kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the eu does not have a formal role in this conflict but if the eu doesn't take more responsibility on itself who will help in solving the issue?
it's not just tensions as usual in the south caucasus. there are two factors that are changing.
and just pretending that sending the parties back to the negotiating table would bring them anywhere closer to a solution would be foolhardy because it hasn't happened in thirty years.
this multilateral agreement as we have underlined many times in this european parliament is a crucial achievement of european diplomacy.
it remains a key pillar of the global nonproliferation architecture contributing to regional security and stability and it addresses iran's nuclear programme in a comprehensive manner.
we had very interesting talks in riyadh and tehran and our key message was consistently a deescalation in the region is a must. today more than two years later this is more needed than ever before and that's why dear high representative i would like to underline what you announced
i would like to echo your justified words on the urgent need to ensure the preservation and the implementation of the jcpoa by all parties.
all parties involved should do their utmost to preserve the jcpoa and to refrain from any action that could be perceived as an escalation in this current situation.
the european union is ready to help to mediate and to support the minsk group that already addressed its strong engagement based on the agreed principles.
the most important and invaluable stake to take into account are the lives of the citizens.
it puts the stability of the region in danger.
we called for a balanced approach based on the principles both sides agreed on.
no empire will be built in the twenty first century regardless of the insane dreams. so my message goes to those who are adding fuel to this fire and i'm asking them to stop especially mr erdoan.
that's what we are doing. but we have to allow this group of people to work because it is the only group that is being recognised by the two sides.
we can decide about it.
we have seen a strengthening of those opposed to the nuclear deal who are distrustful of the west and who do not support diplomacy and engagement.
facets of our bilateral relationship.
these difficulties have also had a political impact in iran.
during recent weeks a great amount of attention has been devoted to attempts by united states to bring back the united nations iran sanctions and here i want to be very clear also. once more bringing back these sanctions would have meant the end of the
i want to be clear as coordinator because the high representative acts as coordinator of the jcpoa i will continue to do everything possible to ensure the preservation and full implementation of the nuclear deal by all parties.
without the nuclear deal iran could have developed a nuclear weapon by now with all the security implications for the region and beyond.
i do believe that full implementation of the nuclear deal by iran and other parties remain crucial to our efforts to preserve
place. in this way supporting my understanding that the us are no longer part of the jcpoa because they freely decided to withdraw from
covid nineteen is affecting the country severely with more than three zero new infections every day half a million to date and at least twenty seven zero deaths.
the covid crisis is further deepening iran's existing economic difficulties. following the joint comprehensive plan of action the so called jcpoa iran had the legitimate expectation that this nuclear deal will result in more concrete economic benefits.
together with our european and international partners we are working hard to make sure that diplomacy with iran continues to be possible. we have also witnessed several deeply concerning humanrights developments recently.
it. they were also very clear that after leaving the agreement in two thousand and eighteen the united states was not in a position to initiate the socalled snapback process' of bringing back united nations sanctions under the un security council resolution. two thousand two hundred and thirty
it. however we should not forget that even though the amount of nuclear material iran possesses today is more than it had two years ago it is still far less than the ten tonnes of enriched uranium that iran possessed before the agreement. we know that this is thanks to the jcpoa. iran is the most monitored country in the world by the international atomic energy agency with now almost four hundred inspections per
in addition iran is experiencing shortages of important humanitarian items like personal protective equipment and medicine that could help in fighting covid. there is a severe shortage of all capacities to fight covid.
engagement with iran on all these issues remains in the european union's vital and strategic interest and that's why we are approaching the issue the way we do.
mr president honourable members let me finish with some remarks on the nuclear agreement.
why is this so important? because it is in our very own european security interest and because the agreement continues to deliver.
we also need to get more funding for the green and digital transitions and last but not least to strengthen the international role of the euro. with our action plan we have sixteen initiatives to achieve these objectives.
to save safely for their future for them to buy the best and cheapest financial products and so that their pensions are adequate and sustainable.
europeans do not get the most out of their savings because they lack the confidence to invest in capital markets so we need to create more opportunities for europeans to invest safely for their future.
time is of the essence in the fast moving world of digital finance.
let me just name a few helping large investors to invest more in eu businesses including for the long term; making information on eu companies more easily accessible digitally for eu and non eu investors by using a single access point; helping europeans
it would provide new sources of funding for businesses reduce the cost of raising capital increase options for savings across the eu and make eu financial system more stable resilient and competitive.
