kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
this parliament hosted the caesar exhibition evidence of brutal torture by this regime.
we are not tackling the right things.
tackling isis is akin to thinking that you can alter the position of a shadow by doing things to the shadow.
likewise we should not be fooled by the actions of russia in this conflict.
there was a time when concerted intervention by the international community could have helped but we remain deeply sceptical on current air strikes against the so called islamic state.
we are tackling the symptoms rather than the cause.
assad is not a partner in peace.
the situation in syria is certainly one of the most pressing of our time and a redoubling of efforts must focus on the core of the problem a syria ruled by a brutal dictator and the fanatical evil of isil who are not only destroying the ancient heritage of syria but also murdering its people and targeting groups of christians and other minorities in a most brutal almost medieval fashion
there are many of us who believe that.
the manifestation of this is a flood of people displaced to surrounding nations and now to europe.
mr schmit you outlined some of the efforts in relation to europe and this terrible humanitarian crisis but you did not outline any of the pressures that you are putting on the surrounding states in the gulf to do much more to help in this difficult situation.
certainly something that we have not experienced in a long time.
it does not mean fighting alongside the regime in the civil
the war in syria is a very complex matter.
a high level conference on the eastern mediterranean and western balkans route takes place tomorrow in luxembourg.
syria is losing a whole generation to war and exile only education can give a future to a whole country.
a military escalation in the civil war will lead nowhere it will only prolong the agony of the conflict.
you can count on our collective engagement on this.
our engagement goes far from reducing the threats of radicalisation and the recruitment of new foreign terrorist fighters in european countries to seeing what can be done to stop the flow of revenue to daesh.
during the meeting they agreed a draft roadmap for the future political transition.
we will spend more on immediate aid for refugees providing them with shelter and food and we will also spend more on essential services such as health and education an additional eur one billion will be mobilised.
to the people of syria during a political transition.
similarly we can also make our contribution to bringing the different strands of the syrian political and military opposition together behind a common vision and purpose.
there is growing consensus in the international community that ending the syrian war needs a two track approach.
many are predicting new waves of refugees from inside syria in the months to come.
it is a huge financial effort reflecting the scale of the crisis.
it has multiple players with many diverging objectives.
aid. as recalled by the european council the union is committed to doing its part in supporting the un led efforts.
twelve million half of the country's population have been displaced. four million of these have left to lebanon jordan and turkey and as europeans we are all aware that many of these refugees are now trying to reach europe in search of peace and a more human life.
this has been verified during a number of meetings over the past two weeks in new york and in brussels.
commitments of this kind could go a long way towards fostering sufficient trust to allow the beginnings of a real dialogue on transition.
europe has to handle the humanitarian consequences of this conflict including the flows of refugees.
this effort will not in itself halt the refugee flow from syria only when there is hope for an end to the war and prospects to return home will the current refugee crisis head towards a conclusion.
the latest phase has been marked by military escalation both by syrian and by non syrian participants.
i believe that in the face of so much suffering on our doorstep it is our duty to respond.
we can seek ways to provide access and protection as well as to promote humanitarian principles and consensus on the guideline for the delivery of
i think the iranians understand that this is going to be their first test to see if they can play a more constructive role after the nuclear deal. the eu also underlines the importance of preserving state structures and functions in order to ensure security order and the provision of basic services
we can work on that together with the international community.
with all the relevant regional and international powers.
but it is in supporting the un led peace efforts that the eu has most to contribute. different regional and international actors have a substantial influence on the syrian parties. they must assume their responsibilities and finally bring all the players to the table for serious negotiations. the eu is able to engage
in july representatives of the two main umbrella groups of the political opposition the soc and the ncc met in brussels having been brought together by the high representative.
the first contract opened through the new trust fund for syria deals with schools and education.
to get the syrians talking to each other again. on the fight against terrorism the eu is not militarily involved but we can and do actively support with non military means the objectives of the global coalition against daesh.
war. that would only provoke a matching increase in the arms supplies by some regional powers to the opposition.
none of this is going to be easy.
we have spent eur four billion so far making us the biggest international donor and faced with the additional flows of refugees this year we are going to spend more.
we expect that by the end of this year the five hundred million that we are putting into the fund will be matched by member states' contributions.
fighting terrorism is one thing and in syria that means fighting the groups defined as terrorists by the united nations including daesh and jabhat al nusra.
