kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
it is imperative that we come up with a roadmap not only on how to get this file off the ground but also on how to close the legislative gap against discrimination covered by the proposed directive.
we cannot continue to be world leaders when it comes to the protection of human rights if we fail as an institution to enshrine these rights in this directive.
the prohibition of discrimination is the only right set out in all nine core international human rights treaties.
we need to change that.
the oft ignored voters of the nation states that make up the european union and those that leave cannot and should not be plundered.
i very much hope that this will be my final opportunity to speak in this democratic faade of a chamber. i also hope that this historic principle will be respected.
i demand it.
the electors of the east midlands asked for respect.
if the united kingdom leaves this technocracy in the near future it is entirely unreasonable to expect british taxpayers to continue to fund initiatives over which they have no say. in one thousand nine hundred and ninety a former british prime minister said to the commission president monsieur delors
she was right then on further integration and i say the same with regard to budget contributions after we leave.
last but not least the connecting europe facility is a very successful programme needed for infrastructure.
this deal will harm every part of the uk but it won't hit us all evenly.
people of colour will endure the worst consequences and those with the least now will have even less. that's why we need a people's vote so that people can have a final choice between this specific deal and remain.
so while all eyes in the uk are currently on westminster i want to say something loud and clear here in strasbourg i will not give up on workers on our environment or on those likely to be worst affected by this dangerous deal.
i marched because leaving the eu through the british government's rotten deal poses a threat to our country. it weakens workers' rights it slashes and burns environmental rules and it will hold back people whose communities have already suffered generations of governments abandoning them.
i will not give up on britain remaining in the.
women will suffer first.
democracy did not die on twenty three june two thousand and sixteen and there is no majority in our country for a dangerous deal.
they could have just rejected brexit they could have just refused to implement article fifty but instead they have again and again lied and concealed their true motives.
they seem to have believed their own propaganda about all leave voters being stupid. and every time they have miscalculated.
they thought that if they could string things out beyond last week people would blame boris rather than the people doing the stringing out.
the citizens and we members of the european parliament expect that all institutions follow the ethical financial and other rules of our union and i have to congratulate the new director of the european asylum support office nina gregori and her team and management for their hard work.
if we keep in mind what kind of easo we would like to have indeed we should not grant discharge for the year.
at the moment they are going through a period of significant growth as well both in size of budget and number of staff employed.
they need the support of the other institutions in order to become the agency we need an agency which fulfils its tasks and duties and supports the member states the authorities third countries and those asylum seekers who come to europe for help.
the council has always underlined that article three hundred and nineteen of the treaty provides for a single discharge procedure for the entire eu budget.
in spite of this disagreement in principle we found that there was still scope for identifying a common set of good practices to facilitate cooperation in the discharge procedure.
last summer after the transition period around the european elections the council received a letter from the new cont chair ms hohlmeier asking for feedback on her predecessor's suggestions. the presidency can confirm that the council's competent preparatory bodies are currently examining the way forward.
the council is in the process of defining its position on the best way forward.
i hope it still is but it will also have to be ensured in concrete terms.
thank you very much for your attention ladies and gentlemen.
let me reassure nonetheless that the presidency is doing all it can to conclude this process and to find a solution which is acceptable to both institutions.
another very important element for the council is the equal and mutual exchange of information between our two institutions.
this seemed to be the common ground last year.
it is very important for the council to know whether parliament still stands behind our common approach of the last year in particular the clear delimitation of the scope of the discharge procedure. discharge is about the implementation of the budget. it cannot be used as a means to make the council politically accountable to the european parliament.
in relation to the implementation of the two thousand and seventeen budget you know of course that the court of auditors in its annual report i quote did not identify any issues concerning the council'.
as for the more general discussion between our two institutions after several years of deadlock both sides made an endeavour in two thousand and eighteen to reach an understanding which would ensure pragmatic cooperation while maintaining certain positions of principle on both sides.
parliament has adopted a political practice providing for separate procedures for each institution or body.
they're disabled by society by customs institutions and laws and you couldn't have a better example as far as i am concerned of a law that medicalises her that says there's something wrong with her even when they are trying to help her.
it won't be sorted by a quick fix qualified majority vote to circumvent member states' vetos.
