kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
mr president the cases of liu xiaobo and lee mingche are very concerning but sadly unsurprising and in fact predictable given the severe lack of freedom of speech and expression that we are now all too familiar with in the people's republic of china. they form part of a systematic crackdown on civil society and opposition to the one party politics of the prc.
therefore i echo the calls in the resolution of this house to see the release of both the individuals in question and hope that xiaobo and his wife will be given permission to leave the country if desired in view of xiaobo's ongoing serious medical needs.
meanwhile the situation in tibet the plight of the falun gong in hong kong the fate of democracy in the two systems one country policy and the issues of media and internet freedom are all areas of major concern to the european union.
china is a global power that we are unable to ignore but this should not mean that we shy away from highlighting areas of concern where we see them nor deny the importance that we place upon fundamental and universal human rights.
to find better cooperation with this house.
secondly would the council and commission both please understand that the continuing adverse commentary from the court of auditors is extremely damaging to the standing and the integrity of the european union amongst the general population.
what we need is clear action because the council and the commission must give greater urgency to the achievement of an unqualified statement of assurance.
under the interinstitutional agreement of two thousand and five the council entered into an agreement with this parliament and it is not acceptable that too many of the member states continue to ignore those commitments. in particular in light of the lisbon treaty it is high time they realised the obligation
the council must meet its obligations.
it is not good enough to give technical explanations.
i cannot believe that the council wants to spend money without scrutiny.
the european union should not depart from this practice and this is why i fully support the position of the rapporteur in not granting the discharge to the council.
this is neither responsible nor an example of good governance transparency or accountability and is even more appalling during this time of financial crisis and a crisis of trust when every euro must be accounted for and transparency and accountability enhanced.
in democratic regimes parliaments have the right to scrutinise the executive and its expenditures.
however this is what i see.
however even more disrespectfully this house will not allow any other institution but itself to approve its own financial management.
parliament thinks this is a way of flexing its muscles.
we were elected to scrutinise and protect our people's interests yet year after year the biggest part of the budget that under the european commission's responsibility is riddled with irregularities and still this parliament is happy to grant discharge to it.
a nod and a wink from the new management that it will put its house in order is all it took yet then when it comes to the council parliament refuses discharge even if the auditors make no criticism at all of the institution's financial management.
the commission can only regret that the two arms of the budgetary authority have not been able to find a suitable solution to this dispute that has been going on for three years. the commission hopes that the issue of the council's discharge will be solved rapidly in a way that contributes to improving interinstitutional cooperation.
the commission can only emphasise the political nature of this question.
the commission is of the opinion that all the institutions should cooperate together for the smooth functioning of their work.
in any case the commission will continue to actively participate in the procedure and i can assure you once again that you can count on committed interlocutors on the commission side.
the pretext of course would be the report of the international atomic energy agency which concluded that iran was indeed developing nuclear weapons.
one of the older sources of iran's alleged intentions is the so called lap top of death' supposedly provided to the us intelligence service in two thousand and five by one unidentified person who apparently received it from a different unidentified person in iran and which contained plans for a missile with a nuclear warhead.
it must be remembered that some of the evidence produced in the run up to the war against iraq for example the alleged purchase of uranium from nigeria was completely fabricated.
reuters has reported that its sources of information were the same security service sources that provided the untruthful evidence that iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
more recent evidence about highly enriched uranium comes from the american enterprise institute a neocon group with links to israeli lobbyists.
if the conflict should lead to the closure of the gulf of hormuz by iran this could lead to a rise in the price of crude oil to usd two hundred or more a barrel aggravating the recession severely.
israel will not survive without creating an interest for its own security in its region and in particular in its neighbouring state of palestine.
the summit will also focus as i said on expanding the economic benefits of the transatlantic economy.
we need to work closely on coordinating our efforts in recipient countries so as to maximise the effectiveness and impact of our aid and avoid duplication of effort.
purposes. overall the summit must affirm the continued importance of a modern and forward looking eu us relationship in an increasingly multi polar
in the light of the g twenty outcome we also want the summit to underline the need for the eu and us to rally behind the multilateral trading system to resist protectionism at home and abroad and to ensure that we both go to the geneva wto ministerial conference in december with the will to make progress wherever possible with a fresh approach to the doha development agenda mandate.
