kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
it is clear what eu leaders do not want no opening of accession chapters no modernisation of the customs union no lifting of the visa requirement for turkish citizens no harsh words on fundamental human rights abuses but all these noes do not add up to a strategy on how to make an attempt to keep turkey anchored to the eu.
on the eve of the summit another low point was reached in turkey with the arrest of osman kavala a leading activist in building a more tolerant and open turkey.
how is the eu showing its solidarity with civil society in turkey and with millions of citizens who are going through very difficult times?
cutting back on pre accession funding is no more than logical in the light of current events but a good signal would be to use that money to help turkey's democrats.
i am going to be a bit restrictive on this occasion so one blue card only.
by also giving your consent to the trade agreement tomorrow this parliament will serve to underline that the eu stands by its firm commitments.
free and fair elections took place in november and now the new government is taking the reform agenda forward.
needless to say our southern partners have not forgotten that our renewed approach towards the southern neighbourhood includes increased market access and they will hold us to our word.
they deserve our full support not only because this is in our strategic and economic interest but also because we have committed ourselves to it.
the entry into force of this agreement would represent a significant step forward for overall bilateral relations between the eu and morocco.
morocco is undertaking substantial political and economic reforms.
we must now all work together to ensure delivery on the ground.
it gives morocco the right to take part in a range of current and future community programmes.
in the mean time we need to look at trade measures that can be introduced rapidly and that can be beneficial for both sides.
concessions have been made on both sides and any blockage at this stage could have serious consequences for our relations with morocco in particular with regard to the continuation of ongoing negotiations on the liberalisation of services and on a mobility partnership.
this is very much to be welcomed.
one of the key features we can offer morocco in the long term is progressive and deep economic integration with the eu internal market.
this is what we can offer morocco today with the agricultural liberalisation agreement which is the subject of today's debate and the vote soon to take place.
you will remember that last spring both the council and the european parliament agreed to be much more responsive to the efforts of our partners.
as you know a new constitution was approved in july.
it would demonstrate that the european union is indeed delivering on its promise to support economic development in the region through increased trade opportunities.
major efforts are being made towards the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law as well as towards sustainable and inclusive development.
but we should not forget that this agreement is also in our own interest. that is why it was approved unanimously by the council.
you voted for it and the opening of markets was an integral part of it. the agreement with morocco is indeed a building block of this exercise and its adoption will send a very positive and encouraging signal to all our
more broadly let me recall that this parliament last december supported the new approach for the european neighbourhood policy and in particular the vision of the gradual economic integration of our neighbours into our internal market. so let me stress that despite what some of you said
the monitoring will start on the first day of the entry into force of the agreement and it will be a continual process.
and in all policy dimensions.
we are also keen to promote regional cooperation in the maghreb and support efforts made by algeria and morocco to normalise their relations.
the commission will also launch an impact assessment for the negotiation of the deep and comprehensive free trade area with morocco and other partners in the southern mediterranean.
let me make it clear that the de facto moroccan administration in the western sahara is already under a legal obligation to comply with the principles of international law which provides that the activities related to natural resources are lawful as long as they are not implemented in disregard of the needs
we take your resolution very seriously.
now a second remark on the importance of agreement in the context of the european neighbourhood policy and the arab spring let me stress that the rejection of this agreement would send a negative signal to all our arab partners engaged in the difficult process of democratisation and reform
do we want to build a europe open to the world?
it will create investment opportunities for european union companies and help provide jobs in morocco therefore reducing the temptation to find better living opportunities abroad thus stretching further our migration capacity and policy.
are we serious about establishing a close partnership with our neighbours?
the vote by this house on the agricultural agreement with morocco will determine some of the answers to these questions.
we will use the existing agriculture and fisheries subcommittee established by the association agreement to gather this information and to keep parliament informed.
many positive steps have been taken recently and the commission is determined to provide both political and technical support.
interests and benefits of the local population.
overall we consider that the situation in morocco has improved over the years and this movement needs to be encouraged further.
we have a strategy to support forces behind the arab spring.
what about the rights of these people in western sahara who lost their jobs while all the bleeding hearts in here were talking about workers' rights?
