kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the main areas for improvement could be technical safety requirements nuclear safety governance and emergency preparedness and response.
as you know the stress tests have been under way since june. two thousand and eleven they are based on a common eu methodology.
the commission will closely and actively follow all developments. last but not least it is necessary to strengthen the safety culture and emergency preparedness worldwide.
international cooperation particularly in the framework of the international atomic energy agency is more important than ever.
i represent the city of london paradoxically we might actually benefit from this as business comes our way. our uk chancellor and finance minister george osborne has said that the commission itself believes the ftt would have a serious impact on european growth hit the british economy as well and could reduce eu gdp by up to.
we must be sceptical about the use of enhanced cooperation in this area not least because the decision bypasses the required unanimity in the council on matters of taxation.
however ukraine must also act like a credible international actor and honour its commitments.
we cannot blindly go forward and sign agreements without any evidence that the principles of the rule of law and justice and i mean justice are respected.
the signing in two thousand and thirteen of the association agreement between the union and ukraine which includes a dcfda could be a great achievement for both sides.
one of them is selective justice. we do not want selective justice;
despite everything the steel industry today is still massively profitable.
i fully support all steelworkers in europe currently struggling for their jobs and i support their demands for nationalisation.
two thousand and eleven the lack of profitability' argument is primarily used to threaten workers into accepting wage cuts or to obtain even more in terms of tax breaks.
mr president i voted against the resolution on the eu steel industry because it does not offer sufficient protection and solutions for steel workers threatened with redundancy.
how many more workers will have to be sacked how much more taxpayers' money will have to be handed over to these multinational vulture capitalists before they are content?
the factories have already been paid for many times over by the accumulated labour of generations of workers.
the irish government is now under massive pressure as a result of generalised outrage and very significant protests. that pressure must be kept up with the building of a powerful national movement demanding abortion rights now.
free legal and safe abortion facilities provided through the public health service for all women who require them are needed.
legislation for the x case while very welcome would be insufficient.
she tragically died after being refused an abortion in ireland despite repeated requests.
it has not been legislated for because of the inaction of successive governments involving all of the establishment parties.
this would significantly help to restore public confidence in the political and banking systems which have been hurt as a result of the crisis.
it would ensure that banks and other financial institutions make additional contributions towards solving europe's debt crisis and could be used to help finance the youth guarantee recommendation which would help stem the growing tide of youth unemployment.
an ftt across all twenty seven member states is the stated policy of the sd group in the european parliament and an initiative which we have supported for a number of years. if implemented across the eu the commission estimates that an ftt could raise eur fifty four billion for the eu budget by two thousand and twenty and eur five hundred and thirty four million for ireland alone.
even if it is adopted for only eleven member states the creation of the financial transaction tax system will make a substantial contribution to covering the costs of the recent crisis.
the european parliament has actively participated in this process and called repeatedly for more concrete implementing measures.
i particularly welcome in the report the moves on legal judicial and administrative reform as well as efforts to amend the electoral code crack down on trafficking and improve victim protection.
as with other balkan countries the issue of minority rights is important.
the union needs clear guidelines principles and benchmarks for its human rights policy and spending.
the report focused on the need for the eu to strengthen its human rights policy and to speak with one voice.
it highlights the need for the promotion of core labour standards through free trade agreements.
it calls on member states to put an end to discrimination and intolerance on all grounds including gender race sexual orientation and religion and it highlights violations of the rights of migrants and other minorities living in eu member states.
if we are to challenge third countries on human rights we must ensure that human rights are fully protected in our own domestic policies.
but i regret that other groups sought to undermine this report and have misrepresented elements of it particularly in relation to women's sexual and reproductive rights and lgbt rights.
mr president too often we see members of this chamber passing international law on things that could be decided nationally and then turning a blind eye to issues where we actually do need international agreement.
employment is also decreasing. we cannot afford to become dependent on massive imports from third countries.
what is the benefit that this institution brings to european citizens?
we will only continue to spend our time trying to window dress little cuts here and there.
if the eu really wanted to help member states and taxpayers it would simply abandon budget lines that have no added value but this will not happen.
that cost benefit analysis should start with all the mini institutions that have been growing like mushrooms in the last decade.
