kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
two thousand and twelve it will give a strong political signal that we can agree that we are willing to go down this difficult but necessary road and make progress and that we can act reasonably and constructively on this. i would really like to thank you for that. concerning the much talked about issue of correlation tables the commission made a declaration to the council. i would like to read it out with your permission the commission recalls its commitment towards ensuring that member states establish correlation tables linking the transposition measures they adopt with the eu directive and communicate them to the commission in the framework of transposing eu legislation in the interest of citizens better law making and increasing legal transparency and to assist the examination of the conformity of national rules with eu provisions.
the commission in a spirit of compromise and in order to ensure the immediate adoption of the long term residence proposal can accept the substitution of the obligatory provision on correlation tables included in the text with a relevant recital encouraging member states to follow this practice.
the extension of long term residence status to beneficiaries of international protection will ensure a higher level of protection and legal certainty for refugees in europe and will allow for better integration in our societies. this is also the first building block of our asylum package the first of six pieces of legislation and
as i said in the earlier debate the commission is repeating this argument.
it will finally bring to an end their differential treatment compared to other third country nationals and will give them greater certainty about their situation in the eu. the main issue for the negotiations boiled down to the calculation of the time period of legal residence to reach the five years.
given that beneficiaries will now be allowed to move between member states it is important that the protection background of beneficiaries is never forgotten.
i am very happy also that the scope of the proposal includes both refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.
the proposal also takes into account the transfer of protection to another member state under national arrangements.
however this was strongly opposed by the council.
the compromise we have reached in the negotiations is that at least half of the asylum procedure will be taken into account and if a procedure takes more than eighteen months the whole procedure will then be taken into account.
the proposal will bring direct benefit to all beneficiaries of international protection who have been in the eu for more than five years but currently cannot become long term residents.
we were particularly concerned about this because asylum procedures can take many years in some member states.
i hesitate to go on to the issue of correlation tables but i am duty bound to say something about them i would rather not.
the agreement also contains many safeguards against refoulement.
it is vital to continue the trend towards aligning the standards of protection and the rights granted to both groups as in the recasting of the qualification directive.
we supported the commission that the full duration of the procedure should be taken into account.
finally ms sargentini i really wanted to find an inventive way of saying that correlation tables were extremely important.
to say that asylum seekers are now waiting for the correlation tables to be implemented is probably the most inventive and imaginative lobbying for the correlation table resolution to happen so i hope council was listening.
there is nothing wrong with an eu policy of avoiding all european wars but i would reject the supposition that a surrender of sovereignty is necessary to achieve that.
their cultures are the product of distinctive peoples.
aggressive wars in which european nations have no legitimate interest must be avoided at all costs.
equally we must not engage in behind the scenes agitation in a hypocritical attempt to plant so called european values' in inhospitable soil. we must avoid europe being the repository of migrating third worlders.
it should also be the function of every european state to defend europe's great achievements from distraction or dilution.
in the albertini report that we will be voting on this week we also call for the national policies to be supportive of the eu positions and of you and i call on my colleagues here in the european parliament those of you who are from government parties in your own countries tell your foreign ministers and your prime ministers to support the common european policy and not just look into your own domestic interests including in foreign policy otherwise we will never get a common european foreign policy for which we need you baroness ashton to lead to be ambitious and to be bold in your commitments.
tell us and you will find support from us if you are transparent and open with us.
on the other hand i agree with many of my colleagues that assad should have been included in the sanctions.
you will have more support here from us if you tell us more about what is going on in the council.
i think that will get support for you.
we demand that in the external action service we have independent impact assessments as a standard procedure for the qualitative evaluation of the security human rights gender social and economic effects of each csdp mission and we need more civilian personnel in these missions as well.
unanimity which ought to be scrapped.
the european parliament relies on you to seize this opportunity to save innocent lives and avoid further violence and bloodshed.
it requires the involvement of the un the us and the eu and needs your active encouragement to achieve the resettlement of the three four hundred refugees from ashraf to the us canada australia norway switzerland and the eu member states or wherever they have family or other connections.
another bloody attack could take place at any moment.
this is the only option that can avoid another humanitarian catastrophe and it has been agreed by the people of ashraf themselves.
