kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
we must collectively operate structural changes regarding the legal standards that our businesses must uphold. we cannot satisfy ourselves with merely cosmetic measures.
we must support politically and financially initiatives aimed at linking economy with human rights workers' rights social justice equity and sustainability because that provides the way forward to achieving the united nations sustainable development goals in.
you all know that the time span of the investment from the decision to invest on something up to the building construction and up to the use is tens of years.
this means that we have to bear our responsibility.
mr president the financial sector and investors are all on board already. they are willing to move and they are willing to change the investment structure transparently so that it is more sustainable.
we have to set that kind of a taxonomy that takes other aspects other than just climate on board that gives the right incentives and guidance for investors and that is reliable from the investment perspective for the upcoming thirty years.
let us give them the right tools.
is already there.
the worst thing we can do is give the wrong signal to investors for example please let's invest in coal and oldfashioned technologies and label it as green'.
if europe cannot bring the financial sector in line with the paris agreement who can?
sustainability is not about being green it should also include tax compliance human rights and speaking as a social democrat a social dimension so that the financial sector serves us and not the other way around.
it should apply to all financial products not just to a small niche of green products.
a law that lays down green standards for green products is in a sense not effective and is no progress. amendment eighty seven on the scope and amendment ninety one on the social dimension are therefore key.
we need mainstreaming.
we agree with you that the programme can be and should be more accessible and inclusive and this is why co funding from other funds such as esf will be possible also by doubling the budget we intend to triple the number of people participating in a learning experience abroad.
by boosting traditional mobility by adding new and more flexible mobility formats by optimising the grant levels and by providing targeted financial incentives we estimate that we can reach twelve million people from different backgrounds.
erasmus has become indeed an iconic brand symbolising the added value of the european integration project for our citizens.
it contributes greatly to achieving the objectives of the first principle of the european pillar which is about access to education training and lifelong learning.
honourable members of parliament this is not a trick.
other regions are moving;
you should look at the broader spectrum of the investments and they all should go towards greening of our economy.
this is about our future economy.
the rest of the world is watching us so we need to get this right and we need to get this right today.
this is not about forbidding activities;
two thousand and fifty we need investments in achieving that and those investments are being made today. if we do not get our taxonomy right we do not give the right signals to the market to shift the trillions from non sustainable investments to sustainable investments.
we should do the same.
that is what we are talking about and that is what is so crucial about the votes we are going to have.
that is worth rocking a boat ladies and gentlemen!
this is about steering the activities towards a green economy so that we can achieve the zero emission climate neutral economy which will provide the additional amount of jobs that the commission showed in its analysis.
this is a very peculiar reasoning because we signed the paris agreement and we need to be climate neutral before.
as the commissioner said the taxonomy that we are putting in place here today will be a global standard.
that needs to be done today.
as soon as an investment delivers on its sustainability performance it will get a positive signal and that is what this is about.
this is not about rocking a boat;
that is why i plead once more with my conservative colleagues to really look at a couple of these amendments where we are making it very clear that when you look at investments you should not only look at the green niche of the investment.
do we want the green jobs in our economy or not?
it also goes against article seven of that regulation which expressly states that cash benefits cannot be reduced or modified merely because family members reside in other member states. it also breaches the principle of equal treatment as regards social and fiscal advantages laid down in the free movement regulation the principle of equal treatment that is also at the heart of the single market.
the commission considers that any adjustment mechanism for family benefits and family tax credits for children of migrant workers who are residing in another member state are not compatible with our acquis.
for me the discussion is about fairness and equal treatment.
there should be no second class workers but also no second class children.
are bound to apply european law and they are the only ones that can offer citizens direct redress when their rights are not respected.
you know that some member states asked to introduce indexation of child benefits when we launched a revision of the european union social security regulations. but we refused to propose such indexation based on our strong belief that mobility needs to be based on fair rules.
that has remained the commission's position throughout the negotiations on the proposed modernisation of social security rules on which we reached a political agreement last week an agreement that i can assure you is a balanced agreement built on the shared understanding that european rules should safeguard free movement
an agreement that still has to be confirmed by coreper next friday so tomorrow and also of course by parliament in the coming weeks.
