kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the council strongly encourages montenegro to demonstrate real results in the fight against corruption and organised crime money laundering and trafficking in human beings including through effective investigations prosecutions and final convictions and to improve the seizure and confiscation of criminal assets.
montenegro will have to intensify its focus on implementing reforms with determination and on fulfilling all benchmarks.
so i count on the support of this house to remain engaged and to send common messages of encouragement to the country and in particular to all your sister parties but even more importantly to all the citizens of the country.
in order to prepare the country to open accession negotiations.
result and the consequences.
however we must account for the budgetary pressures that this small country faces in this regard and we cannot seek to be too prescriptive particularly when calls go beyond the requirements of the acquis communautaire.
i should also say a few words on the elements related to the environment in this report which has been given a much stronger focus than in previous years.
three successive commission reports have concluded that no progress has been made in the area of freedom of expression and media freedom an important issue to satisfy the benchmark requirements of chapters twenty three and twenty four of the acquis.
montenegro has for many years been fully compliant in these areas and its well deserved accession to nato in june of last year will only cement that cooperation.
the attack against olivera laki in may of two thousand and eighteen has highlighted again the plight of journalists and acts of violence against journalists.
given her involvement in investigating cases of corruption such incidents highlight the continuing need to fight organised crime and corruption in all its forms and at all levels.
on the whole we see a picture of that country progressing well with thirty one of the thirty five chapters now open in total.
as a first step it would be good to see all political parties participating in the working group on reform of the law on the judicial council.
despite the overall level of progress there remain concerns about the media landscape in montenegro.
obviously events during the two thousand and sixteen parliamentary elections however show that there is no room for complacency given the efforts of a big third country to exploit the fears and concerns of a small minority.
the general political climate has improved since then and the handling of this case has proved the robustness of montenegro strengthening democracy and legal systems.
the government of montenegro remains positively engaged with the negotiation process and there continues to exist a strong consensus both in the political arena and in terms of public opinion for the euro atlantic integrationist agenda.
court proceedings concerning the coup plot continue and whilst we wait to see the final judgments i have little doubt that events played out in the way that the prosecution is now arguing.
furthermore during the reporting period we have seen presidential elections that passed smoothly and fully in line with the odihr osce fundamental freedoms. clearly there is room for improvement in some of the state electoral commission's working methods and my report calls for reinforcing the transparency and professionalisation of the electoral administration with that end in mind.
i am pleased to see that much of the opposition have now returned to the parliament and i strongly urge the remaining boycotting parties to do so as well.
to conclude ahead of the wider debate for some nine years as rapporteur for montenegro i have referred to it as the good news story' of the western balkans.
we cannot forget that this is the second attack against her.
on a more positive note engagement and cooperation in the fields of cfsp and csdp remain very positive.
ongoing disputes about the role of rtcg and changes to the members of its council and leading executives have had a negative effect on public confidence in the network's editorial integrity.
i particularly welcome montenegro's full alignment with all the sanctions regimes particularly those concerning russia.
as a self declared ecological state it could be argued that montenegro deserves to be held to higher standards than others.
as my two amendments demonstrate this is being pushed by other political groups in this house and to my mind has given the subject a slightly disproportionate coverage in relation to the overall balance of my report.
unfortunately it was blocked as some other proposals were.
the commission does play a very important role but political decisions must be made by political bodies such as the council together with the member states.
i fully appreciate the sensitivity of bilateral issues. clearly further efforts will be needed to overcome the legacy of the past and to foster trust and reconciliation.
and of the media the ability to address the legacy of the past and war crimes issues.
those are core european values and these are simply not negotiable.
thank you for your attention and also for your strong commitment.
our message should be that this is the occasion for fundamental change and not an excuse for postponing it.
we need to use this opportunity to trigger negotiations on social and environmental standards in order to make sure that trade delivers on sustainable development.
we need to start the discussion on ending the present consensus rule because as it stands it threatens to paralyse the whole system. we need to rethink the definition of a developing country. should china given its prominent role in global trade still be considered a developing country?
surely this is unfair on real developing countries which are in most need of special and differential treatment.
the wto needs saving.
we need a strong rules based global trading system but if we don't act soon i'm afraid it will wither on the vine.
i really admire their courage and commitment as they defend the rights of lgbtiq people in sometimes very hostile environments.
