kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
other policy areas notably fiscal measures and structural polices also have to play their part. these policies can boost productivity growth and lift growth potential thereby underpinning the effectiveness of our measures.
at hand. but an important pillar of europe's response to an increasingly globalised world economic and monetary union should not be forgotten in the
indeed when interest rates are low fiscal policy can be highly effective it can support euro area growth momentum which in turn intensifies price pressures and eventually leads to higher interest rates.
process. and the role of the european parliament as co legislator in getting our response right cannot be understated.
journey. while i have thus far focused on the ecb it is important to recognise that digitalisation and climate change are universal developments that affect all of us in europe and worldwide.
such reflections played a role for example when the governing council decided to introduce a new regime for remunerating the excess reserves held by banks with the eurosystem the famous clearing system that we introduced.
europe can harness this potential in its quest to design effective and affordable responses to the challenges
our policy stimulus has supported economic growth resulting in more jobs and higher wages for euro area citizens.
not. so we need to prepare as best we
economy. this work will ultimately enable us to test how well the euro area banking sector is able to withstand climate related
it would also support europe's influence in the world including by making the euro more attractive worldwide.
world. like digitalisation climate change affects the context in which central banks operate.
citizens. as part of this process we will consult with the public and listen to their views expectations and concerns with an open
what i have discussed will require all parties to do their bit to enable europe to perform at its best for all of its
union. very quickly i will remind you of what i mean
to this end we set up a eurosystem task force in january to investigate the opportunities and challenges associated with different potential designs for a central bank digital currency and to test how they would work in practice.
this is so in our staff pension fund for instance where we decided to switch to a low carbon index and we are investigating what else we can do in our market operations.
uses; and it is a central stabilisation function as a common line of defence in case and when we have
together with five other central banks and the bank for international settlements we will share experiences in this area and assess the potential cross border use of such digital currencies.
review will consider all aspects of the ecb's policy framework.
its part. as i said at the beginning the universal nature of these challenges also underscores the need for continued dialogue between the ecb and the european parliament.
the european parliament's draft resolution on the ecb's annual report highlights three structural developments affecting the ecb's operating environment digitalisation climate change and the institutional architecture of economic and monetary union. i would like to use the remaining time that i have to discuss very briefly these three challenges. digitalisation and climate
but as you know some essential elements are still missing or are incomplete hampering its ability to deliver its full potential for euro area
we are fully aware that the low interest rate environment has a bearing on savings income asset valuation risk taking and house prices.
but europe is uniquely positioned to master these challenges.
the longer our accommodative measures remain in place the greater the risk that side effects will become more pronounced.
euro area growth momentum has been slowing down since the start of two thousand and eighteen largely on account of global uncertainties and weaker international trade.
today i would like to focus on two of the overarching concerns that stand out from the draft resolution.
i read the draft resolution with particular interest.
the signatures of the leaders of a number of major political groups in this parliament showing that there is a vast majority supporting this resolution and how united we are in defending our common vision and our common interests.
so we will work for a new agreement for the future but we will also ensure full implementation of the commitments in the existing withdrawal agreement.
we are clear about what we want to achieve a sound and ambitious strategic political and economic relationship but we also say loud and clear that we will ensure open but also fair competition a proper level playing field and no regression on the high european standards of environmental social and labour protection and also consumer rights and food safety.
let me conclude by recalling that the first pillar of the future economic relationship with the uk was already agreed in the withdrawal agreement.
we call on the member states to do the same to refuse any bilateral negotiations at this stage and to act as a bloc with the commission and mr barnier being the sole negotiators on our part.
we've heard some messages of refusal of this by the uk government but this will have proportional consequences in terms of the access of the uk to the european market undermining the ambition of our trade agreement.
madam president we are here to discuss a very important resolution on the political guidelines for the negotiations between the european union and the uk twenty one pages one hundred and three paragraphs but perhaps the most important is the front page
hate speech and openly racist politics are on the rise in many eu countries.
for example with the spread of exclusionary law making practices and propaganda methods.
if we do not speak out and take decisive action now they will keep undermining eu values and principles which like solidarity respect of human dignity human rights and non discrimination will have no role to play in the future of europe.
