kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
on the other hand all political parties and candidates seeking elected office in democracies must respect the basic principles of democracy and the rule of law and must commit to pursuing political objectives through exclusively peaceful means.
so like others i appeal to the turkish prime minister and government to ensure the rule of democracy is established to reform the constitution and to ensure that this action does not derail turkey's progress towards eu membership which i and my political party and government are proud to support.
madam president regrettably i share the views of others that the action by the constitutional court to ban the dtp can only be viewed as a regressive step in turkey's democratisation efforts despite the very strong progress that is being made with recent democratic initiatives.
growing up in northern ireland i saw too many people maimed and murdered in the pursuit of political goals.
they are the lifeblood of any democracy and it is time that legal reforms were introduced to end the banning of political parties.
following this backlash against the democratic opening i welcome last week's announcement by the turkish government to carry the democratic opening further.
the democratic transformation of turkey is a forceful testimony of the continued soft power of the ec accession perspective when used fairly and firmly and with vigour and consistency.
there is corruption in the legal system; there are abuses of human rights;
there is continuing persecution of a tiny christian minority which is sadly a growing feature of most islamic countries.
and just imagine if turkey joins the european union and uses such common legal procedures as the european arrest warrant.
sadly turkey wants to join the european union because they will have their hands out in the hope of having them filled with lots of european taxpayers' money in subsidies and they see the opportunity of offloading millions of their poor and unemployed excess population by exporting them to western countries like britain where they will either work for low wages or go on the benefits system.
turkish entry to the european union is enthusiastically supported by the british conservative labour and liberal democratic parties.
i wish the turks well and hope they achieve real democracy in time but i also hope they will take the advice of the uk independence party not to join the european union but to preserve their freedom and independence.
even those achievements are now under threat as the worldwide ideological islamic fundamentalist movement gains power funded as it is by countries such as saudi arabia courtesy of western oil revenues and ably assisted by the supine surrender of western civilisation.
this debate of course is just another small step on the road to allowing turkey to join the european union.
this is hardly a positive vision for a proud nation.
they look forward to welcoming the hundreds of thousands or even millions of turkish immigrants who will come to britain if turkey joins the eu.
british voters should imagine their potential free trip on the turkish midnight express courtesy of the lib dems labour and tories and vote accordingly.
freedom of speech and association do not exist in the same way that they do in countries like britain or most other european states.
i am not clear at all how the government intends to strengthen its democratic opening in this context.
these closures also sabotage the democratic opening launched last year by the erdoan government which was rightly widely welcomed. the only way to get a durable settlement to the kurdish question in turkey is through a political solution and that is the best way to combat the pkk.
i agree with those like mrs in 't veld and mrs flautre that a solid and reliable assurance to turkey that it will join the eu if it meets the copenhagen criteria is the best leverage we have for democratisation in turkey though they owe it to themselves too.
the continued failure to reform the constitution the law on political parties and the judiciary as well as the continued involvement of the military in politics all influence the context in which kurdish democratic political representation is repeatedly sabotaged.
who is calling the shots on these arrests?
i also join those who said that it is very important that those democratic openings and reforms go on and are reinforced.
a reason to delay the accession negotiations with turkey.
the european perspective is a driving force for democratic reforms.
the lack of our commitment would send a negative signal to the turkish people.
eu policy should never be driven by fear.
we europeans should support the reforms.
clearly linked to the needs stemming from the political reform agenda in our countries in this case in turkey.
to discuss the democratic transformation more broadly. that is what you have done this evening and i just want to make three points briefly which in my view are the most important next steps.
we have seen tremendous democratic transformation in turkey in the past five years.
it is a very different country today compared to what it was say five years ago.
the first and foremost of them concerns citizens' rights and fundamental freedoms.
the size of the political group and the geographical spread respecting the order in which i was asked for the floor.
i admire the ukrainian nation's love for freedom and the maturity of its european spirit.
i firmly believe that ukraine and the european union have been bound in association unprecedented by its depth breadth and strength not only by the letter but by the spirit of this association agreement which is maybe worth a million times more than a simple stroke
and that ukrainians are committed to defending their choice by peacefully exercising their civil rights their freedom of association and freedom of expression.
