kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
but we must convince the people of europe that it is necessary and the way we will do that is by ensuring that it is legitimate.
we already have a richer tapestry of ideas in our amendments to the economic governance package so we will have little difficulty in moving into codecision to merge the outcomes of the positions that we take in parliament and council.
i commend the president of the ecb because he has paid heed to the discussions and reports in the parliament and recognises our direction and determination.
to the german people convulsed with the transfer union' issue i say look at what accompanies the demands of your own government recapitalisation of banks and purchase of sovereign debt in a secondary market'.
germany's banks will not meet new international rules for bank capital so transfer to german banks should also be the issue on your lips.
germany's banks will take ten years to recognise their impaired assets from the crisis and that includes sovereign debt.
madam president every week the press is filled with news of a new or modified proposal from a country the european council and the president of the commission.
it is about the external competitiveness that a large single market can generate so it is intimately mixed with the recovery side of economic governance. we also need a permanent financial stability mechanism capable of evolving over time subject to governance and priorities.
but we should not cherry pick from the single market nor continue to get it wrong.
what is the treaty basis for this exclusion?
the single market includes twenty seven member states as does the challenge of competitiveness.
why not apply treaty based enhanced cooperation within the treaties with a central role for the european commission?
it was ironic because his next sentence was and that is why in europe facing the euro crisis we must reinforce the community method'.
he may vote for it but the peoples of europe have not voted for it.
i know the european parliament voted for you but you were the only candidate that was offered to us.
we cannot go on as a european union buying our own debt.
if we do the next debt crisis will not be in a country but will be a debt crisis of the european central bank itself.
nobody has voted for that.
he talked about the events in egypt and elsewhere saying that it is wonderful that people are rising up seeking democracy.
i would remind him that democracy is a method whereby you vote for people who govern you and then if you do not like what they do you can get rid of them turf them out and put somebody else in.
nobody has been asked whether they want it.
for the public watching in on this which increasingly they do the community method means that laws are proposed in secret by unelected bureaucrats people like you mr barroso.
could i ask him what is the basis of the united kingdom?
is this not a union of nations?
the twelve and half per cent corporate rate is critical to supporting our economic recovery retaining our jobs and employment growth.
as a result of establishing a low corporate tax rate eight of the world's top technology firms are based in my country.
any move towards converging or harmonising the rate of company tax in the european union would substantially damage ireland's ability to attract foreign direct investment and hence our ability to grow to economic recovery. it is important to remember that ireland like indeed other smaller countries
madam president in a crisis one sometimes has to act quickly and it is clear that the eurozone is not out of its crisis but one also has to act intelligently. the uk restored market confidence by reforms to control spending and reduce national debt.
parliament's procedures do not allow it to make rapid decisions but there are suggestions tabled by meps that perhaps the european council could find helpful.
on the irish interest rate those of us who have lent another country money deserve an interest rate which reflects the risk but we also want our money back.
i have suggested a pre payment incentive a bonus to reward early repayment.
under the economic governance package member states will have to be more transparent with their own budgets.
i would suggest the same thing should happen for taxpayers contributing to the eu's budget.
i hope that despite this crisis our national governments will be able to listen to suggestions from this house and work together in a constructive manner.
we are now calling on the incoming irish presidency to deal with this issue in a pragmatic and realistic manner.
parliament is experiencing with the council on the issue of long term management plans.
so no progress has been made.
these plans are vitally important in terms of protecting fishing resources and ensuring the livelihoods of communities depending on fishing.
it is a senseless interpretation.
i want to stress that the commission must take this audit and the recommendations of my report into account when preparing the next programming period.
thank you very much for your support for the report.
the dispute with the council must be resolved.
now should turkey obtain freedom of movement what is your careful estimate of the number of turkish citizens who will emigrate from turkey to northern europe in particular to germany and the uk?
there is no shortcut which would ignore this value based accession process where conditionality is our main instrument. what i have always expected from this house is that
many of you have referred to
way to become a european union member state to deliver fully on all chapters of the accession process. there is no derogation from the fundamental freedoms rule of law accountability
there are no interim periods.
i hope that the greek presidency of the council could be more helpful in this particular area.
it is very much in our interest to do all we can to ensure that turkey continues as a stable increasingly prosperous free market secular democracy firmly oriented to the west and a strong nato ally.