partner. on domestic security recognising that fundamental rights and the security of citizens are complementary and mutually reinforcing we need to ensure that there is a good balance between the two in all of our
at the twenty nine november tec meeting in washington we expect to demonstrate good results in a number of important economic sectors including e mobility secure trade the information and communication technology services sector and basic industries
we also must support the middle east peace process with the aim of achieving a framework for agreement between israel and the palestinian authority.
a lot has been done on both sides of the atlantic but further work is needed and we need to ensure that what has been decided is implemented effectively.
the vital motor of convergence will be your cooperation with the us congress on key issues of transatlantic interest.
however having the eurozone house in order is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for global growth.
there is deep concern amongst our citizens about the impact of global climate change.
well. in belarus developments during september notably the release of twenty five political prisoners were going in the right direction.
we welcome the us commitment at the g twenty to pursue fiscal consolidation.
let me tell you why i think the tec is so important.
more. as for security and defence on eighteen may this year during her visit to washington catherine ashton signed with secretary clinton the framework participation agreement to facilitate future us engagement in the eu's csdp missions.
i rely on you to convey this message to european standard setting organisations.
that is why we need to think together about how the transatlantic marketplace should look
eu us cooperation on belarus has been excellent and should continue. we will coordinate our messages and policies to get maximum impact where possible. also in the case of ukraine the us and eu have worked very well together on pushing the path of reform and will continue to
we are each other's largest trade and investment partners.
however the current climate of austerity where we have to do more with less underlines more than ever the need for complementarity and increased attention to aid effectiveness.
i fully agree with you that there is now more then ever an urgent need for closer economic cooperation between the eu and the united states to help our economies out of the crisis. the strategic and political impulse provided by the tec process is key in this respect.
work. the eu and us must also reinforce our work together to tackle new threats to the global networks such as cyber attacks and cyber crime in a more comprehensive way. we are also determined to finalise in two thousand and twelve negotiations on a comprehensive eu us data protection agreement that provides a high level of
or promising economic sectors such as electric vehicles in order to create a favourable environment for growth and jobs.
during the discussions we want to ensure that we look at all the critical economic issues beyond the eurozone crisis.
at the summit eu and us leaders must convey confidence in economic governance on both sides of the atlantic.
based on common values which is particularly important at a time when gloomy economic times have taken hold on both sides of the atlantic and around the world more generally.
we will start by reviewing relevant results of the g twenty summit and will discuss our respective contributions to a sustainable and balanced global recovery.
the eu and the us economies are still suffering with pessimistic forecasts for two thousand and twelve growth and unemployment levels.
therefore the economy and the need for jobs and growth will be at the heart of this summit.
the european parliament is an active contributor to the development of eu us relations as we can judge from the reports and resolutions on transatlantic relations the delegations travelling to the us and the many high level visitors from the united states that are welcomed in this house.
the two thousand and eight financial crisis in the us and now the eurozone crisis have demonstrated how deeply the eu and us economies are interdependent and that we need to support each others' efforts to resolve the economic crisis.
the eu and the us are the world's most integrated economies.
given the supply shocks of the past year and the fragility of economic recovery we will engage the us further on a joint agenda of work with a view both to increasing our energy interdependence and to promoting green growth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. on development the eu and the us are the world's leading aid donors.
while it will not provide an immediate remedy for acute economic problems it is the prime vehicle for the eu and the us to promote further integration of the transatlantic marketplace. as outlined in the resolution regulatory coherence is a key objective of our cooperation in the tec especially in new areas such as nanotechnology and cloud computing
the us is our global partner also in cfsp and
protection for all our citizens and thereby facilitates the exchange of data needed for law enforcement
the tec has had a productive year since its last meeting.
we will continue our close coordination and seek to maximise our joint impact on the ground.
i therefore welcome the decision by the transatlantic legislators' dialogue to initiate cooperation between committee chairs on both sides of the atlantic in three central areas financial services transport security and agriculture i am also. looking forward to meeting members of the tld steering group next week on twenty one november to discuss other key areas of common interest which are mentioned in your resolution.
one cannot talk about climate change the economy or foreign policy without talking about energy.
do so. we need to build on things that work even
one should not forget that the eu is not contributing to global imbalances the eu has no large current account deficits continues to have low inflation and has generally lower debt levels than some of our major trading partners and the eurozone has an exchange rate which is driven by market forces.