the people of ukraine its independence and sovereignty should not become victims of geopolitical zero sum games or secret agreements. we are in permanent contact both with government and opposition as well as civil society
we initialled the common aviation area agreement with ukraine and endorsed the eastern partnership transport network and list of priority projects agreed by transport ministers in october;
vilnius has also proven that differentiation is at the heart of the eastern partnership.
they are meant to dissuade the ukrainian people from taking up new opportunities.
six belarus finally expressed its readiness to take up our offer to begin negotiations on a visa facilitation and readmission agreement.
we stand ready to help and support ukraine on its modernisation journey including through topping up imf loans with macro financial assistance stepping up the european union's financial assistance programmes to help ukraine implement the agreement
thousand and thirteen five we had a very successful eastern partnership business forum meeting and civil society conference in vilnius on the eve of the summit;
however the agreement itself is a bilateral issue between the european union and ukraine.
a panel with experts from government opposition and from the council of europe will hopefully very soon be formed to monitor these investigations.
the european union is called upon by all sides to be helpful in such a situation.
that way has to be based on non violence and on compromises which are conducive to rapid political and economic stabilisation of the country.
participation agreement for eu led crisis management operations with georgia;
for whom they have been negotiated namely the citizens. looking ahead we will intensify our support for broader society business communities local and regional authorities parliaments and most of all civil society which is vital for building
there can be no modernisation without genuine effort political will and adequate investment.
and the warsaw declaration in.
this must include a swift and credible investigation into the police brutality on maidan on the night of twenty nine to thirty november.
the constituencies for reforms.
the speculation we have seen about the alleged cost of ukraine's modernisation is unfounded and unjustified as are the trade restrictions imposed by russia.
two thousand and fifteen let there be no doubt that respect for our common values will remain at the centre of our partnership an independent judiciary tackling corruption and effective and accountable public administration will be essential to ensure agreements serve those
vilnius was the first summit delivering tangible results based on the steady work on political association and economic integration that the european union has been doing with partners since the adoption of the prague declaration in may two thousand and nine
i call upon the authorities to release all those peaceful demonstrators who remain in custody.
ukraine cannot afford more tension and ever deeper division in particular at a time of a looming financial crisis.
the partnership is being tested by the decision of ukraine not to sign the aa dcfta at this stage but the european union has come out stronger because it did not compromise when faced with external pressure.
as president barroso stated in vilnius times of limited sovereignty are over in europe.
president barroso has already discussed the european support that is needed and high representative vice president of the commission cathy ashton has arrived in kiev today.
when signed and helping to bring on board other international partners. we are also willing to use our dialogue with russia to clarify that the agreement with ukraine will not harm russia's economic interests.
to help find a way out of the current political stalemate.
we will be as ambitious as our partners are willing to be and we will deliver to the extent to which our partners are able to deliver on reforms.
once again in our partnership we respect and defend the rights and freedoms of each individual and we must defend the right of every nation to make its own choices.
of the pen.
the massive support for european integration for reform and for modernisation that has been shown by ukrainian citizens over recent weeks suggests that a large part of the population has made up its mind about where ukraine should go
the agreement is also a framework for some of the investments that ukraine will have to make if it is serious about its modernisation pledge. modernisation and investment go hand in hand.
this is a time for us to be stronger and not weaker vis vis the commitment of the reform path in ukraine.
history will judge us not by the promises we made in vilnius but by the promises we keep.
europe remains fully engaged and is committed to facilitating finding solutions to ukraine's acute political crisis based on the firm conviction that moving rapidly towards the signature of the association agreement would constitute a key step for restoring confidence.
our common values are based on the respect for and promotion of human rights freedoms democracy and the rule of law. yet the rights and freedom of all the states participating in the eastern partnership their sovereignty their right to choose their own destiny and their freedom of association
i am very happy that it has been underlined by many of you. on the eve of the vilnius summit having assessed all the reforms implemented by the republic of moldova the european commission has tabled its legislative proposal to introduce visa free travel for this country.
we have the right policy and we have the right instrument and i am committed to working with catherine ashton together with my colleagues even more in order to make the best sense of it to the benefit of the transformation of that part of europe and for the benefit
we are strongly determined to sign the association agreement including the dcftas with georgia and the republic of moldova by autumn two thousand and fourteen before the end of the term of this college.
those who deliver need to be rewarded without any delays.
let me recall that we have started this discussion and negotiations years ago.
respect for our common values and implementation of the association agreement will define the future progressive development of our relationship.
