kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
once helga schmid has finished this piece of work and we see where we going i will then look to see what we should do for the future to make sure that we are properly represented in
we want to see a strong israel economically politically all of those things as we wish to see a strong palestinian state but we cannot make progress until we see progress in the middle east peace process.
we have. i work very hard at the relationships with israel and the palestinians and i talk to a lot
ship. as i understand it the position is that the iranians said they were doing a training mission in support of their work to combat piracy off the coast
i do not criticise members here for saying it.
i have worked really hard in the course of this year to change that not least on the ground and i will say more about that in a moment.
it would be easier for us to do that if we had some serious indications that israel is really willing to breathe new life into the peace process.
as for israel apparently there are two schools of thought one favouring a restart of the current negotiations through breakthrough proposals the other favouring the same wait and see' policy.
it likes talks about talks because all that time gives it the opportunity to keep changing the facts on the ground and making a two state solution that much harder to achieve.
high representative you have the power to make a difference.
here is the statement of the european union from last month on the association agreement six pages of condemnation of human rights abuses and illegality and infringements by israel and yet a summary which says we seek closer cooperation with israel. what is this about? is it surprising that palestinians regard the european union as having double standards?
but israel just thinks we are weak weak weak.
and until you use your power until you stand up and use a word to israel which they are not used to hearing nothing will change.
that word is no'.
mr president baroness ashton i am deeply concerned about the progress of the situation in iraq. the recent uprising there when the people took to the streets particularly young people who cannot get jobs who see the broken economy the continuing lack of security and sectarian killings
twenty nine people were killed many hundreds were injured.
if that happens we are going to be back to square one with a sectarian government backed by both al hakim and muqtada al sadr at the behest of tehran and we will have a destabilised situation where the party who won the election is no longer in government.
that cannot be acceptable surely in terms of the future of the middle east.
the consultation launched by the green paper was opened until twenty november.
with the green paper on the application of eu criminal justice legislation in the field of detention the commission wanted to find out to what extent detention issues influence mutual trust between member states and learn more about its impact on the application of the principle of mutual recognition and
in addition non nationals seem to have a disadvantage obtaining bail is often more difficult for them as they are seen as a greater risk as they might leave the country. we asked in the green paper whether mutual trust among member states could be strengthened by creating common minimum standards on two points first on the right to review the decision to keep a person in pre trial detention and second on time limits for pre trial detention.
the green paper recalls respect for fundamental rights. in fact judicial authorities are not obliged to surrender a person if this might breach the person's fundamental rights because of very poor or unacceptable detention conditions.
baroness ludford very eloquently made the point and i assume she is right that in some member states a majority of people in detention are on remand and assuming that this is true so long as this applies the european arrest warrant should be suspended and suspended with immediate effect.
for that reason i commend to you amendment no one and related amendments.
but in this place there is an obsessive determination for there to be europe europe and yet more europe and parliament and the commission then ignored the inconvenient truth that detention conditions are simply not the same in the twenty seven member states.
mr president when the european arrest warrant was proposed and steered through the european parliament by a british liberal democrat mep it was already obvious then that the clear consequence of the european arrest warrant would be that british citizens and residents and for that matter citizens and residents of other member states would be carted off to countries where conditions in prison are of a lesser standard. that was totally obvious.
whilst the european arrest warrant continues nobody should be transferred to a jurisdiction where prison conditions fall below the standard in the home country.
those of us who represent constituents ensnared in the net of the european arrest warrant have become well aware of the grim prison conditions which can await them on remand and so on.
it is being discussed in the context of the appalling european arrest warrant.
there is no requirement for the country seeking a warrant to provide any evidence that the person has committed the offence still less to meet any standard of proof.
some people extradited on the warrant have to spend months in custody awaiting trial.
it is shocking then that over one third of member states have not ratified the protocol to the un convention against torture which establishes a system of inspection visits.
we should be ashamed that the council of europe committee for the prevention of torture is having to take an interest.
pre trial detention is meant to be an exceptional measure but we have member states where the majority of the prison population is made up of people who have not been convicted of any crime.
on which note i would draw attention to the fact that the italian president has said that the situation of prisons in italy is a democratic emergency.
my former mep colleague marco pannella a very brave man is on hunger strike in protest.
