kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the commission says it will be national governments that ultimately decide the number of people they accept and that britain and other countries will not be forced to accept large numbers of economic migrants that it cannot cope with or cannot support in these economically challenging times.
countries like britain need guarantees that our asylum and immigration policy remains for us to decide and guarantees also that the eu's approach will remain one of open cooperation and not one of compulsion.
mr president it is a great joy for me to take the floor for the first time in this plenary to commend minister tobias billstrm for his deep understanding and as an italian national originally i am in a position to say that of the grave situation facing the mediterranean people and countries.
i would like to welcome his efforts to reach a consensus for a common european migration policy which is very much needed.
i would also like to welcome his initiative for the asylum support officer which is a very practical and concrete way to support member states who feel burdened and to start cooperation among member states.
it requires hard work to create the political conditions for doing this.
we will also continue to channel our support for the full implementation of the minsk agreement through the osce.
this. when we move this to the point of saying that europe does not have a policy that europe is divided that europe is not acting that europe is not europe as someone said in this room i understand that this is a narrative we are used
based. these are the principles and values that have to be at the basis of the european union missions and operations around the world.
steps that are going in that positive direction to say that this is a step take responsibility and move forward with the difficult work of realising what the european dream but also need is
i do not see the danger of duplication that someone mentioned.
the two things the narrative and the reality of these days do not match.
that is why we are developing such strong cooperation with the un and with the un system and particularly in this case when we talk about the situation in the mediterranean the work with the
to me one of the challenges of my mandate in these five years is to make full use of the instruments of the lisbon treaty.
cooperation is not only a need for the future it is also already a reality.
this means looking at the output of our investments in defence.
to. but sometimes this does not reflect reality.
unhcr. this is the basis for our work because these were the principles and the values on which europe was
europe is what we make of it all of us the member states the european parliament. each of you has a political family a political party a member state of nationality and we have a common responsibility to build the political conditions for making full use of all the instruments we have and to recognise when we are taking
they went from eight hundred boats and fifty zero migrants a year to zero now. but in the light of what was agreed there are two major questions firstly why was the major nato joint force headquarters at naples already very well equipped for operations in the mediterranean not involved? why must the eu always duplicate and undermine nato? secondly what is the cost of this duplication and who will pay?
regrettably the reports on integrating defence policy and defence industries seek again to invent eu defence roles that are not wanted and not desirable.
of course it is right to make every effort to save lives but the question is what are the consequences of such well intentioned but flawed measures.
for that you may need an australian approach they turn boats around after giving them food water and ensuring they will not sink.
madam president mention of the csdp invariably leads to a heated discussion of national sovereignty particularly in my country the uk which is a major military power.
for instance the successful anti piracy eunavfor atalanta naval mission was able to coordinate with the indian navy which as a non aligned movement country was unable to contribute meaningfully to natos operation ocean shield also in the indian ocean.
we must not let ideology blind us to the potential benefits of the csdp and should instead seek to take a more pragmatic approach.
so you can see that we will have a very interesting vote tomorrow and therefore i urge everyone in this chamber to look at the big picture forget about dogmas and vested interests and if possible colleagues please share the big picture proposed by a modest mep who comes from a very small country
ultimately i just want to make your point.
the only way to encourage the generational forces.
do you know high representative that the european maritime safety agency which is based in lisbon is actually providing very crucial information for the atalanta mission?
to companies controlled by other foreign powers namely china. we in this parliament definitely support your endeavours to push the member states to deliver on the common financing of csdp missions namely military missions because this is not just about facilitating fairer burden sharing it is about
equally important is overcoming the bureaucratic and political barriers which prevent cooperation between member states and the union and even among eu specialised agencies to ensure a more synergetic use by civilian and military csdp operations of the existing capacities.
should we not actually acknowledge and actually make full potential of that contribution?
everything we wanted to say is written in the report.
i will concentrate on the baltic sea. in recent months russian military ships have been harassing and sabotaging the crews that are laying the nordbalt power cable between sweden and lithuania. this cable would enable the baltic states to reduce their dependence on russian energy which clearly is not in russias interests not only for financial reasons but because russia likes to wield energy as a political weapon. this is a prime example of how the absence of an effective csdp has negative spillover effects into other important european policy areas such as the energy union.
