kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
increasing recognition of the scale of this problem which is a positive initial step.
on a more positive note the international community is also increasingly mobilising against this situation.
i urgently call on the governments of the affected countries to bring the perpetrators to justice and to end the impunity which they currently seem to enjoy.
it is necessary that health care education and employment opportunities are made more accessible to albino people and that victims are supported.
the eu must stand strong and not allow these abuses of human rights to continue.
what i am getting through my headphones is for against abstain for against abstain for against abstain'.
we have noted some positive developments but we continue to be concerned in particular about freedom of expression and freedom of media an assessment which the european parliament shared in its resolution of seventeen december.
the financial locations for enp partners through the european neighbourhood and partnership instrument will from next year reflect in an objective and transparent manner the degree to which the values underpinning the enp in the area of democratic governance and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are effectively shared.
respect for human rights and fundamental values and adherence to democratic standards are at the heart of the european neighbourhood policy.
the commission is following developments in both countries including in relation to commitments taken in the context of the council of europe and the osce.
in the case of azerbaijan last year's assessment indicates an uneven development in the field of democratisation and human rights.
two thousand and nine as regards georgia in two thousand and nine the country made good progress in the implementation of the enp action plan priorities especially in the areas of rule of law reform of the justice system good governance and the fight against corruption.
in the commission responsibility for fair trade type schemes is shared between different commissioners depending on the initiative in question.
one of their biggest assets is that they are non governmental in nature.
those of commissioner dalli lead on informing eu consumers and those of commissioner piebalgs lead when it comes to projects in developing countries.
as expressed in the commission's may two thousand and nine communication on these schemes governmental involvement should be limited so as not to interfere with the dynamic nature of fair trade and the manifestation of consumer preference.
that is why the commission is supportive of the efforts of bodies such as the iseal alliance the international trade centre and unctad to provide more clarity on the sustainability criteria used for different schemes.
the union for the mediterranean offers another forum where the middle east peace process can be discussed by all partners in this region.
in each case the enp framework has helped to consolidate a regular flow of information and sharing of views.
in addition the european union along with the united states russia and the united nations is a member of the quartet which is supporting the current proximity talks between israel and the palestinians.
the european union has used enp meetings with israel and the palestinians to address different aspects political issues discussions of specific human rights cases the situation on the ground our assistance work etc.
at a practical level the european union designs its substantial support for this region as a result of bilateral consultations in the enp framework.
to the middle east peace process.
i would like to thank the commissioner for his reply. is the commissioner not concerned that the arab states in the middle east constantly fail to meet their commitments to humanitarian aid in the region?
we all know what the outcome is going to be it will be a two state approach and we have the road map but do we not need new ways of communicating our message to both the israelis and the palestinians in the region?
secondly i understand from mr ging's evidence yesterday from unrwa to the joint committees led by the development committee that the efforts by non governmental organisations did succeed in bringing to bear pressure on the israeli government in the area of humanitarian aid which we have singularly failed to do.
the whole text of the agreement including the clause on human rights was transmitted to the inta committee in march of this year after the conclusion of the negotiations.
at this stage it is difficult to predict the exact date for this but it is likely to take place in the second half of. two thousand and eleven it is not yet clear whether the national parliaments would also be called on to approve the agreements. the commission will examine whether member states' ratification is necessary as soon as the final text of the fta is consolidated taking into account the new distribution of competences between the eu and the member states resulting from the lisbon treaty.
i can confirm that the agreement with colombia and peru includes a broad clause on human rights.
the fta will be formally submitted by the council to the european parliament for its consent after the adoption of the council decision for its signature.
such suspension would be made through a decision taken under qualified majority by the council on the basis of a proposal either by the commission or the high representative of the eu for foreign affairs and security policy pursuant to article two hundred and eighteen of the treaty on the functioning of the eu.
we need monitoring mechanisms.
indeed a mechanism was put into article seven to try to make sure that member states do not breach human rights so how is what the commission said compatible with the mechanism under article?
having said that the regulations establishing the joint technology initiatives cater for smes.
the executive director and his or her staff are covered by professional ethics principles in the eu staff regulations and thus they are not allowed to defend or represent any specific interest be it smes or large companies.