so in the context of getting the economy back on track initiatives like the capital markets union are ever more relevant than they were before the pandemic. putting in place a well functioning capital markets union as we see in the united states for example should be considered an important part of our growth strategy for the next decade.
we support the eeas iran task force and its balanced comprehensive approach but today we have to make it clear that if iran wants continued european union engagement it needs to dramatically improve its human rights record.
we are most definitely not indifferent towards the situation of human rights in iran which is appalling.
as some would add the deal is still alive but could be in a better health condition.
in fact we don't have a lot of information about how the conflict is developing.
the fighting should
media reports need therefore to be examined with great caution because some of the news that has been disseminated we don't have confirmation about it.
during those days i had several phone calls separately with armenian and azerbaijani foreign ministers urging both sides to stop hostilities and return to the negotiation table.
yesterday we issued a statement and today the twenty seven will issue another one asking turkey to stop doing this activity.
as the european parliament has repeatedly stated and to be very clear once again there is no and there cannot be a military solution to this conflict.
both sides need to return to diplomatic dialogue without preconditions and in good faith. as many colleagues have already pointed out third parties in the region should refrain from any action which can fuel the conflict and undermine the desire of the people from both countries for a peaceful future.
of all territorial disputes of the post soviet states this one is the most dangerous.
but you can't be blind to the fact that this suffering is caused by the maduro regime.
so let's be clear mr high representative there is no division.
this is not and i say this as a dutch representative this is not an internal spanish debate.
a regime that according to the un human rights council murders tortures commits sexual violence and random detention.
can you basically answer one simple question to this house?
please take some time to talk to one of the men who prepare your coffee in the bar right next to this hemicycle. he will tell you about his family back home and the shortages of food and medicines even before the coronavirus struck.
the maduro regime has already made clear it does not want to fulfil your conditions.
it's like talking to lukashenko behind the opposition's back.
a regime that you did a huge favour by dispatching this premature diplomatic mission and giving it a certain legitimacy.
a corrupt regime that relies on the smuggling of oil drugs and gold.
it does not want to postpone the elections.
we are united in wanting to address this humanitarian crisis.
and now even more people are dying in the streets.
this is about the values and the credibility of the european union.
we need to ensure there is stimulus and growth in the economies and access to credit access to other forms of capital are more critically important than the traditional banking sector because our banks are impaired and are not involved in traditional lending as they would have been into the real economy. so the capital markets union is urgent but please desist from undermining what is a good report by including things in it that are not necessary.
it needs to be brought forward as urgently as possible but if we want to unlock council and other obstacles the idea that we would bring everything into a report that is clearly unnecessary in the context of the capital markets union is very disingenuous to be quite truthful. i'm disappointed that we consistently raise issues that are not relevant to the capital markets union and in particular paragraph twenty two of the report. but beyond that it is urgent that we have the capital markets union.
thanks to this deal it's not nuclear.
let's try to work on two things at the same time the nuclear agreement and human rights. we will continue fighting to keep the nuclear agreement alive and working and at the same time we will continue working in order to make the iranian authorities aware
it is very difficult because the american sanctions are very powerful but the iran deal is not just a nuclear deal.
thank you very much members of the parliament for your support and for this long and moving session.
others members have said the same thing;
with the role of russia as mediator diminishing we must expect other partners to contribute to the same goal.
the principles of the un charter the osce helsinki final act and the two thousand and nine basic principles continue to be the guiding principles for the solution to this conflict.
as the sd we have repeatedly appealed to refrain from any actions and also from any rhetoric that may fuel tensions between the two countries. today we urge to stop the fighting and return to negotiations.
this is especially important given the reports about the presence of mercenaries sent by turkey. it seems that many if not most of our foreign policy challenges at external borders have turkey as the common denominator and cause.
i would just like to say the formal procedure now.
in line with article fifty nine subparagraph four of the ep rules of procedure i would like to request to refer the matter back to the committee responsible for the interinstitutional negotiations in accordance with rules sixty and.
as a response to that the third financial innovation central bank digital currencies were initiated and this should be studied and debated thoroughly here at the european parliament and other institutions and we will certainly do that.