in the former yugoslav republic of macedonia gender based discrimination and the situation of sexual minorities is particularly difficult.
the legal framework has significant shortcomings in terms of non discrimination legal gender recognition and body autonomy.
but the conference i attended was organised in partnership with the socialist government of fyrom which demonstrated their political commitment to improving the situation of lgbtiq people.
it's an excellent example of how governments can work with and support civil society and we have to make human rights defenders and civil society support one of our priorities in the balkans.
i know that the macedonian parliament is currently discussing draft laws aimed at improving the situation of lgbtiq people in the country and so i hope these discussions will bring tangible results that better fulfil human rights.
it's firmly committed to its eu path and the eu remains equally dedicated to montenegro's future in the union.
the eu attaches great importance to moving forward with the former yugoslav republic of macedonia and we hope to see continued progress. reforms are crucial and will require the political leaders to live up to their responsibilities.
the eu is supposed to be about government by consent not force.
well it is because the eu are using the tragedy of ulster as a bargaining chip.
well that's not government by consent with friends.
crazy immigration a false currency mass unemployment as you isolate your greatest trading partner london the financial centre of the world with which you can never compete.
on one side we will have those countries outside the eu particularly in the anglosphere and its free enterprise which will prosper and grow as it always has.
on the other side will be a command economy the eu.
it is the eu folly along with the absence of a proper relationship which will cause europe to collapse. we should try to part amicably as friends.
kosovo's priorities should remain the rule of law economic development and education.
kosovo needs to become an attractive place for business provide citizens with highquality education and reduce the very high unemployment levels in particular among young people.
it's also crucial that kosovo continues to build confidence by demonstrating sustained progress in the fight against organised crime and corruption.
a comprehensive legally binding normalisation agreement should be reached as soon as possible.
both kosovo and serbia have expressed on many occasions concerns and grievances about their relations. they should be addressed through the dialogue which the european union is committed to continue to facilitate.
i would like to conclude by saying that the commission remains strongly committed to driving forward kosovo's european agenda despite the current difficult political context.
this report highlights the need to defend academic freedom when it is under threat. that must also include inside the eu. hungary signed up to european values in the copenhagen criteria and we have to call out the assault on those values that is happening there today.
forcing the central european university out of the country is a clear breach of all that hungary signed up to.
further european citizens in hungary are being prevented from following gender studies because the hungarian government refuses to accredit them.
we cannot preach values abroad which are ignored in the eu.
thank you for your kind words commissioner.
this progress was possible only through constructive political dialogue and cooperation with all the major political parties from the government and the opposition. therefore i can only strongly encourage all political actors in albania to work together on the consolidation of reforms across all five priorities. i hope this will be also the case in upcoming electoral reforms. albania is indeed our key partner in the region. we should fully appreciate
we trust that advancing on the rule of law will progressively result in a better business environment which is crucial to create more jobs and hence foster socio economic stabilisation. the observations in your resolution provide very good guidance for albania in all these areas.
i think everybody should aim at calming down the situation especially concerning the kosovo serbia relations.
this is in the interest of the entire region and its eu perspective therefore everybody across the region should refrain from unhelpful statements that could be seen as inflammatory or taking sides.
concrete results will not only bring the country closer to the union but also guarantee that all albanian citizens can rely on a functioning democratic state that successfully provides welfare security and opportunities.
clearly significant coordination efforts resulted in a document which in my view is a very balanced one.
the resolution captures the progress that albania has made in the past years and it highlights well the challenges that lie ahead in order to move the country closer to the union.
the ongoing judicial reform is a major demand from albanian citizens and its successful implementation will foster public trust in state institutions enhance the credibility and effectiveness of the justice system and contribute to the embedding of the rule of law throughout the country.
i take note that our institutions have a very similar approach and assessment.
we look forward to continuing this constructive dialogue and engagement.
the council will continue to closely monitor montenegro's progress paying particular attention to the area of rule of law and other important issues mentioned here today and also by the commissioner.
mr president i'd like to start by thanking the commission because this report is a stark warning that the single market is far from complete lacks political support from member states and is in fact under threat.
at the heart of this report is a goods services divide.
the single market in goods is well developed although often undermined by national regulations but the single market in services has barely got out of the starting gates.