russia is effectively sabotaging european energy security and the energy union by disrupting the creation of new energy interconnections.
we are also in a situation in which france has two mistral class warships that have been built but are now collecting dust as their delivery to russia would constitute a significant security threat to the eu.
due to underfunding and lack of political will up to now the european union has not yet been able to purchase these ships.
these ships would make an effective contribution to the csdp naval branch and could be used in a variety of ways.
for instance they could be of critical help in solving the crisis in the mediterranean particularly close to the coast of libya or they could patrol in the baltic sea and offer support to the crews laying the nordbalt cable.
this does not mean that the ships would need to engage with the russian vessels currently harassing the crews.
their mere presence would be enough.
right now it is the mere absence of any european forces that allows russian warships and fighter planes to perform these demonstrations of force whenever they please.
to the current financing of the common security and defence policy. let us be brave and forget about the dogmas.
so let us create the budget line and start with the things which need to be done.
the future of european defence is to have the real capability to prevent and respond to crises as part of a comprehensive and bold eu strategy a strategy that comprises diplomatic development humanitarian and defence expertise;
we need a vision and we need a new strong common security strategy to guide and deliver upon that vision.
in my view russia once again constitutes a primary security and defence challenge for europe.
i therefore ask you madam vice president how is the work on the unified eu russia strategy progressing?
these have to be replaced by substantive cooperation across the board.
i am glad to hear that just confirmed by the high representative.
these kind of things have to be settled in the end because this mechanism does not function in reality.
indeed the european union needs to take practical and effective steps towards a well functioning common space of security and defence.
we need to be able to react properly and in a timely way to tackle emerging risks and especially to prevent them from happening.
mr president the grelier report gives too many concessions to the commission i would say. west of scotland fishermen find it difficult to understand why it is that the commission can say that it wants to eliminate discards and at the same time reject amendments to these technical measures.
i urge colleagues tomorrow to support all of the amendments in our vote and i hope that these amendments will be adopted and if they are adopted i hope that the commission will change its attitude and grasp the opportunity that presents itself to act now on discards not just talk about action at some time in the future.
the commission prefers another eighteen months of so called temporary measures which have failed to conserve the stocks.
another eighteen months of dumping dead fish back into the sea.
eu licences had just been renewed for their waters and they too had seen it all before.
in a pitiful desperate attempt many died on the eight hundred mile journey in fishing boats never intended for the open sea.
in a well intentioned attempt to conserve white fish stocks in this area the commission introduced temporary catch composition rules for a period of twelve months at the end of two thousand and nine but these temporary rules have already been rolled over for a further year under a catch all agreement that extended all eu technical measures
now the commission is seeking to roll the rules over yet again to the end of two thousand and twelve while it prepares a new framework for technical measures under the cfp reform package.
i hope parliament will support my amendment tomorrow.
the unintended consequence of this will mean that a temporary regulation that was introduced for a period of only one year will now run for at least three years during which time the circumstances in the west of scotland have changed dramatically forcing our fishermen to dump good fresh haddock back into the sea dead.
i hope we will be successful on that.
i would like to report that the commission is committed to keeping the european parliament fully informed at all stages of the negotiation and conclusion of international agreements. we really mean it and we want to make available all relevant information but we do have to act in line with the commitments made in the framework agreement.
the purpose of this proposal is to extend existing transitional technical measures until the end of.
these measures seek to simplify the relevant sanitary measures and certification procedures and make greenland part of the single market for fishery products and derived products.
this is our first priority so i am here to say that i would like to facilitate the work which mrs fraga has done in order to find a solution.
the commission is sending the european parliament the same information as to the council and at the same time. in particular i am committed to making available ex ante and ex post evaluations of our agreements as soon as possible.
that will be okay with us. it is now up to the council to consider the options and move the case forward in accordance with the provisions of the treaty.
i hope we will be successful in that aim.
as the house will be aware the eu's commitment is to continue promoting responsible and sustainable fisheries in the waters of our partners including the indian ocean region.
the commission is very pleased to note that all parties concerned the member states in council with unanimity greenland the european parliament and also the national parliaments of the member states are prepared to deliver on this commitment and support the proposal. let me be clear for us the commission
at the same time we intend to continue established successful practices of participation in bilateral negotiations.
