kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
we also extended the threshold so that suppliers with a turnover of up to eur three hundred and fifty million will be protected.
at parliament's insistence the directive now includes all agricultural produce not just food.
i am also glad that the directive covers suppliers who are outside the eu so not only will farmers in kenya and peru be protected but in a post brexit world uk farmers and growers will continue to be protected while selling into the eu. this is good news for farmers and consumers across the eu and beyond and i am delighted to support it.
for far too long large retailers across the eu have been able to abuse their powerful position.
so that means that cut flowers which are just as perishable as fruit and veg are covered.
that means all eu farmers are covered and all producer organisations in the uk are covered too.
i would like to thank our rapporteur paolo de castro and my fellow shadows and commissioner hogan for all the work they have put into this directive to deliver fairer treatment for our farmers.
various staff of yours have assured me that this won't happen but over the last thirty years the commission has had a horrible way of always putting its legislation ahead of the british legislation.
you might also be wondering with eighteen days to go to brexit why a british mep is actually bothering to talk here but i honestly think that this flag will be in this parliament in a year's time.
i'm quite happy with the sentiment of it but what worries me is that we have in britain somebody called the groceries code adjudicator.
her name is christine tacon and she is doing the work that you are talking about.
i really do believe that and so for that reason i want to say something about this report.
it's worth recalling as mr de castro has done that only eight months passed between the adoption of the commission's proposal in april and the conclusion of the political agreement in december so it demonstrates very clearly that if there is the political will a lot can happen in almost all respects in this house. it will now be up to the member states to transpose the directive and i want to assure you that the commission will follow this process carefully and closely and i trust that this house will do so as well.
the agreement that we reached in december will apply to anyone involved in the food supply chain with a turnover of eur three hundred and fifty million with differentiated levels of protection provided below that threshold.
as you are aware the commission is working too on a proposal to extend our transparency initiative to cover the processing and retail sector end of the food supply chain and i expect to be in a position very shortly to announce more details of this initiative.
for the first time rules will be introduced at a european level that target unfair trading practices and provide protection for all eu farmers as well as most agri food businesses against practices that are contrary to good faith and fair dealing. the directive will introduce a minimum eu level of protection against unfair trading practices that occur in the food supply chain.
without that influence i have no doubt in saying today might never have happened. i am pleased therefore that the commission and of course a very good commissioner for agriculture could finally and for the first time response positively with a legislative proposal to ban certain unfair trading practices.
for the first time there will be a ban on sixteen unfair trading practices which are imposed unilaterally by one trading partner on another.
the final agreement is one that safeguards our initial objectives and our rationale behind the legislation which is to protect the weak from possible abuses of buyer power by the strong.
many members of this house have been consistent and vocal in calling for greater protection for the position of farmers in the agri food supply chain and rightly so.
nobody in the food chain has anything to fear from this legislation if they are behaving fairly.
it is important to see this directive as part of a wider initiative to strengthen the position of farmers in the food supply chain.
what this debate and the vote represent is an acknowledgment that for far too long the farmer and other smaller operators in our food supply chain have been disadvantaged by their relative weakness;
other practices will be permitted only if they are subject to a clear and unambiguous upfront agreement between the parties involved.
in december two thousand and eighteen the eu adopted an action plan against disinformation responding to the european council's call for a coordinated response to challenges particularly with a view to the forthcoming european elections.
we will explore further ways to continue to convey the message that the european union supports the russian people.
and human rights defenders face a difficult situation.
high representative mogherini has personally taken every opportunity to raise the eu's concerns in her meetings with russian foreign minister lavrov including the need for progress on the implementation of the minsk agreements the illegal annexation of crimea and the security situation in both the sea of azov and eastern ukraine.
we have also raised with foreign minister lavrov international issues such as syria. we have stressed the need to preserve the ceasefire in idlib and prevent another humanitarian emergency.
we are close to russia and its people.
in order to strengthen contacts with the russian people the eu continues to maintain an intense level of support. russian citizens continue to be the largest group of recipients of schengen visas and russian students are the largest group of beneficiaries of erasmus exchanges.
in the two thousand and sixteen uk referendum people often did not fully understand what they were voting for believing themselves to be powerless to shape a better future.
i particularly welcome the possibility for sixteen yearolds to participate and for improved access for people with disabilities.
