kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
mr president i certainly did not say that the main aim of development assistance should be immigration control. i said there should be a close link between the two.
i think mass immigration is not even in the best interest of the countries of origin not to mention.
this is in line with the united nations' two thousand and thirty agenda for sustainable development and these are clearly development objectives.
in the design and implementation of activities the commission follows three key principles.
it also supports actions aimed at strengthening access to basic services across a variety of resilience programmes.
mr president the rapporteur notes that the eu's financial allocation for the trust fund comes mainly from the european development fund and he condemns the use of edf funds for migration management.
i do not agree with this point of view.
i think there should be a close link between any development assistance and migration control.
i do not think the european taxpayer can be expected to contribute more while not being entitled to demand something in return.
at the moment african countries have very little incentive to curb the migration of their citizens to europe. furthermore the effectiveness of traditional development assistance is questionable.
instead we should find ways of mutually beneficial cooperation for example in the field of migration management.
overseas aid can be good if used properly in the short term but it does not help developing nations out of poverty in the long term.
the only way that this can be achieved is by removing barriers to trade rather than giving aid handouts.
we should not be using development aid funds to further the eu's expansionist policies by influencing political participation and governance.
this is not acceptable and it is one of the reasons why the united kingdom voted to leave the eu.
paris agreement. we all know it is a pure illusion to believe that these objectives will help europe's energy independence by enhancing energy security and energy supply whilst increasing job opportunities.
this happens by diverting resources from efficient industries into highly inefficient green projects and by raising the cost of electricity for the rest of the economy. many of the green jobs were temporary and in almost every case the subsidy necessary to create a green job exceeded the annual salary.
two two real jobs in the real economy.
in fact intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind power are unreliable they create temporary green jobs.
independence and freedom from absurd targets will allow britain to rejoin the world and help protect the environment sensibly.
mr president all reports on the clean energy plan seem to be focused on two sole objectives decarbonising europe's economy and fighting climate change. the rapporteurs propose to decarbonise the economy by two thousand and fifty by building a new eu legal framework that would achieve the objectives of the
i'm not sure because that was one of the difficulties that i understood your question fully because we had a lot of discussions in our group on how to calculate the energy efficiency the primary energy the end energy and i know your views on that.
the energy industry really exclude burning whole trees.
so that seems to be a consensual issue within this house and that is a good thing.
that is the only thing we are asking and that seems to be the most sensible thing to do.
one clear point that the envi committee was pushing for was a total phase out of palm oil use for biofuels. i am happy to see that in all the proposals that part has been copied.
that is what the climate needs that is what the economy wants and finally that is what the people wish from us.
otherwise we can say goodbye to all the targets and goals of the paris agreement.
one five in climate change as early as two thousand and forty instead of the end of the century. energy efficiency is the best way to take cost effective steps to avoid that. but for this we need real action.
we are at the last moment to save the paris agreement.
mr president commissioner colleagues you know this is not a committee meeting so i will not speak on one or two issues at the expense of the complexity of other issues which are equally vital.
i would say that this is definitely one of the most important proposals a key proposal that we have under this mandate.
one is yes ambition is important but there are two things which are even more important one is that we do something that is not doable and the second is that we might be ambitious in some parts of this parliament but we reach a fragmented result which sends an inadequate political message
i will be dealing with all the different reports because i believe that to reach this target we need to be ambitious and we need to understand that business as usual this time round will not work.
if we are both ambitious and realistic we can understand that the way forward is to reduce drastically greenhouse gas emissions improve energy security reduce energy bills and eradicate energy poverty if we are smart enough.
we have to ensure investor certainty and accountability.
today and in the months to come we need to send a strong signal to businesses citizens and all stakeholders that this is the time to be competitive invest further in new economies and ensure clean energy for all.
mr president first of all regarding forestry. let it remain a competence for the member states because it is only there that you have the knowledge and the competence to judge what is sustainable.
second energy governance is about making the european energy union a reality and reaching the targets.
there are no differences among the main groups in this parliament about reducing carbon dioxide emissions and we agree on that target. the difference lies in whether we are to trust more bureaucracy and regulations or more openness towards new innovations and technological breakthroughs.