mr president i have heard a great deal in this debate this evening from the people who are saying no to this agreement about workers' rights trade union rights human rights and the abuse of those rights in western sahara.
are they aware that seven hundred and eighty fishermen from andaluca the canaries and portugal lost their jobs?
these are the same people who only a few weeks ago said no to the renewal of the fisheries partnership agreement.
the most basic trade union rights are not respected in morocco the right to form a trade union and the right to take strike action.
i am in favour of trade that provides development economically and socially and contributes to a rise in living standards but in order for that to happen the rights of working people of small farmers and fishermen need to be protected.
this is owned not by ordinary people in western sahara but primarily by the king as a recent report demonstrates and by major multinationals.
on top of that is the fact that morocco is an occupying power in western sahara and this agreement will increase the profits of those who benefit from that occupation.
its produce is export oriented and goes to europe.
the agreement should be rejected.
agricultural workers have been dismissed in recent years for trying to form an organisation and the result is an extremely low level of wages and a race to the bottom in workers' wages and conditions.
mr vajgl i still do not see why a trade agreement which would allow sahrawis who are also producers of agricultural products to export presumably to our markets is actually going to threaten their livelihoods or their rights to self determination.
it was very different when it was a matter of eu money being disbursed under the fisheries agreement.
this is about a trade issue so why is trading with the western sahara violating their rights to sovereignty or self determination?
mr president morocco is a stable north african kingdom with close historical relations across the mediterranean to its nearest european neighbours. my group is in favour of all measures which ensure that morocco remains a prosperous and stable country in north africa and welcomes the recent political and constitutional reform programme from the king which has so far progressed peacefully without the civil wars that we have seen in other parts of the middle east and north africa.
we hope that our finished goods processed goods from the eu in these sectors will be exported back to morocco.
so this agreement is a good one;
the cake gets bigger for everybody.
this does not mean that we do not support self determination for the sahrawi people through a referendum as agreed by the un resolutions and we are reassured by the commission that this will not be the case and that the western sahara question has got nothing to do with what is basically a trade agreement between morocco and the eu.
this is our first chance to deliver on those promises.
i believe it is not only a good deal for morocco but a good deal for the european union and our producers.
of course i understand the concerns of our southern colleagues.
it is madness for the eu to give preferential treatment to big business concerns exploiting the maghreb while its banking elite force murderous poverty on hard working people in our own back yard.
since not even the most crazed global warmist still claims that we will soon be growing olives in lancashire or oranges in kent it follows that we will have to continue to import such produce. let us do so from our hard pressed fellow europeans in greece italy france portugal and spain.
leave the farmland of morocco to support farming families in morocco rather than helping international agri business swallow it all up and spit the human wreckage out at our shores as destitute and angry islamist refugees.
i want very much also to underline the ambition of the strategy.
i think that without such an access there is no space strategy in europe.
it is a strategic industrial sector.
but this is not what the eu should be for.
now your ambitions take you into space and you have defence ideas about star wars.
i will be doing my very best to make sure that the correct side wins through on that and that uk space technology is dealt with in the uk.
the uk should use our excellent technological base to develop our space policy and to do it properly so that the people of the uk can benefit from the innovations that undoubtedly come from this kind of research and development and also let us be straight if you do it right the profits. however
it was supposed to be about trade.
maybe the ambitions of this place are so grand that not even this continent will suffice.
maybe it needs to go into space.
as i commented several months ago four out of six copernicus services are fully operational and the community of users is growing.
third we want to boost the competitiveness of the european space industry throughout research innovation and the modernisation of the industrial
we want a space environment that is sustainable and remains accessible safe and secure.
i particularly note the references in your report to govsatcom capacities sst precise navigation and earth observation.
the role of the commission in the public sector should be as an enabler. we should promote favourable conditions and encourage businesses to develop innovative products and services.
users. that means stronger and more coordinated efforts at all levels european national and
second we want to respond to emerging needs for example we may consider how space could better contribute to security policy border surveillance and maritime security.
we will identify any legislative administrative and technical barriers that need to be addressed.
space solutions and technologies can have a decisive impact on high political priorities such as climate change air quality border management transport environment issues and security.
market uptake of our programmes is therefore at the heart of this strategy.
