kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
we are even more so a security provider for our citizens and for our partners and this is how we use our military in the service of peace in the service of the un charter and in the service of multilateralism.
we have today men and women in eu uniforms serving under the eu flag already contributing to the security of our citizens and our own region.
but at the same time we can and we must do better and more efficiently on defence and security in the narrow sense of the word.
this is a national competence.
way. we are a cooperative power and a multilateral power always believing in an integrated approach always believing in prevention.
having said that we also have a responsibility to use the instruments we have when it comes to security and defence in the narrow sense.
let me add that the work on the future of european defence should not make us underestimate the current work of european defence.
this is the european
this is the european way to security and i want there to be no doubt about the fact that this approach is not changing.
the whole twopercent debate is for member states that are also allied in nato.
we are a force for peace and human development.
as on the approach that preventing a conflict is always better than dealing with it militarily.
first we will enhance the coordination of national defence plans through the new coordinated annual review on defence.
this capability is already providing support and guidance to our training missions in mali somalia and the central african republic and is working closely with our civilian command centre to strengthen the synergies between our missions.
it is made of civilian and military means together hard and soft power together cooperation with our partners and also strategic autonomy. let me say that in particular in times such as these if we want to be able and free to do security in our own european way we need to strengthen our own capabilities and capacity to act also as a security provider for our citizens and also for our partners in the world.
second we will launch an inclusive and ambitious permanent structure cooperation this.
needs. all six of these measures have either already been taken or are underway with a speed that is quite remarkable a few months of work and a unity all these decisions were taken unanimously at twenty eight in the council and with a great sense of unity and responsibility.
flag. our eu men and women are supporting our african partners in their work for peace and security in extremely challenging environments.
this is not leading to a european union army.
will you recruit from the millions of unemployed young people the eu has created? perhaps it is your idea of a job creation scheme.
you oppose the nation states erecting external borders but you cannot control the millions of marauding migrants invading our continent.
yet you propose this military force.
it's just grandstanding.
the enemy is isis. what are you doing to tackle this?
instead of an eu army we should be lifting russian sanctions and working with them and the us to defeat isis.
but as we begin this journey together i would like to warn against the possible temptation in the future of imposing certain measures particularly if considered in line with some other measures representing eu reform in general.
although eliminating the current fragmentation and duplication in the european defence industry a product of historical evolution is desirable politically this should be done better through integration rather than through buying out even if accompanied by compensation as some suggest.
moreover a strict buy european in defence would be politically justified only in the event that the eu increases its corresponding share in the territorial defence of the member states. otherwise as long as nato with the us in the lead remains the main security provider for the eu nato member states the appeal to buy european leaving aside the important questions relating to availability price and location of production would be likely to remain minimal particularly in the east.
in general my feeling is that the eastern flank member states would favour the development of cooperation between the eu and nato along the current lines with each organisation doing what they are best at rather than as some suggest attempting to create and consolidate an eu pillar within nato.
do we assess for example the energy security situation that deteriorates the position of these countries?
this is definitely not about grabbing any power from the member states.
this is about securing and ensuring europe's strategic autonomy and for this we need a very competitive european defence industrial base a european defence industrial sector and with the european defence fund this is what we aim to achieve.
this is the industrial pillar of our action;
us. the commission is for the first time making all its efforts using all its tools including the eu budget to support and promote stronger defence cooperation especially on the industrial front.
plan. we are fully aware of those specificities.
that is why as i said it is not about grabbing
only. thank you very much for your cooperation;
but we know that in the council only one member state supported that and that was sweden;
indeed if you can look on where we come from the commission's proposal was modest it was a bit of an implementation of the minamata convention and i think the parliament really strengthened this proposal. most important is of course if you look at how we treat dental amalgam it has been stated before we want a direct phase out for vulnerable groups.
we had twenty seven member states not on that position.
it is a national action plan to be drafted by the member states and the commission will come up by two thousand and twenty with a proposal for phase out by.
member states must go further and prohibit all dental amalgam.
the entry into force of the minamata convention will help level the playing field as all major economies will apply requirements similar to those already applying in the eu on products industrial processes and waste management.
