kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
nothing that is being done whether it is the banking union or the fiscal union does a single thing to change the problem that there is a massive gap in terms of competitiveness between the german economy and the mediterranean economies.
mr president i do not have to tell colleagues here that there is a huge debate in the uk on its future membership of the eu and this is a crucial time when decisions have to be based on the needs and wishes of the people we represent.
i represent wales which unlike the uk is a net beneficiary of eu membership. we receive high levels of funding because of our weak economy marginalised by successive uk governments.
our economy would suffer even more if cuts were made to the eu budget but i would like to come back to the issue of employment that the commissioner mentioned in his closing remarks.
to create jobs and growth wales has to work in close partnership with other eu nations.
like them we have ideas and we have potential we want a national powerhouse for green energy focused on our own energy needs and reinvested in the welsh national interest.
no country can be insulated from the economic crisis.
we can build the economy but a really solid commitment to creating jobs is essential.
mr president when i first starting standing up in this place and saying that i thought the euro project was flawed and would end very badly i was met with a wall of derision in this house and i must admit it was a very lonely old game.
but now there is a growing number of people here who recognise the flaws in the euro project and out in europe roughly half the population of the eu and the euro zone now regret going into the currency.
but i was pleased to see this week that an even bigger voice is now being heard amongst the experts in the financial community. the danish bank saxo bank said that the euro zone leaders are behaving like drug addicts and alcoholics.
and how right saxo bank are because you keep on taking that same drug that is doing you and the peoples of europe so much damage. it is time for some recognition.
the mediterranean states do not fit into the euro zone and if this summit pushes on towards banking and fiscal union it will not help anybody it is going to break up in the end.
every twist and delay makes bail out restructuring write offs buy back and even the redemption fund more expensive.
if we had faced up to the reduction of greek bond debts sooner it would have cost less without putting profit in the pockets of hedge funds.
the single supervisory mechanism is an example.
my committee is not shy of this. where was the economic dialogue invented?
in the econ committee in this parliament but boy did we have to fight! we have established meetings with national parliaments for the scrutiny of the semester process;
as we move forward with ssm and further steps in emu we have shown ourselves ready to scrutinise to the maximum but give us real scrutiny including the power to summon and demand attendance when we want it. finally on the two pack communitising intergovernmental steps is welcome but there is need for more ambition in facing the sovereign debt crisis.
but instead it is precisely the old thinking that is offered with more europe apparently being the answer to every crisis.
an idea which has no mandate from the citizens of our countries.
for our eurocrats who write the scripts in the european institutions there is just one irreversible direction of travel more integration.
but the fact is that our citizens do not want this;
they want more control over their own lives and over their own government not more control from brussels.
they despair at what they see as a self interested discussion that does not really address the most urgent problems facing them how to reduce costs and the burden of unnecessary regulation restore growth and competitiveness to our economies create real jobs and ensure a prosperous and secure future. europe needs to do less but better. today finance ministers are meeting to try and agree a way ahead on proposals for banking union.
tomorrow the european council will reflect on progress which has been made. there must be acceptable arrangements to ensure that those countries that are not in the euro zone participate fully and effectively in any decisions that may impact on their financial economic and political interests and the single market.
in this regard mr president of parliament i must express alarm at the unprecedented proposal that you put forward to establish a new committee on economic and monetary union that is deliberately designed to exclude at least one if not more member states.
in september mr barroso you stated very clearly in europe we need no more walls dividing us because the european union is stronger as a whole in keeping the integrity of its single market its membership and its institutions. i find it disturbing therefore that there is a mindset in this parliament of all places which seeks to run counter to that very sentiment.
the european union likes to talk about diversity but let us see it put this into practice.
the euro zone should be recast and the eu needs to be reshaped to enable different circles of engagement overlapping at the centre.
we need a new treaty which will recognise this more flexible structure and which has the specific consent of the citizens of our nations.
ensuring the credibility of the enforcement of the european union's social legislation is also a priority for the commission.
this has to be seen against the background of reinforcing the decent work agenda in europe and in the rest of the world.
regarding the report under discussion the commission welcomes the support for its forthcoming initiative to establish a european platform to fight undeclared work. the platform should bring together along with labour inspectorates other national enforcement authorities in charge of the fight against undeclared work
such as tax and social security bodies and migration authorities.