success breeds success if our flagship' projects work for example our cooperation on electric cars they can serve as a model for other areas.
we share common values and responsibilities for tackling global challenges on a variety of issues be it innovation and environmental challenges energy security or access to raw materials.
the mending of fences' with the west now seems to have come to an abrupt halt. instead the regime is increasingly tightening the screws on civil society and the political opposition.
financial regulation reform remains at the core of sustainable and balanced growth.
but the tec will not be able meet its objectives without the support of legislators.
durban will be an important opportunity to make progress on shaping multilateral action to combat climate change.
in my view the tec should put its weight behind a few high profile issues showing our capacity to work together and set benchmarks at global level.
we are consulting internally and with our partners to work on an appropriate reaction by the iaea board of governors to the new report.
we are doing our homework. so far president obama is supporting eu efforts and we trust that this support will continue.
the tec's role is to further develop the enormous potential of the transatlantic marketplace.
in. two thousand and twenty the summit will also address the global challenges we are facing together climate change will be in focus again in the run up to the seventeenth conference of parties in durban.
as regards the transatlantic european council the tec i very much welcome most of the ideas expressed in the resolution.
we will also seek to build on existing work in the eu us development dialogue on food security climate change and the mdgs especially health.
again europe is doing its homework by implementing rules on bank bonuses and basel iii swiftly.
us. tec co chair michael froman and i will provide a joint report to the summit and we expect summit leaders to identify and give us direction on the main forward looking priorities for transatlantic cooperation.
while we must work to ensure that dodd frank in the us and emir and mifid in the eu fit together we must not forget about the other members of g twenty and their financial market regulation making certain that asian american and european capital can flow through the system in a transparent and safe way.
when in september two thousand and ten the heads of state of the g twenty got together to agree to better regulate the world's financial markets they set out a few broad principles for the reform of the derivatives markets.
the significance of this is that we must ensure that all the g twenty markets not only implement those commitments but also implement them in a way which allows them to fit together globally. we must not get caught up in making our markets so secure that no one outside of europe can access them.
parliament together with the council and commission have added much of the detail and have fleshed out many of those principles agreed at g twenty so as to create better regulated more stable and fairer derivative markets.
however we must not forget that this was a g twenty commitment.
it has now fallen upon legislators and regulatory bodies to make these principles a reality.
likewise the dodd frank act needs to be interpreted in a non protectionist way. i urge all those attending the eu us summit not to get caught up in equivalence and comparability of legislation or worse reciprocity but instead to look at ways of bringing together disparate systems so they can interact in a smooth and predictable way.
madam president i am hugely supportive of transatlantic dialogue. in today's global markets the eu must be talking at all levels to its key partners around the world.
for this reason i warmly welcome the statement by the commissioner that jobs and growth will be at the heart of the summit as requested in the caspary report in our house in september.
ultimately the central question is whether we have in the european union and the united states as a multipolar world emerges the vision and the resolve to reshape and deepen the transatlantic partnership for the twenty first century.
madam president the economic fates of the united states and the european union are inextricably linked.
the need for closer economic cooperation has never been greater.
there is a great opportunity to show that the transatlantic partnership is addressing the common concerns of citizens on both sides of the atlantic and will be of real value to their futures.
for this reason i urge the commission and the united states administration to make it visible at the summit that there is a major initiative under way for jobs and growth.
for the future it will be resolved in the coming days because it is going through congress most probably before the end of the year. there are also very good prospects for the existing cases and how they will be translated into the new system.
the business community has shown a lot of interest in these issues and is pushing for results.
the situation in iran is worrying and we are cooperating with the us closely.
in view of the deteriorating human rights situation we have reinforced the eu's restrictive measures against persons responsible for serious human rights violations in iran adding twenty nine persons to the list of those targeted by an assets freeze and a visa ban. in light of the new iaea report which is to be considered by the board of governors there are increasing concerns over the iranian nuclear programme and the lack of progress in diplomatic efforts. the eu condemns the continuous expansion of iran's enrichment programme and we are particularly concerned at the findings
in relation to the introduction of the esta fee for travel under the visa waiver programme the commission has repeatedly voiced concern that these new requirements are inconsistent with us commitments to facilitate transatlantic mobility and constitute an additional burden for european citizens travelling to the
ago. we have identified a number of important issues that will probably require several rounds of further discussions. considering the complexity of many of the issues and the diverging points of view negotiations will continue until the agreement is ripe to conclude especially if we want to achieve added value for our citizens.
