kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
we will continue to challenge others as much as we challenge ourselves and we will continue to critically assess our own approach and actions and where necessary adjust
in our concerted efforts to find solutions to the most pressing human rights concerns the eu has taken action in multiple ways and our report bears witness to that.
way. despite the severe challenges that still remain we should not underestimate the progress already achieved hence our increased and concerted commitment for sustainable long term solutions to the current complex and diverse challenges.
these include freedom of expression freedom of religion anti discrimination gender equality children's rights combating torture and promoting economic social and cultural rights.
minister schmit how are we ensuring that our neighbourhood policy is strengthened rather than undermined by chinese investment initiatives in this region?
the recent impact of china's black monday on the stock market and the impact on our industry of chinese dumping not least in the uk steel sector show that its financial economic policies should also be put on our radar.
meanwhile china is focusing negotiations with central and eastern european countries on the sixteen one framework which risks weakening the interests of the eu member states that are not involved.
e knowhow and technologies assist china's economic and governance reforms and reduce vulnerabilities in its economy.
the eu strongly opposes any attempt to assert territorial or maritime claims through the use of intimidation coercion force or any unilateral action which could cause further friction.
it should be remembered that china's gradual opening up of its economy to foreign investment has helped to stimulate the big economic growth needed to lift six hundred million chinese citizens out of extreme poverty of which fact china is rightly
china's forthcoming g twenty presidency the wto and fora such as the ebrd offer further avenues for eu china cooperation on aspects of international governance.
in this respect our eu delegation in beijing in close coordination with member states has participated actively in the open consultations conducted by the chinese government on the cyber security counterterrorism ngo and national security draft laws.
the eu takes no position on claims but remains strongly committed to unimpeded commerce to the freedom of navigation right of transit passage and to the freedom of aviation according to international law in particular as reflected in the united nations convention
the eu special representative for human rights visited china this year and our human rights dialogue was held there two weeks ago.
the eu is indeed pursuing such disciplines with china as it does in all its agreements.
we are aware of the difficulties eu companies face in their effort to access the market and operate their investments in china.
we need to remember also that china needs the eu just as much as europe needs china.
given china's increased willingness to work via the un positive areas of cooperation could be developed including in peacekeeping humanitarian affairs disaster risk management economic and social rights and health.
the report acknowledges that the eu china investment agreement negotiations represent one of the most important issues in eu china bilateral economic and trade relations.
climate change green growth development assistance and the sustainable development goals are also important areas.
as you know the high representative's interactions with china have been considerable this year.
the first thing we wish to emphasise is the importance of the eu china partnership for both sides.
first of all may i congratulate mr bas belder who is a veteran of the past three reports on china.
that is not forgetting china's constant presence in the iran talks that helped make the deal.
she held her first high level strategic dialogue with china on the fourteenth anniversary of our diplomatic relations in may in beijing and had further interactions at the seventeenth eu china summit in brussels the asean regional forum in kuala lumpur
it is not just that eu china relations are a vital source of economic dynamism in europe.
china can be a positive force in the world by making a more substantive contribution to global security and exercising its un security council role accordingly.
here as in many cases we do consult with the united states and other like minded partners but naturally take decisions based on our own assessment our own interests and values.
the european parliament jointly with the other eu institutions must continue to make the argument that china's stance risks leading to more rather than less instability in china.
china could also take greater responsibility internationally concerning migration.
the eu must be cohesive and effective in the pursuit of its own interests while upholding its values and international law.
the report lists many areas where china's human rights record does not live up to international standards.
the report underlines the need for balanced economic growth and the fact that the investment agreement contains disciplines for sustainable development.
we are committed to pursuing new market access opportunities as well as overall improvements in china's regulatory framework.
the eu and its member states will continue to engage china and encourage it to see its own interests in fulfilling its commitments to uphold universal values and standards as recommended by your report.
we will continue to put pressure on the chinese government and point out that these laws work directly against china's economic interests stifling creativity innovation and precisely the inward investment that china cherishes and needs to avoid the middle income
we note the position taken in the report on the south china sea.
china knows that its relationship with europe is vital for its economic well being and social stability.