this platform would give us a good opportunity to come up with new solutions for better implementation by the european union as well as national frameworks especially in areas of labour law including posting rules health and safety and the coordination of social security.
the commission is currently making final preparatory steps to adopt the proposal.
we are analysing the added value of several options and exploring links between different existing european union level mechanisms.
at the same time we are still examining whether integrating such a platform into eurofound would actually be the best solution.
the commission confirms that slic is cooperating with the advisory committee on health and safety at work.
this cooperation involves in particular the exchange of information regarding developments in the member states in the field of labour inspectorates and health and safety at work. we look forward to the adoption of this report.
we will continue our work to develop and improve specific tools such as mechanisms for the cross border exchange of information to help member states to ensure workers' rights.
he has no role in the process of decision making or in the underlying management procedures such as for example the acquisition of buildings or the suspension of a long term lease.
according to information available to the european commission the final result is expected in spring.
the commission received nine offers and is currently undertaking a technical examination of them.
optimise effectiveness of the investments to be made by the commission.
the two thousand and nine work programme is currently subject to commission inter service consultation.
the european public.
first and with the objective of preserving and strengthening relations between the european union and the andean community the commission proposes to enrich and update the two thousand and three political dialogue and cooperation agreement.
i can only pass this question to my colleagues.
in particular the reasons for the listing had not been communicated in advance of the decision.
does the commissioner think that this is acceptable?
can we expect that this is going to be improved?
offsets aim at fostering the industry of the member state which purchases defence equipment abroad. as such they can lead to distortion of the internal market and imply discrimination against companies from other member states on the basis of the nationality of the supplier. the ec treaty prohibits discrimination on the grounds of nationality and a directive as secondary law has to abide by the treaty. the legal service of the council confirmed in its opinion of twenty eight october two thousand and eight that and i quote restrictive procurement measures designed to promote domestic industry do not comply with the general principles of the ec treaty'. consequently offsets on defence procurement can only be permitted if they are necessary for the protection of essential security interests or justified on the basis of an overriding requirement of general interest. economic interests by contrast are not sufficient. the vast majority of member states and parliament agreed with this
requirements. on the other hand it contains provisions on subcontracting which make it possible to require tenderers to open up their supply chains to eu wide competition and facilitate access for smes as this will contribute to reconciling the legitimate security and economic interests of member states that are purchasers and avoid the need to have recourse to compensations or offsets.
isolation sanctions or any other forms of boycott would be harmful to talks and negotiations aimed at achieving a sustainable solution to the conflict.
the eu has called on its partners for help in driving the peace process forward.
you talk about the needs of an ageing population.
certainly care giving is one of those.
you mentioned that family carers come within the remit of the member states and i agree with that.
you also mentioned in reply to me that the european social fund could be used for training.
i would like you perhaps to elaborate more on that.
commissioner could i welcome the assurance that trade relations will continue and could i encourage you not to be intimidated by the deluge of anti israel propaganda and ask the commission to remember that with israel being one of very few democracies in that region
severe?
in the united states to counterfeit the currency is a serious crime.
commissioner while you might indicate in your reply that this is a very small problem in the overall context of things nonetheless i am receiving quite a number of complaints from small businesses that it is becoming increasingly difficult for them and that they are encountering more problems.
so far nothing is clear so i am very interested to see all these proposals.
i take the opportunity to follow up on the first part of this question and to raise the issue about public contracts generally and the issue of restricted tenders which a lot of people would suggest represent or result in poor value for money.
perhaps the commission might at some time perhaps not now address this issue particularly in the more straitened economic circumstances that many of our member states face and look again at the issue of contracts and tenders and specifically restricted tenders.
and the president.
the president lost the elections; and now he discovers that there is a problem with the rule of law in romania just because another party won the elections.
finally on the importance of integrated sustainability i share the concerns expressed here by some members about the need for sustainability in all these actions. i fully agree that the environmental dimension needs to be mainstreamed into any blue growth initiative.
under the european framework programme.
there is no denying that we need to step up our recycling efforts.
to. this is what we intend to
do; this is what is going to happen.