this implies that their involvement was necessary and in keeping with the nature of jtis as public private partnerships.
the first part of mrs gutirrez cortines' question refers to whether the procedure for the selection of the jti's senior executive managers guarantees independence from the influence of large companies.
these are the only two steps of the procedure where industry was given a role in one way or the other apart from the indirect role of industry representatives when they cast their vote in the governing board at the moment of the appointment itself which is among candidates shortlisted by the commission.
the procedure for selecting the executive directors for joint technology initiatives follows the guidelines for the appointment of heads of community agencies and joint undertakings.
the guidelines are applied to all eu bodies and hence ensure that jti selection processes are fully coherent with those of other eu bodies such as executive agencies and regulatory agencies.
in this respect as was prescribed in the guidelines commission senior staff members were a majority both in the pre selection committees and during the proceedings of the consultative committee on appointments.
it is to be noted that the running and operational costs of all jtis are partially covered by industry up to sixty seven in the case of eniac and artemis the two joint technology initiatives in the field of nanotechnologies and embedded computer systems.
the second part of the question asks whether in those selection processes the eu commitment to supporting smes is taken into account. the answer is that generally staff selection criteria for the day to day operation of the jti must be based as mentioned earlier regarding the guidelines for appointment on competence and merit.
in this respect the promotion of smes is an important political objective of the commission but may not easily translate into selection criteria for the appointment of staff covered by the eu staff regulations such as jti staff.
the eu staff regulations foresee disciplinary procedures for breaches of this obligation.
articles six and seven commissioner what meaning do you place on articles six and seven in the light of your reply and the mechanism for pursuing breaches?
the commission will continue to closely monitor the initiatives taken in this area through our structured dialogue with the authorities as well as through our yearly reports the next of which is due to be published in november.
as far as kosovo is concerned the commission's october two thousand and nine communications on kosovo included a number of important proposals which the general affairs council december two thousand and nine asked us to take forward.
in the meantime the european union will continue to encourage and support the rule of law investment infrastructure and local border traffic in this region through the instruments it has at its disposal.
two thousand the objectives are to reduce the disparity between southern serbia and the rest of the country in terms of living conditions and public services and to ensure that the area plays a full part in the state institutions with responsibility for planning future investment and their implementation.
concerning cross border cooperation under the ipa instrument for the pre accession assistance programme for the region to which the question refers this will depend on future progress in the relationship between the partners concerned.
as a result kosovo will effectively start to benefit from the european union financed cross border cooperation project later this year.
and because the following questions are inadmissible nos twenty seven twenty eight twenty nine thirty and thirty one mr de gucht will start with question thirty two by mr tarabella.
this relates not only to the scope of the substantive obligations of member states but also to the manner in which a judgment of the european court of human rights against an eu member state is executed.
that means that the accession agreement can only create obligations on the basis of the convention and where applicable of any additional protocol of the convention which the union might ratify insofar as it concerns acts and measures adopted by the institutions bodies officers or agencies of the union but not
when it concerns acts and measures adopted by the member states.
on this basis the council
you know what the remedies are;
through the association agreement the commission has the power to put pressure upon israel. when are we going to see some action from the commission to ensure that the relief of gaza takes place?
the high representative has described human rights as a silver thread that will run through all our external policy.
can the commission tell us what assessment has been made of colombia's likely reaction to the signing of the fta?
i welcome that but before we sign such an agreement we have to be clear that such an agreement will advance human rights and not move them backwards.
i want to know if any assessment has been made.
otherwise we hope very much that the issue which you have raised will be tackled and solved in the framework of the overall talks on the comprehensive settlement.
does the commission agree with that statement?
i think that it should be noted that the running and the operational costs of all the joint technology initiatives are partially covered by industry.
in line with that contribution and in the spirit of a public private partnership some involvement of industry partners is foreseen in the guidelines for the appointment of the executive director.
the involvement of industry was of two kinds.
perhaps it would be helpful if i outlined how that was. one member out of three in each pre selection committee with voting rights and the other two members are the director general from the parent directorate general from within the commission or one of his her deputies as chairperson and a director of the parent directorate general.