even though detention conditions in some member states might be worse than others none of the member states have a clear conscience when it comes to detention conditions.
what is even more alarming are the cases of death and suicide in detention.
in the resolution we asked the member states to prevent suicides in prison and to carry out in depth and impartial investigations systematically in cases where a prisoner dies in prison.
therefore we are urging independent investigations to be conducted when someone dies in detention.
the detention conditions are perhaps the responsibility of member states but their shortcomings damage the trust which is needed to achieve judicial cooperation in criminal matters at european level.
the lack of trust is preventing member states from extraditing criminals.
what does the commission intend to do to ensure transparency in every member state as to what happens in detention and how is the eu intending to ensure the fundamental rights of the detainees?
with the surveillance programme the commission has now effectively been appointed as a policeman for austerity right across europe.
fines of hundreds of millions of euros face countries that break with neo liberal orthodoxy or are deemed to have acted imprudently.
mr president the six pack plan that has just been passed by parliament represents the institutionalisation of an austerity shock doctrine at the heart of the european union.
we are as winston churchill said interested and associated but not absorbed'.
britain is not a member of the single currency we should be looking on helpfully but we should not be dragged into it.
that wonderful moment just before the summer when there was a summit and the crisis was declared to be over but the markets did not get the message and then president van rompuy wrote a very huffy article in the in london saying he was astonished by the behaviour of these markets how could they be widening the bond spreads in spain and italy when they had obviously not been listening to what the eu leaders had said?
that has been the story of the euro all along and people are entitled to make their own mistakes.
the problem with these six pack votes that we have just voted through is that they do not distinguish between the eurozone and the eu as a whole.
mr president in the debate this morning president barroso declared that he was going to raise the number of people of working age in employment from sixty seven to seventy five by.
we have our own dream and our own task and should european statesmen address us in the words that were used of old shall i speak for thee to the king or the captain of the host we should reply with the shunamite woman nay sir for we dwell among our own people'.
mr president i supported this report as part of the economic governance package and i was particularly pleased to see in article one that the coordination of economic policies in the union will among other things aim at achieving sustainable growth and social cohesion.
if we are to be part of a common currency then we have common responsibilities.
it is crucial that we do this otherwise we are just seen as irrelevant and we are just not dealing with the reality of the situation.
i support the proposals on the european monetary fund.
it is also important that in all of these proposals deliberations will take place in public and that citizens will have an opportunity to scrutinise what is happening and be aware of decisions taken in their name.
they certainly go further than what is being accepted by the council and i think finally begin to address the elephant in the room.
this is crucially important for all of us because our policies should in the final analysis achieve growth and social cohesion otherwise we are wasting our time.
i was also very pleased to see flexibility in this report where it states that a possibility will be provided by the council to reduce or cancel the sanctions imposed on a member state on the basis of a commission proposal following a reasoned request by the member state concerned.
as far as this report is concerned i was happy to see that article nine of tfeu is included under which the union will take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment the guarantee of adequate social protection and the fight against social exclusion.
as with other reports encompassing the six pack this morning it does not purport to solve our current problems.
that kind of flexibility will be very important for member states and in this context i would like to specifically mention my own country ireland.
these are fine words of course but we have a responsibility in this parliament to do all we can to translate them into reality.
part of that roadmap was articulated by president barroso this morning. i think for the first time we had some hope injected into the debate and some reality but of course now what we need is action and we are still waiting for it.
that governance needs to be based on commonly agreed rules and policies and indeed stronger surveillance. but of course that is not all it needs whether it be eurobonds or stability bonds or a transfer union or the ecb becoming the lender of last resort other mechanisms are certainly needed to support the euro. we cannot say that what we have here today will solve our problems but it is part of an overall solution.
today i have mixed feelings.
as we vote on these reports on one level i feel irrelevant in the sense that we are not actually working to find solutions to the current crisis and that is what concerns citizens.
however citizens also expect systems to work and we are trying to fix a broken system.
excessive approach has led us in part at least to problems we find ourselves in at the minute. thankfully we are beginning to address it and get on top of the situation and as my colleague marian harkin said politicians are supposed to be in control not the markets or agencies.