the new regulation will also ensure that all known industrial processes using mercury convert to mercury free alternatives and that mercury waste is safely start out of reach thereby avoiding its improper use and release into the environment.
the first one signals our continued engagement at international level which will aim at further narrowing the remaining gaps between the level of protection guaranteed by the minamata convention and the stricter requirements that prevail in the eu.
this should trigger the entry into force of the convention taking us a major step closer to a safer healthier mercury free society.
the commission is very happy that parliament fully supported our proposal to put an end to new uses of mercury in products and industrial processes.
the convention which was signed at the end of two thousand and thirteen is to a great extent inspired by eu legislation so it requires only limited changes to the eu acquis.
finally the regulation sets out a clear road map for reducing the use of dental amalgam and assessing the feasibility of phasing out its use. i also draw your attention to two statements by the commission that will be appended to the minutes.
in turn this will support the eu's innovative eco industry which will be able to make the most of their technological lead in export markets. furthermore this regulation is a golden opportunity to complement our already advanced eu acquis with new measures going beyond the minimum of the convention.
two thousand and eighteen member states will have to adopt national action plans on the phase down of mercury in dentistry and the commission will study the feasibility of a complete phase out in the long term preferably by.
the who supports a phase down recognising the need for further research and improved prevention.
this deal will help to close the gap between international efforts under the un minamata convention and efforts at the eu level.
this agreement will help improve protection of human health and the environment from exposure to mercury.
two thousand and thirteen this was not an easy negotiation but on balance the compromise reached is a good outcome.
dental amalgam is safe effective and durable.
there are updated provisions regarding the scope of exports and imports and the storage of mercury waste.
i therefore ask members to join with me and vote against amendments tabled by the rapporteur and the efdd group.
it has been closed and the responsible people are being prosecuted now.
furthermore reducing the use of mercury is beneficial for the environment and the requirement for member states to draw up national plans on the phasing down of dental amalgam should make a significant contribution towards this objective. as required by the regulation the commission will launch a feasibility study on the full prohibition of dental amalgam and report back to the legislator by mid.
mr president i would like to welcome the support many of you expressed and would like to make the following remarks concerning some of the points you addressed in this interesting debate.
mr president the scientific evidence surrounding the toxicity of mercury is well known and has been of concern for many years.
as with other heavy metals mercury poisoning is insidious not least because exposure to this substance leads to a cumulative build up within all creatures.
as we have already heard this evening this element is responsible for many adverse effects in human and animal health as it affects the nervous digestive and immune systems as well as the lungs kidney and skin and eyes.
for this reason ukip agree with the scope of the minamata convention that urges countries to better manage the supply trade and use of mercury in order to manage the health impacts of mercury exposure.
we also share the objective of protecting human health and global environment from the release of mercury and its compounds by diminishing and controlling human induced releases to air water and land. we do recognise the sensitivity of this issue.
i think we will need some incentives for pharmaceutical companies to help them bring forward the right kind of antibiotics.
we are also revising the common agricultural policy and we need to look at more sustainable methods of farming as well.
but i just want to say one thing.
they are saying that the science suggesting a link between veterinary medicines and human health is not proved.
that is not what the ecdc tells us;
so commissioner i am very pleased that you are going to bring forward a plan which looks at human health how doctors prescribe and where we can exchange best practice between our doctors and our health services but which will also look at animal feed and veterinary practices and veterinary medicines.
we do need to get this right.
we look forward to your plan.
this is an urgent issue and that is why we wanted to make sure this was on the agenda today in this parliament.
the commission plans to strengthen action in support of member states in this area and will present next month a five year action plan on antimicrobial resistance amr.
the promotion of the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human and veterinary medicines will be a cornerstone of our policy and actions for the years to come.
the broad aims will be to mitigate the risk of developing amr in humans through promotion of the prudent use of antimicrobials to help member states address the issue of sales of antibiotics without prescription to support member states' enforcement of the prescription only requirements for antibiotics and to address the identified shortfalls through new activities such as guidelines exchange of best practices etc.
for the veterinary sector in particular the issue of amr will be addressed in the context of the review of the legal framework for veterinary medicines and medicated feeding stuffs.
