kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
we cannot afford to rip up and change all of our systems just to suit a few in this place. it is entirely unfeasible for the eu jobsworths to believe that one of my elderly residents in a rural village of shropshire should have to change the way she uses the bus just to get to the shops. if it is not broken do not fix it.
therefore passengers should be able to purchase and to plan eu wide travel with digital ticketing in the future.
currently when we think about it passengers face a very complicated procedure purchasing bus or train tickets.
it opens up the opportunity of course for a much more competitive transport system.
a single user friendly european travel card could be topped up via digital payments for example and used to plan a variety of journeys.
fighting against pfi contracts and the problems that they cause is one of the main things that occupy me back in england and to see anything that promotes this contagion of pfis is something that i will always vote against.
a perfect example is that in the dudley group of hospitals in my constituency one of the poorest areas in the uk the private service provider has put up car park charges massively for people who cannot afford to pay to go and see their relatives and for hard pressed hospital staff who are being taxed to go to work. this money goes into the pockets of private monopolies.
commissioner piebalgs is leading a working group under the high level panel set up by secretary general ban ki moon.
the recommendations of the report are fully in line with the strategies adopted by the commission such as the agenda for change which recognises the unique role energy can play with regard to development.
there is also strong recognition on our side of the role this house has played in adopting and implementing legislation to further the objectives presented in this report.
we are equally committed to ensuring that the target of universal energy access by two thousand and thirty is fulfilled and that renewable energy increases its contribution to meeting this target.
this is because of our collective role as the world's leading donor sixty of development cooperation funding comes from the european union and because of our voice in international financial institutions such as the world bank.
this initiative aims to create the concrete conditions for success in the two most pressing and may i add increasingly interconnected challenges mankind is confronted with reducing poverty and combating climate change.
we participate strongly in the un sustainable energy for all initiative.
commission representatives on the governing boards of agencies make every effort to ensure that the recommendations stemming from external evaluations and those from the court of auditors and the commission's internal audit service are followed up appropriately.
agencies usually report on the results of external evaluations in the director's annual activity report which is submitted to the budgetary authority.
the commission representatives on the governing boards of agencies take the need for quantitative and qualitative performance criteria very seriously and make every effort to ensure that they are applied.
an agency's annual work programme has to be approved by its governing board and is presented to the relevant european parliament committee.
as a rule agencies carry out external evaluations of their work programmes at regular intervals and these take such performance indicators into account.
the european training foundation assists essentially the neighbourhood countries with reforms of education and training systems while cedefop promotes information gathering and research on the vocational training policies of the member states.
three of the agencies in the field of employment and education for example eurofund osha and cedefop have tripartite governing bodies with representatives of both sides of industry the member states and also the commission.
as you are aware the agencies' functioning and governance are currently being discussed within the interinstitutional working group involving the commission parliament and the council on the basis inter alia of a multi agency evaluation carried out for the commission in.
for example the european training foundation and cedefop although both working on vocational education and training have different geographical scope.
two thousand and nine indeed the time has come to shape a new overall approach to eu agencies improving their overall coherence effectiveness accountability and transparency.
we hope this can be achieved by the end of this year or the beginning of next year.
part of this is related to the governance arrangements which apply to all of them.
in general agencies are overseen by a governing board whose membership may vary according to the nature of the agency.
the former works outside the eu the latter inside the eu and they have different objectives.
there is indeed as earlier speakers have said considerable overlap between their programmes and i believe that their management and administration at least could usefully be merged.
does the commission apply efficiency and performance criteria to these agencies?
secondly how do the agencies perform against the criteria? can the commission show parliament an analysis of the agencies' performance?
thirdly given the considerable functional overlap has the commission considered merging them?
we have heard about synergies;
we want to see them.
who sets the objectives and strategy of the agencies? may we see them?
more generally there seems to be considerable overlap between reports on employment matters produced on these agencies by the commission and by the policy department of the european parliament.
i congratulate the president of the european investment bank on the work he has done over many years to build the credibility of that institution.
this is an unfolding financial scandal and the eib should stop funding wind energy.
eur six billion has been provided for wind farm developments across the eu according to mr maystadt but the eib simply accepts the applications for funding from the governments concerned without scrutiny.
renewable energy companies in the uk claim that their turbines have a load factor of.
while this fits neatly within the strategy to fight climate change i am alarmed that the current criteria governing eib funding lack transparency and accountability when it comes to the examination and due diligence of these projects.
they are not economically viable and they will double or treble electricity prices for consumers while failing to cut co two emissions.