when mobile workers contribute to a social security and tax system in the same way as local workers do they should receive the same benefits regardless of where the children live abroad.
you have heard me say before that there are no second class workers in the union and i've always insisted on equal pay for equal work at the same place.
under the european social security regulation european citizens that work in another member state and contribute just like local workers are entitled to the same social security benefits and tax advantages.
frankly with climate change could you really call a coal investment a green investment?
so yes there need to be some better standards that normal activity to be labelled green and sold as green investments.
but then again the good news is that eur thirty trillion is a lot of money and as we have a clear indication what kind of investments are environmentallyfriendly sustainable and not causing significant harm in other fields then we have plenty of money to turn the wheel and support environmentallysustainable economies and investments.
we need only eur one hundred and eighty billion every year to invest in combating climate change. so we do have the money but it is in the wrong place.
and it means that our environment is under threat because we are investing in the wrong end of the economy.
put that question to yourselves.
second question could you really call investments that follow only basic national legislation a green investment? my interpretation is that if you do not break the law you are not a criminal but it does not mean that your activity would be green.
if proper safeguards had been put in place fifteen years ago there would be no need for further boil water notices.
but unfortunately because of consistent failures by successive irish governments to protect habitats in special areas of conservation that they themselves designated we have a situation whereby twelve zero people on the lough talt scheme have a boil water notice in place for twelve months and are likely to have it in place for the next twelve to eighteen months because of the presence of cryptosporidium and unacceptable levels of thm
and how appalling is it here we are almost three years on from the referendum and the uk government has failed failed to negotiate failed to give any clarity or certainty that the uk will continue to be part of the erasmus programme in the future.
madam president i didn't do erasmus when i was at university and i wish i had. i really really want erasmus opportunities to be available to young people from all backgrounds in the uk into the future.
young people that i listen to across the east midlands region are furious about how their futures are being compromised how their rights and opportunities are being short changed by this government's failure of these past two years or so.
the opposition that we've heard in this house to climate action is actually about protecting the profits of corporations and financial institutions above our future and everyone knows it.
we can't compromise or negotiate with the laws of physics or chemistry.
two thousand and thirty you call them idealistic but actually they are the ones who are being realistic.
mr president this report gives us an opportunity to define what is sustainable economic activity and what is not and to consider the interaction between environmental goals and social protections.
the millions of schoolchildren who have been striking from school to march on the streets across europe and around the world know it.
the scientific consensus is that we have until two thousand and thirty to act to make rapid and farreaching transitions in all areas of our economies if we are to limit global warming to.
the disrespect for equality in cross border transfer of child allowances is one of the reasons that brought about brexit.
mr president the erasmus programme is already responsible for millions of friendships love affairs and even babies as it has provided the means for young people to spread their wings and look beyond borders to learn more about themselves and others through immersion in formal and informal education with peers from across europe.
we all know about the erasmus opportunities for students to study in universities outside their member states but few politicians seem to know about the extraordinary youth programmes that transform the lives of disadvantaged youth.
for example the people with learning difficulties from headway arts in blyth northumberland who've been exchanging ideas and best practices with european partners growing in confidence as a result and achieving dignity when their own government threw them on the scrapheap.
another example are the autistic students from inscape school in stockport who returned from their erasmus project to set up social enterprises including a caf.
i met these young people and all are dismayed at the inward looking direction of the uk government who would deny them a european future.
as regards the austrian legislation the commission now needs to analyse the reply of the austrian government that we received this monday and we can only decide upon any further steps after having carefully assessed the arguments put forward as we always do.
first of all for me this is a question of fairness and equal treatment.
the issue that we have in front of us is not one of social dumping it is not a situation prone to abuse or fraud we are indeed talking of european citizens who took up a job abroad and provide their skills in a host country where they are contributing to the social security system and to the tax system.
the fact that their children are living in a member state with a lower cost of living than the member state of work should not be relevant for the benefit that is paid out as a lump sum and that is not linked to the actual expense of maintaining a child.
let me just recall that in such systems employers pay the same amount of contributions for their employees regardless of the nationality or place of residence of the children in question.
i'm also aware of the content of what we called a couple of years ago the uk settlement agreement but as you all know this ceased to exist.
