kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the implementation of interim benchmarks for chapters twenty three and twenty four and of the respective action plans should continue to guide the reform process as the rule of law continues to be at the heart of the enlargement process.
we welcome commissioner hahn's offer of help to work on rapid practical solutions to the various trade issues at hand.
i will conclude my intervention by again welcoming the continued progress in serbia's eu accession negotiations and the continued good cooperation with the eu and within the region.
there is an urgent need for calm and deescalation in the interest of the whole region.
we strongly believe that the authorities should guarantee a safe climate conducive to the unhindered exercise of freedom of expression and the independence of the media as a matter of priority.
the normalisation of relations with kosovo continues to be essential for the overall pace of negotiations.
serbia has made important progress since the last country report by the commission in two thousand and sixteen and accession negotiations have advanced at a steady pace as has already been mentioned by the rapporteur.
as you do in your draft resolution we consider that serbia needs to significantly step up its reform efforts in this area and in particular to ensure the independence and overall efficiency of the judicial system.
during our presidency we have continued to pursue the union's engagement with the region aiming to achieve further progress in the accession negotiations.
we continue to call on serbia to progressively align with eu common foreign and security policy in line with the negotiation framework.
we note that serbia has in the meantime revoked again its visa liberalisation regime with iran.
we need to see a genuine commitment to the reform process especially in the rule of law and the fight against corruption.
it wasn't just in my constituency protests happened right across the uk and in italy france germany and spain.
of course when you order a book or headphones or a new laptop online you can't wait for them to arrive but for that to happen safely there needs to be enough well trained well paid staff.
madam president black friday is one of the biggest online shopping days of the year but workers say that they are treated like robots in the rush to get deliveries out to customers.
so my message to amazon is please get around the table with the union representing your workers and remember staff can't be treated as robots.
workers have told the gmb that they don't have enough time for toilet breaks eighty seven are in pain due to their workload and they are fracturing limbs and being taken away in ambulances.
with this instrument the eidhr emergency fund also covers human rights defenders including academics at risk helping them with relocation if necessary.
over the years it has developed according to changing approaches to human rights and democratisation in europe and in the world and to more integrated strategies in trans european human rights education.
guidelines were drafted to ensure a maximum of coherence consistency and visibility of human rights priorities in external relations.
on top of these guidelines we have a number of financial instruments which directly support our human rights agenda which scans for vulnerable groups like journalists human rights defenders and religious minorities.
the most recent statement on turkey on sixteen november two thousand and eighteen condemns the detention of prominent academics and civil society representatives and calls for a rapid resolution based on the principles of presumption of innocence and in line with the european convention on human rights.
the khan report calls for explicitly recognising the importance of academic freedom in public statements policies and actions relating to the eu's external action.
the khan report affirms that ideas are not crimes and that critical discourse is not disloyalty and that academic freedom plays an essential role in educational advancement and the development of humankind in modern society.
human rights and democratic values are at the heart of our external relations and policies and i thank the european parliament for its leading role in upholding these values.
we also address these issues in our human rights dialogues raising attacks on basic freedoms like freedom of thought speech assembly and association in general terms and by enquiring about specific cases.
i therefore look forward to our discussion on how to improve our cooperation on this matter even further.
they provide practical guidance for the work of delegations in this domain.
eu programme covers all types of human rights defenders including academics or people defending academic freedom at least two hundred and nineteen academics.
a number of eidhr projects are implemented by our support universities.
therefore we started close cooperation with the co regions in the transition where we already have seven countries working with us and we will have our first annual assessment already this friday and yes already in katowice just to show that we care we have the solution and we have to offer these people a new brighter cleaner economic future.
we started with our european economy on the importance of social inclusion and the need for more advanced technology to use to power this transformation.
the members of the council of the eu countries are all supporting this strategy.
so of course we need to update it.
it's been good for economies.
we are working with the us and japan to try to see if we can draft new rules in the wto on these and of course there are many other issues as well. we are working together with a large group of wto members on e commerce.
you also point at ways forward and they are very much in line with what we are trying to do in the commission with support from you and member states. it also sends a political signal in this moment that the european union is strongly committed to strengthening and to modernising and to preserving the wto. as you said the multilateral trading system has been good for europe.
