kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
indeed it is this government's choice to interpret the referendum as a decision to leave both the single market and the customs union.
who knows there may come a day in the near or distant future when the majority of british citizens will assert that the only way for britain to be global is to be part of the european union.
you will always be welcome where the united kingdom really belongs.
a majority chose to leave and we respect that decision.
i shall readily agree that some statements made after salzburg were unnecessarily blunt but they came nowhere close to what we heard from the british foreign secretary who took over the now commonplace rhetoric of the far right comparing the european union with the soviet union.
once again they failed to reach any substantial agreement.
i believe that a referral to the icc or to other mechanisms for accountability is very much needed for peace.
but the fact that france and the united kingdom helped water down the work of allies is unacceptable.
we should focus of course on reining in iran as it helps the houthi rebels.
it is a crying shame.
i would ask the commissioner to also convey this question to the austrian presidency because we need to solve the fragmentation and therefore the lack of maximum eu efforts as bloodshed on an unprecedented scale goes on and on.
but just as we do not allow the sale of weapons to these militants an embargo should finally be adopted vis vis saudi arabia.
two thousand and eighteen children are being bombed recruited as soldiers or facing all kinds of epidemics that can also kill them.
eight four million people are on the brink of starvation.
when the dutch government along with the canadian government sought an independent investigation into what was happening in yemen saudi arabia pushed back.
instead all focus should be on ending the bloodshed and the violence so we support the un group of eminent experts as well as the special envoy mr griffiths.
another very urgent issue concerns the rights of uk citizens who despite having lived in european countries for many years may not be able to take part in the local political life of their host country.
these voting rights are not merely abstract ideas they have a concrete effect on national and european politics one of them being the gerrymandered results of the two thousand and sixteen british referendum.
despite both these statements being facts thousands of citizens are unable to exercise their right to vote because they've used the opportunity to live in another european country.
mr president citizens in modern democracies and free movement of citizens is one of the founding principles of the eu enshrined in the treaties.
now less than one year away from the european elections i hope colleagues realise what is at stake.
as an elected member from the united kingdom i'm appalled at my national government's disregard for british citizens' freedom to exercise conjointly the right to vote and the right to move freely in other european countries.
this is also a concern for european citizens living in the uk.
the eu consistently requests clarification on unrwa handling of non neutrality buyers and non violence issues in textbooks.
only in december last year the administration signed a contract with unrwa about further financing and only a few weeks later they decided to cut or to stop immediately payments to unrwa.
international agreements international agreements and by the way bilateral contracts between unrwa and the us about the funding of unrwa.
this was in the eu unrwa strategic dialogue.
in the recent review of support to the two state solution i proposed linking disbursement of funding to the implementation of agreed reforms which could also be extended to curricula.
on a personal level i myself my family my friends my constituents we are all going to lose our eu citizenship.
how could those who have most to lose have been denied their rightful say?
the terrible uncertainty hanging over uk citizens currently living in the eu is one which could have been avoided.
on voting rights the dreadful disenfranchisement of uk citizens living abroad during the eu referendum is one which the eu must never allow to happen again.
this is denying every uk citizen the opportunity to live work and study across twenty seven countries.
this is something we value and it is shameful to boast about denying individuals the rights they currently enjoy.
if we decide to carry on with business as usual if we decide to carry on with existing technology we will effectively destroy our own domestic car industry.
it is inevitable that zero emissions transport will be the solution to the problems we face not just on climate but also of course on air quality.
we have to go for the highest ambition because this is good not just for the environment but for consumers and our own industry and jobs.
we have to get real about where this transition is going.
at the moment our own car manufacturers here in the eu are investing seven times more in china than they are doing in production here when it comes to electric vehicles.
let me be clear i am talking from a position where my own car industry is coming under existential threat in the form of brexit but of course when it comes to legislation on co two the targets that we are talking about are not unachievable.
trade. we shouldn't be naive we should defend our interests and we should be united on
for us citizens are important.
please show us the stasi system in your country.
the third point today we look to syria but tomorrow we will look more and more to africa.
that is why we have to care.
a second point is that europe must be still a continent that is ready to help people in need. we need a strong and an ambitious resettlement programme and we should not reopen the dossiers which we have already agreed in this migration dossier.
our principles are clear border protection border control ten thousand frontex officers.