on the contrary you are hitting those people who get up in the morning work hard and make a real contribution to the member state of work.
in order to fight abuses and fraud we need to strengthen the tools for national authorities to control and obtain information from their counterparts abroad and that this why we have created the european labour authority.
that is also why we strengthened the cooperation requirements for member states when revising the european social security rules strengthening cooperation between member states while also avoiding excessive control measures based on distrust.
these rules benefit austrians slovaks germans belgians and all the other european citizens alike by protecting their social rights when they are on the move.
i thank you for the support of the action that i have been taking in this area and on which we have been able to reach an important political agreement that will improve the situation for our citizens' families and businesses.
it's wonderful for them it's wonderful for me and it's wonderful for their education especially learning language skills.
i will ask you madam president to condemn the attack and to ask the coalition partners led by saudi arabia to respect international law.
we cannot be proud of these thefts and dehumanising acts.
for true reconciliation to take place we must acknowledge these facts apologise and if possible make restitution then forgiveness between nations can bring these issues to an end. it is essential that this generation be colour blind.
madam president arts and culture are the heart and soul of europe and creative europe is the key mechanism that enables artists and audiences from across europe and beyond to engage in creative exploration of what it means to live in europe today.
the programme is one of the eu's finest projects and promotes excellent synergies across other sectors for example steam which recognises science technology art engineering and maths.
i am personally proud to have pushed for this acknowledgment over the course of my mandate.
the new programme ensures that the sector will reach its economic potential contributing to sustainable growth jobs and social cohesion.
it will enable europe's culture and media sectors to access new international opportunities markets and audiences and that's why it's essential if the tragedy of brexit is to happen that the uk remains part of such a project.
i will be spending this weekend in the city of hull with artists and media professionals from all across europe who absolutely defy that brexit will separate us.
we will remain european.
it seems apt that my last intervention like so many of the others is about a plan to shovel around more taxpayers' money in europe.
almost nobody ever stands back and asks whether these cohesion and regional grants have any impact.
the reason that they do not work is first of all because the money goes primarily to buy the loyalty of ngos local government associations and the like in order to bind them into the european project.
secondly because it creates perverse incentives people find it easier to arrange their affairs to qualify for a pot of money than to make things sell things or create wealth.
i'm not going to be here for much longer so you do not need to listen to my advice for much longer but if the eu carries on in this racket of just shuffling around taxpayers' money it will continue to dwindle.
i just want to remind all my colleagues who were always celebrating the paris agreement about how important it is that we as europe are leading by example.
it is also very important where we put our money. where are the investments going?
how do we ensure that our investments become paris proof?
this is also being debated.
we are debating at the council level our zeroemission economy a climate neutral economy.
if we want to get there we need the right incentives;
we need the right investments.
parliament is making some good proposals on really defining what a green investment is in order to prevent greenwashing.
that is very important because there are many green products on the market but quite often we do not know exactly what their environmental impact is what their green impact is.
by adopting this taxonomy we will put transparent standards on what green financing means and that is very important to have.
of course there are still some amendments on the table to make very clear what in our mind should not be considered a green investment.
i will also ask my colleagues are you really going to accept that later on an investment in coal can still be called green?
while we are discussing the phasing out of coal in every country any investment in coal cannot be seen as a green investment.
we also have some other discussions to follow because green investment is still a niche;
it's still a small part of the investments.
the big part of the investments are not claiming to be green but are still being done.
as if we were not giving a chance for industry to green.
if you have a downgrading of your impact of course that should be highlighted just like you highlight when you have a very positive green impact.
it is not blacklisting;
it is just providing transparency to the market.
hopefully that will have an impact on the market so that our finances will go from brown investments to more green investments.
that is exactly what we need if we want to be paris proof.
the last point that is on the table if we talk about sustainable finance it should not only be green it should also be social.
when we are talking about sustainable finance you cannot avoid discussing what the social implications of sustainable finance are and that too is on the table today.
it will deepen the single market for green financial services and it will protect eu consumers from greenwashed financial products.
it fills an important gap because it establishes a common understanding of which economic activities can help reach climate and other environmental objectives.
the taxonomy will also be one of the key elements in the upcoming eu green bond standard. finally since financial markets are global the eu will promote international convergence and alignment of those crucial tools to the extent possible.