so why do we need it?
mr president the multiannual financial framework has not actually been decided so this debate on two thousand and fourteen budget guidelines appears to be premature. that aside and given the economic situation of europe i believe it is now time to perform a cost benefit analysis in regard to the whole of the eu budget.
baroness ashton has said that it will not replace national embassies.
take for example the eeas the european external action service.
since the rapporteur became involved in buildings policy we have achieved big cuts in unnecessary expenditure.
second we need to review the remuneration and pension provisions for a number of employees.
newspapers today are carrying a report from germany which states that there are now four zero eu officials whose salaries and benefits packages mean that they are earning more than prime minister cameron or chancellor merkel.
in this house we should be looking for efficiency and cost reductions and not supporting extravagance.
mr president it is very possible that many of these individuals are the same eu staff who are intending to go on strike on thursday so as to coincide with the eu budget summit.
that cannot be right nor can the generous level of pension and retirement age dates that those officials enjoy.
i absolutely agree that the eu budget should reflect the experience of the member states first because we need to reduce the burden of cost on hard pressed national governments and second because the people of europe would not understand why we are asking for more money at a time when their own governments are cutting back on basic services.
please continue that good work and while you do so i urge you to keep the pressure on the two seat policy.
you ignored reality for far too long and now you are wondering what to do.
eighty two everything just went up and up and up.
as we go towards two thousand and fourteen you decided to make some minor cutbacks forgetting what you paid in the first few years.
what about cutting that back?
i think the rapporteur is right to point out that we have made some efforts in the past to make some savings in parliament.
therefore i welcome the greater focus in the future on long term structural savings.
these structural savings i believe can help us become more effective and at the same time perhaps identify savings as well.
the clarification i have had suggested that it was salary and benefits package'.
madam president before you proceed to vote on amendments forty nine and sixty seven could i ask that you reverse the order of the vote and vote first on sixty seven which is a later compromise that emerged after the vote in the committee?
i think it would be more helpful for us if we were to proceed that way around.
as colleagues will know the machine was checked last time and it was found that there was no other or inappropriate use of the machine so the matter has been clarified.
i give it to you briefly.
madam president i do not really think i need to add anything except that monica frassoni's justification about particular amendments might be a reason for her to vote against those amendments.
the adoption by parliament of the regulation will allow the union and its institutions to focus on the implementation of eu investment policy by advancing eu wide investment negotiations to ensure a very high level of protection for all european investors on a level playing field and in full consistency with the union's wider trade and external policy objectives.
at the same time it was and still is necessary to build a genuine eu policy.
in particular it transferred foreign direct investment to european level and entrusted the eu with a major additional policy tool. all the institutions agreed from an early stage that a new eu investment policy had to be based on existing experience in member states.
the regulation ensures legal certainty for european investors.
i therefore call upon the european parliament to endorse the final agreement on the regulation establishing transitional arrangements for bilateral investment agreements of member states today. it is encouraging to note almost unanimous support of the international trade committee in its recent vote.
the finalisation of the legislative process for this regulation in an early second reading would be a remarkable achievement for all of us.
an intensive succession of trialogues has demonstrated that the ordinary legislative procedure allows a rich and constructive dialogue resulting in strong and high quality legislation.
the reason for tabling this proposal in the first place is that the lisbon treaty modernised eu common commercial policy.
indeed their investment agreements concluded over the last sixty years with further states constitute a precious acquis.
at the same time the regulation contains all the appropriate safeguards to ensure that these bilateral investment agreements will not create any serious obstacles to the smooth implementation of eu investment policy which is a key priority.
we greens are happy that the final result preserves the institutional prerogatives of parliament in its new competences on the eu investment policy.
this is a success which was seriously called into question by some forces in the council at some points.
we might have member states' bits remaining with us for our lifetime and there is no certainty that one day member states' bits will be a definite thing of the past.
in substance the bits legislation remains unsatisfactory with regard to its original purpose that is to guarantee that bits are from now on a transitional agreement on the way to a common eu investment policy.
all the suffering that we've seen for so many years in syria needs to end. it has lasted way too long.
the international community and especially the european union must do more to stop this war and must develop a political strategy because air strikes will not end this war.