we need to address them as well.
that is essential for our economic prosperity and that is why the european council already in june last year asked the commission to take forward comprehensive approaches to modernising the wto in its main functions rulemaking monitoring and dispute settlement as a way out of the crisis.
prospects are uncertain.
the european union is leading the reform efforts here and working with many other countries as well and we are deepening and accelerating the work that i presented to you in september.
we're engaging with major trading partners as well to support our ideas and to push this forward.
we are engaged in the fisheries subsidies. that is one key in this of course but we are also working on identifying how the wto could contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals.
we believe that the proposal that we put on the table this week together with eleven other countries is a credible basis to engage with the wto and show a way forward that would lead to a strengthened and modernised appellate body. we have also tabled together with the us japan and a handful of other countries a proposal on transparency and notification which is important for trust and the functioning of the wto internal procedures.
it has been good for the world.
finally i agree with you that more should be done to contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals as we set out in the september paper.
it has helped economies to grow lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty and promoting stability and peace.
there were more than eighty countries engaging in this in geneva as a result of the joint statement made in buenos aires almost a year ago many of you were there and that has translated to very active engagement and that is really good news. of course there are the outstanding doha issues the development issues which are not to be forgotten.
that would be bad for us in europe and it would be really bad for the most vulnerable countries in the world.
this was also echoed in the g twenty meeting for instance so this is something that the whole world is aligned on.
i am committed and so are we all to continuing to make every effort to engage with the wto membership.
today we are debating the european parliament's last annual report on serbia in this legislative term.
firstly the rule of law.
we as the european union are by far the most important donor in the western balkans.
the government in belgrade is implementing an impressive agenda of economic and structural reforms.
secondly the economy.
judicial independence has to be assured in practice.
on another note i agree with the european commission and the council on guaranteeing unhindered exercise of the freedom of expression and media.
the format where these concerns should be addressed is the brussels dialogue.
i would like to underline this by looking back at the beginning of this legislature in two thousand and fourteen when the accession negotiations had just started and concerning the opening of chapters serbia literally started from zero. today four and a half years later fourteen chapters have been opened
in good faith and in a timely manner. serbia and kosovo have expressed on many occasions concerns about their relations.
i sincerely hope that at least three more chapters will be opened at the intergovernmental conference in december.
we all know serbia's eu accession process is closely linked to the normalisation of relations with kosovo. agreements need to be concluded and afterwards implemented. that said both sides belgrade and pritina should continue to move forward with the full implementation of the alreadyreached agreements
it shows that there is an urgent need for the european union to communicate effectively about the extent of our engagement.
in the negotiation process while two have already been provisionally closed.
this has already yielded results in terms of growth prospects and reduction of domestic and external imbalances.
corruption and organised crime still remain an obstacle not only to serbia's but to all western balkan countries' democratic social and economic development.
the criteria for membership are intended to help serbia to stand on its own feet and become fit for the european union the common market and for the global economy in general.
i would like to use this opportunity to recall that serbia's progress on the rule of law chapters twenty three and twenty four remains essential for the overall pace of the negotiating process.
a final remark effective communication is key.
we are engaged in several thousand projects to support reform efforts and assist in preparations for eu membership.
i'm outraged not only at the hungarian government but also at the twenty seven member states that have still not found the courage to correct their fellow member.
i stand with the central european university and all prime ministers should do so too.
madam president in the report on hungary that this parliament voted in september we addressed the issue of the central european university and its insecure situation in budapest.
this is such a bad example for the rest of the world.
i have to conclude that the hungarian government is on purpose trying to ruin a highly regarded university and it sends a message to its people that it looks down on academic debate.
albania has made efforts to put in place effective measures to counter the high flow of manifestly unfounded asylum applications lodged to albanian citizens.
we welcome albania's constructive engagement in regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations which remain an essential element of the enlargement process.
madam president honourable members dear commissioner dear rapporteur let me begin by recalling the council conclusions of june two thousand and eighteen in which the council decided to respond positively to the progress made by albania and set out the path towards opening accession negotiations in june.
however it is important that the government delivers tangible and sustainable results including against the cultivation and trafficking of drugs.
