kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
while i recognise the importance of this budgetary discipline i am strongly against the size threshold recommended by the report which places the majority of the financial burden on member states with larger farms such as the uk.
two thousand and thirteen let us get back to reality.
by requiring mandatory involvement for all member states there is a clear contradiction of the principle of subsidiary.
of course if some here have their way with the extension of coupled payments and market interventions surpluses may well recur in a big way and perhaps that is what those who support this measure are anticipating and planning for.
i absolutely object to this proposal which expands the budget for this intervention calling for an increase of eur one billion on the agreement of february.
where is that money going to come from?
surely we should look at some of the more successful systems of the world ones based on property rights on tradable quotas where you actually have an incentive to make sure that you sustain fish stocks but you also have an incentive to make sure that those stocks and those quotas are protected because your livelihood depends on it.
in any system like that it is clear that people will resort to illegal means and game the system.
according to eurostat in two thousand and eleven one hundred and twenty million people in the eu were at risk of poverty or social exclusion and shockingly. eight eight of the population are severely materially deprived.
to fight poverty an immediate and radical increase in funding for aid programmes is needed but also impoverishing austerity policies must be ended and a fundamentally different economy based on democratic public ownership and control should be built to guarantee a life of dignity for all.
mr president the economic crisis and austerity have devastated many people's living standards.
in that context the discontinuation of the food distribution programme for the most deprived by the very institutions that are opposing this austerity and pushing millions into poverty was utterly shameful. i was therefore happy to vote in favour of the report on setting up a fund for aid for the most deprived.
the amount of money the eu is prepared to put into this fund now is grossly inadequate next to these enormous challenges.
we do not need a one size fits all eu social policy because let us not forget it is a one size fits all eu economic policy which got us into this mess.
without the disaster that is the euro we would have had many fewer people in need of food aid.
in greece thousands are reliant on handouts of donated food unused medicine and clothes to survive.
the spanish red cross is supporting three million spaniards with food aid and last month a container of hundreds of tons of food and provisions left london for cyprus having been collected by the cypriot community in my constituency.
the eu is in need of urgent reform.
we need a competitive flexible eu which works for the interests of the citizens not an eu which wastes money on high minded projects such as this.
i strongly believe that while cooperation in asylum and migration issues may undoubtedly be sometimes necessary it is paramount that this remains primarily a member state competence.
large scale immigration to the uk in recent years is placing unsustainable pressure on britain's public resources.
i cannot support a directive that would jeopardise britain's sovereignty to regulate in this priority policy area.
small businesses are often hampered by eu legislation and in particular burdensome eu rules discourage smes from expanding.
i am pleasantly surprised therefore to discover that these proposals have for once taken the needs of small businesses into consideration.
this report actually reduces administrative burdens by applying a sliding scale depending on the size of the company.
i hope that future eu legislation will be as friendly to small businesses ensuring that smes benefit from lighter rules.
i am also pleased the proposals have resisted the temptation to apply a one size fits all approach in particular to balance sheets.
all this activity is utterly pointless if illegal fishing is allowed to thrive.
although this report is largely technical it is through these technical measures and the detailed activities that they support or outlaw that we are able to move forward.
mr president the european union needs to reform itself not just for the sake of british interests but for the benefit of all member states.
in london the chamber of commerce identified employment law as a key area which should be transferred back to the british government.
i voted against this report because again it calls for more interference in member states' employment policies.
the best way for the eu to create employment is to cut red tape and unnecessary rules and make europe competitive again.
this report also tries to interfere in social security law with proposals for a minimum unemployment benefit.
mr president yes i agree with several of the other speakers who have said that this fund should not be seen as a permanent fixture in the budget.
however i think it would be grossly insensitive to scrap it at this moment considering the current crisis.
i think this is stupid game playing in some respects because if we can continue this as a voluntary fund for the next mff then those member states that really need this fund can use it and those member states that do not need this fund can choose not to use it.
again and again you find yourself saying why do we need a new law on so and so?
why do we need a new european policy in this area?
because the system is currently unregulated! the idea that that is the natural state of affairs that if there is not a problem you do not need to fix it is alien to the thinking of this chamber.
the fisheries policy which we are talking about is a very good demonstration of that precept.
