kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
also the directive will introduce a requirement for all member states to put in place effective proportionate and dissuasive criminal sanctions for the most serious insider dealing and trading and market manipulation offences.
such a strategy would give a very welcome boost to the development of sustainable economic activities in the region which will have a beneficial effect on coastal communities and adjacent inland areas. properly managed fisheries provide employment in some of the most rural and remote parts of the european union and when sensibly managed this is a renewable resource that is very valuable in the fight against unemployment in many isolated parts of the eu.
mr president in what remains a difficult economic time across the eu it is absolutely essential that we ensure that every penny of eu funding is spent in the most cost effective manner possible.
however as outlined in today's report strategic use of european structural and investment funds could drive private investment in energy efficiency across europe and support member states in their efforts to increase their energy efficiency.
the most successful and effective initiatives will i believe be those that complement member states' individual efforts to increase energy efficiency with targeted investments of eu funds that contribute to overall growth and job creation within our individual regions.
as previous speakers have said parliament has unsuccessfully called for many years for the need to strengthen procedural rights stressing the need to strike the right balance between the freedom of justice and security. this report finally recognises an overarching principle of basic human and criminal law at eu level.
despite the existence of common principles and minimum standards stemming both from the echr and the eu charter provisions governing access to a lawyer vary significantly from one member state to another and this report introduces a level playing field and a measure of consistency.
in a borderless europe citizens have to be confident that their rights are fully respected and that their security is provided when they are travelling.
mr president i am hugely sceptical about the practical implementation of the european arrest warrant by member states having heard personal stories from my constituents in wales where the arrest warrant has been used to make them face spurious charges under different legal systems of questionable legitimacy in other parts of europe particularly in less regulated sectors such as the construction industry.
i have serious concerns and see this directive as a step forward towards ensuring that when the european arrest warrant is indeed used the basic rights of citizens across europe such as access to lawyers the confidentiality of all communications with them and access to diplomatic authorities are properly upheld.
we cannot create european systems without the necessary protections and safeguards that have been built into national law for centuries.
to make the european arrest warrant work in practice we need to learn from the experiences gained across member states to date and ensure that individual countries do not and cannot abuse their privileges.
he said that it means the socially constructed roles and behaviours that a society considers appropriate for women and men.
we are not going to quit until women are free from violence.
last june i proudly represented parliament at the signature of the eu accession to the convention a historic step towards preventing those horrible crimes combating impunity and protecting victims.
it defines violence done to a woman just because she is a woman based on sexism and discrimination.
it is violence that endangers families not the convention.
it is not against the traditional family.
today we call on the eu and the council of europe to do more in dialogue with member states on the issue of gender engaging with civil society religious groups and women ngos we call on the presidency to put this issue on the agenda of the european council for as long as it takes and we call on bulgaria to reopen the ratification process.
the convention is the only binding treaty that criminalises violence against women and domestic violence.
the council of europe commissioner for human rights recently clarified that the arguments pretending that the word gender' has hidden purposes are simply not true.
they are doing that because they want to push forward their ideology of taking away our rights.
we will be the generation of feminists that will make sure that women are protected from gender based violence all over the european union. we will ratify the istanbul convention all over the european union and make sure that there is an end to gender based violence.
the suffragettes one hundred years ago in many parts of europe fought for the right of women to vote.
we will not give up;
madam president colleagues let's face it we are experiencing a major backlash on women's rights in the european union.
that is simply not the case anymore because we see attacks on women's rights all over the european union and those who are attacking women's rights have now chosen the istanbul convention as one of the battlefields in this discussion.
they concern the fear that ratifying the convention would mean forcing states to allow same sex marriage or to introduce a new refugee status for transgender or intersex persons.
the convention is about preventing and combating violence against women without other hidden purposes. it is not an instrument for shaping gender perceptions or ideologies.
the commission's intention is to conclude full eu ratification as soon as possible.
despite the fact that all eu countries have signed the convention and seventeen have so far ratified it we see strong opposition against ratification in a few countries.
on the prevention and protection of victims of gender based violence.