as regards the development of new effective antimicrobials the commission is committed to exploring with all relevant stakeholders how to ensure the availability of new effective antimicrobials and treatments against infectious diseases along with the promotion of the prudent use of such antimicrobials.
mr president i would like to thank mr leinen for his clear exposition of the issue here. there is clearly a very broad consensus of opinion here about the problem and i think a very broad welcome for the commissioner's announcement of the timetable for his report.
i would like to address a few remarks to the issue of veterinary use. we have heard about how difficult it is to get funding for research for new products for humans.
the logic of a phase out programme for prophylactics is absolutely clear but may i please urge caution against a complete prohibition of such use.
so in casting my vote today i am clear that it is time to end the low pay zero hours precarious unstable dehumanising nature of work for so many people today.
we need to get back to when work was about valuing people their rights and when work was about dignity.
they are angry and they are rallying public support to their cause.
mcstrike is a global phenomenon and what is clear from the us's fight for fifteen the anger across europe and from my own constituents especially in cambridge and watford is that there is now a new brand of activism.
the workers in my constituency predominantly young are sick and tired of zero hours contracts they want gbp ten an hour and wages not based on ages.
madam president i have spoken before in this chamber about the brave mcdonald's workers who are standing up to their bosses with the bakers union one of the key players behind the original petition leading to today's resolution.
so i welcome today's resolution which sends an important message to government and to people like steve easterbrook.
this is quite simply unacceptable in the twenty first century and more must be done to tackle this worrying statistic.
madam president violence against women and indeed all kinds of violence against any gender is something that all sides of the political spectrum can unanimously condemn.
the eu accession to this convention therefore serves to provide the political leverage for the eu to further control the implementation of this convention in member states.
the uk has for many years played a leading role in protecting women and this has statistically led to a decrease in domestic violence cases.
national legislation tougher judicial punishments and a greater emphasis on educating citizens is the best way to significantly combat violence against women across europe.
one three million female victims of domestic abuse in the united kingdom.
many member states in this union including the united kingdom are working towards making the necessary legislative changes to meet the criteria of the istanbul convention to allow full ratification.
i would also want to extend my thanks to the members of the committee on legal affairs for the valuable input that the process received through the opinion adopted by this committee.
firmly rooted in international human rights instruments on gender equality the istanbul convention is on the one hand the most comprehensive and holistic convention for the time being and on the other hand a highly pragmatic instrument.
your interim report is forceful and ambitious and thus reflects the urgency to take more and concrete actions against this tragedy affecting millions of women and girls individually and society as a whole all over europe.
still let me recall the mixed character of the convention which includes areas that are not covered by union exclusive competence.
i would like to use this opportunity to inform you that this year the annual european commission colloquium on fundamental rights led by first vice president timmermans and myself will be dedicated to women's rights and that violence against women is one of the key topics on its agenda.
both in organisational and substantive terms.
this will continue to raise difficult and sometimes sensitive questions that we will need to reconcile with the political ambitions that are widely shared with the vast majority of member states. beyond the strong support for the union's accession expressed in the report we are also grateful for the many concrete indications on how to arrange the eu's future implementation of the convention's obligations
these initiatives from the commission and the parliament will bring the issue of violence to the forefront of the political agenda in the eu a place where it deserves to be.
we will give them thorough consideration. the report rightly emphasises the need to give particular attention to vulnerable groups to address their specific needs such as female refugees and to enable all victims to actually use support facilities as well as the links between violence and economic dependence and empowerment and the related need to see our efforts to combat violence as part of our overall strategy to achieve full and genuine gender equality in the european union.
the commission will continue to push the progress towards the eu ratification in the ongoing council discussions on the terms of conclusion.
the commission welcomes very much the report's strong recognition of the istanbul convention as the best available to step up together with the member states the european union's efforts in tune with our existing policy and legal framework and the union's international human rights agenda.
that is why i now want to give my thanks to all the women in this chamber and also in the member states and all over the world who have fought for this to happen.
after a couple of blocks i lost him in the dark and i called the police. the police came straight away with three cars.
so without these pioneers and without documents like the istanbul convention the fight against violence against women is still not a given.
so we need to take this step now.