i just want to give an example of a woman friend of mine a person with a disability who relies on using straws for the basic necessities of her daily life and whose life is going to be affected by the single use plastics directive.
this type of discrimination is rampant but it's not a technical problem.
we need real meaningful dialogue that addresses the root causes of discrimination.
she's obviously very happy to help the environment but her problem is that the irish government are giving a derogation for medical use.
he's doing it because he knows that an extension damages the conservative party in the polls so he wants to bounce us into this new treaty before we wake up.
i would like to think like mr juncker that this is my last speech here in twenty years but somehow i've got the feeling i'm sorry!
and what we need is to build a leave alliance' of people across the political spectrum to fight and win the next general election.
madam president well after three agonising years of negotiations michel barnier gets boris johnson to sign us up to a brand new treaty which guarantees three more years of agonising negotiations and frankly reduces the united kingdom to the status of a colony of the european union.
i would still like to emphasise that equal treatment is a principle enshrined in our treaties and reiterated in the european pillar of social rights and in several un conventions ratified by the union.
apart from this inherent right it is also economically and socially beneficial if everyone is provided with the opportunity to fully participate in society.
we expect a fruitful and constructive debate.
the vital importance of this directive stems from the fact that it would fill in the existing gaps in the eu legislation concerning the development and the implementation of measures in the field of equal treatment across europe.
we have understood that discussing the text further at this point would not do much to remove the existing deadlock.
we commend the parliament in its committed work in the fight against discrimination and the promotion of equal treatment.
the aim of the proposal is to extend the protection against discrimination on these grounds beyond employment and also to other areas such as access to goods and services.
as well as of the fight against all forms of discrimination.
on the council side in the eleven years since the proposal was published each presidency has had this file on their agenda.
in this regard i am confident that our debate among epsco ministers will prove to be a fruitful exchange.
thus for the time being the council common position seems to remain out of reach.
we consider that the upcoming policy debate is important and timely.
in other words we want to identify the types of measures and actions needed for ensuring the effective implementation of the principle of equal treatment in order to efficiently advance the eu's fight against discrimination beyond the field of employment. we hope that as a result of the policy debate we will get a better feel of member states' vision for the future of anti discrimination in the eu.
remaining challenges concern the division of competences legal certainty and the financial implications of the proposal among other things.
we are optimistic and ambitious but at the same time as the presidency we want to respect different national views and listen carefully to the concerns of all member states concerning this key proposal.
hopefully it will also provide motivation for member states to look at the proposal again from the new perspective.
due to its legal basis in order to adopt it unanimity in the council is required and unfortunately this requirement is difficult to achieve.
it is clear that our work is not yet done in this area and we still have a long way to go.
firstly we will take stock of the current situation and challenges in non discrimination in the eu in general and second we will explore possible ways forward in this area.
after the proposal was tabled in two thousand and eight the european parliament quickly agreed on a legislative resolution which would feed through the consultation process into the decisionmaking.
the question is rather about the way we move ahead.
a lot of effort was invested in the discussions so far as testified by the successive progress reports.
we hope it will also inspire and feed into the work and the future commitments of the incoming commission in this policy field.
however member states choose different ways of combating discrimination.
this is why we under our presidency decided to launch a broader exchange of views on non discrimination at different levels the culmination of which will be the policy debate at the next epsco meeting on twenty four october actually just two days from now.
it was with great interest that we took note of parliament's several valuable contributions concerning this issue including your resolutions on fundamental rights on protection of minorities and more recently on women's rights and gender equality to name just a few.
the proposal covers four grounds for discrimination religion and belief disability age and sexual orientation.
all european citizens have the right to be treated equally and be free of discrimination.
at the heart of these priorities are growth employment and innovation the need to rise to the climate challenge to tackle the key areas of migration and security and to help young people invest in their future.
but at the same time we need to prioritise the areas of expenditure that are pivotal for reaching our common goals.
i am pleased to say that the european parliament and the council share the same priorities for next year's budget.
where we differ is on what should be considered an appropriate level of funding for these important priorities.
clearly this is the last year of the current multiannual financial framework and we are preparing for the transition to an inclusive europe and dealing with sustainable development goals on the two thousand and thirty agenda.
i have to say i would like to see for example the pilot project on gender equality being accepted because i think that's very important that we look at all of these financial instruments with a gender lens and really analyse what is happening in the different programmes from that perspective.
