kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
this is a good directive and it deserves the support of the whole house.
but that does not mean that those areas of disagreement are not significant.
so i would like to ask those in this chamber who are considering voting for targets which we have heard many of us believe are unattainable and will lead to considerable delays in coming to an agreement with the commission to please think again before they vote today.
that is what we want to get to but we want to get to it quickly.
i think that is a very good thing and we support the higher ambition level based on research.
such an action such a challenge to the right to exercise faith is deeply regrettable and a violation of article nine of the european convention on human rights.
the challenge therefore for legislators is to find as lady hale deputy president of the british supreme court has described it a reasonable accommodation for those who hold strong religious beliefs.
mr president this report throws a spotlight on an array of fundamental rights abuses violence against women and girls;
in northern ireland on twenty sixth and twenty seventh of this month the publiclyfunded equality commission will bring a legal case against ashers a christianowned family bakery business for refusing to bake a cake inscribed with a political message supporting samesex marriage.
this means that human rights must be at the core of our relations with third countries.
one can say that we now have better tools to jointly defend human rights in the world yet we still struggle to speak out for the defence of human rights because we are divided and we compromise our values.
i oppose all efforts that stop us from genuinely addressing the ongoing human rights violations including the persecution of christians torture violence against children and women the situation on migrants and refugees people with disabilities and others.
it is shameful for such an important report to be inappropriately and selfishly used by some in this house to stress internal divisions in issues that remain strictly under national competency.
nevertheless social political cultural and economic inequalities between men and women subsist even within the countries of the eu and between them. i allow myself now to quote some lines written by john stuart mill one hundred and forty six years ago.
one hundred and forty six years ago;
in his most expressive the subjection of women he says the benefit to be expected from giving to women the free use of their faculties by leaving them the free choice of their employments and opening to them the same field of occupation and the same prizes and encouragements as to other human beings would be that of doubling the mass of mental faculties available for the higher service of humanity'.
i think we need to support them very much.
one is making sure that we coordinate the internal and external work on human rights in all our policies;
we have launched a programme for having them in the european institutions for a certain amount of time so that we can keep this channel open and encourage them on their difficult path.
it was europe which created the idea of governmental national action plans on the guiding principles now adopted by president obama but i hope ms mogherini will assist all of our own member states now to complete theirs.
following on from the current french proposal i ask her to consider european requirements or recommendations on how businesses can demonstrate due diligence on human rights in their global supply chains.
as i am proud to have championed the directive on corporate nonfinancial reporting now agreed with its specific reporting obligation on human rights i ask the high representative to both support implementation of this framework but also to champion the new sustainable development goal that ban ki moon is supporting to ensure that that is a global not just a european requirement.
these persons are a part of society that is highly discriminated against in most countries of the world and that needs greater government protection and support.
societies must change from within and governments can play important roles in education about and respect for freedom.
i think it was a fortunate decision that was taken by your predecessor and we see now the result.
i believe that mr panzeri has produced a report which shows that indeed there are many important human rights issues related to development cooperation and development policy.
a human rightsbased approach to development seems to be so natural to us already that it is not even mentioned in the report but i trust that the work will be taken on.
madam president the report addresses different issues of human rights often focusing on those issues in which more eu action is needed.
but i would like to see a stronger eu framework for carrying out such action;
a framework with focused effective actions assisting third countries in the process of democratisation with the actions not only being named as priorities but also having actual and measurable targets.
in doing so the eu must be seen to be consistent in upholding these principles.
in relation to a specific issue suppression of the media and of expression creates oppression and serves only those who seize power at the expense of the best interests of their people and their country thereby leading to instability and humanitarian crises which in turn lead also to migration towards and tragedies on eu territories.
in my notes that i made i wanted to welcome the special attention this report has given to issues such as freedom of religion freedom of expression and violence against women and young girls and in particular the focus that it places on the issues of forced child labour poverty and malnutrition.
the best policy that we can do is to support them to engage with them and maybe to educate them as well which is something we have heard recently in many debates in this chamber and to allow them to think and to act for themselves.
the report reiterates the importance of mainstreaming human rights and democracy in all eu activities and calls for the commitment of placing human rights at the centre of all eu relations with third countries.