if constructed and implemented properly a digital euro could help deal with the remaining payment and financial inclusion issue but more importantly it could increase financial stability on our fragmented financial supervision landscape and boost the role of the euro on the global scene.
many speakers today have mentioned problems with turkey.
what we in the eu once saw as a ring of european friends in our neighbourhood is turning into a ring of fire and enemies.
we cannot stand by and look at neighbourhood policy through the lenses of the last decade.
it is high time to commit more resources to political and economic engagement on the ground to our active communication to debunking of disinformation about this conflict as well as strategic foresight.
digital finance and crypto assets can be considered valuable for the transition to better financial markets but also a more efficient payment regime to remove barriers of cross border payments and they should definitely be based on solid political principles.
we definitely need to see technological neutrality combined with business model neutrality and the regulator should not favour only legacy business models. secondly digital finance is about data not just crypto assets and more about open finance so even broader than open banking.
and fourthly the scandal of wirecard showed that technological risks should be addressed by harmonised supervision and strong regtech because these failures of germany showed that no country can address data intensive financial services with the current inefficiencies and lack of data governance.
while all of this is true and very frustrating there is also hope in iran. there were massive protests of young people last year in the streets taking their claims to the streets.
just a few weeks ago women of iran have started a me too' movement.
there is even a fight for the future' group in the country. young people in iran are not living on a different planet.
they are part of global movements and they challenge the regime.
yes they have to face crackdowns oppression repression torture.
they are in prison some of them are executed.
but they are coming back again and again and again.
and the old ones who have gone through this for decades and decades have not stopped.
as long as people in iran still have the courage to face this regime it is our duty to support their cause and protect them.
and while it is so important that the eu engages in regional dynamics as reinhard btikofer said we can only do so if we also manage to engage the people that suffer under the various regimes in the region.
there is no room for strategic autonomy in this particular case especially in the case of iran.
there is no room for quick economic benefits.
you are responsible for finding a strong european response.
third continue allowing staff to trade basically closing your eyes and defending the suspect illicit activity. the problem with economic nationalism is that the supervisor doesn't have the incentive to act against the companies of their own country.
they do it out of national pride.
they do it out of economic interest.
these are the national champions.
wirecard was the leading fintech.
very recently we had the danske bank scandal where the supervisors in denmark and in estonia of this danish subsidiary see hundreds of billions of euro money laundering and do nothing.
during the banking crisis we systematically saw regulators in their home country pretending that the banks were much better than they were.
what's the cure against economic nationalism? we know it. we've done it in banking. we know the national banking authorities don't have the incentive to look carefully at their own banks.
that's why we have a single banking supervisor.
the reality of what we see is that as long as we have national regulators overseeing their national champions they are going to have the incentive to turn a blind eye.
i would definitely welcome executive vicepresident a number of the commitments that you made in your introductory speech especially those on putting forward initiatives on digital onboarding.
mr president the nagornokarabakh conflict is a frozen conflict and frozen conflicts have the nature of erupting every now and again. so who started this conflict now this time round is completely irrelevant.
if we want to be responsible concerning the worrying escalation of the nagornokarabakh conflict and find a longterm solution we have to remember the source of the conflict.
thirty years ago at the time of the breakup of the soviet union armenian forces together with russian forces invaded nagornokarabakh and seven adjacent territories territories of azerbaijan leaving many dead on both sides and over one million internally displaced people.
so international law provides clear guidance.
the eu does not have a formal role in the minsk group negotiations but that does not mean that we should not be active vocal and crystal clear about our messages.
we are talking about our eastern partnership and we are talking about our eastern partners. first we should convince the political leaderships of both sides to establish a ceasefire and protect civilians.
reports if they are true about the use of cluster bombs are very worrisome and high representative i agree that we need clear facts and information from the region.
second we should convince both sides to return to the negotiations without preconditions and with good faith and commitment so that this time there will be a solution based on un resolutions minsk group basic principles and international law.
third we should urge other regional powers especially russia and turkey to stay out of the military conflict.
the interference of any outside elements will expand the conflict and make the escalation more difficult. war is never a solution.
however there are very little chances this may happen unfortunately.
the second path the democratic powers usa and eu both take over this responsibility.
they bring both parties to the negotiating table by proposing clear tailor made political and economic plan for the future.
peaceful settlement of this conflict is possible only in substantive and meaningful negotiations.