so i would ask that we look again at some of these amendments and make sure that they are incorporated because they are markers of how seriously we take equality.
i think that's really important. the amendments we put in were agreed across the femm committee and they deal with very important issues in relation to gender violence and particularly for example in relation to women in it because what we do know is that there is a huge gender gap emerging there and we need to consider that very seriously.
i think it's been very intensive and very interesting.
that's very important.
we are working hard with the council to overcome the political blockage and to start real work on the remaining technical issues.
to use a single example individual impacts in the area of race and ethnicity include lost earnings of up to eur eight billion and demonstrably higher risks of economic hardship.
it would ensure that equality applies to everyone and in all aspects of life.
i want to thank the finnish presidency for organising a policy debate on enhancing non discrimination.
i will participate in the council debate this thursday and the outputs of the council will be key for our further efforts to overcome the current impasse. the debate will have a clear mission for me to urge the council for progress on the file and express my wish for an agreement to be reached.
this is not only harmful for the affected individuals and groups; it is also costly for our societies.
at the social affairs council meeting on thursday we are going to hold a political debate on this issue and as we heard from the presidency this file requires unanimity.
mr president honourable members discrimination has no place in our union regardless of whether it takes place within or outside the employment sphere and regardless of whether it is based on racial origin sex disability religion or beliefs
we will spare no effort to have the current proposal adopted and settle the issues in relation to its implementation and costs in light of advances such as the ratification of the un convention on the rights of persons with a disability and the adoption of the european accessibility act.
we notice very little progress at eu level when it comes to perceptions and attitudes on discrimination compared with the figures we have from.
this is why the adoption of a horizontal equal treatment directive is so crucial.
to address this situation the commission has been striving since two thousand and eight for the adoption of its proposal for a horizontal equal treatment directive and we will not give up on it.
a two thousand and eighteen report shows that the gap in equality legislation leads to costs and losses in terms of gdp and tax revenue.
for example from two thousand and eighteen tax authorities now receive access to country by country reports on certain financial information of the largest multinational corporation.
thank you very much again for this very timely and very important discussion.
we are determined. as the presidency we will certainly do our best to achieve as much progress as possible.
however i wish to stress that finland's presidency would like to take this particular file forward and is working towards this aim.
mr president honourable members ladies and gentlemen thank you very much for this discussion and for your different interventions.
i have taken good note of your various concerns and will certainly inform my colleagues in the council accordingly.
at the same time and as already mentioned i will personally definitely keep you informed on the progress on the file on the council's side.
you can be assured that we share the same interest in moving forward on this file as quickly as possible.
i would like to mention the fifty four comres poll that was released last week.
it is leave voters who are entitled to say that's not what i was told this is not what i voted for.
there is no certainty that this ruse will work or that this deal will be approved at least in its current form.
that is what opinion polls most opinion polls tell us the british public want and deserve a right to reconsider this disastrous decision for our country.
some amendments to try and have a softer brexit because make no mistake this is a hard brexit that takes britain away from europe outside the customs union outside the single market it will be damaging for britain's economy damaging for the european economy.
the british government is trying to force through the deal in the house of commons in three days' time to hold three readings and the committee stage.
but there will also be amendments to say that any brexit outcome any deal must go back to the public for a final decision and that is only right because brexit is turning out to be so completely different from what was promised by those leave campaigners three and half years ago.
i want to have a say again and that is the mood of british public opinion as demonstrated on saturday in london.
colleagues i just want to make an announcement on blue cards.
we will close that now because we have twenty two colleagues also on catch the eye so i am closing both lists.
yet we have millions of european citizens suffering every day with discrimination in terms of access to public services or in other aspects of social life.
more importantly the situation of minorities is getting more and more fragile given the more hostile political climate in some member states where minorities are often targeted and scapegoated by xenophobic and extremist political forces. this is why it is all the more important that this horizontal initiative is again given a try and that the european union pushes back against discrimination.
in my own country in slovakia deep prejudice and discrimination often multiple persist against the roma minority and especially against roma women.
the european union is failing those citizens because of the blockage of this horizontal directive for the past ten years.
the prime minister who on two october said that the uk should leave the european union whole and entire has signed up to a deal where northern ireland would apply the european union customs code and northern ireland businesses would pay eu tariffs on goods used in the manufacturing process.