we are all familiar with the figures from the age of fifteen one in three women in europe has been a victim of physical violence sexual violence or both;
i would like to thank the european parliament for constantly speaking out alongside the commission about the importance of ratifying the council of europe convention on prevention and protection of victims of gender based violence.
let me be very clear on this.
i sincerely hope that those member states that still have doubts about joining the convention will consider its fundamental purpose to prevent violence against women and to support and protect those women who fall victim to violence.
nowhere in the convention is it stated that a new refugee status should be established for transgender or intersex persons or for any other group.
in fact no reference is made to the legal recognition of same sex marriages this subject is outside of the scope of the convention.
for example these concern the use and translation of the term gender'.
when i speak with women's rights defenders from all over the world i realise how lucky we are to have such an instrument in europe.
this is why i find it appalling that this convention's ratification is so problematic in some member states including my own.
the fact that governments are reluctant to ratify this key instrument shows how little they care about women's safety.
in these cases i say that not to do so will cost women's lives.
in bulgaria the use of transphobic and homophobic arguments against this convention is very disappointing.
i call on the bulgarian government to revise its position on this crucial issue and stand by the istanbul convention.
it will make our society a safer place for women and girls.
we have to do everything in our power to stop violence against women and to support the victims.
of our party or personal views we are all parliamentarians and one of the most important powers we have is the ability to hold the executive to account through parliamentary pqs but these pqs are now being treated with contempt by the services. questions are not receiving proper answers they are evasive incomplete and dismissive and the timescale for answering is frequency exceeded. rule
as far back as i can remember mugabe has acted in this way retaining a veneer of democracy whilst acting in a despotic and undemocratic way.
we have seen assets of mugabe frozen yet at the same time a large amount of money is being sent to zimbabwe in aid and we need to make absolutely sure that we know what we are doing that we know why it is being done and that we ensure that money is not going to the wrong places.
the eu is committed to fighting discrimination to preserving the rights of individuals to enjoy the full range of human rights in zimbabwe and we are determined to continue supporting the work of civil society organisations and protecting human rights activists.
continued political and economic reforms are essential to restore growth and achieve inclusive and sustainable development.
it is essential that they are free to operate in an environment that protects fundamental human rights and freedoms as set out in zimbabwe's constitution.
our overall objective remains to re engage fully with a stable and democratic zimbabwe.
we welcome the positive ruling at the high court to grant bail and we take careful note of the judge's remarks about the weakness of the state's case.
the right of pastor mawarire to express his views and opinions in a peaceful manner is a fundamental freedom enshrined in zimbabwe's own constitution.
respect for the rule of law human rights and the consolidation of democracy are also essential. the electoral commission should engage with all parties to agree on an electoral framework for the two thousand and eighteen elections.
i would like to recall the eu's continuing commitment to the people of zimbabwe and emphasise that the eu remains amongst the most important donors to that country.
the case has been raised with the government at senior level and we will continue to follow developments closely.
zimbabwe is at a critical juncture as a number of you have said.
human rights defenders organisations and activists are playing a critical role in the promotion of human rights in zimbabwe.
they deserve recognition and credit for their significant and persistent contribution.
i have been in this parliament for eighteen years and throughout this time have campaigned for effective action against mugabe and for freedom for the zimbabwean people.
in fact the country is bankrupt and its people in despair and yet the grand architect of this misery robert mugabe continues in power.
the administration has not contacted meps to tell them about the problem and wait for it i hope you are looking for a bit of a laugh here i had been told that i would be informed by email when my emails are back.
we do not know when speaking time is happening we do not know when our appointments are happening and this is happening to up to fifty sixty people in here.
this is why in these difficult moments for the european union it is so important that we think of our common responsibilities towards our citizens and towards the rest of the world.
there is not one single thing be it counter terrorism be it trade be it development be it migration management there is not one single issue where we are stronger alone than stronger together.
we do not have to be afraid of our added value even when it is a partial one.
threats are global opportunities are global all of our countries compared to the rest of the countries in the world are small sized countries at the maximum medium sized countries. we are not living in the era of empires anymore not for a couple of centuries.