mr president one of the purposes of this parliament from the point of view of the establishment in europe is to act as a democratic facade on what is in reality a european union dominated by big business interests and dominated institutionally by the commission and the council.
but i think that facade may be beginning to crumble today when you look at what the parliament has passed.
it has passed a series of measures the six pack that is purely neo liberal and austerity driven in content.
it has opted to give more power to the commission to act as an austerity policeman and it has used the notion of reverse qualified majority voting to mean that a simple majority in the council will not be enough to vote against sanctions applied by the commission to a miscreant member state.
the limited democracy that exists within the european union is now being trampled upon in the race to impose austerity.
they are afraid of the working class they are afraid of the movements of ordinary people they are afraid of the general strike in greece the protests in portugal on saturday the moves within spain and i think they are correct to be afraid.
mr president since the financial crisis hit the eu has responded with more spending and more debt.
well the financial transaction tax.
let us leave aside the bankers having to pass on the cost to their customers. ask ourselves and say where do most financial transactions in the eu take place?
they take place in the city of london.
in other words yet again britain is being sent the bill in order to prop up a currency which we declined to join.
this has been the unhappy story of our association with the eu these past four decades.
we are expected to put more into the common pot from which others will be drawing and those are the two bookends.
this has a somewhat manic fin de sicle feel about it these unconstrained ambitions of so many european leaders expecting the peoples to pay again and again.
mr president yesterday many of us saw the youtube video of a trader describing how to make money out of default out of collapse out of people's misery as they see their savings their pensions their hopes and their dreams fade in front of their eyes.
well one of the reasons i voted for today's report is to say no it is not the markets that determine our future.
it is a civilised rules based approach to economic governance. i refuse i refuse on my own behalf and on behalf of irish and european citizens to cede power to the markets and to bow to the madness that is fuelled by profit.
i do not have all the answers and yes we are part of an unstable and badly constructed currency but i will do all i can to ensure that past mistakes do not influence future outcomes.
the report gives us a roadmap to prevent the next crisis.
it does not solve the current problems and yes phrases like horses bolted' and stable door' come to mind.
but if you believe the euro which is on life support has a chance of surviving then this report represents another cylinder of oxygen.
it is not the cure but it provides us with hope.
unfortunately no country is immune from this.
we understand that the government is seeking to address some of the grievances of the copts for instance by removing the obstacles that delay and limit the building and refurbishment of churches. we welcome and encourage such moves and urge the government to identify and tackle
the commission gives high priority to freedom of religion or belief as central tenets of the eu's human rights policy by raising the issue in political dialogue with countries where the problem persists by supporting local human rights projects and by actively promoting freedom of religion or belief at the un forums.
the malaysian federal constitution states that islam is the religion of the federation but other religions may be practised in peace and in harmony in any part of the federation. we encourage the authorities
the government as well as the opposition including the pan malaysian islamic party and one hundred and thirty muslim ngos have all strongly condemned those attacks.
the root causes of religious tensions in egyptian society and to end all forms of discrimination against those belonging to other religions.
we call on public authorities to fully protect all religious communities including christians from discrimination and from repression.
we are positive that the authorities took rapid action to find and arrest those suspected of committing this awful crime and a thorough investigation and bringing those responsible to justice will send a clear signal that violence based on religious
the government has increased security measures to safeguard all places of worship and has also reconfirmed its commitment to protect malaysia's social and religious harmony and a culture of religious and ethnic diversity.
egypt's constitution provides for freedom of belief and free practice of religion. however we do hear complaints of discrimination against the copts and against other religious minorities such as the bah' in the workplace and by the judicial system.
to initiate as soon as possible an all encompassing inter faith dialogue with all religious beliefs to promote mutual understanding so that malaysia can continue to develop peacefully in ethnic and social harmony.
yet the egyptian constitution says freedom of expression or freedom of opinion is guaranteed.
i urge the egyptian government to refrain from introducing emergency laws limiting fundamental freedoms in light of the sectarian tensions present.
it is therefore very difficult to understand or accept that around thirty activists politicians and bloggers were arrested by government forces while travelling to the southern egyptian town of nag hammadi to express their condolences to the families of those killed during the sectarian violence.
something is desperately wrong when people are treated like criminals merely for attempting to show sympathy and solidarity with fellow countrymen.