if you look at successful sustainability in the falkland islands in iceland in norway in new zealand they are based on the principle of private ownership.
the more laws and the more quotas and the more intrusive regulation we have had in north sea waters the more we have eliminated the fish stocks and left empty and sterile the oceans that once contained a great renewable resource.
i do not believe emergency provisions should ever be considered by policymakers as a sustainable or permanent solution to the effect of poverty.
however it is unfortunately becoming a necessary lifeline in countries such as ireland for those struggling on the margins of society.
this new fund will replace the previous aid scheme for the most deprived.
it is right that the commission should continue with the principle of providing at least some of the basic and essential services for the most deprived.
mr president no one can fail to have been touched by the pictures of those who are suffering as a result of this crisis but we also have to learn the lessons from the crisis and what caused the crisis in the first place.
we also had a banking crisis but on top of that you have struggled to keep the eurozone together.
mr president when the world's major powers and eu political establishment need a pretext for imperialist interventions they are only too happy to talk about the plight of refugees and the inhuman conditions that they face.
this report gives europol and member states the right to request the fingerprint information of asylum seekers.
it amounts to a further stigmatisation of asylum seekers and together with the other reports adopted today represents an attack on basic democratic rights.
asylum seekers in many european countries are already criminalised isolated from society and often kept in detention centres and even prisons.
with the capitalist crisis establishment politicians are attempting to deflect attention from the real causes of the crisis and are whipping up xenophobia and racism and demonising asylum seekers refugees and minority groups.
in every member state there is a majority of people who are against the waste of money involved in this monthly peregrination between two seats.
for what it is worth i am pretty relaxed about which one we choose. i would be very happy to meet in strasbourg all the time.
it is a reminder of the days when the european union was still a club of nations sharing out the institutions rather than having a federal capital but my point is not really about the one seat' issue.
it is about the way in which repeatedly this chamber votes to do something about it and nothing happens.
the reason nothing happens is because of what milton friedman calls the tyranny of the status quo' the sheer volume of vested interests which have grown up around the established dispensation from the authorities of the two towns down to the removal men and lorry drivers who bring the empty trunks or empty but for the occasional wash bag or rattling pair of shoes back and forth every month in that huge fleet of lorries emitting all the carbon emissions which we are always lecturing everybody else about.
there is a blocking minority in council using the argument of subsidiarity.
what i find interesting about this argument is that it is used time and time again when it comes to social issues but it is completely disregarded when it comes to economic issues such as for example using the deposits of cypriot depositors to bail out their banks.
however the alde group proposed a voluntary fund so that member states could choose to spend their cohesion money in this way.
some member states have systems already in place and do not want to change them for example germany.
other member states like ireland will be happy to use part of their cohesion or social funding for this very important purpose.
we propose to ring fence the fund so that participating member states can use a larger portion of their cohesion funding if they so choose.
you are not respecting our different traditions.
the report calls for further analysis of the costs and benefits to the companies who use audit of compulsory tendering on a regular basis and of the impact on competition and costs of introducing any form of compulsory joint audit.
increasing competition in the audit sector and improving audit quality had been the central themes of both committees and i hope the commission will take this on board when they produce the legislative text.
mr president there are several problems with this report but i will highlight one fundamental problem inconsistency. it starts out by saying that we do not have the facts and figures necessary to legislate so therefore we should have this ip observatory to get those facts and figures.
i agree with what was said at the outset we do not have the facts and figures available to us as policy makers;
as she notes in terms of bringing the information requirements up to date making them more electronically favourable and advancing consumer interests.
we have found significant difficulty in getting the member states in council to work with us and to accept the balance of discretion and power to the commission that lies between delegated and implementing acts.
unfortunately the commission has so far resisted this and no doubt mr tajani will hand me a statement of objection tomorrow but this is an important point mr president which i think you as the chairman need to be aware of.
in conclusion i do not want to detract in any way from what ms roithov has done but i would ask you to take back to the presidency some of the issues that have arisen during this really important review and approval of this legislation.
mr president i would like to ask you to postpone the final vote on the legislative resolution for the purpose of conducting the negotiations with the co legislators.
we have a general election coming soon and i call upon all the british meps present today to vote against the new commission on the basis that if this forty eight hour working opt out is lost for the good people of my country it will cause us grave consequences.