there is one observer from industry in the consultative committee on appointments without voting rights;
and the six members of the consultative committee on appointments are senior commission staff members.
three out of the six industry representatives on the governing board of the fuel cells and hydrogen jti which appoints its executive director come at present from smes.
that sme representation in the governing board is actually enshrined in the fuel cells and hydrogen regulation which reads that at least one of the representatives to the governing board appointed by the industry grouping shall represent smes'.
if the situation exists has the olympic council in particular done anything to try and alleviate it because not everything can be left up to the commission?
it is important to stress that we were not to know as questioners that this would happen.
let me just put on the record why these questions have been ruled out of order at this question time and urge colleagues to support us in our debate here on thursday.
i am advised that you are both authors of the oral question and accordingly are to be congratulated on getting it on the agenda for thursday.
it will provide a much wider opportunity for debate and discussion.
ngos can go in force their message onto the agenda and then we are left in the situation where they are saying that peaceful means do not work.
we do need coordination because we found out a few weeks ago that there was wording in that text which is coming out very soon which would have damaged fair trade.
the young people who could vote in last year's british referendum overwhelmingly voted to remain in the eu.
learning life skills.
mr president europe is the sum total of its citizens and that includes the millions of british citizens living working and travelling within and beyond the european union particularly young people broadening their minds encountering the other
however teresa may's continued direction towards a hard and damaging brexit threatens to rob future generations of many wonderful life enhancing character building and community minded opportunities that benefit not just themselves but the places in which they live.
in fact learning how to be good responsible citizens in the twenty first century both at home and abroad.
this is why i am glad that the european parliament has prepared this implementation report on the programme which looks back at the first three years.
stakeholders and beneficiaries appreciate it as one of the most relevant means to involve citizens in shaping their that is our european union. projects funded by the programme will now also offer placements for the european solidarity corps.
the commission looks forward to continuing to work with parliament towards our common objective to encourage the maximum participation of our citizens in building the european union of the future.
participation in the programme has become very competitive and success rates have decreased to very low levels in some measures and we need to look at that.
it is positive allowing for a more focused approach and increasing the programme's impact.
in view of the mid term evaluation let me assure you that the commission seeks the strongest possible cooperation with this house on both the political direction and the implementation of the europe for citizens programme over the four remaining years and of course
honourable members the europe for citizens programme offers a unique platform to reach out to citizens and to engage them in a debate about the future of europe. in the year of its tenth anniversary as a fully fledged programme with its own identity the europe for citizens programme is well established.
second the streamlined structure of the current programme with the two strands focusing on european remembrance and on democratic engagement and civic participation works well.
last but by no means least the issue of the legal base which you raise that could enable the european parliament to get involved in the adoption of a new programme as co legislator.
under the current multiannual financial framework this has been a major challenge for the europe for citizens programme.
this will allow young europeans to put their civic engagement into practice fully in line with the objectives of the programme.
one the programme we are talking about is not well enough known and if people are not aware of something they cannot appreciate it.
that is the first challenge.
instead of people being delighted to apply and be successful they get deflated.
we have to make sure that does not happen in the future.
clearly if your project for european integration is to recover mercifully without the united kingdom it will require an enhanced level of social solidarity between the peoples of europe.
so it is not surprising that integrationists should set such store by topdown projects designed to tell the citizens of europe's nation states that their prime collective identity should be a continental one rather than a national one.
when for example german citizens are next told that greek citizens need another euro bailout federalists will wish their first reaction to be yes we europeans must stand together' and not why should more german money go to greece?
' but i am afraid that you might as well push water uphill as try to indoctrinate people about the collective loyalties that they feel.
in no other continent on earth are so many distinct cultures countries and languages held in such close proximity.
people like mr verhofstadt think europe is a continent of dwarves that cannot compete in the modern world and that we need to bring every aspect of public policy under the eu umbrella. but there is a better way forward and that is to be less doctrinaire and less rigid to get behind nato as our key defensive alliance to allow nation states to return to national currencies that reflect their economic conditions to trust that the peoples of a democratic europe will be too sensible to return to the days of ultra nationalism that caused the shedding of so much blood.
you sent the bully boys over. you sent the commissioners over with michael o'leary on ryanair planes to convince us we were wrong. where is the connection there with democratic engagement?