how much easier for our own citizens to accept turkey if the free movement issue is properly addressed including with a long transition period.
in particular we want to get away from the obsession with political integration.
they are concerned about free movement as an unqualified right and in these dangerous and unstable times they prefer the guarantee of nato rather than the theatricals of eu defence policy.
can i say first of all that many of us want to see major changes in the nature of the european union itself.
instead our citizens want to focus on economic growth and improved international competitiveness.
it is in this context that we should view our relationship with turkey.
on this basis let us send positive signals to turkey open the energy chapter give fresh vitality to negotiations provide increased humanitarian assistance to the refugees in turkey's border areas and encourage the talks on the reunification of cyprus recognising that this is a genuinely two sided issue which would be helped by substantive confidence building measures from both greeks and turks.
more than fifty public sector workers were arrested last month simply for their membership of the kesk public sector trade union. with the international trade union confederation i condemn the misuse of anti terrorist laws in this matter.
i join others in sharing my deep concern about proposals to block access to youtube and facebook which represent a serious threat to freedom of expression in the country.
this is what turkey itself asked for so let us take their word for it and let us engage in a constructive dialogue to deliver results on these crucial issues.
unfortunately as i said there have also been reasons for serious concern.
this is the only way for the european union to remain an anchor of reforms in turkey and to support all those in that country who call for more freedom and democracy.
goes into the right direction. we need for instance to work more closely together before legislation is envisaged and drafted.
on the positive side we have opened the accession negotiations on the regional policy chapter the first chapter opened in more than three years. we have signed the readmission agreement and launched the visa liberalisation dialogue.
such a special country for the european union.
over the past year there have been positive developments but also reasons for serious concern.
the accession process is certainly the central one but others are growing in significance notably our dialogue and cooperation on foreign policy our trade relations our cooperation on mobility and migration and our dialogue on energy issues these are other aspects that make turkey
we have also launched the evaluation of the customs union to assess its strengths and weaknesses in order to benefit more from our longstanding trade relations.
these relate first and foremost to the government's response to the recent corruption allegations in particular the adoption of legislation which affects the functioning of the judiciary and freedom of expression.
we will report extensively on these developments also in our forthcoming progress report in october. i intend to continue and even deepen a resolute patient and frank engagement with turkey on the rule of law and fundamental freedoms. but in addition we need to change the way we cooperate in order to ensure that development in the different policy areas
the commission will approach our turkish counterparts on this basis in the coming weeks to ensure that we have a common understanding on the principles of our cooperation.
in the meantime i will continue to urge the council to formulate at last a roadmap or if you would prefer opening benchmarks for chapter twenty three of the accession negotiations.
turkey should be regarded as too big too poor too different and too authoritarian ever to become a member of the european union.
there is like in cuba a bill to curb internet freedom.
they are clearly not paying any attention to the commissioner at all.
worst of all currently there are forty journalists in prison in turkey.
the commissioner in his arrogant self absorption said that he had spoken to the turks about this.
the justice minister has powers to appoint and discipline judges and prosecutors.
in turkey there is a subjugation of the media the judiciary and civil society that is almost without precedent in a seeming democracy. to put it simply turkey does not subscribe to western values.
it is totally depressing that the establishment uk political parties are all cheerleaders for turkey to join the eu.
we welcome of course the release of journalists and others who have been detained for years but those who are suspected of murdering members of the council of state and christian missionaries are also being released. this is just one example. friends and foes keep changing.
it is unclear what to believe any more. the truth seems to shift according to which newspaper one reads.
the people of turkey to a great extent are losing their belief in the rule of law and democracy which are the core values of the eu.
but instead of being strong and clear on human rights we have been starting to export our own human rights problems into turkey as we are doing now with the readmission agreement. we all know that the rights of migrants will not be respected in turkey therefore we should not have a readmission agreement whereas we agreed that visa liberalisation is a very important tool.
yes there have been important democratic reforms in the past year but they have been overshadowed by declarations on internet freedom and by the violence against protestors in gezi park.
i too want to remind us of fifteen year old berkin elvan who died because of injuries caused by tear gas bullets.
i am also concerned by attacks on offices of the people's democratic party halklarn demokratik partisi and i hope that this will not prevent the coming elections from being peaceful and free from attacks.
furthermore any progress is overshadowed by the current corruption scandal and developments that i can only interpret as a threat to the independence of the justice system.