only a third of single market related legislation proposed this term has been approved.
if we didn't already have the services directive does anyone really believe that it would be passed today?
the european parliament is often as guilty as member states of protectionism.
the e card system which would have made it easier for professionals to work across borders was blocked here.
the single market is supposed to be at the heart of the eu.
services is supposed to be one of the four freedoms that's what i keep hearing in the brexit negotiations yet this parliament seems to show little interest in it.
it's virtually impossible and we are discriminating against other european citizens here.
we need to match rhetoric with delivery and real commitment if the single market is to progress further.
the risk today is that it slips backwards.
the eu will continue to assist kosovo including through its presence on the ground.
the austrian presidency remains committed to moving the process forward. however the primary responsibility for progress lies with kosovo its leaders institutions and civil society.
reforms are crucial and they will require consensus across the political spectrum and the political leaders to live up to their responsibilities for the good of kosovo and of its citizens.
the first is that yes we need a rules based system but this is particularly important for developing countries because in a multilateral system they've got a better chance of getting a level playing field of getting a seat at the table and having their voice heard unlike in bilateral deals where bigger economies can call the shots.
we also need concrete steps to deliver on this agenda like supporting the un process to negotiate a un binding treaty on business and human rights and we need initiatives on the value chains that bernd lange spoke about.
we have two areas where we could make quick progress the first is cocoa and the second is textiles.
these are areas where there is a growing mood to get something done and i think we could work with businesses and member states to get things done.
as we engage with the country i believe one of our priorities should be the fight against anti gypsyism.
roma people remain a very marginalised group who face daily discrimination in all areas of life in kosovo and everywhere else.
we must double our efforts to achieve full equality for roma people and this process should start with holding ourselves to account.
in a country where the european parliament was instrumental in ensuring compensation will be paid to women victims of sexual violence during the conflict i'm appalled to see that the un refuses to provide proper compensation for roma ashkali and egyptian people affected by lead poisoning in the un run camps.
so the un and us should lead by example.
it is a vital step in building the bridges that the western balkans needs in order to overcome old divisions.
it paves the way towards the eu integration of macedonia and it helps europe to continue shaping its common fate together and to reject foreign interference.
i thank all the members of the macedonian parliament who facilitated the progress that we are cherishing here and i hope that next june we will be able to celebrate having a date for the opening of accession talks.
the way forward is still going to be challenging but i'm optimistic that the hurdles can be overcome.
albania has taken many steps in the right direction and the reform efforts are bearing fruits.
we expect the political leaders to overcome internal difficulties and join their forces on advancing on the eu path.
in this regard we count on the continued support of the european parliament to call on all leaders of albania to cooperate in good faith.
let us be clear the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary is one of the fundamentals of the accession process.
i have listened attentively to the views expressed.
when moving ahead in the accession process with serbia i would like to assure you that we closely monitor its progress paying particular attention to the area of the rule of law freedom of the media the belgradepritina dialogue and the other important issues which were mentioned here today.
i would have liked to support this particular measure but i had to vote against because as has been said already by my colleague pat the cope gallagher ireland's economy is heavily dependent on exports.
we are totally dependent on our international markets.
any additional charges on irish hauliers would have a major negative impact on our exports. i think i am supported by the spanish the portuguese and also the italians.
the eurovignette measures if adopted in our country would have devastating consequences.
this report disgracefully calls for employers to be able to terminate apprenticeship contracts should the apprentices be deemed unsuited to their employment.
the eu two thousand and twenty strategy will deliver neither jobs nor a better standard of living.
i reject the call for the increased involvement of private higher education institutions in the expansion of vocational training and instead demand meaningful training opportunities provided through massive public investment.
the report claims that the implementation of the eu two thousand and twenty goals is a way to secure employment and a better standard of living.
that is a recipe for gross exploitation.
mr president i voted against the hirsch report as it fundamentally sees education not as a means by which people can improve their knowledge and skills but solely as a tool for increasing the profits of big business. i completely reject that approach.
it offers more neoliberal policies and a race to the bottom in wages and conditions.
this is simply untrue.
this will ensure that we will be less competitive. i believe that the commission and the council must look at this and must take into consideration the peripheral regions. it is not a major issue for the mainland european member states but is certainly a major issue for ireland and for other peripheral countries.