to preclude working with russia now in other areas of foreign policy where necessary.
reports that russia is indiscriminately targeting areas of syria that are known to be controlled by groups other than isis are a major concern to the west.
for me the lesser of two evils.
this was true of the nuclear agreement with iran and is now true sadly of syria.
furthermore as reports emerge suggesting that russia will consider integrating its troops within battalions loyal to assad as rebel syrian groups announce plans now to jointly fight russian forces and as turkey cites violations of its airspace by the russian air force we are just beginning to comprehend the many effects and the potential for conflagration of further war that russia's latest moves could have. a will by the european union to cut a deal with a transitional role for assad in exchange for immunity is worth considering however unpalatable that may appear.
that there is no purely military solution to this war; that there is a common foe in terrorism so let us have an honest debate on how it can be combatted and genuine common efforts to do so;
mr president as so often in this chamber and its like we have wrestled with the escalation of conflict in the middle east through the emergence of proxy war.
however difficult it might seem that must today apply to russia too.
now with the russian intervention in syria and the potential for a clash in its airspace we face the danger of the biggest proxy war of all.
today we have to say that bold diplomacy could be a sign of strength not of weakness just as much as the dropping of bombs and i think more so.
everyone involved in the syria crisis believes that iranian and russian interests must be made to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
little did we think in debating how to combat the problem of foreign fighters that they could be so called volunteers in uniforms with or without the insignia of the russian army.
that there must be a political transition in syria to end the situation as it is today but not to return to the one as it was yesterday;
that an imperfect and painful political solution which genuinely sought to be inclusive was ultimately possible in iraq and can be in syria too;
would you agree with me that really the only concerns that anyone from the eu should have regarding syria are a to make sure that any support is given to anyone who is trying to crush isis the greatest threat currently out there and b to ensure that the current mass flow of migrants uncontrolled into the eu is somehow stemmed and brought under control?
but we are also all aware that ending the syrian conflict is deeply in the eu's interest because it affects the stability of our southern neighbourhood not to mention the refugee crisis which we talked about a lot yesterday.
the union is therefore actively working on finding a solution a political solution to the syrian conflict as i mentioned and as i described in my previous intervention.
but we must make clear that russia has to commit to finding a political solution that is inclusive and will strengthen not weaken the fight against terrorism.
our longstanding position is that a lasting solution to the conflict can be achieved only through a syrian led political process leading to a transition.
a no fly zone is the first step to turning the crisis around.
i think it is a very important debate on syria because the war in syria must be stopped and our group has been calling for more eu leadership for years.
we are paying a very high price for the lack of that.
not only is it unacceptable how many people continue to be killed now with the help of russian bombers but it is equally unacceptable how little unity and leadership we have seen from the eu side.
the high representative should strive to find a common eu position and develop a comprehensive plan.
our group wishes to see a political solution and building on local ceasefires and ending the air raids on civilians should stop the bloodshed.
no fly zones are a part of ensuring that.
i find it unacceptable that russia and saudi arabia and now the us are taking diplomatic initiatives and that we are absent.
russia and saudi arabia are certainly no honest brokers but can we be surprised that the vacuum we left was filled by others? while there are no simple solutions there are certainties we cannot ignore.
the needs of the millions of people on the run from assad's bombs and isis brutalities far exceed the funds available.
we call on you to organise a major donor conference which should contribute to much more serious commitment to refugees in the middle east and to the countries hosting them.
it is crucial to ensure there is anticipation and coordination we need a comprehensive eu plan to end the war in syria now.
the west is now on the back foot with these two permanent members of the un security council potentially set not just to fight against islamic state in syria but also possibly to change the balance of power in the middle east if they can determine a serious post war settlement.
but for some politicians this is not enough.
after two years of negotiations we can expect that to happen so that we can present european citizens with a good regulation which protects the fundamental right to data protection and creates a digital single market.
let me call once again on the council to come up with a general approach.
the fact is that we are moving.
we should also look to a positive side of the agenda that we also gain a technological advantage.
the original proposal was based on a thorough impact assessment that took place over two years in members states' industry and non governmental organisations.
concerning competition of course we should take care of competitiveness and competition in europe and of course we want to compete with china but not with their air quality standards.
i hope that i have already proved that in the first half of my mandate.