in practice the taxonomy and its applications will have many advantages for companies and investors. companies and project promoters will be better able to raise private capital to finance their sustainable activities.
european companies will have a clear standard of what qualifies as sustainable for the purposes of raising finance.
we will start with climate impact and then look at sustainability more broadly with a step by step approach.
we certainly had our artists for brexit who did not but those at the commanding heights of our cultural institutions were generally in favour of staying in.
now there's no doubt that the creative sector is an area in which europe has a competitive advantage.
we've had most of the greatest painters classical composers writers and architects the world has ever seen.
it's also true that down the ages many writers artists and musicians have depended on wealthy patrons to further their careers.
the royal court of the habsburg empire was a noted sponsor of art and music for instance so it's perhaps no surprise to find the court of the juncker empire following suit.
the danger is though that yes indeed he who pays the piper calls the tune.
the various strands of creative europe naturally place a high value on funding activities that elevate the european collective identity above national identities.
in this the attention i think is to promote the creation of a european demos which trumps national affinities and such a demos is certainly required to make sense of the eu's mania for ever closer union but there's little sign of its emergence.
the danger is that subsidised culture becomes dull culture lured towards safe and politically correct choices that won't rock the boat with the sponsor.
in the case of the habsburgs it was the uninspiring salieri who retained the lucrative position of court composer and not the genius mozart.
i'm sure in the years ahead the next creative europe programme will help some talented creatives with their careers.
whether it will prove to be value for money is doubtful and whether it will foster the miraculous birth of the long awaited european demos more doubtful still.
mr president i would like to stress that the murder of journalists should never become a question of party politics.
madam president i have the honour to lead the mission to malta and i would like to concur that indeed there is still more work to be done.
the bop revision spells out the guidelines which debt sustainability analysis and the macroeconomic adjustment programme should follow stresses the importance of realistic forecasts and enhances the transparency of this process by promoting an interinstitutional dialogue on financial assistance.
the need to have an enhanced bop is justified especially in the context of the ongoing debates on a european banking union.
with these thoughts at heart the revision of the balance of payments facility stresses the need to also take non euro member states on board when it comes to the provision of financial assistance for macroeconomic difficulties.
these instruments will ensure that risks are addressed early along the road and potential difficulties tackled before they become fully fledged threats to financial stability which as the experience of the crisis has shown can produce contagion effects.
in the long run should the revision of the esm treaty be discussed we could then consider the option of allowing non euro members participating in the ssm to contribute to the bank recapitalisation instrument of the mechanism with a view to potentially also benefiting from it.
under this label the governments of these non euro member states would be able to take out loans for the purpose of recapitalising the financial institution.
my proposal in the context of the revised bop proposal is to put forward an indirect bank recapitalisation instrument for non euro member states participating in the upcoming ssm.
to conclude the revision of the bop sends out an important message which goes beyond the issue of financial assistance namely that a greater harmonisation of reforms across the union is ultimately beneficial to euro and non euro member states alike and above all is in the interests of the single market.
may have harsh fiscal implications and elicit a need for bank recapitalisation.
in an attempt to contribute to the catching up process the revision of the bop will allow non euro member states to also have access to the precautionary and enhanced conditions credit lines.
the bop revision does not merely grant further financial assistance rights to non euro members it also puts forward corresponding obligations through a toughening of surveillance measures during and after the granting of financial assistance.
if the banking union is to succeed its members will need to be treated in a fair and equal manner. this is why non euro member states which will opt in to the single supervision mechanism will need to be provided with an appropriate set of rights and duties. a key issue in this context is offering non euro members a fiscal backstop since supervisory decisions taken by the ssm
however as we move forward with reforms we must not forget to keep the eu united and to preserve the integrity of the single market.
this is a very good example of how we work together to create a genuine single market for the benefit of everyone.
the global dairy index is now at six hundred and thirty four which is just less than half of what it was in.
that is why i was pleased to see such strong support in this parliament for stating that the existing safety net measures alone such as public intervention and private storage aids were not sufficient tools for addressing the persistent volatility or indeed for any crisis in the milk sector.
the people of the united kingdom do not want to have to change something that is not broken.