however we do think that there is a need for a fundamental appraisal of cohesion policy going forward because as more and more regions go above the seventy five threshold the policy is either going to become redundant or be reformed and that is what we expect to happen.
it does not affect my colleagues in ireland or ourselves at all because even though we are in the imf and we are broke as a country we are well above the european average in gdp terms;
groups and it reads expresses its grave consternation that the kingdom of saudi arabia is one of the countries in the world that still practices public executions amputations and flogging.
that would solve the problem immediately.
madam president again another amendment that has been agreed and reads as follows is concerned that some of the kingdom of saudi arabia's citizens' and organisations' financial and political support for some religious and political groups notably in north africa the middle east asia and in particular in south asia namely pakistan and afghanistan chechnya and dagestan may result in reinforcing fundamentalist and obscurantist forces that undermine efforts to nurture democratic governance and oppose the participation of women in public life. '
the proposal allows for more responsibility to be taken by operators in the form of testing and certification under official supervision.
moreover the specific needs of organic production are taken into account in respect of variety testing and through the new approach to heterogeneous materials. let me reiterate that the commission takes the opinions and concerns expressed by the members of the european parliament yesterday evening
it reads whereas the kingdom of saudi arabia needs to ensure the real freedom of religion particularly regarding public practice and religious minorities in line with an important role that ksa plays as custodian of the two holy mosques of islam in mecca and medina'.
the right to privacy and the right to the protection of personal data.
there are countries that do not have an ultimate beneficiary ownership register at the moment and they are now obliged to have one.
so in the near future journalists and ngos and every citizen in europe will be able to look at the register and make sure that we collectively clean up our act that we do not allow shell companies to steer away funding to steer away tax money that can be used for education for health for everything we need in our society.
we acted on that and my motivation has always been to deal with tax avoidance and tax evasion. we had thabo mbeki visiting this house and he said that the amount of money fleeing out of africa because multinationals are not paying their taxes in the country where the work is done is immense.
that helped to clarify why we are doing this.
in future these twenty eight registers will be interconnected allowing people to search from shell company to shell company from country to country.
we cleaned up the data protection and may i thank commissioner jourov because as soon as the file moved from dg markt to dg justice we got a better hearing on the issue of data protection.
it gave us a mandate that did not allow us to backtrack and that i really appreciate.
we had the scandal with the son of the former president of the ukraine who put the money he stole from the ukrainian people into a shell company in the netherlands and then we had luxleaks.
data retention is set at five years and i am happy to have that. that is article.
forty so let us make this an example for other countries in the world.
thirty we agreed to have twenty eight registers.
i am proud of that and if member states want to go further than that if they want to add more causes they can and i think they should.
this type of legislation creates trust trust in our financial system;
this is money that we could now be investing in innovation in education and in research.
this is how we will improve the integrity proper functioning reputation and stability of the financial system.
they will ensure a better knowledge of customers and a better understanding of the nature of their business.
data privacy of subjects on the register though must be respected.
the creation of central registers for information on beneficial ownership will enhance transparency and improve the trust of our citizens in the financial system.
the new measures on due diligence are very much needed.
this is double the funds we need for the juncker plan.
with these two proposals today we want to reverse this negative trend through improving traceability in the transfer of funds.
madam president with anti money laundering if you cut off the flow in money you cut off the long reach of criminal groups and terrorists and help better protect the stability of our economy as a whole and individuals in it.
throughout the process we have looked at international standards at fatf and at the need to combat money laundering beyond the borders of the eu and in full cooperation with the rest of the world.
the ability to follow money across borders and seize back assets is important and so is the space in which criminals are able to operate.
i believe that this package will help both to diminish that space for criminals and also to assist us in our ability to follow the money across those borders.
for years both consumers and businesses have run into difficulties with implementing previous legislation on this subject. our aim has been to create this time a sensible proportionate and effective way forward in the fight against money laundering.
i have to say that the second antimoney laundering directive with which i and others here were concerned was interpreted ultimately and implemented in my own country in the uk in a way that made life almost intolerable for small investors and those who desired a normal balanced relationship with their financial institutions.
this kind of undue burden must not be recreated with an even tougher new regime.
the need to create fuller transparency balanced with considering the wider impact upon privacy and the need to provide data protection has also been a key element of our work.