trust. the high representative is determined to continue her sustained exchanges with our saudi partners on all these
we must be able to voice our differences openly in a spirit of mutual respect and with the objective of enhancing our concentration on all matters of common interest.
this is one of the key messages of the draft report.
turning now to the details of the draft report we can only concur that the human rights situation in saudi arabia remains preoccupying as exemplified by the long list of recommendations presented by un members in the context of the un universal periodic review the. eu member states have actively and constructively contributed to this exercise under the coordinating role of the european union.
not only should further steps be taken in a number of fields but we also look forward to the implementation of the proposed steps that have been announced by the king such as a reform of the judicial system and the decision to allow women to vote and stand for office in the elections of. two thousand and fifteen
our reading of the human rights situation in saudi arabia is that some positive if only gradual steps have been taken as of late but we agree that much more work remains to be done.
and fourteen she came back from her meetings in the region with a clear sense that our gulf partners have a key role to play in fostering stability both political and economic in the region and that the eu should engage more with them.
improving relations between gulf countries and iran is crucial for regional stability and we encourage the resumption of interactions to build mutual
at the same time the de facto driving ban for women and the male guardianship system keep curtailing women's rights. finally our principled position on the death penalty remains that a moratorium should be applied as a first step toward the abolition of the death penalty.
public executions are unacceptable practices that should come to an end. in a spirit of constructive dialogue we have invited saudi arabia to seize the opportunity of the un universal periodic review to address the eu's concerns and to engage in an open and mutual exchange with us on human
borders. therefore we look forward to saudi arabia making the best use of its role and influence to help reach a political solution in syria and stability in lebanon and to support ongoing negotiations on the middle east peace
duterte is an elected president and in the near future he will play a fundamental role in the complex and delicate geopolitical balance of the south china sea between china the united states and russia.
do you think the commission should now reconsider in light of this debate and what we are considering in terms of the backsliding we have got on human rights and the rule of law and the extrajudicial killings by vigilante groups?
they say people take drugs to try and experience another reality.
when you are having a debate and a discussion on something and young people tune into it and they see that it does not add up because two two is not five they tune out.
the war on drugs is not actually a war on drugs it is a war on people.
the indiscriminate killing of thousands of drug users and dealers without any due process is to be absolutely condemned.
the arrest of thousands more suspects on the basis of spurious allegations and hearsay is also of concern.
i welcome this house's resolution and call for an investigation into the extrajudicial killings.
but eu member state governments must also do more to put pressure on the government of the philippines to reevaluate its totally unacceptable policies and practices in this area.
we the european parliament urge the government of the philippines to put an end to the current wave of extrajudicial executions and killings and bring those responsible to justice.
mr president i had the opportunity to visit the philippines a couple of years ago and i saw many developments that were cause for optimism.
corruption was still a problem but being addressed and judicial reforms human rights and criminal law were all on president aquino's reform agenda.
his tendency towards international isolation is a further cause for concern.
at a time when southeast asia's strategic importance is rapidly increasing i would urge president duterte to step up positive engagement with international actors including the eu and un rather than threaten a retreat.
i call upon the high representative mrs mogherini and the commission to extend a hand of friendship but at the same time to make it clear to the duterte regime that the consequences will be dire.
all eu countries and an encouragingly ever increasing number of other states have signed up to the ilo conventions on the minimum age for employment and on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
mr president i welcome this debate which offers the opportunity to once again draw attention to the necessity of including and honouring child labour provisions in all eu trade agreements.
will you see to it that there are legally binding commitments in epas to the provision of time scaled and predictable funding?
will you tell us please commissioner that you will insist on precise commitments in an epa to development programmes and that trade liberalisation has to be linked to development benchmarks?
acp parliamentarians tell us at every single one of our meetings that there has barely been any engagement with them and little if any consultation with them.
i know that just a few weeks ago the new president of ghana wrote a letter on behalf of the entire acp group to the eu presidency and he claimed that the epa process continued to threaten the very existence of some of the regional integration groupings.
we have to really work much more towards fulfilling those objectives.
the wording was a new framework for trade which is equivalent to their existing situation and in conformity with wto rules'.
the policy of concluding separate deals with separate countries has led to serious inconsistencies and i can confirm to those who do not know the joint parliamentary assembly and who do not have as much contact with parliamentarians in the acp as i and others in this room have that it has created really very difficult situations and severely damaged the cohesion that i perceived amongst the acp in the past.