mr president a key point that allows us to address problems of environmental protection and distortion of competition is firstly requiring bat conclusions to be used in setting permit conditions and importantly emission limit values. flexibility is still possible but must now be clearly justified. the commission can collect information
on the use of this flexibility.
it is also crucial to remember that the concept of best available techniques takes into account the costs of applying these techniques.
the fact is that we are moving in the right direction in the direction of a better quality of life a more healthy environment a more level playing field for industry with stimulus for new innovation.
to summarise what i have heard today better environment stay competitive european jobs sustainability cutting costs too many exemptions stricter rules more flexibility needed interests balanced rights. that is what the compromise is bringing.
i think it is fair to say that we give industry time to build changes into normal investment plans.
by voting now to agree on this directive parliament can demonstrate its true commitment to reducing pollution from industry.
we are at the threshold of an agreement on industrial emissions that will bring european union action to reduce pollution from the largest industrial sources into line with ambitious environmental objectives. at the same time it will provide opportunities for eco innovation and strengthen sustainable production methods in important sectors of our economy.
it also provides us with the opportunity to stimulate eco innovation.
the work of the european parliament as i already mentioned has been key in reaching an agreement that maintains the environmental integrity of the commission's proposal and that on a number of occasions in the institutional process seemed unachievable.
that the status quo is insufficient not only in terms of protection of the environment but also in terms of distortion of competition. the strengthening of two of the core elements of the legislation the application of the best available techniques as a rule and revised emission limit values for major sectors
moving to the subject of the debate i would first of all like to pay tribute to the work that holger krahmer did. it was a very long complicated piece of legislation and he genuinely worked to involve all of the political groups and all of the different shades of opinion in this debate.
member states are not particularly happy.
the compromises reached are in my view a good balance between on the one hand protecting the environment but on the other taking into account some of the quite legitimate concerns held by some member states that forcing a lot of coal plants to close early would actually be a bad thing for the environment what would the power be replaced by?
mr president holger krahmer and i do not always agree about environmental legislation and the degree to which it should be enforced but on this measure i think we have found ourselves very close despite the fact that many of the arguments he has put to his colleagues have been nationalistic.
he has been able to argue that with regard to this legislation germany has applied it effectively or more effectively than any other member state including my own.
this places germany at a competitive disadvantage compared to others.
the legislation that we put in force has to be applied equally and effectively across the european union if we are to protect the environment and if we are to ensure that certain countries do not gain a competitive advantage by not investing in the improvements that are necessary to make that possible. the question is that we have now recast this legislation.
we have not perhaps relaxed it but we have addressed the fact that the first measure failed to be applied by member states.
member states have got off the hook.
my member state the united kingdom has got off the hook.
it has not done what germany did.
a clear plan is now necessary for negotiations to be instituted between the middle eastern and north african governments and those of the countries storing these assets all of which are available including the need to find appropriately trained forensic accountants to be deployed to trace and return these monies.
however this is not an area in which my group believes that the eu should assume direct and new competences.
we must also further encourage friendly jurisdictions to assist the arab spring countries as far as they can in this matter.
at a time when the air of hope in those countries has given way to so much resignation and in some cases despair asset recovery is a tangible means to demonstrate that the revolutions were not in vain and that the monies which were stolen from the people can rightly be restituted to them.
but we would continue to do all that we can to support the arab spring countries in this matter to ensure that a lasting injustice from decades of tyranny can finally be corrected.
it is a moral and legal imperative and a highly political issue as those assets if used properly could help to reconstruct the societies of arab spring countries firstly by funding government programmes and initiatives to help the people secondly by providing justice for victims and challenging a political culture of impunity and thirdly by deterring officials from engaging in corruption in the future.
as i stated in my previous intervention i believe that we should not only address the members of the g eight and our own member states and the institutions of the union and call for help and assistance we should also address the arab league and the members of the arab league and the member states of the gulf cooperation council.
i believe there is indeed a need to put into place a specific or trade specific mechanism in order to accompany and steer the process because it is certainly true that there is absolutely no comparison between
there is mounting concern that iraq is once again descending into chaos and potential civil war.
i fear that any assets released back to this corrupt and venal regime will simply disappear into the black hole of corruption that is already swallowing that country's future.
hundreds of thousands of iraqis have taken to the streets in protests which have continued now for months.