first russian pressure on our eastern partners is unacceptable. our common neighbours must be free to decide for themselves which political and economic associations they wish to conclude. the european union made it very clear that it expects russia to respect our partners' choices and not to interfere with the signing of association agreements
we are concerned about an increasing number of trade protectionist measures which hurt european union businesses.
thirdly there are too many other commitments russia is not honouring including in the area of human rights.
for a new agreement between the european union and russia.
russia was ready to engage in a frank and constructive discussion on these points.
president putin stated that russia had no problem in principle with the eastern partnership but he raised a number of economic concerns which in all fairness are disputable.
russia also raised its concerns and interests in particular on energy.
it was agreed to hold bilateral consultations on a technical level to address a number of questions the russian side has with regard to what they see as potentially negative consequences of the association agreements dcftas for the russian economy. the summit also agreed to continue informal consultations on the possibilities
in order to benefit from and indeed develop our strategic partnership we need to build more trust and this can only be done on the basis of honouring commitments.
in fact russia is now a global leader in this area together with its customs union russia has been responsible for a full third of all protectionist measures introduced in two thousand and thirteen and for a fifth of all such measures currently in place.
dcftas with georgia and the republic of moldova this year. secondly following russia's accession to the wto in august two thousand and twelve russia has not lived up to its commitments.
instead they wished to focus on a frank discussion on the meaning and direction of this strategic partnership.
madam president no matter how spectacular the ceremonies or how memorable the events the winter olympic games in sochi will be remembered as being built on discrimination on exploitation and on homophobia.
that goes together with the brutal exploitation of tens of thousands of migrant workers by thugs who fail to pay wages confiscate passports and have forced people to work up to twelve hours a day with only one day off a month.
it also goes together with the forced evictions of families to make way for the olympic infrastructure.
the comment by putin that lesbian gay bisexual and transgender people attending could feel comfortable as long as they leave the children alone are a testament to the climate of hate that exists to an environment where promoting homosexuality is a criminal offence and where criminal gangs can kidnap and violently assault lgbt people with impunity.
it is not a discussion about a specific association with a specific partner country.
now. what we need first is a new agreement between the eu and russia better compliance with wto rules and other important commitments and constructive cooperation in our common neighbourhood.
then we will call for wto consultation.
we have a strong interest in a modern successful and democratic russia.
let me make a couple of points.
russia has a strong interest in cooperation with the european union.
both our european union russia partnership for modernisation and the eastern partnership can make important contributions in this regard. the summit discussed our joint vision for a common economic space from lisbon to vladivostok. the european union made it clear that it would be premature to start negotiations on this
russia needs european union investment and technology and the european union remains interested in supporting russia's modernisation.
only on this basis will the european union be ready to go further and develop a strong and deep partnership with russia.
we insist that cooperation should be built on the principle of respect for everyone's sovereign decisions and for democratic societies and open economies.
he knows that.
the blood of these helpless animals will stain the snows of the winter olympics.
he is not only presiding over the abuse of human rights he is presiding over the abuse of animal rights and if he wants further integration and further cooperation with the eu he should recognise that in the lisbon treaty we hold animal rights very dear indeed.
that is also the reason why we strive for a strategic partnership and for a vision of building a common economic space.
when we look at our common neighbourhood again we see unacceptable pressure on our common neighbours.
yes we want cooperation with russia we want to be strategic partners we want to move forward towards a comprehensive and ambitious new eu russia agreement but it has to be done on a basis of mutual trust.
yes the situation is not easy;
the situation is difficult.
can i stop talking about anything about sex or sexual discrimination?
i will never stop talking about discrimination visited upon others by people who should know better.
i will never allow the tyranny of a majority to oppress a minority. i would remind the honourable member coming from a country that lived under soviet domination and repression that the defence of civil liberties and human rights is paramount and is finally the test of a civilised functioning democracy.
all kinds of youth exchanges and student exchanges in order to build for this partnership in the future.
i think that russia must accept all the rules of the world trade organisation and must also be open minded regarding its energy policy. so long as russia uses its energy policy as a means to influence other countries and other nations and to undermine democracy in those nations
instead of the expected progress and closer economic and political ties we have witnessed the exact opposite the continuing deterioration of human nights the unacceptable and undemocratic pressure on our eastern partners and the rough infringement of wto trade rules all illustrate how russia has consistently and systematically disrupted the improvement of the situation.
