a number of such eu directives.
it is certainly true that it has not been uniformly implemented across the twenty seven member states.
but when it came to democracy in this chamber today the rules were thrown out.
the spirit of fair play was completely ignored by the president of the parliament.
madam president the report on the budgetary control of eu humanitarian aid takes on board the criticisms of the european court of auditors in that it recognises the instances in which accountability and transparency of the monitoring systems and internal audit procedures could be significantly improved.
it also looks at how eu funds are used and managed by partner organisations such as the ngos and un agencies and places greater emphasis on measuring results against initial indicators when the evaluations are taking place.
the report also proposes various improvements that could be made to the framework partnership agreements notably with the process of selecting partners to try to ensure that we achieve best value for money in addition to gaining the experience and expertise that they can offer.
madam president i was unusual among british conservatives in opposing the iraq war and indeed in opposing the prolongation and permanence of the mission in afghanistan although i had supported limited action against the taliban regime. one of the reasons i was worried about the
it sponsors militias and terrorist organisations in central asia in the balkans;
it struck even as far afield as london and buenos aires.
there is an argument that we got the whole thing wrong that we should have had nothing to do with iran that we should have just stayed out of the way.
as a consequence businesses are able to relocate or will be able to relocate with much more ease thus saving them much needed time and in many instances money in determining where their company seat is located.
it is going to be welcomed by businesses across the eu and it is particularly pertinent when one of the main complaints i hear from businesses is that they are prevented from migrating to other parts of the eu given the existence of high administrative burdens in some areas that they would prefer to avoid.
it is for these reasons that i am happy to support this report.
there is a space for closer cooperation between the eu and the brics countries.
war crimes against women in conflict zones are atrocious and truly shocking and often subject to almost total impunity as they are seen themselves as a means of warfare.
as a result women are not only the victims of regular military action but also the victims of sexual violence mainly taking the form of rapes and even gang rapes in some cases.
we agree that there is a need for more support for women's organisations that operate locally in member states in order to raise awareness of women's rights at a grass root level particularly in areas of conflict.
we should also welcome the setting up of a special eu representative on women peace and security within the european external action service again to help to deal with this very serious problem on the ground.
so what we need in the future is real decisions and we must not go back to the nationalistic tendencies that we witnessed in this chamber yesterday.
i hope i never see that again because that is the one thing that should not happen.
madam president in the european parliament in strasbourg recently i met a very clever man from nigeria called thompson ayodele. he talked me through a number of statistics on foreign aid and the figures were pitilessly clear. he showed that international assistance was not useless it was actively harmful. if you compared countries in receipt of it with countries not in receipt of it over the same periods the countries not in receipt grew faster were more democratic developed more impressively and for the obvious reason foreign aid breaks the link between taxation representation and expenditure.
it allows governments to remain in office without the support of their populations.
there are lots of things we could be doing to help developing countries.
we could open our markets;
but the one thing that is absolutely not going to help is giving this kind of assistance especially when we do not have the money.
this is the crazy thing!
with a lack of cooperation with international bodies i have a number of concerns about this nuclear programme and its possible intentions.
it is therefore sadly a necessary step to prohibit the importation of crude oil from iran twinned with imposing a number of other financial measures against the central bank of iran.
the sanctions proposed are therefore in my opinion a proportionate and reasonable response by the eu at the request of its member states.
one of the greatest problems i have found in talking to people on the ground is the lack of continuity. by the time they get a programme into existence the european union changes its mind and goes on and creates another programme which they have to go through all the bureaucracy and red tape to qualify for again.
i think we have got to get it right.
i personally had a recent experience in uganda where i went out with a local faith based organisation who are drilling one new well every week bringing water to miles around and doing a fantastic job.