it is a part of the strategy that was carefully thought of as you can imagine and it responds to the fact that on one side we need to keep the unity not only of the twenty eight member states but also the different institutions including this parliament and this is what is done
it is now also a matter of turning this into practice so that is why i think that the package we adopted yesterday is something that is going to be extremely important in our capacity to implement also part of the strategy using our different instruments keeping in mind that they are different and covering different areas but in a coherent and integrated way.
so i hope that we can indeed as some of you said use a strategy to turn our common vision and action into those of a self confident global player.
this simply says that we need to use our resources in a coherent way and respond to the needs of the populations we are working with and all the messages we are getting are in the sense that we need to also work on security as we continue to work on development.
the point here is whether we want to react to a change that is produced somewhere else or if we are confident enough to try and shape the change that is happening around us and i believe that we have all the tools all the strength if we have the political will to do it exactly as our citizens have an interest in us doing this.
i am sorry but i am not going to hear those voices in this field because if there is one field where it is self evident that the security of the european citizens require european action it is our work in the world.
our strength is our european union in the world and our partners around the world see it very clearly and recognise our strengths in the world.
first of all some asked whether we stress more the values or the interests and whether we define more as an important element of our action in the future our values or our interests.
there is one element in our values that the strategy underlines which is that to make our action consistent we have to be true to our values first of all in our internal policies and in our own behaviour and this is something that echoes also some of the elements that some of you
any global strategy starts at home and any external credibility is rooted in our internal strength.
resilience of societies around us is indeed an investment in our own security and when we mention resilience of societies in the strategy we do not mention the strength of institutions only but we mention the resilience of societies as such which includes the space for civil society human rights defenders
the important thing is that this is done in a coordinated manner with a clear transparent link to common decisions and with common approaches and reporting back to the common instances.
there is no single field in our external action where one member state alone whether it is the biggest the strongest the richest the smallest is more effective alone than all together.
the basic need we have now is to guarantee that the european citizens are guaranteed their right to security and this requires the european union to act as a european union united.
what we sometimes do not do is recognise this strength inside our union but we have to come out of this sort of depression we have entered and make use of our strength because you can be strong but if you know you are strong you do not use your strength and it is useless.
we always say there is no security without development but there is no development without security.
you have to listen to those who say the european way is not the way'.
i think this is the basic thing we have to do now.
this does not mean that again we are diverting resources from one chapter to the other.
things change in a way that was unforeseeable just a few months or years ago.
on the contrary this is a response to what especially our african friends not only governments and institutions but also civil society are telling us that if in a territory be it in the sahel be it in nigeria be it in the horn of africa if you have a lack of basic security conditions for the populations you can do all the development you want
yesterday the college as you might know adopted the package on capacity building on security and development and let me tell you very clearly this is not at all a diversion of our development tools into a security or military approach.
in the framework of the common institutions but there might be occasions where we might want or we might need or we might want to encourage one or a group of member states or why not?
the important thing is that all of this is in a common framework and towards a common goal.
and we have to wake up to reality.
citizens look to their elected representatives to ensure the planning for their protection is efficient and reliable and in place.
we have been promised progress in setting up a network of competent national services in member states.
its information assists mariners aircraft and emergency planners from a range of real time sources around the world but we need more than these sorts of facilities.
two thousand and nine national authorities should now be requested to put core equipment on standby available for rapid european assistance when needed.
we need to know where the emergency food supplies the tents and the blankets are.
the commission must come forward with these plans now.
we need to know where the facilities are that will save the lives of citizens of our union when they need them.
rainfall is more erratic and we have more droughts causing life threatening fires across our continent. hardly a country has escaped a natural disaster in the last few years and this is not counting the man made catastrophes such as chernobyl and more recently the toxic dam in hungary.
we need to know where the trained emergency service teams are.
we have had many promises and reports from the commission yet little concrete action has been forthcoming.
a map of assets that is readily available and ready to use when disaster strikes was promised in.
at the same time ensuring cost effective and increased investment in disaster prevention is a challenge. we are now assessing the effectiveness of existing eu financing instruments. we are also developing a catalogue of prevention measures that would be considered by member states for eu funding. our objective is to increase the impact of eu funding and to accelerate the implementation of regional fund support.