the fact that i could feel safe and that we are struggling to have every single woman in the world feeling safe needs to be our motivation to continue and to exceed the istanbul convention in its full scope and not to let one day pass without fighting against violence against women.
without the millions of women who fought for this convention and for other steps that were taken against violence against women this would not have been possible.
i cannot understand how somebody can look at it from this point of view because violence is a crime unacceptable according to the law.
we will understand better how to assess the influence of alcohol because this is not discussed very often but we see that this is also a big issue.
and we see this trend online.
very often when i speak about how to combat violence against women i have in my speeches the horrifying figure of how much it costs.
i am always embarrassed to mention this figure because this is not about the money this is about the life and health of women and children.
we see that part of our society thinks that it is normal to beat women that domestic violence is something we cannot eliminate that violence against women is something that the victims in many cases deserve. this is unacceptable and we have to convince all our society that this is not normal.
but we have to continue what we are doing and i am convinced that the accession of the eu to the istanbul convention is an important step forward.
we will understand better how to encourage the victims to go and report to the police how to get them to trust more the institutions which have been established and which are in the eu to help the victims because still we see that only about fifteen twenty of the victims report such violence.
we should do much more to explain to young boys and girls that this is not normal to accept violence that it is not normal that their fathers beat their mothers in many cases. we will understand better and we will be better able to measure the trend because you see that in european society violence is on the rise in general
i strongly disagree that this is an ideological issue.
ladies and gentlemen i can confirm today that i shall remain fully committed to keeping you informed on our progress in this endeavour but also to sharing the state and results of our on going actions including the achievements and experiences from the still unfolding year of focus actions on fighting violence against women.
i want to emphasise that yes we have to speak also about repression because we speak about crime we speak about the need to come with an efficient response from the side of the law enforcement authorities in the member states and to better protect women and children.
both constitute a gross violation of human rights and it cannot be clearer that action is urgently needed.
the istanbul convention the first legally binding instrument on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence at the international level opens the door to fundamental change.
it provides the recognition and the tools needed to put an end to the long history of such appalling violence which has devastating consequences for individuals families and society.
however unfortunately some aspects of the interim report go way beyond the scope of the convention and encroach upon the competences of the member states themselves.
i want to be absolutely clear that it is for this reason and this reason alone that i do not support this report.
however beyond tomorrow's vote we must call for the convention to be implemented in full and without reservations and also call for all eu member states to do the same including my own country the uk which has been dragging its heels. it is colleagues more urgent than ever to tackle gender based violence.
sadly we have seen a recent wave of attacks intimidation and harassment of women in politics and in the public sphere from the tragic murder of labour mp jo cox in the uk last year to the torrents of online abuse against women in public life that have now become routine.
we must address the root cause of violence against women and girls and that is the culture of misogyny sexism and objectification which frankly allows violence to prevail.
we must follow up the ratification with an ambitious european wide strategy on gender based violence and encourage sex and relationship education for mutual respectful relationships.
we already have tools at eu level to deal with serious crimes trafficking sexual abuse protection of victims and recently even the directive to combat terrorism. i would like to join the call to the commission to propose a legislative act on violence against women as a way to strengthen our capabilities.
i also understand colleagues the concerns and the controversy surrounding the word gender'.
you know how much throughout the process i reached out with genuine goodwill to clarify bridge the gap and leave no misunderstanding. a definition of gender based violence in the commission according to the council of europe is violence done to a woman or a girl just because she is a woman or a girl. ' it is not an ideology; it has no hidden agenda;
there is definitely nothing against christian or family values.
i do ask the commission again to clarify together with the council of europe this misleading interpretation and engage in dialogue with the member states on the issues that prevent the full ratification and implementation.
respect for women should become a social norm but we can never stigmatise migrants for violence in europe.
let us colleagues have a special focus on children and continue to put pressure on the member states.
today with our report we give a voice to the millions of women whose lives are devastated by violence saying loud and clear you are not alone.
we also send a message of support to all those committed to protect women and girls authorities civil society and we pay tribute to their work and tell them that the aim with the accession of the istanbul convention of the european union is to give them more tools a better legal framework to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence and protect victims.
in europe today at home women continue to be beaten and often in front of their children.