vitally important that all citizens are involved in quality democratic processes such as the eci but that also requires citizenship education and an understanding of european values and eu institutions and how each and every one of us can play a role in shaping the future.
at a recent all together in dignity fourth world event it was highlighted how poverty acts as a barrier to full citizenship.
i believe however that we must do more.
the need for better democracy is clear.
initiatives such as the eci must be made more accessible to everyone.
being able to volunteer in solidarity actions from a young age with proper support offers many benefits.
as an mep for the uk i'm sad that my young constituents may not have access to this fantastic programme because of brexit.
i'm a supporter of the initiative and i'm very pleased with the report as voted in the committee on culture and education.
madam president at its core the european solidarity corps stands for the values that the eu was built upon. it is therefore a peace making solidarity project which invests in the potential of young citizens.
at a time when so many young people feel disenfranchised from politics the european solidarity corps has the potential to further involve our youth in their communities and strengthen their role as active citizens.
i advocated for an enhanced budget in order to make the programme available to all young european citizens especially those with fewer opportunities.
the eu solidarity corps will provide opportunities for seventeen thirty year olds to take an active role in helping communities in crisis whilst developing vocational skills and personal attributes such as self confidence and empathy.
we must not forget that the european solidarity corps was designed as a programme for young people.
therefore in principle the programme should remain open to people up to the age of.
it is necessary in order to meet the objective of activities for over three hundred and fifty zero participants over the course of seven years.
however with the help of stakeholders we were able to identify areas which could be further improved.
in the solidarity field and encourage them to become participating organisations.
activities must be high quality and meet the expectations and needs of young people.
i am convinced that together we have set a very good basis for the negotiations with the council.
we must not however sacrifice quality for quantity.
we should give them more space to engage in the implementation of the programme.
in order to be successful the european solidarity corps needs greater visibility.
the messages that i have heard today are clear we must work with our vietnamese partners to set out an ambitious course for this agreement to be implemented effectively.
this includes our future euvietnam trade and investment agreements and the eu vietnam partnership and cooperation agreements.
i advocate a clear message to russia regarding the sanctions more for more less for less'.
we need to reassess the basis of our relations with russia as it can no longer be considered a strategic partner.
as a result a significant part of the report addresses the resilience of the union and its ability to deter hybrid threats.
the outdated eu russia partnership and cooperation agreement should be reconsidered and any future framework for the eu russia relationship should be based on the full observance of international law and osce principles.
it was not an easy task to produce a report on relations in a situation in which the european union and its associated partners are being attacked by russian state sponsored actors that creatively use a wide range of hybrid warfare techniques.
we should stand firm on sanctions which should be prolonged for as long as russian violations of international law continue.
the report's list of recommendations for interaction with russia is rather limited but some of them should be mentioned continued support for people to people contacts in general particularly involving civil society activists and with a focus on young people and a clear code of conduct concerning airspace
there can only be political solutions to the conflict in eastern ukraine and we have to encourage confidence building measures in the donbas region across the line of contact. the eu has to advance the idea of a un led peace operation in this region of eastern ukraine.
as we witness serious deterioration in the human rights situation in russia the council has to move on with adopting a european magnitsky act establishing an individual sanctions regime for human rights violations.
we are also building the capacity of parties in conflict to move towards peace in the central african republic.
mr president i would like to warmly welcome the report on building eu capacity on conflict prevention and mediation.
at the same time we work very closely with our regional partners such as the united nations the african union the osce and others by supporting their mediation work.
furthermore a high level interinstitutional and mediation taskforce which should provide guidance for high profile mediation assignments risk assessments and enhanced cooperation is being launched.
let me commend rapporteur post and all of you for this important report which covers the pertinent issues very well.
we also regularly convene meetings with the member states and invite the european parliament to share our insights and enhance our collective work by creating a common approach on mediation.
in response to the impact of conflicts on our societies we need to redouble our conflict prevention efforts and to enhance mediation as a first response to tensions.
conflict prevention and mediation is an important priority for the european external action service the. ongoing work has for example entailed active participation by the eu in the international mediation efforts accompanying the ongoing peace process in mali.
as part of planning to enhance eeas mediation capacities an internal pool of mediators which can be deployed on behalf of the eu is being set up.