and just yesterday after checking what on earth he had negotiated the brexit secretary confirmed that goods coming from northern ireland to gb will be subject to customs paperwork an estimated cost of up to gbp sixty five per declaration.
if all this was done for an independent trade policy one prominent northern ireland economist has already declared that northern ireland would become a spectator in any uk trade deals.
and third the combined error from noncompliant payments amounted to at least eur.
breaches of data protection rules harassment and inappropriate behaviour towards staff;
i hope that this parliament will not do that.
however we do acknowledge easo's new management's commitment to ambitious reforms.
we recognise the progress made on the implementation of internal control systems.
refugee crisis has shaken europe from two thousand and fifteen and even though in the light of statistics the crisis seems to be under control we still have to ensure the durability of our asylum system to avoid new crises from being born in the future.
the decentralised agencies are highly visible in the member states and have a direct impact on the daily lives of the union's citizens.
unfortunately in the case of easo this was not the fact for the financial year. two thousand and seventeen the european court of auditors issued an unqualified audit opinion on the reliability of the accounts and on the legality and regularity of the revenue and the payments underlying the accounts for all agencies in two thousand and seventeen except for the payments of
we are today discussing the last discharges from that year.
the matters which led the court to issue this opinion were mainly related to non compliance of payments on public procurement and recruitment procedures.
that is exactly why the money spent from the eu budget has to be used efficiently and any fraud in the use of public money has to be prevented.
therefore in march two thousand and nineteen the european parliament decided to postpone granting discharge to the executive director of easo for the financial year in question and to postpone the closure of the accounts for that year.
two thousand and seventeen in addition we must highlight that the budget for the financial year two thousand and seventeen was implemented under the supervision of the office's previous management and that this report concerns the discharge procedure for that year.
all in all we cannot compromise good governance and sound financial management of the eu budget.
second the systematic nature of noncompliance has demonstrated an inadequate internal control system;
two thousand and seventeen the following issues were taken into consideration first the findings of olaf regarding irregularities surrounding the breach of procurement procedures misappropriation of union funds mismanagement abuse of position in human resources issues
she deserves all the support she can get in implementing those actions.
therefore i'm pleased that the resolution which will be put to the vote tomorrow emphasises these positive developments.
increasing instability at eu borders has made migration one of the most pressing political issues and unfortunately much too often a human tragedy.
those irregularities occurred both in the management of staff and in the expenditure of payments and they were such that sd tomorrow cannot vote in favour of granting discharge over.
it has to coordinate policies of eu member states on asylum.
in order for easo to perform all of these important tasks it needs our support and indeed it has the support of the sd.
i hope that will mean that we can now move forward because ultimately we need easo as a key ally in addressing our common migration challenges and avoiding further human tragedy at our borders.
easo's assignment is a hefty one.
it has to improve the implementation of the common european asylum system and it has to support member states under pressure such as greece and italy.
but regrettably from a budgetary control point of view there have during two thousand and seventeen and previously been a number of irregularities.
two thousand and seventeen that said we also note the improvements made at easo after the change of management in two thousand and eighteen and the new director ms gregori has made considerable progress in tackling past problems as well as presenting a coherent set of corrective actions for the future.
with the current pace of progress at easo it should be able to leave past problems behind and fully focus on the tough assignment that it has that of supporting the eu's asylum policies.
shockingly i have also learned that the authority auditing the eu budget is filled with former meps loyal to the cause a clear recipe for disaster and corruption.
with the eu there's no money back no guarantee.
surely it is time for the budget to be audited externally with full transparency because at present we cannot trust the eu with our income tax nor our vat.
so let me just say that while we are preaching tax transparency as the european union we are far from it.
three or maybe more presidencies in the past have blocked it.
of our citizens.
mr president so much has been said but one thing that i would like to add is that the issue that we are discussing today is much more important than market transparency competition and economics generally; it's about regaining trust
as a matter of fact in the campaign to the european parliament we have maybe all pleaded to have this issue finally resolved and it has been waiting since two thousand and seventeen when we voted on it.
the council is blocking it;
despite it all the majority of brits still wouldn't want to change the brexit result.
control has been stolen from my people.
they will be heard.