these are positive signals which show that albania is on the right path and we strongly encourage it to continue its efforts.
the re evaluation process for judges and prosecutors the so called vetting has started to deliver under the oversight of the international monitoring operation.
i equally want to commend albania for its full alignment with the eu's common foreign and security policy. today in our discussion we are focusing on albanias progress in two thousand and seventeen on which we have a very similar opinion.
we welcome its participation in international police operations and joint investigations in particular with eu member states and urge it to be even more proactive in international police cooperation.
we emphasise the need for legislative and policy measures to reinforce the protection of human rights and anti discrimination policies including the equal treatment of all minorities and access to rights for persons belonging to them throughout the country.
in particular the conclusion of the treaty on friendship good neighbourliness and cooperation with bulgaria and the signature of the agreement on the name issue with greece have demonstrated the government's determination to resolve all outstanding bilateral issues and build good neighbourly relations with all countries in the region.
together these have contributed to an improved regional context.
the eu will continue to follow these efforts very closely.
the institutions in charge of preventing and fighting corruption must have the necessary autonomy and the financial and human resources.
we encourage the government to continue to deepen the current reform momentum including through plan.
the former yugoslav republic of macedonia has achieved progress on the eu reform agenda and continues its efforts.
moreover we welcome the holding of the jean monnet dialogue initiated by the european parliament aimed at improving the atmosphere and culture of compromise among the members of the assembly as well as the work of the assembly.
therefore a constructive dialogue between all actors is required.
moreover we share your calls for the former yugoslav republic of macedonia to intensify efforts to properly implement the judicial reform strategy and to make further efforts to address the outstanding recommendations.
we also welcome the first concrete progress towards the restoration of the independence of the judiciary the improvement of the work of the courts and a follow up to the work of the special prosecutor's office which has started to reverse the backsliding of previous years.
it has reached out to all stakeholders including the opposition to strengthen democracy and the rule of law and to show a genuine desire to reform in an inclusive and transparent manner.
the country has overcome its deep political crises including through the continued implementation of the prespa agreement and has made substantial progress on the urgent reform priorities.
we welcome the changes in the tenor of atmosphere in the country.
this is extremely important for the country's further progress. let me emphasise that even in the difficult political context the government has taken significant steps to gradually restore a culture of compromise.
let me here recall the need to find a suitable sustainable solution for the continuation of the work of the special prosecutor's office.
two thousand and nineteen we welcome the european commission's necessary preparatory work.
sustained efforts are needed to ensure implementation of all commitments and to ensure that the judiciary can function independently.
the implementation of the name agreement is one major step in this regard.
we urge all parliamentary parties to put their divisions aside and work jointly on the common strategic goal of eu integration for the benefit of all citizens.
eighteen we welcome the intention to continue working with the opposition parties civil society and other stakeholders.
we encourage it to deepen the reform momentum further in particular showing real results in key rule of law areas such as the fight against corruption and organised crime where it needs to further deliver.
we take note of the adoption of the public administration reform strategy and the public financial management reform programme and look forward to their implementation.
the government must also implement other reforms such as the reform of the intelligence and security services and of the public administration.
we join you in applauding the country for reaching out to its neighbours in the spirit of good neighbourly relations.
let me finally welcome the continued active participation and the constructive approach of the former yugoslav republic of macedonia in different regional initiatives.
we need to develop the internal function.
we would have total anarchy and those who would suffer the most i have to repeat that would be the poorest countries. it has been good for them to have these rules this predictability to be helped to be inside the global system with the multilateral rules and that's what we need to preserve strengthen and develop.
when the wto was created the world looked very different to the one we have today so it needs to be updated.
we need to address new issues.
we have proposed here with several other countries joining up a way to come out of that deadlock and i hope this will be discussed in the coming weeks.
and here as i said we are working with the us and japan but also with other countries.
furthermore we are discussing how women can be included in a more systematic way in trade and we need to discuss i fully agree with you how the wto can play a greater role in living up to the sustainable development goals. we need to find ways there where we can work with all the other members and we need of course
that is key for the wto to function and to have its trust. we need to make sure that the rules that we have agreed upon in the wto are enforced.
to make sure that we have modern rules that the rule book is updated.