if we don't act now this can cause a domino effect as extremists learn from each other.
they have always been present in society but in recent years they have been spreading instead of receding.
an early start calls for an early adoption of the mandate.
such a mandate should be put on sound foundations.
first of all given the comprehensive mandate called for by the european council the scope of the negotiations is very broad.
this means a fair degree of ambition as compared to the union's relationship with other countries.
adequate negotiating space should be preserved.
this is all the more relevant given the uk's stated intention to diverge from the european union.
but let me focus briefly on more horizontal aspects of the partnership governance and level playing field. there should be no doubt here.
we should continue to monitor its thorough implementation.
there is no point in developing wide ranging level playing field provisions if they cannot be enforced.
first although we are well aware that the line of the uk's government is to put an end to the free movement of persons we should see to it that the future relationship that we will start to negotiate shortly will be ambitious enough in terms of mobility.
the uk government's intention is to discontinue free movement with an obvious impact on mobility and citizens' rights and also to diverge from the union's regulatory framework with no less obvious consequences in terms of access to the single market and trade in general. on the substance of the mandate regarding the various sectors that should be covered i think that we largely share the view in the parliament's position
what we should focus on is the union's interest in achieving an outcome that is fair and equitable for all member states and their citizens.
as reflected in your draft resolution.
last we have to factor in the uk red lines.
in my view this is closely linked to the issue of effective dispute settlement enforcement and remedies.
the eu might be prepared to offer an ambitious free trade agreement with significant market access but this cannot be to the detriment of the competitive position of eu companies social and health standards or state aid rules. in other words the partnership should include
second and this is a link to my previous remark these negotiations will keep both our institutions and the commission busy for quite some time but this should not make us forget about the withdrawal agreement.
it should be clear however that this cannot amount to giving the uk the same benefit as a member state especially in the light of its red lines.
besides and this goes back to my point about unity and time constraints a very prescriptive mandate would require more time to resolve possibility diverging interests and priorities.
i would like in this respect to set out a few considerations that should guide us when preparing this mandate.
in order to do so we obviously need to give a mandate to the union negotiator.
we intend to do that at the general affairs council on twenty five february.
therefore it cannot spell out in full detail our expected landing zones our final offers and the trade offs we may have to contemplate.
this could be the last chance to achieve lasting peace after many decades of violence.
at the same time this treaty will safeguard the security of the state of israel.
israel will also commit not to build any new settlements for the next four years.
the suffering of the syrian people and the risk to long term global stability have been too great for too long.
but these are sticking plasters on a gaping wound.
europe's influence in achieving this aim will be severely diminished if it cannot speak with one voice at both an eu or nato level.
eu member states the us and other international players must do everything they can to push for de escalation and the freezing of this conflict so that a cease fire can be honoured and a fragile peace can be maintained.
there are no elegant solutions available simply the urgent need for pragmatism and diplomatic determination.
a solution must be found.
the eu and its member states have provided more than seventeen billion in aid and the council has targeted sanctions in place.
she reminded us that hatred racism and anti semitism is still today haunting european societies and endangering our diverse societies and the minorities in our midst.
the holocaust has shown us where anti semitism and racism can lead and its memory is at the very core of the european project of a europe that protects its jewish communities and all other minorities. we have seen that fear and hatred against the other'
the anti semitic attack against the synagogue in halle is only the most recent example but on a daily basis minorities become victims of hatred online and offline.
it flourishes in mainstream media in political debate and in the online world.
the developed tools will assist member states in strengthening a practical response to implement. dedicated formats of the high level group will ensure in the future that the tools are implemented by member states to make tangible progress in recording and responding to hate crime and hate speech.
we must ensure that democracy remains well protected in europe.
attempts to distort our history are threatening our foundations.
it will help counter disinformation and support free and independent media and will also aim to ensure greater transparency of paid political advertising and provide clearer rules on the financing of eu political parties.
distorting our common history has been one of the trademarks of fanning the flames of hatred and division be it by third countries or within our own societies.
we managed to bring together all actors from civil society it companies and state authorities to strengthen our response to hate speech online.
our two coordinators on combating anti semitism and anti muslim hatred have been proactively reaching out to jewish and muslim communities and strengthening the collaboration with international organisations member states' authorities and non governmental organisations.