twenty seven member states united in one main message and this message was that when we talk about brexit we are not only always focusing about what is going on in great britain.
we talk a lot about the tory convention we talk about how a majority in the house of commons is possible.
the biggest challenge for the politicians in great britain like hunt and johnson is probably that after march next year they have to take over responsibility.
we have to do our best to help.
i and my group have no understanding why there is opposition to the idea that we share the burden of border protection between the european level and the national level to do it together. why is there is opposition to this? we cannot understand this.
brexit means leaving the european union and this means losing the advantages of this union.
we want to work together with our asian friends but with the idea of a common level playing field. for example on investment security we need a common understanding of what this means and we have to defend our critical infrastructure and our critical industry so not all investments in the european union are free market based investments and that's why we have to do more on this to guarantee really free and fair
not money markets or products are important;
second unrwa's activities are particularly important for the people in gaza who face a complex political and humanitarian situation.
now and remain committed to assisting the most vulnerable people in gaza.
next year will be an even tougher year for unrwa.
precisely because we believe that unrwa is essential we want it to be more effective and efficient than it is today.
it is serving millions of palestine refugees and preserving the very possibility of a palestinian state.
after the high representative co chaired a ministerial meeting in new york on the un agency for palestinian refugees. at the meeting which i also attended the european union reaffirmed once more its political and financial support.
health services and food assistance.
we are and we will continue to be strong reliable and critical supporters of the agency. supporting unrwa is above all a humanitarian responsibility but it is also in our collective interest for the sake of peace in the middle east. first millions of people many of them extremely young rely on unrwa for essential services such as education
the ministerial meeting was an opportunity to underline the importance of guaranteeing full financial support to unrwa and we managed to mobilise very significant resources that reduce the funding gap enormously. this means that palestine will continue to be assisted by the un agency.
unrwa is essential to peace in the holy land.
in this context we need to stress once more the crucial importance for unrwa to intensify its efforts to put in place cost saving measures and reforms including refocusing unrwa's activities on core services for the most vulnerable refugees.
we are engaging with unrwa to explore synergies with other potential service providers to safeguard key services to palestinian refugees.
thanks to these funds half a million children can go to school every day millions of patients receive health care and thousands of people have access to jobs.
today the agency is reforming itself to be more effective efficient and to have a perspective for the future. unrwa has expanded its donor base and taken internal management measures to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
finally without unrwa it would be even more difficult to reach a negotiated two state solution.
we need a multilateral framework to support negotiations we need a collective engagement to push for political progress and we need the region and the entire international community to continue to play their role.
we will do our utmost to ensure that unrwa and its staff continue to operate until a just fair agreed and realistic solution to the plight of palestinian refugees is finally reached.
by the way the commission forgot to publish this one right away later on corrected it but forgot to publish it.
okay then we need to do it where it can be done.
so we should do that and even the commission did some studies on it.
so that means that all the sectors need to deliver because not every sector can go to zero emissions.
once we are going to discuss agriculture i know pretty well the agriculture sector will say not us.
it will be very clear that our entire economy needs to go to zero emissions by.
that can happen of course pure coincidence.
and the transport sector within the transport sector co two standards on cars is the most costefficient measure we can take now.
we believe the added value of any possible legally binding instrument should be to ensure a level playing field for companies globally.
what is also clear at this moment is that the process is not yet fully ripe for negotiations. for the moment the human rights council is still divided on this issue.
another prerequisite for the european union is that the negotiations are based on the existing un guiding principles.
the european union is fully engaged in the ongoing discussions on business and human rights.
we are reflecting on which format of a legally binding instrument would stand better chances to achieve this level playing field. these discussions are also a good opportunity to encourage others to upgrade their standards.
these three principles have always constituted our barometers for engagement in the intergovernmental working group process.
the eu is at the same time progressing on other tracks notably the working group on business and human rights and the annual forum on business and human rights specifically on efforts to achieve a coherent approach throughout the eu on access to remedy for victims of business related human rights violations.
in its two thousand and sixteen conclusions on business and human rights the council recalled the global consensus reached on the un guiding principles adopted in two thousand and eleven and stressed that any possible further steps regarding the international legal framework for business and human rights at un level must be inclusive firmly rooted in the un guiding principles
two thousand and fifteen it should be noted that the recurrent element which is underpinning all our actions identified in the action plan is the united nations guiding principles of two thousand and eleven as the first and so far only authoritative global framework to address the impact of business on human rights.