actions are also under way to improve our knowledge of disasters. we have worked with the european environment agency on a report assessing the frequency of disasters in europe and their impact on humans the economies and ecosystems.
the disasters of last year were a salutary reminder that the eu and its member states need to step up work on disaster prevention.
we are also looking at innovative financing instruments such as insurance pooling to share risks. effective investments in disaster prevention will help to save lives limit damages and ultimately save money.
we all know that investing in disaster prevention pays off.
the increased frequency and intensity of disasters in europe should also provide further incentives for member states to invest in preparedness and build up their capacity.
mr president there is much talk about buzz words here today but the key buzz word is the first word up on the board prevention.
as the old adage says prevention is better than cure' and certainly we have to try and prevent natural disasters based on recent trends to get out some kind of a forecast and to put preventive actions in place.
finally i want to ask how many countries can actually say that they have complied with the commission's recommendations especially in relation to the floods directive?
i know it has not been applied properly in my country.
countries have to take responsibility just the same as the commission.
the efsi provides a first loss guarantee so that the eib has been able to invest in more risky projects.
the european investment bank and european commission admitted many times and i quote the efsi projects' portfolio risk profile will be higher than the average risk profile of the other eib projects and assets.
one should ask oneself why do we need such an investment fund at a time when interest rates are already extremely low and the market is flooded with cheap money?
the european fund for strategic investments is explicitly funding risky projects projects that are not able to obtain funding through the financial markets at a time when money is easy.
besides funding projects in the field of energy efsi is often used to fund semi governmental infrastructure projects which are harmful to private business.
if you look at the countries and regions which have benefited the most from efsi you can see that local authorities and also private banks and meps have been actively promoting the opportunities which efsi can offer. i can give you some examples of very active meps.
in other terms according to the european investment bank efsi investments made up to now will increase european gdp by.
of them. first there is a more precise definition of additionally' and second investment decisions will be better explained and the scoreboard on which they are based will be published. this is a measure of transparency and also of increased accountability.
in finland efsi supports the first ever social impact points scheme in europe. the scheme will support the integration of up to three seven hundred migrants and refugees in the finnish labour market through training and job matching assistance.
so far. before i conclude i would like to highlight that much still remains to
in other terms it will create new jobs and new financing opportunities for infrastructure investments and smes.
efsi. two zero will better focus on eu political priorities such as climate change and environmental
let me give you some concrete examples of efsi projects.
in greece the eib is lending to a telecoms operator to roll out high speed broadband bringing better internet access to rural and remote areas of the country.
thanks to parliament's efforts the scoreboard of indicators will be made public after the signature of each project and the investment committee will substantiate its decision on the granting of eu
let me outline some
based on feedback received and numerous expressions of interest such support is clearly deemed useful even necessary.
transparency is crucial to all
this means less poverty and less social exclusion.
their support is a key success
we have been able to assist governments with their public finance management implementation of administrative judiciary and health care reforms development of capital markets and access to finance.
we support the involvement of the social partners and civil society in the preparation and implementation of reforms.
we should not forget that some of the technical assistance will go towards important areas and important policies such as education and training.
that is why structural funds are so important when we talk about structural reforms structural funds are an investment in all the things i have just mentioned.
therefore my group believes it is important that the new reform programmes align with cohesion policy aims because we are using cohesion policy funds.
there will be less money for all programmes including structural funds. so those of us who want to protect structural funds have to make this point now.
the sd group believes that structural funds have always been one of the most important policies of the european union and should be in the future.
if we want new programmes and new initiatives then we have to find other ways of funding them.
it should be about changing an economy to promote jobs and growth to promote research and development and to promote education and training.
today we are talking about using technical assistance to support structural reforms in member states. this will be on a voluntary basis.
we also think it is important that parliament receive the support plans and monitoring reports so that we as a democratic body can look at the progress which is being made.
structural reforms should be about positive things and about changing an economy in a positive way.
these are the type of things we can use structural funds for in order to improve growth across the european union.
i want to start my contribution by making a general point about structural reforms.
we also believe it is important that local and regional governments are involved in the reform process so that their needs are met mr van nistelrooij mentioned this in his contribution as well.