this does not mean that social groceries distributing food against a small fee cannot participate in the fund. what is required from social groceries is that those products that are co financed by the fund are distributed free of charge.
this deal has been a long time in the making it has taken at least five years to get to this point so i am pleased to have strong support across parliament.
this is about ensuring patients' safety and encouraging innovation.
it is sad for me that the right of this house has chosen not to support something that improves patient safety and benefits patients right across the eu.
mr president as you know i have requested the presence of the president of the european council at our debate on wednesday on migration not on the state of the union on migration because i think it is absolutely necessary that in the middle of such a crisis the president of the council is here to discuss it with us.
the problem is in the council the member states which have a lack of unity and a lack of solidarity in this.
you mentioned in your remarks what the interpreter translated as automatic exchange of information' and transparency'.
in your view should automatic exchange of information and transparency include the role of luxembourg as a tax haven for multinational companies within the european union and is it legitimate therefore for mr santer to put himself forward as a candidate for president of the commission when he has presided over a tax haven?
made to enhancing the quality and consistency of financial supervision in the internal market.
to the expectations we had of them. the report also points to some areas for improvement particularly with regard to the governance of the authorities which would benefit from a stronger focus on union values and interests.
we very much welcome the contribution this report makes to the review.
based on our own assessment and consultations we agree that the authorities are cornerstones of the comprehensive reform process that has been initiated since the outbreak of the financial crisis.
we acknowledge that the establishment of a banking union will impact on the functioning of the esfs but it does not call into question its existence or the need for it.
an assessment of the interaction between the esfs and the banking union would be premature at this stage but this aspect will be closely monitored in the future.
i would like to invite you to sign our legislative package.
always been a key principle of our trade policy. as a consequence the us is the most favourable framework for investment in the world and is a major promoter of open transparent and predictable conditions for investment worldwide.
this policy has positioned the eu as the biggest source destination of foreign direct investment in the world. the commission however is also well aware of the growing concerns regarding the perceived rapid increase of acquisitions of european strategic and high tech companies
by companies originating from countries that do not share the same open framework for investments as we do which maintain important restrictions on foreign investment.
the commission in its recent reflection paper that you mentioned madam president on harnessing globalisation noted that concerns have recently been voiced about foreign investors notably state owned enterprises taking over european companies with key technologies for strategic reasons. eu investors often do not enjoy the same rights to invest in the country from which the investment originates.
this may represent a new challenge to eu policy and we need to assess whether we have the appropriate tools to respond to it.
this may be particularly relevant at a time when the commission is proposing a reflection on foreign investment in sensitive defence related technologies and the opportunity to introduce some control. the commission is convinced that an important part of the solution to some of the concerns related to the lack of a level playing field for eu investments
but the nature of the concerns requires also to look wider and deeper.
therefore we are currently analysing the effectiveness of eu policies on foreign direct investment in close coordination with member states which are maintaining their own foreign investments screening measures to see if the current framework provides sufficient flexibility to respond to the challenges we are facing.
consequently there is no council position. indeed there is not even a commission proposal on the table.
that being said i would like to underline that europe is open for business and that foreign investment remains a key principle for the eu.
we need investment as an engine for growth and job creation.
we encourage others to invest in the european union and our investors are very successful abroad.
but clearly in the last year some reasons for concern have emerged and these are related to the sharp increase in foreign acquisitions of significant value in key eu economic sectors.
i am thinking of industrial machinery and equipment ict utilities infrastructure or energy.
the surge in foreign investment appears less as a result of market forces and more as a consequence of strategic industrial policies by other states.
this could compromise fair competitive conditions across the eu and put into question our access to technological knowhow.
as such these acquisitions could be deemed not to be in the eu's long term interest.
in this regard we welcome the debate launched in february by the economic ministers of germany france and italy who in their joint letter to eu commissioner for trade cecilia malmstrm outlined their concern that partner countries do not match the eu level of market openness when it comes to investment and public procurement.
they pointed out that the eu was losing its advantage in technological expertise due to mass acquisitions from non eu investors.
the three countries asked for more scope to investigate individual takeovers and where applicable to block them.