we are constantly talking about the banking crisis and what we can do for small and medium sized enterprises.
it is time now that we returned and used every influence we have to return to the traditional bank manager who can make calculated risk based on character ability and track record.
the biggest reason for that in my experience is the absence of bank managers. we got into this crisis because the banking system was on automatic and in many cases it is still on automatic.
the european central bank and the european commission have given a lot of support to the financial institutions.
the problem is that there are many small and medium sized enterprises that simply cannot get loans even though they have viable businesses and can give employment.
i really think that would make a difference and i say this to the twenty seven commissioners here present do not underestimate your ability to influence
mr president i want to raise an issue here that i have been raising in my own country in the hope that by raising it from the top down and the bottom up we might somehow get some action on it.
that is most worrying.
whilst sixty years ago an iron curtain fell across europe today we have the iron fist of the european commission.
perhaps it is worth reminding ourselves that this treaty that gives this commission these powers does not have democratic legitimacy in the european union at all.
we need democratic solutions to this. if you go on pushing your extreme euro nationalism this will lead to violence.
poor greece trapped inside the economic prison of the euro!
today we have shared values'. we have an ever closer european union' and pooled sovereignty' and that is what you have used but of course it will not just be greece because the same is going to happen to spain to portugal and to ireland.
you ignored referendums you denied referendums and you bullied the poor irish into voting a second time.
mr barroso you said earlier that we will stick to our course and that means millions of people in europe will be put through pain as you attempt to keep together this disastrous project that is the euro.
mr president what we have before us here is the new government of europe a government that with the lisbon treaty now has enormous powers not just a foreign minister and embassies not just the ability to sign treaties but the ability now to use emergency powers to literally take countries over and yet what we have heard from the european parliament's big group leaders this morning is the demand that you take even more powers and do it even more quickly.
we must vote against this commission.
baroness ashton ran cnd and still refuses to tell us whether she took money from the communist party of great britain.
it will fall to pieces and as far as the peoples of europe are concerned the sooner it does the better.
poor greece trapped inside the modern day vlkerkerker for which it appears there is no way out!
goodness knows what that is going to do to them.
but we have at least ten communists in this commission and it must feel like a return to the good old days. there must be certain nostalgia amongst the communists.
i believe a structural fund should be available to all regions across europe if they qualify post.
president barroso we had i think you will admit some very interesting debates on the meaning of words especially in my language but one of the phrases you used at the beginning of our meetings was that you spoke about your absolute commitment to the parliamentary dimension' of the european union and i think you were absolutely genuine and positive in your use of that phrase yet we never discussed that one.
post lisbon and post the resolution on the new framework agreement this parliament is much more than a mere dimension' it is a reality a real force a true parliament worthy of the name.
this parliament is now a full legislative partner as per the resolution to be treated on an equal inclusive and informed basis with council and not to be by passed by resorting to soft law or other instruments however worthy; a parliament fully and rightly able to hold your commission as executive to account.
we look forward to seeing not only yourself mr barroso but all of your fellow commissioners here for a question hour before this chamber.
this parliament will insist on its right of oversight in respect of subsequent changes to your team;
this parliament is ready to play its proper role as the only transnational directly elected parliament in international relations.
but above all this new forceful parliament containing a pro european majority wants you please to take a lead and in that we will be your willing partner and supporter.
we are a true real parliament.
this monopoly existed when the european parliament was not what it is today so i welcome the half way solution which takes into account our initiatives in legislative matters and which you have accepted.
this house will be looking very closely at the practice of this half way solution taking into account our request to the commission to take legislative action.
we deplore the fact that we are absent from the high level group.
we should be involved in the nominations of ambassadors and eusrs.
spain and portugal are also struggling with increasing difficulties.
if the european commission the european central bank and the european council do not act then the threat is now the disintegration of the eurozone.
joaqun almunia who was a safe pair of hands in managing monetary and economic affairs is now transferred to competition which is not his cup of tea. olli rehn who was a very distinguished commissioner for enlargement is now dealing with economic and monetary affairs which is not his expertise.
the trust and confidence that we assume from our citizens is fading away.
on how many occasions have i observed the discrepancies between the european administration pursuing a blunt policy goal and peoples' real concerns? what is the aim of devising a common energy policy if we cannot deliver our citizens secure affordable and green energy?