on the foreign policy front we need to look at ways of encouraging china to do more multilaterally especially in africa the middle east and afghanistan.
recent concerns about the risk of a hard landing of the chinese economy as underlined in the report show that the eu has a huge stake in the success of china's economic and governance reforms and in supporting a well managed transition to a more market driven economy.
quite frankly your approach to the european union i believe is a twentieth century answer to a nineteenth century problem.
so we need dialogue with china. we need it in different areas and it is clear as was mentioned here that there is still room for improvement in many areas. that was also underlined in the report.
building on the investment provisions under negotiation with china the eu will explore and i quote launching negotiations on investment with hong kong and taiwan'.
human rights have to occupy an important place in this dialogue.
i would like to emphasise that we are all well aware of the need to keep track of the implementation of policy commitments in the eu china context.
the view of the european parliament as expressed in the report and also in the contributions here provides valuable food for thought in the process of developing the new global strategy on foreign policy and security which is on the way and for updating our tailored strategic approaches to important partners
in this dialogue with china as i said we have to tackle a lot of questions including human rights.
the communication recognises that operating in an increasingly integrated regional supply chain eu investors in east asia should benefit from a broader network of investment agreements in the region.
concerning other negotiations and especially the launch of the taiwan and hong kong investment agreement negotiations the commission adopted the communication on its trade for all strategy on fourteen october two thousand and fourteen
that is why we agreed at this year's eu china summit to create a senior officials' mechanism to review progress on a regular basis.
such as china.
we share with china the same interest in stability concerning the political environment and the economic and financial environment and we share the interest of keeping the world economy stable.
it is true too that as a trading partner china has to play by the rules.
i also condemned the widespread use of the death sentence for lesser crimes such as economic subversion and pimping believe it or not.
with an estimated ninety four of dumped steel landing in the uk it is no surprise that there is currently a crisis in the uk steel industry.
both the uk government and the snp government in edinburgh have to take responsibility for the state of our local steel sector but what action can be taken by the council and commission to secure not just the future of uk and scottish steel but also the future of the eu steel industry?
i could mention climate change and sustainable development as cop twenty one has just ended in paris and the position agreed by the eu and china at the end of june this year certainly played an important role.
it is good news that eight rounds of negotiations have been successfully concluded. on the other hand we have to constantly build and rebuild the one china policy so we need to be coherent.
the bilateral investment agreement needs to be put in place as soon as possible.
we know as china knows that there is an absolute need for our cooperation to succeed in common challenges.
i could also mention security defence and counter terrorism which are today more important than ever and require all actors to cooperate or development aid which is related to the migration crisis we are confronted with.
mr carver since you mentioned the election of the chief executive can you please remind us when during the time that hong kong was a british colony did you allow hong kong citizens to elect the chief executive?
mr president i thank my colleague mr belder for his report. with power comes responsibility and china appears to be more interested in the first whilst avoiding the second.
a responsible global power cannot engage in distortive currency manipulation bully its neighbours in the south china sea and have a human rights record that leaves much to be desired.
beijing cannot push for recognition as a market economy while turning a blind eye to deliberately under priced steel exports.
steel dumping has had a devastating impact on what was the economic engine of my region yorkshire and the humber.
our relationship with china should be a two way street and i ask my colleagues to help call it to account when so many jobs are being unfairly jeopardised.
the eu is attempting to create a new world order with a new eu army. this is what magritte would have called surreal.
firstly they said that the eu created peace in europe when in fact it was nato.
and of course as i see today more and more meps want to have war with russia the new bogeyman.
eu money for extra drones and the military industrial complex will get tax deductions under proposals from this chamber.
and secondly they say they don't want an eu army in fact what they want is a european security and defence force when everybody can see that what you want is an eu army.
the idea that we have to have an army so therefore we must have an enemy.
this discussion here in the european parliament is as important because we have to identify the strong political will in which direction and how deep we want to go in order to protect our values.
finally the defence fund is meant to help member states to do joint acquisitions of capabilities.
we want to change the way defence research is done in europe pulling together both human and material resources. we have allocated this year eur twenty five million and with your support we will allocate next year eur forty million and eur twenty five million in two thousand and nineteen altogether eur ninety million in three years.