as conflicts around the world increase both in number and complexity we need more than ever to cooperate and complement each other.
i count on your support to ensure that we will have dedicated and earmarked resources in the next multiannual financial framework to further step up the eu's role in conflict prevention and mediation.
one further example is our support for women mediators who work at the front lines in yemen and syria to play a meaningful role in helping to make peace a reality.
i am pleased this will be done in conjunction with already existing frameworks in member states. for too long we have seen and continue to see power concentrated in the hands of the buyers. this has resulted in an uneven playing field whereby farmers have had little influence to exert in the marketplace and been subject to unfair practices to cut their margins
the various measures in this directive such as banning late payments for perishable goods and banning late cancellations will go a long way to restoring the imbalances give farmers extra protection and keep food at the highest standards and quality.
one of the greatest obstacles to successful european legislation lies within incorrect implementation at member state level not at brussels at member state level and this is where we have got to follow it through.
the key is implementation and monitoring what has been done.
unfair trading practices have been a continuous problem for farmers across europe and it is sensible to introduce extra protection for farmers.
i can't believe for one second that russian officers just happened to be visiting salisbury cathedral at the time of the novichok attack so don't expect me to have anything positive to say about the putin regime in russia.
during the campaign facebook tells us that russian operatives spent ninety seven cents that's us cents about eighty euro cents on political advertising and even that was a mistake because it was material targeted at an american audience that missed.
this year russia has entered the open doors world watch list a list of nations which do the most persecution of christians on the planet a fact that hasn't made it into the report.
with tomorrow's vote the european parliament is delivering on this objective.
both colegislators' unceasing efforts to find a solution that is acceptable for all parties.
i would like to thank the rapporteur and the shadows in particular for their efforts to solve two main issues first the conditions under which fingerprints can be included in the ecristcn system;
i am satisfied that we have found a balanced solution that is acceptable to all sides and that will ensure that the ecristcn system fulfils its purpose.
as a result we will achieve an improved system for the exchange of criminal records that contributes to the european area of freedom security and justice.
the commission proposed the ecristcn system following the terrorist attacks in paris in november.
the new system will allow the closing of loopholes in information exchange on previous convictions and this will be done on the basis of reliable identity information and with due regard to the rights of the individual.
the proposals were included in the list of two thousand and seventeen interinstitutional priorities for delivery before the european parliament elections.
you are allowed to go and do some work and you are brought together and this money a mere eur.
you can volunteer to do these good things as long as you learn to have solidarity that you are all good little europeans working together.
what we have here is big brother dressed in a halo.
another scheme whereby we dress up something good like education but dose it so full of eu propaganda that it is almost impossible to see truth from what is made up. this is exactly the kind of idea that turns people off and that worries people.
you want young minds to manipulate at an early age. this is a crazy waste of money it is a very poor tribute to the midwich cuckoos and it is a great start to the week you have really got me fired up so i want to thank you for that.
however none of these tools can be effectively shaped and implemented without the direct involvement of women from all backgrounds as gender based violence takes many forms.
on a wider scale millions of women around the world have been are and will be victims of gender based violence.
mr president on friday eight march we celebrated international women's day so i took the opportunity to reflect on the situation of women in conflict zones who suffer from attacks on their human rights and physical and mental health.
the eu must be at the forefront of preventing and tackling violence against women and must encourage a holistic approach to dismantling all gender based discrimination and violence and this must go hand in hand with effective awareness raising and education for men and women on gender equality and human and women's rights.
in that context it is also extremely worrying that global witness has found a surge in imports from the democratic republic of congo which is known to be a high risk country.
it is of critical importance that vietnam makes sure illegal imports are effectively stopped simply relocating the sourcing to new high risk countries is clearly not the solution.
i would like to emphasise that this is an excellent instrument for addressing deficiencies of governance not only in the forestry sector but in the state system as a whole.
vietnam is now the third country in asia that has entered voluntary partnership agreement negotiations with the european union and i am extremely happy that vietnam has committed to eradicating illegal timber from its supply chains.
my hosts emphasised that vietnam's aim is to become the world's biggest producer of timber products.
there is also a direct link between this voluntary partnership agreement with vietnam and the european union and vietnam free trade agreement namely chapter thirteen on sustainable development of the free trade agreement which still has to be ratified has a reference to the implementation of this voluntary partnership agreement.