and we should enhance our efforts in helping others to achieve the same.
the vilnius summit proved to be an important reality check in this regard one that was not of the european union's choosing and we have drawn the necessary conclusions.
in being united.
say that we will be ready to use the most appropriate instrument we have for that transformation.
let me make it absolutely clear.
i think the time has come for us to be more strategic and if we are saying that we want to transform that part of europe then we should be ready ultimately also to
keeping in mind the lessons learned in vilnius and preparing for the summit in riga we need to swiftly proceed with the implementation of the eastern partnership agenda.
the light at the end of the tunnel is missing.
the european union remains ready to sign the association agreement including a deep and comprehensive free trade area as soon as ukraine is ready and proves its commitment by deeds.
could we have done more than repeating that we welcome the european aspiration?
let me stress what this agreement is indeed all about.
i call on the council and the european parliament to proceed on this as quickly as possible.
the association agreement is not being offered to the current president or to the current government.
and i firmly believe that the association agreement including dcfta will be the first substantial step towards fulfilling these aspirations.
moldova has become the first success story and an example for the others;
at the same time we will need to reflect on how to proceed with armenia given the current situation. further advancement in the area of mobility is no less important.
i am not a plan b politician and i will always resist the temptation to play someone else's game.
are equally indispensable values in our partnership which we respect and are ready to promote and defend.
visa facilitation and liberalisation with the eastern partners is probably one of the best and most promising investments in the region and i call on ukraine to deliver on outstanding reforms so that it can follow in moldova's
this is the time for being stronger and not weaker in our commitment to the eastern partnership.
this is the only way to be credible in urging all stakeholders in the political process in ukraine to ensure an inclusive and sustainable dialogue.
we are talking about confidence not only towards ukrainian citizens but also towards international investors from around the globe and international financial institutions since association provides a blueprint for future oriented european union related reforms in ukraine.
what we see in kiev and other cities is almost as momentous as what we saw there ten years ago.
it is the undeniable will of the people for a european future.
i wish we saw a similar passion among the peoples of the european union who frequently take the security that membership brings for granted.
we hope she will make clear to the government how much we deplore police brutality against the demonstrators.
we hope she will work with the authorities to help the country find its way forward.
we hope she will consider appointing a mediator to bring together government opposition and civil society. her message to president yanukovych should be clear it takes a great man to be a good listener.
a great man listens to his people and does not silence them.
a great man mediates between the different forces of society to prevent violence.
a great man thinks twice before overriding the will of parliament in the documents that he signs.
but i hope too that we will allow ourselves some self criticism.
mr kwasniewski who has longstanding experience recently suggested that we may have been naive in our dealings with the east and we should reflect on that.
if we want the association agreements to work we must be more constructive more flexible more issue focused.
we must speak more openly about the elephant in the room the russian federation and we should look as i hope the commission and the eeas will at sending a fully fledged mission to kiev to negotiate a way forward to secure that country's european future.
then there has been a decision taken not in a transparent manner but behind the scenes which people are demonstrating and reacting against.
that is what i am asking for.
some people say the summit was a failure. i personally do not think so.
what we have to do now is to look at how we can help moldovans georgians ukrainians and others in a concrete way.
for instance how we can speed up projects connecting the eu with those countries in terms of energy so that there is energy security and these countries are not left to the mercy of their big eastern neighbour.
that won and it was the eu that lost.
instead it was the national governments of germany and france that played their bilateral egoistic games with the russian government as they have done by the way for several centuries.
it is amazing to see how political habits die hard. the russia first' principle may have had its ups and downs but it will survive recent declarations by top german politicians notwithstanding.
extreme reactions cannot contribute to our long term objectives.
in the long term this would prove beneficial for these countries.
this is the right approach but was it enough as a policy? i am afraid not.
we have to find new ways of constructively engaging russia.
this house should give further support to the euronest parliamentary assembly.
i have two questions for you.
mr president ukraine is heading for a major crisis and the eu is in small measure responsible. the primary actors are of course president yanukovych and the dysfunctional elite around him but equally responsible is russia which has never properly accepted that ukraine is not a part of it but independent.
these three forces are of unequal strength and capacity.
instead he moved two steps to the north while still glancing towards brussels.
now this is where the fourth actor ukrainian society entered entirely unexpectedly into the picture taking to the streets in considerable numbers to demand a european future.