this will be a game changer in terms of strengthening defence research and industrial capabilities and it makes our public spending more effective.
now we need an honest debate on the kind of future we see for europe in defence policy.
while the three scenarios differ in the level of ambition they all present a step in the same direction strengthening european defence.
the first angle is defence research funding.
the lack of cooperation in defence and security between member states is estimated to cost annually between eur twenty five billion to eur one hundred billion. this is not an efficient way to use our resources.
two weeks ago the commission adopted its reflection paper on the future of european defence a communication on the european defence fund and a proposal for a european defence industrial development programme.
members this is one of the biggest challenges for our future.
instead of buying capability separately member states could do it jointly using different types of financial models and these can range from pooling to debt financing and can help overcome challenges of different budget cycles and reduce the cost for individual member states. honourable
let us be clear it is not the commission's power trap. it is a matter of timing and the level of ambition on the member states' side.
we have to make sure that we can protect our values inside europe but also externally.
for this reason we have created the european defence fund which has three different angles.
therefore the debate today in the european parliament is very welcome. when looking at the economic side of defence cooperation we do everything twenty eight times or in the future twenty seven times so the problem is that we duplicate everything so many times that the application problem with nato is not a relevant problem because nobody wants to do it. duplication also has a price tag.
the progressive framing of a common union defence policy leading to common defence.
research organisations can apply together for the funding of collaborative research projects from the eu budget.
importantly the fund is not only for big countries and big projects but also for small countries and for smaller companies in the defence value chain. we want to make sure that everybody can participate.
the second angle is support for joint development of capabilities using the eu budget to incentivise joint development of prototypes. to qualify for support under the european defence industrial development programme there must be at least three companies from a minimum of two countries which can apply to build joint prototypes for example in drone or satellite projects.
our militaries are supporting peace. this is the european union way to security and i would like us to be very clear about that because it is also a way of honouring our men and women serving under the eu flag.
so this is not about building a big headquarters.
also member states own one single set of forces and they are perfectly capable of deciding whether to use their forces in eu missions and operations in un missions in nato missions or in their own bilateral or multilateral initiatives.
it is that we need to make the system of command and planning of the existing operations and missions more effective because having a fragmented system of headquarters as anyone who deals with military issues a little bit knows and understands is not necessarily the most effective way of managing
i understand that for political reasons or propaganda reasons some of you want to continue to refer to this but this is not the reality of the facts.
the european union is not a military alliance.
another point what are our militaries doing?
that was done last year. then came the presentation of the global strategy identifying the strategic priorities for our foreign policy and security policy including in the defence sector.
they have their own capabilities. we are not working to increase that.
i would like to clarify this because our militaries are not making war.
that is why the sequence of our work began with an assessment of the security environment.
some of you mentioned i think that this can be one of the fields in which future cooperation with the future third party uk might be explored.
our militaries are saving people in the mediterranean sea.
only after having shared a common level of ambition which was achieved in november are we now strengthening our approach to capabilities and the industrial base.
we do have headquarters of our military and civilian missions and operations and by the way i would like to remind our friends in the uk that one of our headquarters is currently in the uk. it is the headquarters of the european union's operation atalanta.
the fragmentation of investment has a cost for the budget for the taxpayers' money that we often refer to.
it is not meant to become a military alliance and that is why the work we are doing in parallel to strengthen european defence and to strengthen eu nato cooperation is working so well.
we are working to make that spending and investment more efficient by making investments together among member states with the support of all the eu institutions.
this is the kind of work that our eu militaries are doing.
we have to start from the reality of the work we are doing.
they are there for
by the way i would like to stress that all the decisions we have taken so far the ones that have been already implemented and the ones that have yet to be implemented but are on the way have been decided unanimously by all the twenty eight member states with the uk fully involved sitting at the table of the council that i chair and fully participating in the decision making.
no such thing! it couldn't possibly be true.
they couldn't have been lying so i must be dreaming you ms mogherini.
the reality is this money that is being squandered on this crazy political project which will make no difference to anybody except losing money from the taxpayers should be within the nation states and they should be spending it on the one thing that actually does keep our nation safe that is nato.