and address all types of companies not only transnational.
the eu continues to offer its support to the accountability and remedy project led by the office of the high commissioner on human rights recognising that the initiative may provide best practices that can be implemented at eu and member state level including on improved cooperation between states in cross border cases.
i shall endeavour to give you briefly the broad eu view from the council's perspective and afterwards the commission will be in a position to elaborate on the topics concerned.
president honourable members i can reassure you that the council in particular through its working party on human rights continues working on the business and human rights file including on developing our common position on the process regarding a possible legally binding instrument.
here regulation and interpretation of rules vary between member states which leads to legal uncertainty and to administrative burdens.
now that is only the start we have some way to go but it's an ambitious and highly effective start.
that would undermine the very purpose of these new initiatives and risk opening a new avenue for vat fraud in europe and that would be the responsibility of the council if they did so.
we will also introduce simplified procedures for socalled chain transactions where again a problem of legal uncertainty as to where vat is ascribed in transactions between two or more companies currently exists.
this is a package and this must be adopted in its entirety.
it will also free up resources for member states' authorities to more effectively scrutinise companies which have previously failed to pay their taxes.
think about that a quarter of a century has gone by with a patchwork of a system for cross border vat in europe full of loopholes mismatches between twenty eight different systems of vat and outright black holes where even authorities didn't know how to accurately assess vat dues.
as the european parliament rapporteur i urge member states to fully implement the ctp provisions as proposed by the commission and parliament.
the problem has now reached a shocking and completely unacceptable scale with an annual vat gap of around eur one hundred and fifty billion every single year.
however before a definitive new vat system can be put in place we need to address a number of urgent problems in the current system.
secondly we will be adopting a number of urgently needed quick fixes to the current vat system.
i would like to commend the commission and commissioner moscovici and his team for their dedication and excellent work in paving the way for a definitive vat system.
by introducing the status of a certified taxable person we ensure that trustworthy companies who dutifully pay their fair taxes will be able to benefit from the simplified procedures for cross border vat which will effectively cut down their administrative costs.
and finally we will add simplification in relation to the proof of transport between companies and clarify that vat numbers must be duly recorded.
however these quick fixes and simplifications cannot stand alone.
now we will ensure simplified administrative requirements that will clarify legal requirements and ease crossborder sales.
in these talks we have found workable solutions to a range of specific problems with the current vat model in europe.
let's not waste this opportunity by being reckless and throwing the door open to simplification of vat requirements to all corners.
yet they had no say in two thousand and sixteen and now their democratic rights are being disregarded again as there are no provisions in the draft withdrawal agreement on voting rights no guarantee of existing rights and no provision for future rights.
moreover today we have a further complication in fact we have lots of complications in relation to brexit as we will see eu citizens either uk nationals in the rest of the eu or eu citizens in the uk disenfranchised on purpose. these eu citizens whether brits abroad for longer than fifteen years or eu nationals from our sister countries in the
citizens who have taken advantage of the freedom of movement from five member states notably my own often find themselves completely disenfranchised of national representation. they are unable to vote in national elections both in their home country and in their adopted country.
what are you doing in the commission and the council to avoid this intentional disenfranchisement?
while i have sympathy for those who argue the logic that citizens who live in another member state may not be affected by domestic laws or taxes made in their home country this complete lack of national voting rights for eu citizens who have moved using eu treaty rights is incompatible with our european values.
however while we might share equal treatment protection in the workplace and in access to university places we do not have equal treatment in that most fundamental bedrock of our societies the right to democratic participation.
uk are the most acutely affected by brexit.
it is a shared identity in addition to our national or regional identities which unlocks the possibilities of exploring this great continent allowing free movement and the opportunity to live work and study in other eu countries. political rights as basic as the right to vote or stand as a candidate sit at the very heart of our shared european values.
maybe if you were to adopt the same rhetoric then you too would finally get elected in your own home country.
we welcome these simplifications but they are simply not enough.
there should be less obsession by the eu with loss of revenue and more concern about the damage to businesses and employment caused by vat. all i hear is whining about loss of revenue from politicians more interested in oiling the wheels of this place with other people's money.