i have just returned from baghdad where i led a small delegation of meps in high level talks with the president of iraq and senior government ministers. i have now brokered a solution to the ashraf crisis which you have seen baroness ashton.
there is not one common policy is there?
you have an impossible task.
in libya besides the office in benghazi the eu should have already employed eufor not just to support humanitarian assistance to the people under attack as in misrata but to implement the arms embargo via sea or land borders as recommended by this parliament. for that we do not need any other un resolution or request;
she may claim that the european union has been engaged in some twenty five missions with a csdp label.
of course there is a great need for humanitarian assistance and the eu could play a useful role but not in a way that merely seeks to promote a misplaced military ambition.
they are either missions better performed by nato straightforward civilian missions or they are passive missions involving military personnel.
currently there are military operations being conducted by nato in libya. having failed to get a mandate to enforce the maritime embargo the eu has been desperately trying to get the un to invite it to carry out a humanitarian assistance programme.
they have usually come about because the european union has begged somebody to invite it to do something.
the trouble is that the very existence of the csdp and all its duplicative structures is divisive and encourages allies to think twice about robust commitment to nato operations.
we have. one of the greatest difficulties we have is time how much time to spend and i want to make sure that we are using the best possible time in discussions with
i think we can become much more coherent.
well. i agree with the report in so many ways but especially on the need to be proactive in promoting our values and in using all of the policy instruments that we have. i am also keen to improve the dialogue that
action. we have got to look at the eu in the un system and in all of the other international organisations.
it is pretty much true but we are not where we will be.
it is why we have been so engaged for example in libya on bringing together the regional organisations the african union the arab league the un and the oic. this is really significant work in terms of thinking through how we are going to move forward in a process that it is currently extremely difficult.
we have much more that we need to do and we need to make sure that the building of democracy is a big part of that journey but we are on that journey as well in terms of what we can do.
we have the dialogue where people can see the future and that work goes on all the time.
we have got to make sure that the ambitions that you have for what we can achieve can actually be realised.
move with that same ambition.
i agree with you about the support and the issues of debt.
we need to take
all of these things require us to shift and make changes.
i think we can be better in cooperation and of course communautaire is the objective i know this parliament has.
i agree about the importance of moving forward particularly on pooling and sharing which will be part of the discussion with the defence ministers next
it does not surprise me at all and i do not think it surprised honourable members either that on the way to this particularly at a time when so many things are happening we find that it does not necessarily work as effectively as you would like or indeed sometimes as i would like. what we need to do is continue that level of ambition for where we want to get to.
you can challenge me and you should as often as you like to try and make this move faster and i will do so.
that is why we are in discussion with countries with whom those countries have that relationship and it is also why we are in discussion with the commission.
the institutions of europe are all focused in the same direction.
forward. we are also trying to improve the work of the european defence agency and to take up some of the challenges that we have clearly seen in the responses that we have had in recent weeks especially
so please keep the pressure on me but do so also in terms of member states.
week. we have got to make sure that we use the resources of europe more effectively. it is a very simple idea to pool and share but it is very powerful. we have big military potential largely untapped so decisions to use military assets and to support each other in pooling and sharing are something that
we have not changed our position and we are very clear that we are cautious in looking at this situation.
i am not in any way lacking in ambition for what we should do with syria.
it is absolutely critical and it requires us to have a united front.
i think what we do with the millennium development goals and the work that we are doing in collaboration in bringing development together is going to be so important for that in the
i understand that too.
i am really determined that europe can be so much more than it is but it requires us to get on that journey and stay on it together.
people want something that is new and for them but it is significant.
i assure you that my determination is to put the maximum political pressure that we can on syria and to try and make sure as i did when i spoke to foreign minister moallem yesterday that they understand the significance of what they are doing and that they take this closing window to actually change course and make a difference.
on the un. i think in the work that i did at the un last week i have demonstrated my personal commitment to the power of multilateral
well we support people right now.
i cannot just give you a list of member states who said yes or no. there were strong views about how we do this bearing in mind some of the situations.
we know that if we are going to be successful in implementing lisbon fully and this is what the report says we need that sustainable funding in the next framework as
so honourable members i would just say to you it is important to recognise that.
can i say too that we are almost always the first to produce statements the first to come out and say what we think should happen.
we are in the driving seat.