this is why the commission announced its intention to work towards the new space strategy for europe and we intend to be inclusive involving of course the member states the european space agency eumetsat the industry and of course parliament.
we need a strategy to address the current and emerging challenges.
fourth we want to address the strategic aspects and dualist dimension of
our intention is to promote the use of egnos and galileo in various sectors focusing of course on those with the highest potential.
we want to mainstream the use of space to support public policies providing effective solutions to the big societal challenges such as as i said before climate change security migration and the digital agenda.
we are assessing how we can support europe's independent access to
despite its increase the budget available for space remains small compared to our competitors.
europe cannot afford to treat it as business as usual' because competitors and partners are really moving fast.
of course things are changing as the global context is evolving fast competition is building up and the market is increasingly driven by the private sector.
this is also timely because these are challenging but really exciting times for space in the world and in europe.
we have to face these challenges together.
european companies need a market large enough to sell their products yet this is not always the case of course today. our strategic assets such as critical technologies components and systems are really crucially important here.
we need a strategy that covers all the relevant public and private actors in europe.
space. this means supporting the resilience and protection of critical space and ground infrastructure including in the context of the current space surveillance and tracking framework.
the main challenge now is to work to exploit these achievements for new or better services products and applications.
we want to promote a globallycompetitive european space sector that is innovative agile and entrepreneurial and create more jobs and of course more growth in europe.
space. when talking about security and strategic aspects of space and similarly to what is said in the report of mr zdrojewski i consider that space based capabilities and services can and should play a key role in the context of european security and defence.
most of the growth and economic value will come from the commercial downstream uses of space.
to sum up and conclude i see space as an enabler for solutions to key political priorities and societal challenges as a vector for growth enabling new services new business opportunities in space as an industrial sector in its own right which is facing increasing challenges and needs to be supported
innovation clusters and business incubators will be supported. this will benefit smes and of course startups.
we will propose measures in that sense.
we are also looking into the international developments taking place and how space technology could help our climate change agenda notably with regard to co two emissions.
our main objective should be to bring the benefits of space to european society and to the european economy.
base. that means using opportunities from new business models to encourage greater involvement and risksharing by the private sector and a smart financing approach.
this is the vision of the strategy that we are working on. we expect it to cover five main areas. first as already said we want to maximise the benefits of galileo and copernicus.
this is also an element discussed in the context of the announced european defence action plan which i am preparing together with vicepresident katainen.
the references to financial implications for further development of the space capabilities in connection with the common security and defence policy should be maintained as they are mainly about creating perspectives and not going against the provisions of the treaty.
and efficient use of eu funds and existing eu capabilities.
so we knew what was going on and what was going on was really disturbing.
for my part the most touching discussion we had was actually with the delegation from the united states.
so congratulations commissioner i think we are the shining example when we speak about environmental policy in the world in the future.
it's a sad affair.
canada usa australia brazil saudi arabia have left a lot to be desired. they are preventing us from even reiterating the requirements of the paris agreement in the cop conclusions that we need to boost our efforts before next year.
these countries were once prominent advisors on indigenous rights climate justice and non market approaches.
in the run up to cop twenty five we were negotiating and celebrating the idea of a trade deal with the mercosur countries which is toxic and the idea that climate diplomacy is going to be an effective tool is a myth from what we are seeing.
it strengthens gender considerations and women's participation in climate action and highlights the important role of women as agents of change.
this enables us to enhance our capacity to mobilise and catalyse effective action for averting minimising and addressing loss and damage associated with climate change targets.
as i said the eu showed both determination and flexibility in order to reach the best possible results notably as regards ambition and article.
i would especially like to thank commissioner timmermans for his passion and commitment to hard work.
six but at the same time we are happy that we managed to complete the second review of the warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage.
six however it is very difficult to negotiate with parties which refuse to engage.
it is indeed disappointing that after years of hard work and especially during the last two weeks we could not agree on article six providing incentives to reduce emissions now and especially in the future.
dear friends i'm sure this debate will contribute to informing a period of reflection in view of the forthcoming negotiations.
information on our physical and mental health must never be regarded as a commodity for industry to exploit but is a confidential and integral part of our personality.