we must not be tricked into believing that the sudden array of presidential pardons before the sochi olympic games will change the lack of the rule of law or improve the human rights conditions in russia.
a european perspective alone will never prevail.
it is timely that the commissioner should be making these proposals so let us make two thousand and thirteen the year in which we stood by our young people and gave them hope and jobs for the future.
it also allows me to clarify a number of issues regarding its implementation.
the precise amounts as you know will depend on the outcome of the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework and therefore we count on your support for a strong esf in the next programming period.
youth unemployment is expensive. it costs member states eur one hundred and fifty three billion a year in terms of social and unemployment benefits paid out and lost tax revenue and earnings according to our agency eurofound.
in parallel the commission has just started to negotiate with the member states on the content of the partnership agreements and operational programmes for the period two thousand and fourteen two thousand and twenty which should focus on school to work transitions through the setting up of youth guarantee schemes.
this has been explicitly mentioned in the two thousand and thirteen annual growth survey and backed by the recent commission report on the quality of public expenditure in the eu' which considers youth guarantee schemes to be growth friendly investments. there cannot be a one size fits all approach when establishing a youth guarantee. indeed we need to take into account the diversity and different starting points of the member states as regards the respective levels of youth unemployment and capacities of the various labour market
however there is necessarily a strong european dimension as we share the common goal of supporting our youth.
we need to demonstrate our solidarity particularly in a time of tight budgetary constraints and make sure that we do not compromise our future when consolidating our finances.
during these negotiations the specific amounts to be allocated to such schemes will be defined.
this is why building on the experience developed by member states with such schemes we proposed six related specific recommendations to serve as guidelines for establishing strong partnerships.
finally we intend to regularly monitor and report on developments concerning the design implementation and results of youth guarantee schemes as part of the annual programme of the european network of public employment services which will have a pivotal role in the partnership approach.
therefore the commission is ready to make available substantial financial contributions from the european social fund and the other eu structural funds.
this is in addition to the long term costs of unemployment to the economy to society and to the young people concerned themselves such as the increased risk of future unemployment social exclusion and poverty.
next if it is going to be financed by the structural funds it is very important that these funds can be used to employ people in the employment services otherwise the youth guarantee will not be worth anything.
we need to show and we need to give a sign of the eu's resolve and commitment to deal with the matter.
mr president i welcome that the priorities of the irish presidency are growth and employment which are without doubt the greatest challenges facing the eu.
we are living the reality of having lost a generation to emigration and long term unemployment.
meps have supported our national trade union confederation the british tuc in a youth unemployment charter that supports youth guarantees. but let me tell the house too how my own east of england region is the second hardest hit in the uk for rising youth unemployment and how according to the prince's trust whose get into' projects i warmly commend one in five young people in my region say their prospects are being permanently damaged and one in four say they regularly feel depressed.
i have heard from emily a twenty three year old from norfolk whose father died and who ended up leaving school without taking examinations and is now dependent on anti depressants.
mr president i welcome the youth guarantee and if we put it in place it will be a tangible indication that the eu is responding but it is only a small step and it is only a first step and we have to look at the bigger picture at the continued austerity programmes in many member states and the slashing of public investment.
higgins summed it up when he said i am so conscious of the discourse that concentrates entirely on the security of the currency but is happy to leave aside the question of an enormous wedge of the population that are unemployed fifty five of young people in some countries.
twenty nine seven youth unemployment rate and while it is not the worst in the eu the real figure is in fact much higher with eighty seven zero people most of them young people leaving ireland in the last year because there is nothing for them at home.
they need to be prioritised.
it is about sharing best practices it is about inviting the social partners into a very constructive cooperation and it is also about providing good substance to the european semester.
the young unemployed person in the context of the given country or region.
they need to be prioritised now and also for the long term future.
access to jobs in the same countries but also in other european countries to help mobility to happen.
i think this initiative on the youth guarantee demonstrates the european union at its best.
mr president it is all very well for the commission to express regret over the crisis of youth unemployment but have they stopped to ask the question why do we have this crisis?