this has greatly weakened mr yanukovych and i think the dangers of a crisis serious enough to shake the country cannot be excluded.
to stabilise the situation the eu would have to offer ukraine an eventual prospect of eu membership.
that enlargement and association are a geostrategic exercise;
that values cannot flourish before we win the geostrategic contest;
and that the eastern european states striving to join the eu must not only reform their internal systems but pay the price for decoupling from the old soviet imperial structures.
therefore the philosophy of our eastern policy must be changed.
we deeply regret president yanukovych's withdrawal from signing the agreement with the eu despite the unquestioned will on the eu side to continue with the association process. the european parliament fully supports ukraine's european aspirations.
the democratic opposition has become its voice and its true representative. the ukrainian choice for europe is clear.
the current authorities have lost all credibility by taking violent and unacceptable decisions against this choice.
it is true that the eu is weakened by the crisis but it takes two to tango not one.
the global margin for commitments will be extended in both time and scope whilst the caps of the global margin for payments will also be increased.
i highlighted the word package' because of course you know what it means having unanimity in the council and we had to make every element count. the balance of the deal is delicate and also cannot be picked apart.
i can also say in another way that you helped us to be more ambitious with this review and making it also a proper revision of the eu budget that goes beyond words and also turns into action.
this is the result of the dialogue and cooperation between the european parliament and the council and it is a package of new rules and new amounts which found unanimous support within the council on seven march.
before going into the substance i want to make a point on the process.
they conveyed the messages coming from the european parliament at all stages to feed into the discussion of the council as well.
we saw that many of the concerns expressed by this chamber were shared also by the delegations.
but this flower is also fragile and the season is short.
we will increase the capacities of the flexibility instrument and the emergency aid reserve by a total of almost eur seven hundred million over the next four years and in addition the flexibility instrument will be increased further by unused amounts from the solidarity fund and globalisation adjustment fund.
we all want to move ahead with this deal because we are convinced that it will also allow us to strengthen our tools and better respond to the priorities that have emerged in the last two years.
now we have created room for manoeuvre allowing additional funding to respond to the new priorities we all share migration and security but also growth and youth.
we started last september with heavy groundwork we planted seeds we hoped would grow.
they needed a little time but they are now about to bloom.
it is long overdue for us to restate the fundamental principle that we are better stronger and more effective when we work together. that does not just apply to individual citizens;
this revision recognises these issues.
the great minds of our continent value this collaboration.
it is used to support the lives of citizens across europe.
the budget funds research into rare diseases into cancers into new energy sources our future world will be shaped by this funding.
as our world gets smaller our challenges get larger. it is essential that we work together to find ways to protect and enhance citizens' lives.
my part in this review has been to focus on the horizon two thousand and twenty programme which funds cutting edge scientific research and facilitates the largest research area in the world and to focus on cef the connecting europe facility which develops better digital transport and energy connections for eu citizens
it is developing space technologies graphene and quantum computing.
mr president the frequently unspoken truth about the eu budget is that it is put to very good use.
beyond this the revision focuses on the responsibility we have regarding the refugee crisis. recognising it benefits all of us to support the member states who are doing most to fulfil our international and moral obligations and responsibilities to protect refugees and to police europe's borders.
it applies to regions and it applies to countries and the eu is the embodiment of this.
mr president these reports are a massive obfuscation confusion and sleight of hand manoeuvring which would not be out of place in a logic puzzle book. of course we want to pay off debts as quickly as possible but this is just an accounting ruse to spend more taxpayers' money in the coming years.
and then incredibly in the other report we are finding more ways to move money outside of eu budgetary ceilings so that we can spend even more taxpayers' money next year.
like others i consider it is important that we have a flexible mechanism to ensure over a seven year period when new priorities arise that we can respond to that in a clever way and that is exactly what we are discussing here today and hopefully in the vote tomorrow that will be successful. just two points.
we see significant growth in the euro zone we see three million additional jobs within the euro zone.
my first point is this that the overall budget is of course a tiny percentage of gross overall expenditure within the european union and the most effective way to ensure that we have more money to spend and that we spend it wisely in a reformed way is to ensure that we have growth across the twenty eight member states of the european. that is happening this year.
you are not on the page of reality and this is disturbing because this reality is going to be there for the next few years and if you do not learn to read the reality then you are coming back to this parliament again with an approach which is totally unacceptable because it is unintellectual.