the commission created a dedicated working group to ensure concrete follow up to the council declaration and support member states and jewish communities to work together on developing these strategies.
the adoption of the council declaration on combating anti semitism was a milestone.
the commission is looking forward to working with the european parliament and in particular the anti racism and diversity intergroup and the working group on anti semitism.
it initiated the code of conduct on combating illegal hate speech online whereby major it companies have committed to review flagged hate speech within twenty four hours and remove content when necessary.
online platforms have been misused to disseminate and amplify manipulative messages to distort the democratic debate and interfere in the political process.
in two thousand and sixteen only twenty eight of the content was removed.
this is a common priority for the commission european institutions and the member states.
in particular as regards hate speech the commission has pushed for stronger action;
our democracies must be harnessed to respond to this challenge and they must themselves adapt.
fast progress has been achieved.
transparency and accountability is essential as well as not allowing external interventions in our democratic systems by those who wish to divide and destabilise our union.
we are glad that the incoming german presidency has announced already their intention to place the fight against anti semitism high on the agenda.
all member states unanimously agreed on actions and were invited to develop national strategies.
as we see minorities under pressure again today we must raise our voices and redouble our efforts to ensure that europeans can go about their lives free from the threat of anti semitism racism and xenophobic hatred.
where today there are attempts to deny or distort the memory of the holocaust where people are vilified because they are jews this is where europe is called into question.
next month we will present the results of the fifth monitoring exercise carried out together with civil society organisations.
we also intensively work on implementing the eu roma strategy containing measures against anti gypsyism.
the commission has been working closely together with member state authorities and civil society in the eu high level group on combating racism and xenophobia to ensure the effective application of the rules against hate speech and hate crime by the whole enforcement chain.
for four out of five europeans disinformation is a problem for democracy.
disinformation and fake news attack our past but also and first of all our present.
to better harness our democracy the commission will put forward a european democracy action plan.
it is a major challenge to our whole society and not only to the affected communities.
it has been a key priority for the eu to ensure first and foremost the correct transposition and implementation of the relevant eu legislation including the racial equality directive the employment equality directive and the framework decision on racism and xenophobia.
it is the duty of the eu to prevent history from repeating itself and to uphold the values upon which the union is based.
has become normalised in recent years.
we will continue to engage we will have that dialogue and we want that very much to be a two way street.
increased growth and helped our economies around europe and the euro area in particular to fare better than it would have had it not been for those instruments that were used as part of the unconventional policy.
so in that respect climate change will be one of the items that we will take into account together with the more traditional aspects that we will be measuring and it's in the context of that strategy review mr vice president that we will continue this dialogue not only with you but also with the committee on economic and monetary affairs the.
of carbon and this is not something that a european central bank or any central bank in the world can actually decide.
but the cost of financing has been low and lower for the real economy.
you will have seen some comments recently about the fact that this continuum is slowing down.
so i would contend that in the main it has had a very positive effect on our economies and as part of our strategy review we'll look at how much and how effective it has been.
so as we go through our strategy review we will determine where and how the issue of climate change and the fight against climate change can actually have an impact on our policies whether it's in relation to our price stability primary objective and how it impacts this primary objective or whether it's in relation to the management of risk that we are accountable to our european citizens and to you when we look at the composition of our portfolios and the one that we manage
first of all some of you have touched on the monetary policy and the current components of the instruments that we use in order to implement our policy and have been doing so since.
this is very much part of the accountability that we have towards you and through you to the citizens of europe.
we have conducted a few changes in the last few months but certainly one of those that i very much look forward to implementing as we go into the strategy review that has been approved last month is the constant dialogue that we need to have and what we have called the outreach with you and through you with the citizens of europe.
it's very much part of what we at the european central bank and more broadly within the euro system want to actually have with public opinions with civil society representatives but more importantly with those who represent the citizens of europe that is you members of parliament who have been elected by them.
i thought i would just touch on some items of our strategy review to address some of the points that you have made.
two thousand and fourteen to those who argue that this monetary policy and particularly its unconventional tools have been counterproductive i would very strongly encourage them to look at the impact that those unconventional tools have had on the economy in which way it has actually
well certainly we would have liked it a lot more than that and maybe this would have been the case if other tools had been used in conjunction with our monetary policy.