what we need now is that the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons gets a strong a comprehensive mandate is able to work in syria and that such a situation is not repeated.
we are much stronger if we speak with one voice and not if we speak with twenty eight different voices.
mr president chemical warfare is always totally unacceptable and it is very difficult to imagine what kind of a person could bombard his own population with chemical weapons. this is totally unimaginable and it should not have happened ever.
a solution can only be political and diplomatic. it cannot be made by weapons and i think it's really important that we indeed speak more with one european voice because if we speak with one voice we have much more weight behind us.
i am really hoping that we will see increased efforts now to end this war to stop the suffering of so many millions of women children men so many people who had to flee who are still stuck in syria.
international law needs to be upheld and indeed russia needs to finally give up its blockade at the un institutions.
i believe many opportunities have also been missed in the past to find or at least to have the opportunity to find a solution.
we need more than general condemnation.
and very general statements of principle.
the first is to engage all constructive forces in the region in a new initiative.
at the same time we also have to be clear and that has to be our second message that precision attacks against civilian military facilities are not a strategy for peace and will not end in this. i have to tell you that i am also sad when i see the outcome of the foreign affairs council of today eleven pages with a very general condemnation
weeks.
this new initiative must be a roadmap to a new syria that is democratic that is neutral and that is respectful of the different religions that are practised in that country.
we need a real european strategy in this syrian tragedy and i think there are three key elements for such a strategy.
i was prime minister of one of the only european countries that openly opposed that war and i am still proud of that attitude.
mr president thank you very much for updating the chamber on your conversation and your briefing from the british prime minister.
all of us many of us would have wished that the solution could be achieved through diplomatic aims.
we wish it could have been achieved through the united nations but we all know that russia has vetoed no less than six times any attempt to address this issue in the un.
what it means is actually that we have to use this in a targeted way.
the american president the french president and the british prime minister have been quite clear that this is not about regime change. it is not about taking sides in a civil war. it is a limited action making sure that we reinstate international norms and rules regarding the use of chemical weapons.
the previous speakers have already mentioned how hideous and heinous these crimes are the use of chemical weapons against your population. we have not been able to solve this purely diplomatically up to now but now we have sent a message from the international community limited action based on stopping the use of chemical weapons. nothing more nothing less. and let's all be clear.
whatever our views about other issues and whatever our views about those other issues that divide us in this house the use of chemical weapons whether on the battlefield against civilian populations or used to poison individuals is something that we should all take very seriously.
we all know that there are norms that have to be respected and these norms have been crossed and ignored by the syrian regime.
can i thank colleagues from across the chamber from across the political spectrum for their support and the support that they have shown to the national leaders who were involved in the strike.
mr president concerning the casus belli on the verge of outright victory over isis in syria can anybody explain to the world why assad would contemplate chemical bombing his own people and risk international opposition and even attack? the assad government would have nothing to gain at this juncture by the actions of which they stand accused.
regarding the western reaction virtue bombing by western powers without proof of syrian government involvement will bring no good. the only people who are celebrating at the moment are the supporters of isis and other islamist groups who oppose assad.
the clear lack of any long term strategy in the middle east and experience of repeated failures in iraq and libya do not bode well at this time.
this is hellish stupidity by the misguided misinformed governments of the uk the usa and france.
i remind you that before this awful proxy war kicked off syria was one of the very few countries in the middle east where religious minorities and women were respected in practice and in law.
the neo conservative hawks once again have made the wrong call with terrible consequences for the many.
i do believe that it will be important to build on the synergies between the youth guarantee and other initiatives aimed at promoting decent and quality employment such as the european alliance for apprenticeships and particularly the quality framework for traineeships
the irish implementation plan prioritises young people who are most at risk from long term unemployment.
mr president earlier this month the irish government published its plan to implement the european youth guarantee.
over the last year i have organised some six meetings across the length and breadth of dublin city and county with businesses and youth education stakeholders on how the youth guarantee might be rolled out.
eur one hundred and thirty million will be available from eu funds over the next two years for the implementation which is i believe an important step in dealing with ireland's youth unemployment crisis.
we are told this implementation plan will come but still we wait.