i am sure the commissioner will agree with me and many of us in this room that we still face a formidable task as we try now to build and rebuild trust after years of negotiation which have created enormous amounts of tension and acrimony. in the almost exactly ten years since cotonou was signed we have to remind ourselves what actually was said in the agreements about the trade
that is a recent comment by a new president.
i would like the commissioner to tell us what she might think is appropriate in the future on this.
commissioner i think the acp countries as you said to us earlier face a period of slower growth and for the first time in twenty five years efforts to reduce poverty are being brought to a close.
if that is the case how will you do it?
the whole debate that we are having this evening was not triggered by any decision of the european commission or the european union that we wanted a new trade relationship with the countries of the african caribbean and pacific but by a decision a decade or more or so now of the world trade organisation that we were unfairly discriminating in favour of some developing countries at the expense of others. some people have said that this should be just about development i am very much in favour of that but we have to bear in mind that one of the underlying requirements is that it is actually about making our agreements with these countries wto compatible.
this includes zimbabwe.
can i say with respect to eastern and southern africa that many of these points would apply there?
but even the biggest ones are actually comparatively small and we need to take that into account in what requirements and demands we put on them.
we need to make sure that there is a transparency of government procurement with openness to european contracts triggered at a point appropriate to the needs of the pacific nation states; we need to look in the case of the pacific particularly at working visas to be made available in the european union to pacific island nationals for periods of at least twenty four months for them to be able to work
only two of the fourteen have actually signed up for the interim agreement.
that it is the first thing. on top of wto compatibility we must do whatever we can to try and improve the situation of these various regional blocks and to try and deal with the particular situations that actually face them. with respect to the pacific for which i am the rapporteur we have a collection of fourteen plus one if you include east timor very small nation states.
we need to look at intellectual property right negotiations that cover not only western technological artefacts but traditional knowledge;
we need to do what we can about regional trade and in particular to take into account the special relationship that countries of the pacific have with australia and with new zealand.
one in fact is the smallest country in the world with a population that is exactly one million times less than that of china nauru.
but with respect to the esa we need to look at good governance issues in particular.
it is in there because i tabled an amendment which was accepted.
not that they are entirely happy there are issues that they would like to renegotiate but they see the answer as being signing up and accepting an interim agreement which would lead towards a final agreement which will be more development friendly and will enable more of the pacific countries to actually engage.
i am actually speaking on two issues i am speaking as the rapporteur on the interim economic partnership agreement with the pacific and as the shadow rapporteur on behalf of the socialist group on behalf of the interim economic partnership with eastern and southern africa.
however i know from my visit to port moresby at the last acp meeting that there are other pacific countries that would like to sign a final agreement provided it meets their requirements which is why in my case i am actually in favour of the interim agreement.
finally i want to just do something i do not often get a chance to do which is to pay tribute to the team who are working with me. our chief negotiator sits behind
i am very happy to put that in writing anywhere any time to anyone.
do. mr ford and mr fjellner talked about the importance of trade generally and i agree completely with that analysis. i think mr fjellner said that more trade rather than less trade is what we need in this economic climate and i completely agree with
to do. i give you my full commitment to continue it but i really hope i can get your support to take forward the agenda in the way that i have described.
sadc. my colleagues are here and i just wanted to make sure that you recognised that they are extraordinarily supportive and absolutely committed to the agenda i have spelled
that is why we have a ceiling on the amount of world trade that a country must be involved in before this particular provision kicks
i agree with that.
martin in particular but others too talked about the need to have our reviews and again i agree particularly in this economic climate it is absolutely essential that we monitor and review. i will be very interested to continue the dialogue with honourable members about how we engage parliament in that but also your ideas on how we can make this monitoring and review really effective and make those countries that are working with us feel very positive
i may not completely agree with the analysis but i do agree that this is an opportunity to look forward and part of that is about looking forward to the involvement not only of this parliament but also of parliaments across the acp. of course it is up to individual nations how they involve their own parliaments. we have to be very careful and i know honourable members would want me to be in not imposing what i think upon any other country.
that would be of enormous importance to me and i hope you are able to do so tonight.