in the same vein it has contributed to inflation which as you know ever since the euro was put in place and ever since the strategy was revisited in two thousand and three is measured with reference to inflation and clearly those unconventional tools that have been used since two thousand and fourteen have helped inflation go up
and whether or not risks are actually properly priced and whether the climate change risks associated with some of the collateral that we have in our portfolios for instance are measured or not.
and number two the volume of financing of the economy has increased and has continued to increase.
yes it is a little bit for the corporate not for the households but it is continuing to grow nonetheless.
those unconventional tools that were used and the instruments that were deployed helped our economies and continue to help our economies.
when you look at the volume and the number of new financing that are put in place for the real economy whether it's the corporate or whether it's the households we are seeing clearly financing that is very low in terms of cost and i take the point that you made sir about the irish banks and how much they charge and what interest rates they include and we'll look into that for sure.
but we will also look as some of you have mentioned to the potential side effects and to the accumulated side effects that it could have on citizens and on the economies as well. so that will be very much part and parcel of our review.
to those who were mentioning by the way that inflation was hovering around one i would simply remind you that in january inflation was at about.
now i offer our apologies to those who had very specific questions on particular countries but i propose to take that up bilaterally with those who are interested in specific countries or banks going forward.
it's obviously very difficult to quantify carefully and precisely by how much growth has been lifted in the euro area but our models actually indicate that that growth has been probably higher by a margin of about.
nobody can ask the european central bank to substitute what governments should do and what policies should be in general. as former managing director of the imf i think i'd be remiss not to remind all of us that one of the key tools in relation to climate change is clearly the proper pricing
after almost a decade of violence the suffering of the syrian people at the hands of the regime and its backers must cease.
lines. these are no normalisation with the regime no risking of our funding being diverted to the regime or to the terrorists and no reconstruction before a political process is firmly under
people. as i said before the conflict in syria is a geopolitical
since military operations began in idlib in february two thousand and nineteen one year ago more than one million people have been displaced towards turkey we are talking about one million displaced people in one year and every day more syrians are fleeing the fighting and another wave of refugees is quite possibly in the making.
we appear to have lost sight of the principle of proportionality' the united nations special envoy said. the intensification of military operations in idlib has resulted in the indiscriminate killing of hundreds of civilians.
we also see clashes between the syrian regime and turkish forces plus the risk of turkish and russian militaries confronting each other.
there has to be accountability for those responsible.
geneva. we also need to focus on other parts of this resolution such as a nationwide ceasefire the release of detainees and making progress on the file of missing
of syria. we are always prepared to do more on all these lines of action within the limits of our common red
too many people have died and those that are alive face a bleak future.
mr borrell you stated that the united states middle east peace plan departs from internationally agreed parameters.
you also used rather pointed language originally when you said that part of this plan if implemented could not pass unchallenged. naturally this evoked a reaction from our israeli friends who warned that this type of what they called threatening' language could lead to the eu's role in the peace process being minimised.
meanwhile the palestinian leadership has angrily dismissed president trump's plan as a conspiracy.
i think it's frankly unreasonable to expect that either side would greet this proposal with any real enthusiasm but i would like to choose to view the glass as half full and not half empty.
so this plan could perhaps serve as a basis for resuming talks in earnest with the understanding that there are in fact painful concessions to be made on both sides.
europe could perhaps assume a much more prominent role an active role as an honest broker of just and lasting peace.
it could encourage both sides to consider the plan as a starting point for reopening meaningful goodwill negotiations.
would also add economic inequalities especially in certain areas. all of these factors will have a significant structural impact on the way the economy works.
they will affect key economic variables financial stability and the effectiveness of monetary policy.
to fulfil its mandate of delivering price stability the ecb will better understand how the changing climate technological innovation and economic inequalities will affect the behaviour of households firms and financial institutions.
madam president today it is time to start building our future relationship with our british friends.
so let's look at our common interests and goals and see how these can best be served instead of only looking at what divides us.
therefore i insist on an ambitious free trade agreement that creates the right conditions for open and fair competition.