we have also noted with interest the proposal for a union act on the screening of foreign investment in strategic sectors which was tabled by mr weber mr caspary and eight other epp members in march this year calling for intervention at eu level when direct investments by third countries do not comply with market rules or are facilitated by state subsidies resulting in a likely market disturbance.
finally the commission in its reflection paper on harnessing globalisation also noted the concerns recently voiced about foreign investors notably state owned enterprises taking over european companies with key technologies for strategic reasons.
in its reflection paper the commission further underscored that eu investors often do not enjoy the same rights to invest in the country from which the investment originated.
it is very clear that the way we address investments in strategic sectors will require necessary attention in the future.
madam president it has been a pleasure to participate in this plenary debate regarding the formulation of an eu approach on foreign investments in strategic sectorsa topic which will be of growing relevance in the coming months.
it is vital to regularly reassess whether we have all the tools to respond to the changing landscape of globalisation.
in this context the epp proposal and a letter by the three member states are an important contribution to the discussion.
it shares the efforts of many public administrations for more savings and further modernisation but it is also a good decision for the institutions and staff.
terrorism is an attack on all of us an attack on the very fabric of our democratic society. it can never be justified.
i support a wide scope including life insurance products which can be similar to other investment products and thus deserve side by side comparison. fee transparency in the proposed annex is also essential.
this would allow investors to compare the information provided to them by fund managers.
alde does not want to ban products that have a useful function for the right investor and with this in mind we proposed the complexity label.
it is a simple question.
does this product contain one of six complex elements?
yes or no.
it does not replace the mifid test for investment firms on suitability for professional or retail investors.
that serves a different purpose at a different level.
finally we have introduced great swathes of regulation at the higher level but this is one piece of legislation where the result will be put in the hands of the ordinary person as it is more real to them than derivatives solvency capital and rating agencies.
it deserves completion in this mandate.
i would like to thank the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs for their work on this file.
it has been very uncontroversial and we had broad agreement between the political groups.
the agreement goes beyond what we have in agreements with other third countries and provides a framework for coordination and cooperation in enforcement activities.
it also provides for the mutual notification of enforcement activities affecting each other's important interests and unlike other cooperation agreements includes provisions concerning the exchange of evidence obtained by the competition authorities when they investigate the same case.
this agreement could open the way to future agreements with other third country partners and is therefore of importance for both switzerland and the european union.
and as closely as possible to the citizens. in line with these provisions the council remains committed to giving the fullest possible effect to the principle of transparency. it also recognises that citizens expect that those who act on their behalf at the eu level respect the highest possible standards.
we must be committed to the outcome of the stoiber committee and i want to hear from both the commission and the council whether they are committed to this process and what we are going to do because we have to cut red tape.
many have spoken about the scourge of unemployment which has come upon so many people in the last number of months and have said that now is the time to take serious action to remove the dead wood of regulation and get rid of the dead wood of blockages to businesses and to entrepreneurs creating those businesses.
could i say that when we speak about solidarity it is not about the big against the small and one fear that i have is that the new g twenty could impact negatively on small countries and medium sized countries which are emerging in these new markets.
and if anything the last year has proven one thing to me namely that when the union acts together in solidarity with big plans and big ambitions it moves the world. maybe now is the time for greater plans and bigger ambitions as regards how we move forward.
please do appoint tony blair the man that gave away gbp two billion of the british rebate in return for nothing;
it is perfectly clear that in this european union the prize for national betrayal is a high one indeed.
it will bring home the truth to the british people that it is not the elected representatives that matter in this european union it is people that give away national democracy in favour of the european union that win the top jobs.
if they do not give you what you want do not sign the thing. if they do give you what you want it will need to be reratified in twenty five member states which will mean that the british will have a referendum and i am sure as democrats you would all like to see a british referendum on this treaty.
so please appoint tony blair.
he fears german claims over sudeten properties and having listened to german politicians on this subject i think he is absolutely right to be fearful.
please please give us tony blair as the first president of europe.
the british people have not had a say on this despite being promised it and until we get a referendum on this i will refuse to recognise the legitimacy of this treaty.
i know that you all hate president klaus because he believes in national democracy.
the man who promised us a referendum on the constitution and refused to give it to us.
but the message of the european union was sold far better by the yes' side in the second campaign.
but also within that generation the population of the world will have increased by about two billion people.