we fully know well that a decentralised storage on unconnected devices is much safer and also madam commissioner sixty two of respondents to your consultation said they want to share their health data for research purposes only if it cannot be tracked back to them.
so certainly using this information for other purposes such as research and care can have benefits but the commission's communication and the proposed resolution we are to vote on tomorrow do not acknowledge that the patient should be in control of this information on their health and should not be forced to give up control
it includes data on our mental disorders on our sexual health including hiv on reproductive disorders etc.
for people who are not able to enter the labour market because of their disability we need to ensure a proper minimum income in order to turn around the high poverty rates amongst people with disabilities.
maybe even more important we need to make sure that having a disability doesn't affect your income.
mr president the disability strategy of the past ten years has led to several initiatives to establish better rights for people with disabilities but to ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities in our societies we need to continue these efforts and work harder to create an inclusive european union.
we need to make it easier for people with disabilities to access the labour market not only by creating work spaces that are accessible but also by making the process to find a job inclusive for everyone.
that is why i call upon the commission that when this initiative for a fair minimum wage comes to the table it will cover all workers and make sure that discriminatory minimum wages for people with disabilities are prohibited in all member states.
that countries will not be entertained if their products are not sustainable according to the promises and commitments they gave in paris a few years ago. i think if we can do that we will send a message to the rest of the world and hopefully this time next year we'll be talking about cop twenty six as the cop on cop.
at least now we are saying what it is and i congratulate commissioner timmermans and the others for so doing.
we have to be very clear about it.
we have to stand up clearly for these basic values.
where is your readiness to talk about these issues?
we need to provide the resources as negotiations on the post two thousand and twenty mf continue so we have a unique opportunity to earmark the kind of funding that is necessary.
this will not be action let's remember for a small proportion of the population but rather for every fifth person that you see on the street or sit next to on the bus for all europeans therefore people with disabilities their families their friends our communities i would urge the commission to ensure that a new eu disability strategy is in place at the end of two thousand and twenty and to ensure a smooth transition between the two strategies.
mr president by next year two thousand and twenty it is estimated that one in five europeans will have a disability totalling one hundred and twenty million people. it is therefore imperative that we continue to take action to ensure that those oneinfive people have the opportunity to contribute to our society in the most meaningful way.
we know that the current strategy is wide ranging covering many areas including training healthcare and so on but really this is no good if there are not the resources in place.
madam president we are discussing here basically two funds which have served the purpose of enhancing european competitiveness in the agricultural sector and elsewhere the cap and the cohesion fund.
now if we are looking at the common agricultural policy which makes up over forty of the total budget we can see that in contrast to the aim of enhancing the competitiveness of the european agricultural sector this area has become a hotbed of corruption and here my colleague has referred already to
when it comes to the cohesion fund when we are looking at why the eu doesn't want to put forward reforms then we should refer to the cynical opinion of the previous commissioner for the budget gnther oettinger who says that eu funds should not be used to sanction because every single euro which goes from the donor states to the recipients basically goes back to the donor states because the recipients use these monies to buy goods and services from the donor states.
article which has demonstrated that the cap is intentionally untransparent contains loopholes and is prone to corruption and undermines even the eu's environmental objectives and every reform which is proposed is basically sabotaged by the decisionmakers.
in contrast to the grand ideals both have become hotbeds of corruption within the european union and instruments in the hands of oligarchs and illiberal regimes with the tacit agreement of eu decisionmakers.
we will make sure that this murder will not silence actors who want and who need to speak up.
the fact that political figures seemingly enjoyed impunity in this case for a long time shows how dysfunctional the system of criminal justice and the rule of law in malta has become.
so it's high time for the eu to speak up and send a clear message to all journalists in europe.
yet over the past few years the european commission and the european council refused to take any measures against the maltese government and even now the council remains silent.
and isn't it time that member states became more vocal in addressing rule of law violations not only in political dialogues but also by using the legal means they have at their disposal such as state actions brought before the court of justice?
let us be very clear the case of daphne is not just a concern for national authorities. if all persons responsible for this crime are not brought to justice and if the complicity at the highest level and systematic corruption is not fundamentally solved our shared system of fundamental values is failing.
so my question to the commission is what will be the concrete steps of the new commission towards the maltese government to ensure a due and independent process in this case?