but once again the role of the eu could be much stronger if we were to have a clear commitment to a positive outcome on prospects for membership. we would have much stronger leverage if we were to be clear that yes we will accept turkey in our midst if turkey fulfils the copenhagen criteria.
this is the only thing that counts and member states should finally be clear about this.
mr fle speaks of serious concerns but i have to say with great regret that i think these concerns are now so serious that turkey has ceased to fulfil sufficiently the copenhagen
i think you are absolutely right.
i think this is exactly the sort of formulation that people in our country would like to see.
i do not like the concept of a two speed europe because faster sounds better than slower.
what i would prefer is a multi centric europe with overlapping circles of engagement a more europe if you like still with the united kingdom remaining at the centre at the core of the european union but not engaging in many of these areas where you want increased integration.
on that basis it would be so much easier for turkey to become a member.
these pledges must be translated immediately into the concrete action that the people of yemen need and deserve.
the humanitarian situation.
and to avoid a breeding ground for more violent extremism.
last year this house called for an arms embargo to saudi arabia because of its role in yemen. it is a very important signal that we must repeat and at least the call of last year is still very valid if we look at the incredible and unnecessary suffering of millions and millions of people.
i think the eu must do more develop a shared position and step up its efforts to end this disgusting war and the humanitarian suffering in yemen.
of course the iranian side must also stop fighting a proxy war in yemen.
it is high time and this is a real appeal to the european external action service and the member states that the eu develops a common position vis vis yemen and at least that member states stop exporting weapons to saudi arabia which together with the coalition continues to indiscriminately bomb civilians and block the ports of hodeidah which in turn exacerbates
the violence that has broken out has devastating consequences and will not likely lead to a clear outcome. instead everything must be done to find a negotiated solution not only in the interest of the yemeni people but also to avoid a spillover into an already fragile and explosive region
given that approximately seventy five of yemen's food supplies enter the country via this port the devastating consequences of its destruction cannot be underestimated.
the growing footprint of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula in parts of yemen is also of grave concern as are reports that suggest that the saudi coalition has coordinated its attacks against the houthis alongside aqap.
this is particularly worrying given the new us administration's continued hints that it may seek to play a more decisive role in supporting the saudi led coalition.
two million people have been displaced and over half of the country's population lacks access to safe drinking water or sufficient food supplies.
the campaign continues to be marked by the disproportionate level of civilian casualties and very poor targeting of saudi ordinance in their air campaign.
eight hundred with humanitarian assistance already struggling to reach those in need there is continued concern that the houthiheld port of hodeidah may be the target of an attack on the saudi led coalition.
the inability to act decisively brings instability to the rest of the world.
one ray of hope is the rise of the southern movement.
it is possible that we can encourage peace and stability in the south by working with them towards a federal solution even as i've been saying for the past three years if it threatens the integrity of the yemeni state which in my opinion is already a busted flush. we must listen to the south yemenis' peaceful call for a say in their future.
the country is slipping into famine and this can only get worse as the conflict continues.
in addition i have and we have the uncomfortable feeling that the international community and public opinion are turning their eyes from that dramatic conflict attracted by other major global events.
why it is important today to underline this fact?
because this conflict can be ended with goodwill and with the support of other major regional and global actors including the european union and it's right to mention that iran and saudi arabia both being more or less our partners should pay attention and should assume their regional responsibilities because the responsibility there is bearing on their shoulders.
yet seriously these large prison populations could swing marginal votes especially at the local level.
what about the rights of victims?
but are human rights not meant to protect decent law abiding citizens not terrorists hijackers murderers and law breakers?
possibly the liberal democrats because they support this nonsense!
is it justice to seek his approval? is it right to knock on the cell door of rose west a serial killer securing her support? and what of abu qatada bin laden's right hand man in europe?
who will he be voting for?
but it seems that a worthy agenda of human rights has now been hijacked by greedy lawyers and political opportunists.
now its committee of ministers has ruled that britain must overturn its ban on allowing prisoners to vote because it violates the human rights of prisoners.
what about human responsibilities rather than just rights?
so there should be no equivalence of rights between decent law abiding citizens and those of murderers and criminals. they forfeited their right to participate in the political process when they took other people's lives other people's rights and other people's property.
do you agree with me that.