i note the concerns of some members and also by certain member states who have sought additional amendments.
this regulation covers spending in international relations governance data collection and scientific advice and also control and enforcement.
it is a political priority and i therefore hope that the discussions on the legal basis of this proposal will not risk putting in place these important measures.
it makes limited adaptations and clarifications of the provisions.
the revision intends to ensure coherence between the regulation and other elements of the legislative framework.
the relationship with greenland is of extreme importance and i think that everybody understands why.
nevertheless any decision to include meps as observers in eu delegations is taken by the college of commissioners on a case by case basis following the evaluation of the legal diplomatic and technical possibilities pursuant to the framework agreement.
this is entirely in line with our commitment in the agreement of two thousand and six to contribute to the development of greenland and to cooperate in the area of food safety.
to give you just one example in view of tomorrow's vote on the resolution of the fisheries partnership agreement with mauritania the commission services have made arrangements that the evaluation report of this agreement will be available ahead of the foreseen schedule so the members of this parliament can vote after being informed about this report. as regards participation of members of this parliament as observers in international meetings i must emphasise that the framework agreement applies to multilateral international conferences and meetings.
the commission supports the amendment agreed by the fisheries committee on a mesh size range for boarfish as it is based on scientific advice.
i would like to underline that the measures proposed by the commission address a long standing request from greenland.
i hope we can resolve this issue very soon in order to avoid an impact on our relations with greenland.
in practice the commission services have been honouring this commitment for more than one year now.
we could not accept these as these had not yet been tested by scientists or because scientists have actually not received full information from member states in order to make an assessment.
i would like to underline that it is very important for the commission and the european union to reach an agreement with comoros as the agreement plays an important role in terms of the presence of our fleet in the region.
my intention in proposing this extension is to avoid opening complex discussions on technical measures in the way of our reform.
i am happy to say that this text is also acceptable to the commission so there has been excellent cooperation between the three institutions on this file.
i would like to recall that this proposal rationalises the regulation on the so called second financial instrument.
that is what we are here to do.
we cannot afford as politicians to sit and wait for the reform of the common fisheries policy when a new regulation is expected.
parliament has an opportunity to act now and i urge all political groups to support the very realistic amendments that have been tabled.
the existing regulation on technical measures is causing major problems for small inshore vessels operating off the coast of ireland and indeed off the west coast of scotland.
we had to do so because we have to wait for the implementation of the reform but i can understand why you are urging us to take some measures in order to have new regulation before the end of.
it is little wonder because the common fisheries policy currently constituted has seen the destruction of our fleet but has not seen the build up of fish stocks.
from my point of view the sooner we can get fisheries policy returned to member states the better.
first the issue of establishing a community financial measure for the implementation of the common fisheries policy.
however while we seek to guarantee the funding that is available for the administration of the cap we should bear a thought for the stakeholders in particular our fishermen who struggle to keep abreast of the multitude of current rules and regulations let alone those they are consulted upon.
i am increasingly hearing from a variety of maritime stakeholders that the entire industry is struggling to deal with this particular issue.
we need to end secrecy tax secrecy and tax havens and we also need to see that whistle blowers are protected much better in european union and also that we support investigative journalism that is doing the job that politicians should have done instead.
in our recommendations we are clear that we need to see open doors and transparency not only in the way we make corporate tax policies and anti money laundering policies within the european union but also when it comes to intermediaries banks lawyers wealth managers accountants the whole industry that lives to put these schemes in place.
we have seen that the commission lacks resources and enforcement in this area;
therefore we need to act on behalf of the citizens to clean up the mess that we have seen in the panama papers.
we have in our recommendations two hundred and eleven concrete recommendations to fight international tax evasion tax avoidance and money laundering.
tomorrow we will see which political groups and which members of this parliament are ready not only to talk but also to vote and to ensure that we have a progressive stand in this parliament. now it is time to act and we want a minimum corporate tax rate in europe in order to end the endless race to the bottom on corporate taxes and regulation.
we have become caught in a sick race to the bottom on taxation and on regulation and also sometimes on lack of implementation of our own eu legislation.
we looked into that world in the pana committee.
we need to clean up our own mess within eu member states and ensure that they also fulfil the highest standards.