if i want to invest overseas i will buy an emerging markets fund.
i do not want to invest in your bank and neither do the british people.
i spent thirty five years as an investment banker investment manager investment adviser and economic strategist and i never bought a dud bank in my life.
the huge efforts undertaken by the eib bring into focus the importance of optimising the use of eib capital.
instruments using instant loans equity and guarantees help maximise the effects of the eu budget by attracting additional funds from third parties.
moreover we support a progressive reinforcement of the eib's development capacity because these additional needs would require a gradual increase of staff resources specialised in development aspects. in line with the commission's proposal following the mid term review of the eib external mandate the commission will set up a working group to study the possible development of the eu platform for cooperation and development. the objective is to optimise the functioning of mechanisms blending grants and loans involving the commission the eib and other multilateral and bilateral institutions.
this is essential in order for the eib to pursue its intervention at a sustained level and support the democratic transformation of our partner countries.
in this context an assessment of the optimal division of labour between the eib and the eif seems to be necessary.
in addition an increased use of joint financial instruments and risk sharing with the eu budget could have the effect of freeing capital and permitting a higher leverage of the eib own resources and enhancing its reach.
we believe that the use of innovative financial instruments together with the key financial institutions such as the eib should be extended.
the project bond initiative would support the financing of specific projects in the area of transport energy and communications infrastructure and potentially also in other sectors that can help lay the foundations for sustainable future growth and employment.
in the context of the preparation of the commission's proposals for the next multiannual financial framework the commission is carrying out a strategic reflection and analysis to ensure an optimised use of the new instruments in dialogue with the eib and other financial institutions to benefit from their financial expertise and experience in the market. to conclude i would like to make a few remarks on the eib's external
mr president could i just thank james elles for his observations in relation to the comments made by mr bloom and suggest to my ukip colleagues that if they do want to make a point or have a disagreement with colleagues they do not need to insult us to make that point.
i would suggest that he tells us what category he falls into.
ireland has benefited through funding for smes but perhaps the president would comment or others may comment on how accessible that funding is because announcements are made and smes are enthused by these announcements but when they go to look for the credit line it can be extremely difficult to access it.
i do think this is an issue of practical importance to the sme sector and i would like a response on this matter.
given how central the role of the eib has become in financing eu member states' strategies and eu overseas activity it is now time to improve the level of accountability of its activities to this parliament.
the loan book and the general banking and lending activities of the eib need to be assessed in the same way as we would assess our commercial banks.
they need to be subjected to rigorous stress testing and all financial activities need to remain on the balance sheet.
when leverage or risk is employed we should be sanctioning the risk limits as ultimately any default means that it is the taxpayer who will pay again.
it is time for this parliament to seek a closer role in scrutinising the activities of the eib especially as the bank's role increases in developing new financial instruments.
we really need to tighten up our regulations.
with a deficit declining faster than planned mainly as a result of lower than expected expenditure. moreover within the framework of the planned fiscal adjustment the choice of the mix between expenditure and revenue measures made by the greek government takes into account important social and economic aspects in particular
i understand he is going to present a green paper in two thousand and eleven in order to start the consultation on this very important issue.
this applies to young people especially.
this has a negative impact on productivity.
this sends a clear signal that the commission has a special concern for young people.
this is why acquiring initial work experience through traineeships has grown in importance for young people over the years.
we need to tackle labour market segmentation as a matter of urgency in particular because it affects young people and their employment prospects most and because it endangers the future competitiveness of the european economy.
two thousand and ten a second set of issues is labour market segmentation.
the commission will soon be launching a study to gain an overview of existing legal arrangements and practice across the member states.
this means that young people bear the brunt of adjustment.
it will involve action to make education and training more relevant to young people's needs encourage them to take advantage of eu grants to study or train in another country and overcome obstacles to entering and making progress in the labour market.
and the european employment strategy.
the two labour market problems which the honourable member has raised namely traineeships and labour market segmentation are among the topics youth on the move' takes up. i am grateful for the opportunity to explain the commission's views and aims regarding these two topics.
youth on the move' has three objectives to improve education increase employment and foster mobility for young people across the european union.
in practical terms the commission proposes that member states with segmented labour markets should consider introducing an open ended single contract that provides for a sufficiently long probation period and a gradual increase in protection in place of the current legal disparities between permanent and temporary contracts.
this is part of a pilot project involving measures for employment maintenance for which parliament has provided the commission with an extra budget for.
the commission intends to develop a quality framework for traineeships but as a first step we need to improve our knowledge in this area.
the underlying problem is that employers are reluctant to recruit young workers with little or no practical experience.