now during the referendum campaign in the uk the remain side told us this was fantasy.
twenty this is complete nonsense. basically there are two main fighter aircraft in service in the main european air forces tornado and euro fighter.
well we used to hear a lot about the comprehensive approach. interestingly in this reflection paper on european defence the words comprehensive approach' are not mentioned once.
we have a well tried defence alliance nato which binds the united states to european security and in which with two very minor exceptions all the eu member states are fully involved as members. so why does the european union want to create autonomous defence structures?
we all know it is about european political integration.
we all know you should come clean it is all about political integration.
for example it says the united states has just one type of main battle tank while the european union has. seventeen this of course is complete nonsense.
instead we get a new justification and it is all about figures. it is all about the numbers of tanks and aircraft and things being produced across europe and invidiously comparing these with the capability of the united states.
we have very fine capable armed forces right across europe.
some also have the american f sixteen of course and the french went their own way with rafael and the mirage two thousand series.
ii. the same with fighter aircraft the us has six main types in service and according to this the european union countries have.
we need better coordination of investments in the areas of security and defence full use of fiscal and crisis management capacities to name but a few.
the latest steps taken by the commission and the council in launching the defence fund and establishing a command centre in brussels are good and encouraging and we need to continue.
let me just remind you that the european parliament adopted a report on the european defence union last november and there are still many things twenty to be precise on the list in the report that need to be ticked off in order to reach the goal of a truly functional defence policy.
we need to take advantage of this and make things happen.
these are sensible measures aimed at improving european collective security and strengthening the role of the eu member states that they can play together in association and within nato.
therefore moves towards a european defence fund a european defence industrial development programme in addition to exploring the viability of permanent structured cooperation and the funding of eu battle groups via the athena mechanism are all interesting developments in this direction.
i am pleased that the uk government has announced it will not be making any moves to block these plans as an exciting eu member state.
no matter in which country east west north south and no matter what kind of political background our citizens have european defence and security is mentioned as a top priority in all the eurobarometer surveys that have been conducted in the last year or so.
clearly not the only one and here comes the picture in which we do our work on security and defence because i want to clarify first that our work is not leading to a militarisation of the european union.
or i would say factors that intensified the political will to make security and defence in the european union one of the fields where the council wants to relaunch the european union integration process.
sixth and finally we are also working to improve our civilian crisis management to make it more responsive and make sure it has all the capabilities it
i also want to be very clear on this the work we are doing to strengthen european defence is also a matter of strengthening nato and is beneficial for both.
we should honour the men and women that are serving peace under the eu
our training missions are supporting the local security forces as they fight against terrorism or against criminal networks.
the european union not only is but will stay the most relevant donor of humanitarian and development aid. that is going to remain. we are going to stay the main pillar of the multilateral system based on the un agencies and un values and principles as well
you often think that i have two hats but i actually have three hats because i also have the european defence agency and in this case the agency is proving its added value.
year. fifth we have established the first ever command centre in brussels for the operational planning and conduct of military training and advisory missions.
there is a genuine european way to security and defence.
i always quote two numbers europeans invest in defence fifty of what americans do but the output of european investments in defence
is based on more binding commitments between member states to jointly develop and deploy military capabilities.
a stronger european union in the field of security and defence is good for europeans and good for the rest of the world.
we know very well that there is no single crisis or threat in the world that can be dealt with through a purely military approach.
it is about the efficiency of the investments namely how we can use our resources with economies of scale that is the point and also how we can use the instruments for acting together as a union in the world.
it is not for the european union to tackle this. but regardless of how much member states decide to spend what the european union can and must do is help them spend better and more efficiently which means spending together.
this is how and what we are and this is how and what we will continue to be with more instruments to serve this way of working on security.
if there is anyone in the world that knows the power of soft power the need to combine different instruments the need to have an integrated approach in responding to crises and conflicts in using all different tools from the diplomatic to the humanitarian development economic and cultural
this should pave the way for notifications to the council to start the formal process of establishing a permanent structure cooperation and i am confident that this process can be done before the december european council if member states are coherent with their commitment to proceed in this