since two thousand and eight egyptians have been unable to get an unregistered phone line but the control is not total.
the egyptian government should lead its citizens on this road to freedom and europe should be its strongest partner in this.
however this should not be used as a reason to repress the population as a whole with laws limiting free speech and expression.
ethnic and religious diversity asks for a vigilant society that is able to reconcile differences in open debate a society where people of any background or conviction know that their freedoms are guaranteed.
a free debate is perhaps the most powerful medicine against extremism and violence.
although the attack can be seen as a criminal act of individuals various other troubling incidents require our ongoing focus on respect for all minorities in egypt.
yet state emergency laws have been in place in egypt for the past twenty eight years.
therefore freedom of expression both online and offline can be seen as the egyptian government's best tool to resolve tensions in society.
people have a universal right to freedom of religion as well as freedom from religion.
an open society can only be realised when the separation of religion and state is implemented in the constitution and throughout the system of government.
an adequate response to crimes committed in the name of religion is only appropriate.
in too many cases the argument of maintaining public order is abused.
new rules are now in force under which users of wi fi have to pay for a connection for which they need to provide an e mail address to have a password and a username sent.
the arrests are a particularly striking example of what has become a pattern of the egyptian government's interference in citizens' rights to freedom of expression.
moreover a draft law is under debate in the parliament about net regulation providing for prison sentences for publication of multimedia content without government permission'.
every individual has the right to express his opinion and to publicise it verbally or in writing or by photography or by other means within the limits of the law'.
self criticism and constructive criticism are the guarantee for the safety of the national structure.
democratic governments worldwide should put maximum diplomatic pressure on countries such as egypt to suppress this intolerable persecution.
christians who have lived in countries such as egypt and in the mediterranean area for almost two zero years are increasingly being persecuted and driven out of their ancestral homelands.
mr president the persecution of christians and other religious minorities is growing in islamic countries.
this is because of the growing power of intolerant fundamentalist and extremist islamist ideology islamo fascism.
the media should not only report the persecution as it happens but they should explain to the general public the reasons why it is happening. they should explain who is doing this namely muslim fanatics and why they are doing it because of the intolerant and violent fault lines in islamic ideology.
their leaders have come to me and complained of a worsening situation regrettably in egypt orchestrated by the muslim brotherhood.
in spite of the best efforts by president mubarak's government to protect them matters have deteriorated.
we witness a similar story with the assyrian christians in iraq the christians of palestine and pakistan and now as we see for the first time even in malaysia.
this house has for too long in my view ignored christian minority rights in the rest of the world but they look to the european union and to the united states for protection.
mr president all who are committed to democratic rights and freedom of religious expression will condemn outright the murder of christians in egypt and also the firebomb attacks on christian churches in malaysia.
we should also note the growing numbers of attacks on religious minorities in europe itself and equally condemn that.
in malaysia the tactic of divide and rule on racial and religious lines has long been used by various elements of the economic and ruling elites.
the present national front government is guilty of hypocrisy in this regard while publicly proclaiming a one malaysia' policy claiming to embrace all religions and minorities it manoeuvres behind the scenes using religious and racial divisions to try and bolster its own position among the majority muslim malay population as it did in relation to the allah' ruling.
this is the result with exploitation rife in the workplace and trade union rights severely limited.
first christians have become the victims of brutal violence in many countries of the world not just two. second christians have become the single most persecuted religious group in the world.
the numbers are astounding in the millions not thousands or hundreds of thousands.
many of them are referred to in the report. let me mention some of them.
in the context of the european innovation partnership on active and healthy ageing.
this report included proposals for future activities in the areas of long term care.
indeed this is a success story. the employment rate of older workers has increased even through the crisis.
thirdly the commission has launched a joint project with the oecd on measuring the adequacy of social protection against long term care needs.
first in the context of the european semester the commission calls on the member states most concerned to take measures that will raise the labour force participation of older workers.
they should address the lack of good empirical evidence a precondition for closer cooperation and mutual learning among member states as well as for any policy initiatives at the european level.
secondly the importance of promoting independent living in old age has been highlighted in a joint report of the commission services and the social protection committee on adequate social protection for long term care needs in an ageing society.
active ageing also became a higher priority in the new funding instruments such as the european social fund.