it is an overcomplicated imposition on hardworking entrepreneurs trying to build their businesses and employ their fellow citizens in gainful employment.
we mustn't forget that the results of fascism in europe are tragic.
jo was the mother of two young children and an inspiration to many.
taste ramadan was on example of the we stand together movement that has grown up in response to the attacks on our multicultural twenty first century society.
i was privileged last week to attend the naming of a square in brussels in honour of her memory.
we have seen similar neofascists targeting communities across europe because of their religion race ethnicity or sexuality.
on twenty october activists from stand up to racism and unite against fascism will stand in solidarity with the mosque community against an intimidating protest planned by the fascist english defence league.
so it's worth celebrating this unique unified tax regime across our union.
at a time when the eu twenty seven are demonstrating unprecedented cooperation on vat it is a matter of sadness and concern to me as a british member that there is still no clarity on the vat regime for british businesses after march next year.
it is also flexible allowing member states to choose how they use reduced rates to incentivise their own political preferences while ensuring that overall rates are equal.
we have to take measures and the only way you can take measures is to have clearcut and ambitious goals;
therefore if you look at the figures transport is the only part of co two that is rising.
mr president after the cop twenty one meeting in paris we decided that we were going to stand for these principles and therefore we created a framework which consisted of emissions trading effort sharing and lucf.
that is what we are actually now deciding on;
the answer of course is that these disenfranchised voters are also disenchanted voters and cannot be counted on for their support.
last year our government made the tokenistic proposal to extend voting rights in the election of the president a largely ceremonial role with no executive powers.
why not enact meaningful reform and allow every irish citizen a say in how the country is actually run?
however during both the marriage and abortion referendums the get the boat to vote' campaign demonstrated that thousands of irish people abroad are deeply concerned about the future of their country and if the property market would allow it they would one day return.
by consistently refusing to act and privileging those voters who didn't have to resort to migration ireland is effectively gerrymandering the country and blocking those most affected by the catastrophic decisions of successive irish governments. it's got to change.
as i'm sure you probably know there are a lot of irish people abroad.
several global studies have shown that the costs of implementing policies to mitigate climate change significantly exceed any possible benefit.
however i strongly oppose the content of ms dalli's report as in order to combat climate change it imposes extreme reductions in emissions standards for new cars and new commercial vehicles in europe.
mr president i recognise and fully support all initiatives that aim at improving air quality and life for european citizens.
i would like to remind colleagues that eu measures to reduce co two emissions even if fully implemented would have a trivial effect on the earth's climate and even if they are implemented it is unlikely that other major emitters such as china and india will follow suit.
already postal vote fraud perpetrated in some migrant communities has undermined the integrity of the vote in many constituencies.
we have every right to maintain our strict system in the face of these challenges.
this is a means by which we can ensure only people entitled to vote can do so. without this very reasonable check we could see elections in jeopardy.
over the last decade an average of two hundred and eighty two complaints per election reached the electoral commission concerning electoral fraud.
mr president every country has the right to establish its own rules on how to conduct elections.
standing up against any form of fascism whatever you call it.
market forces as we have seen are not sufficient so the legislator should help.
i think we all know the answer the good old combustionengine car that served us so well for one hundred and thirty years is ready for its well deserved retirement.
will it be the high co two and noxemitting combustion engine vehicle with quite high maintenance costs and very high fuel costs or a zeroemission car with almost no maintenance costs and very low fuel costs if any?
therefore highly ambitious co two targets are essential for the survival of the european car industry and that we get climate and clean air for free with that is a wonderful side effect.
that also means that if in europe we want to build tomorrow's car we have to develop it much more quickly than we are doing now.
the right to vote is a fundamental right and it is the fundamental right that itself protects democracy because at the end of the day it is democracy that protects the individual from the excesses of the state.
those who have chosen to live in the european continent have been betrayed by the british government in that referendum and betrayed in the withdrawal agreement.
it is vital that we give people who move the right to vote because it's people who move in search of work to discover to learn to export to trade or to create wealth who are the people to whom we need to give a stake in the communities in which they choose to live.
that can only be protected by participation.
we are now seeing brexit for what it is namely the wholesale removal of rights from individuals by the state.
as i also said the commission will continue to work in this area within its limited competences under the treaty.
we have used and will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to address the issue of losing the right to vote in exercising the right of free movement.