this is a war of aggression by the azeri dictator aliyev supported by president erdoan's jihadist allies from turkey to enforce the injustice of joseph stalin's separation of nagornokarabakh from armenia.
sanction aliyev the aggressor.
you can try to force things and make changes when you have power but it is clear that such changes do not last.
the only lasting solution can be a mutually agreed and mutually accepted solution. this means negotiations.
it means talking to each other.
right now the only result of the actions of the political leaders is the suffering of ordinary people killings and people losing their homes.
violence creates violence and this will have long lasting consequences. if some other interested parties like turkey or russia really and truly want to invest in ending this conflict then there is a way but it's not by sending fighters to fight in the conflict or by assisting in some other military forum.
the spiral of violence must be stopped.
violent choices tend to throw societies into long and agonising misery poverty and aggression.
the objective to increase cooperation between the eu and our eastern neighbours which we are carrying out through the eastern partnership obliges us to pay full attention to the ongoing conflict and to play a proactive role in its peaceful resolution. i call on you mr borrell to start negotiating the conflict resolution with both parties.
some may explicitly take sides and support one country or the other but this house should stick to two simple but fundamental points. firstly hostilities should cease immediately.
above all it is imperative that armenia and azerbaijan must stop targeting civilians.
at least four journalists were severely injured a few days back while civilian casualties are being reported daily by both sides as a consequence of heavy fighting and bombings of inhabited centres. secondly neighbouring powers should refrain from fanning the flames of war through military statements and military support of any kind.
whoever engages in these acts puts the stability of the region further at risk and hinders any attempt to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table.
it's a pity though if it's translated into a call for deregulation or cutting red tape as if that's the only and real impediment to intra european investments.
as long as it's not on the table let's be realistic and pragmatic on what we can achieve with the capital markets union and with the european union in this.
that means strong protection of retail investors and clear standards for sustainability both environmental and social.
the problem is that the conflict concerns this time a different part of the southern caucasus with key routes of oil pipelines gas pipelines roads rail and fibre optics leading outside of russian influence to europe among others. so we have to have a look at this
this mechanism allows a close followup on the recommendation and better understanding of the approach of the national supervisor.
many of our countries could be proud of that as well.
you should actively work on achieving political stability at all times and this includes respecting the political opposition as a legitimate rival which is a sine qua non for democratic politics. likewise the political opposition is required to understand and work for a peaceful change in government within the bounds of democratic politics.
having said that i need to point out that political stability is never a given never something which we can take for granted.
being a long standing friend of georgia i count on changes in these areas. i would like to mention also the existence of political prisoners opposition leaders imprisoned in tbilisi and elsewhere. i really count on a major change in these areas and i strongly support visa liberalisation for georgia.
the fight against corruption especially through the establishment of a specialised anti corruption unit within the office of the chief prosecutor in january this year organised crime money laundering and human trafficking the advancement of human rights and media freedom policies as well as the new progressive law on state employers
progress on the visa liberalisation dialogue however could definitely be speeded up.
georgia has to deliver on reforms. furthermore there so much instability around the country that it cannot afford deep internal divisions. the threats are external.
furthermore georgia is one of the three countries in the eastern neighbourhood which have stated that they want a closer relationship with the eu.
an important tangible result of eu georgia cooperation might be the abolition of visa requirements for all georgian citizens but that could come under threat if the unhealthy political rivalry in the country continues.
and radical groups keep popping up although it is a mystery who is financing them.
to name a few the winner takes all mentality continues to prevail;
are there still problems in georgia?
in this regard to put it diplomatically the case of rustavi two should have been handled differently.
the rule of law human rights and media freedom are at the core of these values.
therefore it is crucial that even the perception of political interference with the judiciary and a free press is avoided at all times.
the association agreement is the fundament of this a relationship based on values.
yes certainly.
three years after the democratic change of government it is high time for the political forces in the country to unite.
nevertheless i am confident that with a genuine effort by all the political forces in the country the necessary reforms already started under the previous administration can continue and georgian citizens can soon reap the benefits of closer cooperation with the eu.
the most influential political actor in georgia is not accountable to anyone;
but it is likewise worrying how former president saakashvili tried to instrumentalise this case to instigate unrest which is the last thing georgians need right now.
having said that i would also like to underline that we cannot take georgia's stability for granted;