it is not because young people are not educated enough it is not because young people do not have enough work experience and it is not because they are not flexible enough.
worse it may be used as a pretext to pursue so called activation measures like jobbridge in ireland or workfare which basically mean turning europe into a sweatshop of cheap labour provided by young people displacing real jobs and undermining wages and conditions.
no country is trying to move away from coal develop global warming improve its energy efficiency develop an emissions trading scheme more than china.
we need to make sure we are on the side of the winners.
a triumph of hope over reality.
it is clear that the nations of the world do not care very much about the more vulnerable ones about protecting those at most risk from climate change or indeed about passing on the costs of dealing with climate change to future generations but maybe self interest will start to prevail. we look at the predictions of the international energy agency
that i think is double what the commission was predicting when it carried out impact assessments for the climate change package just a few years ago.
the barclay study funded by arch climate change sceptics has just concluded that in practice the conclusions of the intergovernmental panel on climate change were right all along and temperatures are indeed growing as predicted.
it is hard to justify the way in which the un process has worked despite the incremental gains that have been made.
of oil prices within five years going up to usd one hundred and fifty a barrel as a standard.
madam president the resolution we are going to approve tomorrow urges the parties to ensure the conclusion of a comprehensive international fair ambitious and legally binding agreement but as has already been said that is not going to happen.
global warming is being forced ahead by population growth and demand for energy by all those extra people two hundred zero extra people on the planet every day.
there are going to be economic winners and there are going to be economic losers on this planet.
perhaps also it will be driven by the self interest of fear fear of being left behind. no country is changing its energy mix faster than china;
what choice does that leave us with? we could of course give up on them.
that is why we tried to use whatever we have to give leverage to the negotiations in order to try to push others in our direction.
i could also put it this way.
i must also say one more thing on funding.
of actually combating climate change.
do you think that those other major emitters that we want to bring into a legally binding global system would then do more?
i agree and the commission is also in full agreement that we could take it much further in europe if we were actually addressing energy efficiency much more systematically. even better it would also contribute to job creation and make us much more competitive if we actually did
i really hope we can make that operational in durban.
it is not that there is no progress. there is but it is not as speedy as the urgency of the matter should tell us that it ought to be.
that is what we need and it is also what is very important that the member states deliver
i think that is why we tried to it would be easy for europe just to say we could take a second commitment period but it would not bring others to move their position.
i must say that from a lot of outreach activities in recent months i feel that a lot of countries a lot of developing countries a lot of the most vulnerable countries the least developed countries pacific island states understand what europe is trying to do is increase pressure on others to engage.
there i am also glad that the transitional committee that should prepare green climate fund governance has agreed with the exception of saudi arabia and the us to ask the cop seventeen to adopt a governance structure for the green climate fund.
i also understand that everyone here agrees that in order to have an internationally global deal that effectively combats climate change we need all the major emitters all the major economies to be part of the solution. when we agree about all this the next question for all of us will be
international negotiations are important we all know why but domestic ambition is also important.
say that we now today from europe announced that without any conditions attached we would just take a second commitment period.
some of them simply are not ready to commit.
that. you will know that the commission has made proposals
needless to say the commission is trying to do whatever it can through outreach through bilateral contacts at all levels through proposing draft texts suggestions and by trying to find ways forward to ensure that we make progress in durban.
the eu's goal remains an ambitious comprehensive legally binding international framework covering all parties.
we say there are some things with the environmental integrity aaus and lulucf but we also need to have this put into a context where together with a second commitment period we secure the bridge to the future;
that means we are trying to find middle ground.
we have not only delivered on these targets;
but it is also a legitimate question for europe to ask what is the point in making the bridge to the future if nobody will follow us into that future? if they are not ready now then we need to know when they are ready.
and when will they commit in the same legal form as we
in cancun last year the question of the legal form of whatever we can agree in the future.
we are the ones trying to secure our ambition.
we are open to this second commitment period but in the clear roadmap that we want we also need to have a timeline. when will other major economies commit?
we all know that durban is not going to deliver what we would like to see in europe the internationally binding deal.
japan russia canada who used to be members of the kyoto family have very clearly stated that they are not going to take a second commitment period.
therefore of course europe is willing to take a second commitment period but has already been mentioned unfortunately not too many are following us there.