he is now on bail but six more british citizens that i know of face extradition and almost inevitable incarceration there.
we will make most progress if we approach the human rights agenda in a focused and realistic way. we need to target our efforts tackling each case based on a detailed understanding of the country at hand.
on human rights as in other areas we have to pull together.
in this respect let me refer to the oral question on trade in goods used for torture. the eu takes its commitment to the fight against torture very seriously.
let me address some specific aspects by making clear that i will continue to meet civil society actors and human rights defenders both in brussels and abroad as i have done in gaza in china and most recently in brussels.
we need to review the work we do regularly and to make sure that we get the best use of all available instruments from human rights dialogues to eu guidelines from the european instrument for democracy and human rights to our bilateral assistance and our actions in multilateral
so it is logical that we have developed a strong set of mechanisms for promoting these values in different contexts as the report on human rights and democracy in the world sets out.
these will run like a silver thread through everything that we do externally. the external action service once in place will give us the chance to realise our potential and strengthen our ability to speak with one voice.
a good example of being smart and well organised has been our work on promoting the ratification of the rome statute in the run up to the kampala conference this year.
upon my return to brussels i was pleased to receive a letter confirming that the government has now launched this process.
therefore as the world changes we also need to make sure that we ask ourselves what we could do better. while human rights are universal a one size fits all' approach does not work.
as this house knows the promise of the lisbon treaty is a more coherent more consistent and hence more effective eu foreign policy.
i want to assure this house that work on abolishing the death penalty is a personal priority for
too. in the european union we have many tools to help make the world a better place.
previous resolutions of this house have called for more information to better assess the effectiveness of our policies.
that is what i want to do maximising the potential of the new lisbon set up and continuing to count on your vital support.
we must judge our efforts by outcomes even if our contributions to improving human rights situations are an investment over the long term.
i share your concern.
in that spirit we have invited amnesty international and the omega research foundation to present their findings to a meeting later this month of the regulatory committee with our member states.
our own history of entrenching human rights democracy and the rule of law across twenty seven member states is a success story and acts as a source of inspiration to others.
the work of the human rights subcommittee and its chair mrs hautala on human rights defenders is an extremely good example of this and i very much welcome the report and its findings and pay tribute to those who have worked so hard on it.
me. i will see to it that work advances both bilaterally and in multilateral fora beginning with the united nations in september.
looking ahead i want to see what more we can do to support the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.
we need to mobilise and connect them better.
this is also a chance for our work on human rights democracy and the rule of law.
we have worked with specific countries offering eu support at delegation and headquarters levels working with member states and the eu presidency. to name just one success story when i visited the seychelles last month i discussed a range of issues on which they and the eu could strengthen our cooperation with piracy as a top priority.
i also raised the icc and encouraged the president mr michel to submit the ratification bill to parliament.
that does not mean we should change the message on the importance of human rights but there is room to be smarter in how we deliver it.
we need the continued commitment of member states of this house and of the other eu institutions.
on many occasions the house has stated its commitment to this subject.
with its integrated structure the new service should help to ensure that human rights issues are reflected in all areas of our external action including csdp development and trade.
i expect colleagues in delegations and here in brussels to do the same.
fora. revisiting our overall eu human rights strategy could be a useful exercise and i intend to launch a consultation process to inform the development of a new human rights strategy this
to give just one example over the last eighteen months we have provided eur two hundred and thirty five million in funding for nine hundred ngo projects in one hundred countries. this work is extremely important and it must continue. but we are not the only actor and ours is not the only economic and political success story.
we must pay tribute to the defenders of human rights wherever they may be in iran in gaza in cyprus or thanks to the convention in the english countryside.
thanks to the convention we now have to fight for those rights in the fields and lanes of rural england.
they are prepared to lie down in the road at great personal risk in order to stop convoys of lorries from delivering concrete and asphalt. these are hardworking law abiding citizens who only want to protect their own rights and those of their families.
this may seem trivial when compared to the plight of so many people in the world but the point i am trying to make is that human rights are in danger everywhere;
with the protection of the convention travellers enjoy special privileges in health care and education services built up at great expenses by successive generations.
i also believe very much that in order to have a say on human rights in the world we need to be able to look at problems within the eu.
the example of the torture tools shows that we are far from being perfect. we are not living up to expectations and our own commitments.
we have to use them wisely to promote human rights.