we engaged you rejected!
when it comes to greece you rejected oxi'.
if you want to do something about scepticism then kill the causes of scepticism.
appreciate democracy.
shut up talking about it and do it!
mr president europe is undergoing challenging times. in the current political season with elections to be held in various eu countries the growing eurosceptic sentiments are creating deep divisions and social polarisation threatening the very foundations and the very existence of the european project.
the european union needs to reconnect with its citizens putting them back at the heart of its agenda.
encouraging civic participation and enhancing people's understanding of the history and diversity of the union has never been as important for the future of europe as it is today.
that is why i support this report and its very symbolic and the first of its kind programme europe for citizens which aims to bring the european union closer to its citizens.
the programme has reached more than seven million citizens in thousands of towns and cities around europe helping them to better understand the european union promoting the union's ideals and values and improving the conditions for direct civic and democratic participation and active dialogue between the eu and its citizens.
the programme provides a unique opportunity to strengthen a sense of european citizenship and belonging and enhances solidarity and mutual understanding.
active citizenship education and intercultural dialogue are paramount to the building of an open and inclusive society.
it is important that the programme focuses not only on the past but also on the future and on current challenges such as migration radicalisation and social inclusion among others.
let me take this opportunity to stress again the importance of this work to reconnect with our citizens and engage with civil society in particular as a number of people have said with young people to build an understanding of our history to celebrate our diversity
and to counter intolerance not least at a time when here and there we see the rise of polarisation. today's debate is an important contribution to what is going to be our joint reflection on how best to take this work forward.
let us use the europe for citizens programme to establish a public forum for this important debate about our shared future.
let us work together to reinforce the programme as an instrument which can reach out and engage citizens across europe.
as the commissioner has said this fund is for people not for governments.
first of all there is a complex notification system.
secondly and this is very important there is no actual redistribution of money provided for in these amendments.
member states who want to increase their fead allocation would have to do so at the expense of their esf or erdf allocations.
i particularly welcome the fact that there is strong support for the budget of eur. three five billion and i believe that the parliament will be able to send a strong message back to the council.
that could actually delay the programme at a very critical time. we have talked about january and the winter months being very critical for people who are living on the margins the homeless and those suffering food poverty and the notification system that is outlined and provided for in those amendments could cause that.
this fund is for people who are suffering extreme poverty. members i hope that you will give us a strong mandate to start the negotiations with the council for this fund which will help us achieve the two thousand and twenty target of reducing the number of those living in poverty by twenty million.
my hope and ambition is that by the time we have a similar debate next year the outline of the future agreement will be clear.
so how are you working inside the new commission to link those things together?
i want to know how you in the commission are working together on the sdgs because as you know commissioner these two processes are going to be linked at the united nations.
with the recent european council conclusions on the two thousand and thirty package the eu is now in a strong position to push for a truly international and binding agreement.
mr president sometimes it feels a little bit like groundhog day' when we stand in this chamber.
let us not squabble let us do it together and let us make sure that europe's voice counts.
i would like to say let us concentrate on achieving that end particularly agreeing the draft elements of our text and agreeing the steps to strengthen the un climate regime covering rules mechanisms reporting and implementation.
we have to see that this is a good step towards paris.
is the council able for next year to really make sure that on time europe as a whole can provide money for that climate fund in a new additional way that is transparent and also predictable so that the developing countries really know that the council of the european union is serious about climate change and helping developing countries in that?
i think there is one important issue here if you want to have clarity for investors you also need to have clear policies and one of the clearest policies you can provide investors with is a binding energy efficiency target.
i think that tone has become very irritating for the rest of the world because if you really look at what the eu is doing it is not that impressive.
and if we make a link to the investment plan because everyone is making the point that this is very important unfortunately there are not so many commissioners left any more while we were discussing an investment plan.
to coal fired power plants until.
we are now looking at the us and china which are doing things and i think we have to welcome that.
now is the time to find a truly global solution to a truly global problem. as we say in scotland it is now time to grasp the thistle.
twenty six years later climatologist james hansen put it more bluntly it is time to stop waffling.
equally important will be the funds contributed by others.