madam president we must be very cautious if we intend to include iraq in the list of countries to which stolen or frozen assets are returned.
to this day dictatorial regimes like those in morocco bahrain and saudi arabia can still count on the west's full support.
let us not forget the role of the western leaders in this plunder.
this debt should not be paid;
it is not the people's debt.
madam president the vast plundered resources of countries in north africa and the middle east must be returned to the people of those countries.
not a cent of this debt benefited ordinary people but they are paying for it through vicious austerity and neo liberal reforms in return for an imf loan.
how many of the millions of people in the region still struggling for a decent life will forget the images of sarkozy merkel berlusconi and obama shaking hands with the likes of ben ali and gaddafi?
debt is another form of plunder and it is currently being used as a weapon to impose neo colonial domination and neo liberal reforms.
we have renewed our sanctions for a further twelve months to give egypt tunisia and libya time to achieve the return of assets. we have modified our sanctions legislation to ensure that information sharing on assets can be facilitated.
they want an end to the impunity and corruption of the past;
although the competence of the european union is limited in this matter it is a priority for the high representative and for myself.
externally we have raised asset recovery at the g eight 's deauville partnership. unfortunately despite our efforts progress on asset recovery has not been what we hoped for.
however due process must be respected while we all work together.
this is a complex legal process which must be resolved bilaterally between tunisia egypt and libya and the individual european union member states concerned.
we are also using the european union's influence to raise the profile of this issue.
ownership must rightfully be transferred to the new state structures.
the european union is ready to facilitate this process as much as our competences allow.
the european union will continue to work with our partners member states and international organisations to accelerate the process so that the money returns to where it belongs.
the political will is there but the ownership of these assets has been deliberately obscured and judicial procedures must be followed.
today as everyone who travels to the region can attest the return of misappropriated and frozen assets is of great political importance. for the people of tunisia egypt and libya this is a matter of justice and dignity.
they want the misappropriated assets to be returned and invested in their countries.
we have simplified the process for transferring assets to tunisian egyptian and libyan authorities once a judgment is obtained.
let me highlight some of the actions taken over the past few months.
i would like to say now that we count on the high representative and vice president to ensure that the external instruments will finance an expert mechanism to begin working as soon as possible on facilitating and advising the authorities of these countries.
this is not a flash in the pan concept either;
after forty two years of systematic institutional dismantling and a kleptocracy of unprecedented proportions the libyan authorities are trying to make sense of the colossal volume of assets gaddafi spread around the world.
the g eight created the action plan on asset recovery within the deauville partnership which has led to real action.
egypt is in turmoil and this is exacerbated by the economic crisis in the country widespread poverty and the expectations of their population that recovery of those assets could help meet.
these countries are facing layer upon layer of bank secrecy and ambiguous ownership structures that protect dictators' ill gotten riches a seemingly endless queue of obstructions and appeals often by parties acting erroneously on behalf of the ousted officials. whereas the swiss are being heralded for aiding the authorities of these countries our own member states are failing to show the political willingness which is crucial to this process. stable communication channels are also essential here.
like the meeting of the arab forum on asset recovery and the publishing of national guides on seeking assistance the star initiative of the world bank and unodc does crucial work in this respect in disseminating information and best practice.
madam president honourable members in dealing with this complex issue we all recognise that we are in for the long haul but my understanding is that assets are beginning to return and that the rate of progress is actually greater than in previous cases
and returned to the new democracies.
sorry for my ignorance but could you please enlighten me as to whether it was the same in the case of the collapse of communist dictatorships in europe and if not why not?
we need transparency and coordination as asset recovery is a member state competence.
so i welcome the obligation to set up or designate national asset recovery offices. the countries of the arab spring need urgent investment in money and flows to solve their extremely hard economic problems and severe fragile social conditions.
experience shows that recovering assets may take about seven years.
we must keep the pressure on our governments to accelerate these complex processes.
then we need a better use of the recovered assets targeting them at the sectors that bring more benefits to the victims of corruption which are always the poorest and most unprotected social classes.
thanks for the question.
i do not come from the political tradition that i think you think i come from.
so everywhere across the world i have supported the rights of peoples struggling for a genuinely democratic and socialist change.
the european commission is currently carrying out a consultation on whether a transparency register should be mandatory.