it is the appellate body it has served us well in the european union it has served many other countries well as well and that's what the most urgent need is.
so we are trying to put forward proposals.
we will continue to do so. we will continue to ally with countries across the globe to work on this but we do need your strong support here and therefore i really appreciate the reports that we have been discussing i thank again the two rapporteurs and also for the opinion of the committee on development i think that is very useful.
as i said we are talking about e commerce and digital trade with many other countries. that is a good thing.
we do need to address the so called old issues the old doha issues absolutely we need to do so and we are engaging with other countries to try to see if there's a way we can break the deadlock here.
here the eu has been in the lead together with a couple of other countries to try to emphasise the need for continued transparency and notification.
in the european decision making process is obviously working very well in denmark. congratulations on this because i think that the most important thing for the future of europe is the bridge between the european decision making process and the people of europe.
people want to have a say.
that would be much more efficient and would also bring the same effect.
we have to come to the majority decisionmaking process in this field to be stronger and more active.
two we have a lot of these points on the table.
the epp. we have to create prosperity and that's why free and fair trade agreements are the future of this continent. we have to do so. you have the full support
people must know that their voice counts at a european level.
economic growth and creating employment is a main concern of its people.
however as you are aware the decision on the commission proposal is currently under consideration in the council.
we encourage kosovo to continue sustained efforts to strengthen good neighbourly relations and to resolve outstanding bilateral issues.
let me recall here the commission proposal in may two thousand and sixteen to transfer kosovo to the schengen visa free list and the commission's report on the fulfilment of the remaining benchmarks in july.
it is therefore essential for kosovo to continue working on the implementation of the agreement.
we share your view that the assembly is the key forum for legislative work and political dialogue. a strong political will is required from all political actors to move kosovo forward.
we both agree that this is key for their respective european paths and essential for sustainable regional stability.
the council will continue to monitor closely kosovo's engagement towards visible and sustainable progress here so that serbia and kosovo can continue on their respective european paths.
this agreement offers kosovo an opportunity for sustainable progress and rapprochement with the european union.
turning to the eu facilitated dialogue between belgrade and pristina we welcome the commitment of both sides to work with the high representative on a comprehensive normalisation of relations including in the form of a legally binding agreement.
here we concur with your view that kosovo should pay particular attention to improving the rule of law including traditional independence and due process of law.
two thousand and eighteen we note that the parliament has adopted its mandate and is ready to start negotiating with the council on the proposal to waive visa requirements for kosovo.
two thousand and seventeen however also more generally i would like to stress that the eu will continue to support kosovo by putting particular emphasis on furthering kosovo's socio economic reform agenda including through financial and technical assistance.
let me finally welcome the agreement reached on the extension of the eulex mission and underline the importance of continued close and effective cooperation with eulex.
in this context actions undermining regional cooperation are not helpful.
there is an urgent need for calm and de escalation in the interests of the whole region and again we welcome commissioner hahn's offer of help to work on rapid and practical solutions for the various trade issues at hand. let me add a few comments on the visa liberalisation process which as we know is high on the political agenda in kosovo.
its mandate is based on the proposal made by the two civic opposition parties in june.
we start seeing initial results with concrete cases in some areas including the fight against corruption and organised crime and investigations into money laundering.
i regret and i fail to understand that these two opposition parties have decided not to participate in the work of this committee.
in october a temporary parliamentary committee for the reform of electoral and other legislation was formed.
let me also welcome again montenegro's complete alignment with the union's common foreign and security policy positions.
we see growing insecurity in member states and a debate which has become so critical that in parliament we should use this last occasion before marrakesh to stress the importance of global cooperation to tackle global challenges.
it is not just about greening the economy.
this is one of the real tinas' there is no alternative to taking this decision. but let me also be very clear.
we should not say that.
we should not say these are climate sceptics.
we need to make sure that moving in that direction and we really need to do that is done in such a way that takes everybody on board.
we need to change the european semester take ecological and social indicators into account and change the way we govern the european union.
it is about making a just transition to do so.
madam president i want to speak about a group of citizens tonight who have been badly let down by their member state government.
i don't believe and neither do they that they should lose their freedom of movement rights and be effectively discriminated against because eu citizens in the uk will retain those rights.