this house has voiced its concern with the buy american' clauses that are being proposed in the context of growth and job acts in the united states.
this is undesirable and even dangerous.
this is the moment to work towards a comprehensive transatlantic jobs and growth initiative.
this would open up benefits for our own consumers smes and businesses but it would also allow for a more healthy trade relation with the us and growth of our digital economies.
we must cooperate on standards but i urge the americans to think twice before adopting the protect ip act or the stop online piracy act which would lead the arms of us law enforcement to span the entire world and it would make the us lose its moral authority.
when we think of a transatlantic market space let us begin online where borders should matter least.
as my colleague mr lambsdorff said we are worried about the information monopolies of certain companies.
one of the key issues on which the us and the eu should cooperate is therefore internet freedom and the free flow of information.
europe's digital single market desperately needs to be completed.
the us should not alienate but rather embrace its european allies.
in europe even though unfortunately we cannot elect the president of the commission or the council we are equally inward focused.
there is already a huge discrepancy between the openness of the european public procurement space for us bidders compared to the closed us market for eu based companies to bid on tenders.
in times of crisis and perhaps especially in times of crisis we must work hard and work together to resist nationalism and protectionism and to break down existing non tariff barriers specifically.
naturally therefore i put a great deal of emphasis on the parts of our resolution which stress the shared transatlantic values of liberty democracy human rights and the rule of law and also the cooperation we are pursuing to guarantee liberty and security.
but the economic crisis demands that we prioritise jobs and growth so the great interest in a transatlantic initiative for jobs and growth which meps expressed already in a resolution in september and repeat in the present resolution is fully justified.
as commissioner de gucht said the transatlantic legislative dialogue pushed firmly by our chair is adopting a very focused and business like working method.
i do feel that we fall into the danger of taking each other too much for granted. despite or perhaps because of how interdependent we are we do not invest in the eu us relationship to the extent it requires.
madam president as the chair of the parliament's iran delegation i am very worried about the reports that have come now saying that iran is maybe considering withdrawing form the npt treaty. as a result of the international atomic energy agency's report there have been indications that iran may have a military dimension in its nuclear technology development.
on the other hand iran is saying that it is only for peaceful use.
now faced with sanctions military strikes and so forth the iranian parliament is putting pressure on the iranian government to withdraw from the npt.
countries that have developed nuclear weapons israel india pakistan have done so outside the npt treaty and international efforts have not convinced them to return to the npt regime.
this has happened without sanctions even so i think in the context of the eu us summit it is very necessary to define a policy which keeps iran in the npt regime so that there is no risk of proliferation of nuclear weapons.
i hope that this can be done without weakening the transatlantic relationship. most of the daily business between the united states and the eu consists of trade and investment.
the volume is huge and they are mutually beneficial.
it should be our top priority to avoid calls for protectionism in these economically challenging times.
i think this is something that we can all agree on.
in a multipolar world it is harder and harder to reach agreements on global problems but if the us and the eu do not stand for human rights and freedom no one will.
in this respect the top issue should now be north africa where everything should be done to guarantee human rights and the establishment of working and open democracies.
madam president the unique and historical relationship between the united states and the european union is based on shared values such as free market economics and a long standing commitment to fundamental respect for human rights and democratic forms of governance.
a close and integrated relationship between the eu and the us is essential given the interdependence of the transatlantic economic partnership the biggest in the world.
it is from this base that a significant proportion of global trade can actually take place and due to this close relationship vast levels of global wealth are constantly being formed in a well regulated environment which is rule based and transparent for all.
as the leading nato power it is indispensable to european security.
i welcome for example the recent announcement that a joint eu us cyber security exercise will be conducted by the end of this year helping prepare the way against a potential terrorist cyber attack on businesses and national infrastructures.
south america africa and elsewhere as well as the economic challenges posed by the rising phenomena of brics the economic powers of today and the future and in particular the challenge posed by massive china both militarily and economically.
eu us collaboration has borne many mutually beneficial fruits in the past.
this would for example mean that we would stop western based companies from providing the most serious infiltrating surveillance technologies to repressive regimes.