what is the aim of collecting data on energy infrastructures?
i believe we cannot impose one size fits all solutions.
the commission has to take into account the differences opportunities and means of each member state.
you will need to be visionary and creative to take europe out of the gloomy past.
mr president the main challenge for this commission will not be to fight the crisis we have seen.
we are gradually coming out of it and although it will still be an important task to fulfil the policies that we have decided the main challenge must be to prepare the ground for the future economy of europe to ensure that it will be a dynamic economy able to compete and play a leading
that requires policies for new jobs investments and dynamic economic growth.
mr president our group strongly supports mr barroso and his reformist agenda for a europe that focuses on addressing the real concerns of our fellow citizens and on acting where it can add value to the efforts of our member states.
we therefore believe that he deserved to receive a list of commission candidates with the talent and ability to help make a reality of his ambitious plans. but in some of these nominations he has been let down.
nothing can disguise the fact that the experience and competence of the candidates varies greatly and this was obvious in our hearings.
it is unacceptable that the leaders of some member states still treat the formation of the commission as an opportunity to reward a colleague for past support to resolve a local political difficulty or to ease a ministerial friend into a comfortable pre retirement. it is clear that some member states are taking advantage of the fact that we only have a single vote on the whole commission in order to ease in candidates who might not succeed on their own merits.
the single vote must end.
we cannot overcome the economic social and climate crisis we face using the same policies and mindset that created them;
today in wales the national assembly is starting the process for a referendum on more law making powers.
these questions have not been answered in the debates on the election of the new commission despite the changes happening around us.
entrepreneurs in many poorer countries are crying out for help and open markets and it is important that we support them.
if we go down the path of protectionism because of the world's current financial crisis the only thing we will do is delay bringing millions of people out of poverty and millions of people will die. if we do not grasp this challenge right now and look forward
beyond this crisis we will leave behind a legacy of such awful proportions that a billion people will find themselves unable to live. we have a food crisis we have climate change we have global warming we have floods earthquakes and all sorts of catastrophes which call
mr president this report proposes a regulation to reduce noise from motor vehicles and like all legislation from this place it will entail more bureaucracy and cost.
given the current state of member states' finances one wonders where they would find the money to carry out this momentous task.
this is a regulation.
perhaps control of noise pollution is one of those powers that david cameron wants to renegotiate the return of to the british parliament among those many thousands of others long ago surrendered to the european union.
there was a common goal which we all shared and that was to enhance the democratic functioning of the european union.
one way of doing that has just been found and that is to foster the participation of the citizens themselves in the democratic life of the union.
it is also the first element of direct democracy. it establishes direct contact and dialogue between the institutions and citizens and encourages cross border direct dialogue and cooperation.
it also encourages a sense of ownership europe is not them europe is us and europe will develop as we shape it ourselves all of us together.
to achieve these goals and to implement the treaty clear simple and user friendly rules of procedure had to be established.
and very special thanks and congratulations also have to be extended to the european parliament to all those who were involved in this extremely important job the chairs of the committees and also the rapporteurs
this is a demonstration of the excellent cooperation and understanding not only between the european institutions but also among the different political families or groups.
we must hope that recent developments will prove successful.
we have had as colleagues have mentioned our own experience of platform disasters in the north sea.
i think of piper alpha as one example and i believe that lessons have been learned from that. but let us remember that there is a significant difference between the depth of sea in which they are operating in the gulf of mexico and the depth of the north sea.
let me urge that we are cautious and do not rush into new legislation.
let us be certain as to what happened. let us be certain whether our existing rules would have prevented it happening here and let us be certain that any new rules would prevent it happening.
accidents and acts of god do happen and we cannot guarantee to prevent them.
there has to be a limit to what we can do in order to prevent them.
i would like to give you a final thought when we are considering relative risk that accidents like this put the relative safety of nuclear energy into a different perspective.
i want to put a question to you and also to ask what initiative we should take.
on what issue i do not know and i shall not discuss the reasons for that but my question is is it true? and if it is true that you will see him do you not think that it is necessary to ask that he also meet the competent committee about his austerity plan
to look at just the violence caused by is which is of course deplorable is to miss the fact that there is an awful lot of other violence going on within these two countries which is causing an ongoing humanitarian situation.