this is all the more reason to ensure that vietnam sources and processes only legal timber.
this issue has to be tackled in the course of the implementation of the voluntary partnership agreement.
this effectively means that timber imports from cambodia should no longer take place and here work needs to be done including with cambodia.
it requires constant efforts to make our infrastructure communication and information systems more secure.
with the reda report we are acknowledging that cybersecurity is not a status that can be achieved by buying a certain product.
the report welcomes as an advantage that businesses and expertise are distributed across europe.
in addition to this we involve the broader cybersecurity community in europe.
therefore i would like to ask you to make it even clearer and to support my plenary amendments to underline that when it comes to defence the centre's role should be to facilitate the resiliencebuilding initiatives against cybersecurity threats such as the protection of critical infrastructure.
we all agree on the european union's crucial task of promoting democracy the rule of law human rights and fundamental freedoms worldwide.
businesses throughout europe are struggling to fulfil their demand for skilled workers.
the fact that expertise is distributed across the union is a strength but also a challenge to connect them in projects.
the report therefore wants to achieve a more balanced and diverse workforce in ict and also in the governance structures of the cybersecurity competence centre because it is good for business and even more so because it is in the interest of equality.
there is no question that some of the technologies have applications beyond just the civilian sphere for example cryptography.
instead social scientists and ethicists must have a seat at the table.
we must not take a narrow view of cybersecurity research by only involving computer scientists.
fortunately we can rely and build upon the existing frameworks for the control of dual use technology that this house has already helped create. i would like to thank all the colleagues and shadows for their good collaboration on this file.
in the past months and years there has been one debate gaining more and more public attention. it is the debate about the consequences that decisions taken by the digital industry have for society at large. we cannot ignore this debate in our cybersecurity research. the cybersecurity competence centre needs to take into account what societal and ethical implications its projects may have and anticipate the concerns its actions may raise.
the proposal for a cybersecurity competence centre gives the unique opportunity to shape the future of cybersecurity in europe.
clearly businesses cannot afford to ignore half of society in their search for potential.
for those reasons we are encouraging collaborative approaches and investment in free and open source software and open hardware.
in the ict industry each unemployed worker is matched with approximately.
the cybersecurity competence centre should have no role in developing and building cyber weapons.
that is why we need to be very clear in respect of the treaties when it comes to the funding of technology that can be used for military applications.
this community ranges from researchers in academia to individual entrepreneurs but we also want to connect to actors in consumer associations and include the crucial contribution of civil society initiatives including those of ethical hackers.
we embrace the wealth of knowledge and potential of our unique ecosystem of small and mediumsized cybersecurity companies.
by coordinating the implementation of the cybersecurity programmes from digital europe and horizon europe the centre will complement the work of the european union agency for network and information security and increase the competitiveness of the european cybersecurity industry and research.
cybersecurity is a process that continues throughout the life cycle of a product but the most secure product is not enough if we fail to secure the underlying infrastructure.
this proves that the programme is responding to a clear demand on the ground.
the european solidarity corps has the potential to become another iconic programme like erasmus. solidarity among citizens and member states is one of the key values on which our union is built.
in fact the activities of the programme are limited to young people aged up to thirty for good reason to help them in their transition to adulthood and independence and to the labour market while obtaining a solidarity experience.
one important point where we differ and where we still need to find agreement is the new humanitarian aid stand and more specifically your wish to open it up to people of all ages.
having said this the commission would be keen to start negotiating with you right away as is the council.
the demand is already high in the age group up to.
thirty introducing different eligibility criteria for such a small share of activities would lead to disproportionate extra administrative costs and make the programme more complicated threatening to shut out those who we want to benefit most young people.
it would be a pity if the european solidarity corps this new flagship programme for young people were to be left behind.
it is based on evidence.
the commission welcomes the strong support of the european parliament for the proposal and takes note of the amendments that it put forward.
one but most importantly it would send a clear signal to europe's young generation that investing in them remains a priority for us and that we want to do what we can to enable them to make the most of their lives and build a better europe for the future.
above this age the vast majority of people have settled in their professional and private life.
i am very pleased to see that we have common ground on almost all aspects of the programme.