honourable members we have to do as much as we can to support countries across the world. so i end as i began by saying that we do not lack ambition we need the resources to do the job properly we need to be able to be consistent we need to develop and strengthen what we do and that is what we will do but we will do it by taking the twenty seven members of the european union on that journey with us leading sometimes pushing sometimes working alongside sometimes and your support will be invaluable to that.
today we have foreign ministers in different parts of the world carrying messages on behalf of myself on behalf of the european union.
i did not oppose a no fly zone in the european council and prime minister cameron will back that up; that is not at all what i said. what i said was that for it to be effective and to be done quickly it was important that those who could act quickly should do
i think it is important too that we look at what we are really doing on csdp;
and consistency is a critical factor in what is being discussed today.
hopefully beginning to be resolved in cote d'ivoire but worrying today in uganda.
so i want to pay tribute to them and the fact that they often speak on behalf of all of us too; we cannot be everywhere in the world all at once.
all of these positions are worked out with the twenty seven foreign affairs council ministers and i have to pay tribute to them. i think that we are moving inexorably to a greater sense of coherence. there is a lot more to do i do not dispute that and there is a lot more that you would wish us to do;
i do appreciate very much the work that you mr albertini and the other rapporteurs have done in producing what i think are really useful and helpful reports in terms of addressing the breadth of european action.
we do have strong united foreign policy positions on a whole range of issues from the breadth of our concerns on human rights to the specific work that we are doing on the middle east in our neighbourhood on serbia kosovo on bosnia or in our approach in africa where we now look at the situation
that is an important aspect of what we do as well.
so. on our delegations i support trying to strengthen what we have in our delegations opening in benghazi and what we do in iraq.
i looked for proper status for the eu on the un general assembly and we got that with nobody opposed to it and honourable members will know that took a lot of work and i pay tribute to all of those involved but we now have that stronger voice.
in the course of our debate we focused on certain parts of the world but in the course of further speeches honourable members have raised a whole range of different issues which we still must continue to deal with.
it was my office that produced the non paper on sanctions on syria;
not always reported may i say not always put forward in the press across the european union but we are the first to actually put out our statements and we produce hundreds of them to make the point consistently of the importance of what we do;
we have a breadth of things to do and we must continue to do all of them.
in albania we have been in discussions with the prime minister and with the opposition to try to get the dialogue moving.
this hybrid sui generis approach to eu foreign policy vindicates those of us who opposed the creation of the eeas in the first place believing then that the eu's global ambitions would undermine national sovereignty.
paradoxically it now seems that national sovereignty is undermining the eu's global ambitions as we saw recently over what happened in libya. the ecr my group nevertheless remains constructively engaged with the eeas. we wish it well.
we hope it will work. it needs to bed down and we want to see budget neutrality and more political accountability.
this split does not provide value for money to eu taxpayers nor does it serve our foreign policy interests.
iraq? next will you condemn forthrightly and totally the passage of the bahati bill in uganda which allows the execution of homosexuals?
our sin is inaction.
virtue. it is the wrong approach.
late. we want a high representative to lead not to
follow. our debate has two weaknesses.
unfortunately the lisbon treaty encourages that which is as i say one of the reasons why we so object to it.
you as you often say yourself are in listening mode listening to national governments and waiting until they have pronounced themselves. then you present the lowest common denominator and often at times when events have already moved on on syria for example what are you convinced of? should assad be included or not?
what is your opinion? we would like to hear that.
do you want to threaten sanctions or not?
you ask us you did that in your reply to put pressure on governments so tell us which ones.
sure member states often lack the political will to act in a unified and decisive way and they do not want to see you strong but believe me baroness ashton they will not support you and will not save your life as high representative.
they are not a guarantee for you to stay in your job i promise you.
and also this does not change the fact that the lisbon treaty envisaged a stronger role for you.
you are the rotating presidency.
you are vice president of the commission.
you can take initiatives.
you should set the agenda.
you should set out in front your opinions your decisions and then let member states react.
if you do not take initiatives at least do not kill those of others. for example the review of the gteborg programme on conflict prevention ten years ago it was initiated by anna lindh. the hungarian presidency started a review and wanted you to take it over but you stopped
it. i do not understand why.
i can only recommend you dare more delegate more. follow margaret mead whom you cited. be the agent of change that we
need. i promise you only this will save your position and nothing else.