thousands of young people across the uk from liverpool to wolverhampton to london are crying out for assistance to help them find employment yet while their voices can be clearly heard all we get from the uk government is silence.
but we must not forget that structural reforms in the labour market are necessary both for economic stability and sustainable job creation.
this is a gbp one billion scheme which will provide nearly half a million new opportunities for young people including job subsidy schemes for eighteen to twenty four year olds increasing work experience placements to one hundred thousand extra incentive payments for employers who take on apprentices and better support for job centre advisors.
mr president i am very pleased that both the council and the commission are here today to talk about the youth guarantee because we need to keep shining a very bright light on this issue of youth unemployment if we are going to push member states into taking positive action. it does not necessarily mean calling for more money at eu level but sharing successful initiatives and ensuring that existing eu opportunities such as the european social fund are used to the maximum.
we need a joined up approach at national level including businesses to take responsibility.
we count those aged between twenty five and twenty nine as well the number of neets rises to over fourteen million.
i therefore call for your support to raise your voice against such a dilution of the initiative.
member states need to take full advantage of the frontloading of the youth employment initiative budget commitments to two thousand.
five five million people in europe under the age of twenty five are unemployed and a total of.
we are therefore looking for partnership based approaches;
i encourage the member states social partners and businesses to scale up their activities on apprenticeships including creating more and better places in member states where companies' commitment to training young people is not yet well developed.
this opportunity to prepare a dedicated specific operational programme should be seriously considered by member states as it allows time to be saved when addressing youth unemployment challenges through the youth employment initiative.
to contribute to the implementation of the youth guarantee and the provision of quality offers of work opportunities for young people the commission presented a council recommendation on a quality framework for traineeships.
to conclude the implementation of the youth guarantee is proceeding through intensive efforts and we must not relax our high ambitions.
investing our efforts in the quality of the youth guarantee implementation plans now is important in order for member states to be ready and able to roll out the youth guarantee and effectively utilise the available eu funding.
yet while european funds can help we also need to see national funds being committed to maximise impact and coverage and really make a difference for young people.
this is the so called ex ante conditionality whose purpose is to help to ensure the high quality and effectiveness of investments financed from the youth employment initiative and the european social fund.
of course this approach is a significant disappointment for me and raises important questions for the future.
this is why on the initiative of the commission the council adopted in april two thousand and thirteen a recommendation on establishing a youth guarantee which calls on member states to ensure that all young people under the age of twenty five receive either a good quality offer of employment an apprenticeship or a traineeship or the chance to continue their education within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education.
the commission's analysis of member states' endeavours on the youth guarantee is feeding into the european semester process.
two thousand and thirteen so far we have received nineteen plans.
these member states put in question whether the quality framework should deal with working conditions. some do not want to limit the duration of traineeships and some also wish to weaken all references to the implementation of the quality framework.
this will also be an opportunity to highlight the reforms being undertaken as well as the common challenges.
the eight other member states should submit their implementation plans by the spring of this year.
so what happens next?
we should also bear in mind that pre financing may only be released and funding reimbursed to member states once the operational programmes are adopted.
in order to make this a reality a serious commitment to outreach work is necessary.
it is also important to get the implementation plans right otherwise we cannot achieve the intended results.
the commission is continuing its contacts with member states to ensure they deliver the main axis of the guarantee and therefore may adjust their implementation plans at the latest when submitting their national reform programmes in mid april.
two thousand and thirteen therefore member states could use this opportunity by mobilising national funding for youth employment initiative related activities already now as the expenditure would be reimbursed subsequently under the adopted operational programmes.
the quality framework proposes guidelines for traineeships outside educational curricula and aims to ensure fair working conditions and high quality learning content so that traineeships serve as real stepping stones from education to employment.
and evaluation mechanisms. as you all know member states that are eligible for money from the youth employment initiative are required to put in place a strategic policy framework for promoting youth employment including through implementation of the youth guarantee.
unfortunately a group of member states seem to disagree with these objectives as they are seeking to water down the proposal.
it is now crucial to proceed with speedy programming of the european social fund and youth employment initiative activities.
our assessment is based on the central elements of the council's youth guarantee recommendation and of course the feasibility for member states to deliver.