we need a tax europol to have true law enforcement for the people who commit these crimes. we need also to see that tax advisers face real sanctions if they engage in illegal behaviour.
in ireland we have seen eight people die in the freezing cold on the streets in a period of fourteen weeks as a result of a homelessness crisis largely caused by a lack of investment in social housing.
you cannot do both.
this parliament has a role to play in setting the political agenda.
there is a political choice to be made by those in power. either shield the financial secrecy of the super rich or promote the rights and wellbeing of communities.
let us remember that there is a human cost to this system that allows the ultra rich to avoid contributing to society in any meaningful way and which deprives communities of the public services they need.
it seems the eu federalists want to punish the uk for taking a democratic decision to leave.
we need more taxes we need higher taxes and we need a harmonisation of tax policies.
this is why some eu politicians are telling journalists that the uk will be blacklisted as a tax haven after brexit. by threatening us you are proving once again that the only aim of these eu tax proposals is banning freedom and free competition. according to this
in the meantime the european commission is advocating a common consolidated corporate tax base and last week the european code of conduct group proudly announced a blacklist of tax havens.
i also appreciate the strong support for the report and recommendations and i want to thank commissioner moscovici for the great work the commission is doing in this field and also in his words to end the culture of secrecy' and i would say obstruction in the field of taxation and avoidance and to create a culture of transparency and sincere corporation
the council needs to open up it needs to be accountable to the citizens to the public in europe and we need to discuss this in the open.
do not water down the strong recommendations we have.
we also call from the sd group for a special committee to be set up until the end of the term to investigate to further follow up on all of these two hundred and eleven recommendations because there is a lot of work to do.
i also urge the citizens and the media to look into each and every vote tomorrow and see who is on the side of citizens in this very important fight.
it is time now to stand up for the citizens of europe.
in this field between parliament and commission and hopefully also in the future with the council.
when countries block progress they need to be named and shamed.
our recommendations include requiring an economic justification before offshore structures can be established and ensuring that eu funds can never find their way to tax havens.
any weakening of this report's proposals represents contempt for their views.
the commission must take immediate steps to turn these recommendations into legislative proposals.
a failure by member states to cooperate to fight tax evasion and tax avoidance means that too many proposals are blocked in council which demonstrates its contempt for our work by not even sending anybody to be present at this debate.
we have a report to be proud of with strong recommendations to clamp down on tax avoidance tax evasion and money laundering.
we also look to the council to adopt the legislative proposals made in the aftermath of the panama papers especially greater transparency for the activities of large companies and the revision of the anti money laundering rules.
we hope that our friends in other groups will support this strong action against tax cheating to respond to the public outcry against continuing scandals.
after months of evidence gathering and inquiry and the further revelations of the recent paradise papers there can be no excuse for inaction.
indeed those who carried out the barbaric murder of daphne caruana galizia aimed to suppress a similar kind of revelation.
in my view the work of journalists was not only key to the issues related to taxes and money laundering but it was part of global proof of the paramount importance of traditional journalism in times of disinformation campaigns and distorted or entirely fake news.
in particular those citizens who feel left behind and abandoned by globalisation and other developments may see the behaviour of some rich individuals and companies implicated in leaks as further evidence of the injustice of the world they live in.
it took time and it has certainly not expanded as some expected but it is a first and important step. stricter rules will apply when doing business with the listed countries as two important proposals made by the commission refer to this list namely the public countrybycountry reporting proposal
stricter reporting requirements will apply for multinationals with activities in listed jurisdictions or for intermediaries designing tax schemes routed through a listed country.
to be credible we should not only look outside the eu.
speaking about member states nothing is all shiny there.
tomorrow there will be another hopefully final trilogue meeting on the revisions of the antimoney laundering directive.
one of the remaining key issues is the level of public access to the register of beneficial owners of companies and trusts. the pana committee is in favour of the widest possible access without limitations.
one of the significant pana recommendations relates to the financial intelligence units in member states.
do you think with all these rules and regulations that are being brought in by the european union on the back of this report that business is going to flood into the uk immediately after brexit because people want to put their money where they feel it is safe and is not going to be plundered by a lot of left wing individuals who just want to destroy businesses and create a communist