mr president my comments are for baroness ashton. vice president high representative ashton you have very clearly heard this morning that parliament will fully support your leadership role and is demanding that you take the initiative in our common foreign and security policy. you have also heard the many questions by colleagues about who and which member states are blocking our common efforts. my suggestion to you would be that now that the european external action service is putting in place its rules on access to information and access to documents please make this a modern organisation which is accessible to citizens and which does not deal with foreign policy as if it were only the domain of some secretive diplomats.
i am sure this would be the best way to boost our common efforts for a truly common foreign and security policy.
madam president can i start by congratulating the vice president high representative on her personal success in negotiating the compromise in the united nations on eu speaking rights where others had failed.
whatever people in this chamber or anyone else in the european union think about our common foreign and security policy this is the most outstanding objective endorsement of the ambition that you and we have for the lisbon treaty a foreign policy that has real trust and respect from our foreign partners.
as socialist coordinator on human rights i also want to congratulate the high representative on her strategic review of human rights and on the commitment in her letter to foreign ministers to integrate human rights with trade development and other eu policies and to achieve specific deliverables'.
in this parliament we called on her to create a human rights and democracy directorate and to consistently meet human rights defenders in all of her visits and we thank her for doing so.
when she says that ending the death penalty is her personal priority this parliament must also give her our strong support.
we emphasise mr gualtieri's conclusion that respect for human rights can never be compromised.
on behalf of my group i also want to record our support on the issue of returning tax revenues to the palestinians.
this is our annual debate on foreign policy and in the next year we hope to see clear outcomes to the human rights review and significant steps to developing a human rights culture in everything that the european external action service does.
madam president europe day this week was supposed to be a celebration of european national identity.
it marks the ongoing replacement of european nation states with an eu supranational government meaning above nation states.
this is in contrast to intergovernmental where nation states freely cooperate but do not cede powers to a higher central authority.
the intergovernmental united nations agreed a no fly zone pioneered by nation states such as britain france and the united states whilst nation states such as germany and russia abstained for their own valid reasons. the intergovernmental nato is now conducting that operation through voluntary participation.
in contrast the supranational eu vigorously opposed david cameron's proposal for a no fly zone.
it is ironic that the red baroness herself cathy ashton stood against this no fly proposal her aide reportedly calling it headline grabbing desperation'.
therefore they should be used sparingly and prudently but there are occasions when they must be used decisively.
i believe that the courageous citizens who were and still are demonstrating in syria at great personal risk have missed your voice even more. there are rare occasions when one needs to speak up immediately.
let me now turn to the middle east.
i believe that withholding of taxes collected in palestine by the israeli government is an ill inspired action and what is more it is inconsistent first to demand that the authorities of the west bank and gaza should find an arrangement an agreement and when the agreement comes
so i support all my colleagues who have called and i call myself for a new impetus to a peaceful solution of the israel palestinian conflict which of course must be based on the two state solution.
the report shows where the effort should be intensified. one of the most important fields is strengthening our role and coordination in the united nations system. the same applies to the international financial institutions and multilateral security organisations. all this will not happen automatically.
it will take time and consistent and coordinated actions on our side.
i was the head of the ep ad hoc delegation which participated in observing the elections and i have a message to share with you.
we call on you to insist that the application must not be adjusted just to the wishes of the current power holders a totalitarian military junta whose only is just to keep themselves in power and preserve their privileges to the detriment of the cuban people.
may i say that we have a person that has been in prison in cuba for sixteen years that is one of the key representatives of the cuban opposition and in his presence i would like to read out a message that we are getting from them we are encuentro nacional cubano an open assembly representing more than sixty independent entities civil and political organisations both from cuba and from the cuban community in exile.
we appeal to you to express your support clearly to the just demands of the freedom loving cubans who observe today's debate united in a common goal to bring their beloved country peacefully from the current misery to the path of democracy the respect for undeniable human rights and economic prosperity.
but having said that we would like to remind you referring to the fundamental values and elementary principles the european union itself is based upon it is the cuban people and not just those in power right now who must be an essential and indispensable party to this treaty.
we take note of the decision of the european union to start a new chapter of relationship with cuba by concluding a new treaty of cooperation with the current cuban government.