out. for me i hope that you will vote in the spirit in which i have put before you what i am trying
let me be absolutely clear i am happy to write to anybody anywhere but certainly to cte d'ivoire to say that the flexibilities that we have been in discussion with the southern african development community will apply to them because there are one or two things only specific to that region that they would not want but those that they wish to have they can have.
so please just tell me what you want me to
that. mr caspary freedom to take on their own future to take into their own hands i agree completely.
mr kamall too echoed this theme that i think is very important that we allow nations to develop and grow and allow them to do so by developing their economies and supporting them through development and trade linked together. mrs kinnock the development link is very important but the binding aid commitment is in the cotonou agreement it is already there. what this is about for us is using epas to enable the preferences the priorities on development to be established on a joint basis
there is a perception that in epas the european union is breaking with the past and unilaterally trying to redefine the eu acp partnership.
this looks and feels to me like the beginnings of successful partnership.
all of this is overlaid by our commitment that acp regions can draw on provisions agreed in other epas so that each region can move ahead secure in the knowledge it will not be disadvantaged.
and that means development must be the foundation of our trading relationship based on frank and open dialogue.
epas offer the acp the best ever access to eu markets and continue our commitment to provide opportunities for economic development.
this means both looking at content because the epa has to work for its signatories but also the pace of negotiations.
this is a key aspect of the flexibility that you asked me to provide and of allowing epas to replace an all acp trade regime with one that matches regional solutions to regional needs without undermining acp solidarity. the case for dynamic rather than static epas has been highlighted by the current crisis.
i know that is an obvious statement but my experience suggests that it is one that i should firmly place on the record and i cannot assume has already been widely understood. when honourable members come to vote later on i hope it will be on the basis of the discussion that we have had today
one thing is clear all put acp development at the centre of epas.
that are flexible in terms of content respectful of tradition and are the latest manifestation of this long standing trade relationship built on a respect for sovereign states.
our global economy means that size has become more important a lesson that we have learnt in the european union.
by simplifying trade rules and replacing the complex maze of bilateral agreements with a small number of region to region trade relationships the acp can create bigger regional markets that are more attractive to the investment which developing markets need in order to create jobs and growth.
since then i have met a large number of acp ministers and representatives and other stakeholders in the epa process.
the run up to the december two thousand and seven deadline for interim epas has given rise to an impression of steam rollering acp concerns but i want to reassure parliament that these interim agreements are only a temporary solution to safeguard and improve acp access to european union markets.
to return to where i began parliament has an historic opportunity today to give its assent to the first examples of a new generation of agreements that safeguard our special relationship with the
you have tabled no less than eight sets of draft resolutions and oral questions reflecting in my view the strength of parliamentary involvement and opinion on epas. i want to pay tribute and place on record that tribute to the huge effort that the committee on international trade and the committee on development have put into the debate on this issue.
we will also take the time and provide the support to build up regional and national regulation as a prerequisite for further negotiation and aid for trade' and technical assistance will be absolutely key in that regard.
we need an agreement that establishes a relationship where institutions and monitoring can help identify and solve the problems as they emerge.
the dilemma that we faced was how to safeguard the development requirements of the acp while respecting international rules and i would add moral obligations.
in southern africa i see a region that took conflict about epas and turned it into dialogue and where we have now settled major issues of concern like export taxes infant industry protection and food security. in the caribbean i see a region that has set down clearly its own ambitions
the explicit right of the acp to regulate their own markets will be recognised and there will be no limitation of access to essential medicines or collecting seed.
i believe that what we have before us are good agreements that support economic development and integration in the acp and provide stability in these economically turbulent times.
the common theme that stretches all the way back to the first lom convention was trade. trade has always been the defining factor of eu acp relations and what was once confined to unilateral trade preferences for commodities and raw materials in the early days of lom
in this process the commission will indeed continue to inform and involve the european parliament in a transparent way.
few predicted that in a few years the global economy would fall into recession with dramatic price falls exchange rate and market volatility and a credit drought that would strangle the trade finance that exporters and importers need.
it is true of course that epas are different from the lom and cotonou conventions that embodied the union's relations with the acp for thirty years but the unilateral preferences that characterise those conventions became open to challenge in the world trade organisation by other developing countries.