young people are in a difficult position in terms of job security. too many have short term contracts often alternating with unemployment and many young people even those who are well qualified have little chance of getting more stable contracts.
however they must be of high quality and have clear learning objectives.
this initiative is included in the commission work programme for two thousand and eleven as a strategic initiative to tap the potential of the single market for growth.
two thousand and eleven the ccctb is a common system of rules for calculating the tax base of companies;
under article two hundred and nine of the treaty on the functioning of the european union the member states' customs services are responsible for the application of the eu legislation concerned.
for this reason a community risk management framework was developed enabling customs controls for security and safety to be carried out on the basis of common risk criteria and standards.
in particular the european anti fraud office assists law enforcement authorities throughout the european union with their operational cases and coordinates major customs and criminal investigations with the member states and third countries.
the commission will explore the role that national equality bodies could play and may consider stricter requirements on member states' reporting of measures to combat discrimination implemented with support from the structural funds.
the commission encourages a shift from institutional to community based care and is working closely with the member states and in particular the managing authorities of the esf and the erdf and ngos in this field.
in line with the principle of shared management the member states are responsible for selecting operations for financing under the structural funds.
the strategy seeks to do this by identifying good practice in using the structural funds to encourage people to live independently and in the community and aims to develop awareness raising initiatives that target structural fund managing bodies at eu and national level.
as you know the commission is currently working on new provisions on the structural funds for the post two thousand and thirteen period and will put forward proposals in.
two thousand and eleven to step up the fight against discrimination and promote social inclusion of people with disabilities future operational programmes may for example be required to identify the groups at risk of discrimination and exclusion.
however stepping up support for disadvantaged groups and in particular for people with disabilities including people living in institutions is a key strand for action under the european social fund. according to some estimates people with disabilities account for at least sixteen of the eu working age population but only forty of people with disabilities are employed.
two thousand and four thus projects are being financed in bulgaria and slovakia.
in addition one of the aims of the european disability strategy for two thousand and ten to two thousand and twenty which the commission adopted on fifteen november is to give impetus to member states' efforts to ease the transition from institutional to community based care.
in two thousand and nine the commission published a report by an ad hoc expert group on the switchover from institutional to community based care.
in the current programming period the european social and regional development funds are supporting some de institutionalisation schemes and the switch over from residential care to community based services.
for example in bulgaria a joint project was financed by the european social and regional development fund to close down institutions for children with disabilities as a first step in implementing an ambitious action plan to close down all existing institutions for children and providing family type care and new services to support families.
within this strengthened dialogue member states parliament and the commission should all have their place.
it is committed to this dialogue taking into account the specific organisation of sport the complexity of topics to be addressed and of course the diversity of sports actors.
the next forum will take place in february two thousand and eleven in budapest where the commission intends to present its communication on a new eu sports agenda to sports stakeholders.
this has led to regular exchanges between the commission and the international olympic committee and international sports federations. in two thousand and eight the commission established the eu sport forum.
the commission has paid great attention to the need to ensure a balanced and inclusive representation of the sports movement when organising meetings and events.
this is considered to be at the heart of this structured dialogue gathering together once a year all key sports stakeholders at international european and national level including governing bodies as well as non governmental sports organisations.
the reinforcement of this structured dialogue with the sports movement will be essential for the success of the eu agenda for sport which the commission intends to propose based on the lisbon treaty.
following calls from eu sports ministers and the european council in two thousand and eight the commission committed itself to further strengthening the dialogue and to giving international sports organisations a more prominent place in the dialogue with the european union.
secondly with regard to the clarification that he was talking about is this also linked into the proposal coming forward from the government in ireland tomorrow with regard to the banking finance facility which is being discussed with the imf and with the european central bank?
further initiatives are obviously possible.
this word restructuring' is being bandied about a lot outside the house.
could the commissioner tell the house if he sees any possibility for a takeover or merger of part of anglo irish bank with any other entity as a possible contribution to this or does he anticipate that the bank will eventually be wound down?
we will be dedicated to the monitoring and we will be looking forward to informing you on this process.
we will engage with the government as we have done and we will deepen that engagement.
so thank you very much for your support on this.
it takes time to reform a country like this.
therefore the potential to boost exports in clothing fisheries tea spices machinery and other products as well as to attract investment is of course considerable.
a major political priority was to re engage with the international community and the eu so sri lanka reapplied for gsp preferences. an unprecedented achievement was also that sri lanka decided to cosponsor the united nations human rights council resolution on promoting reconciliation accountability and human rights.
thirdly we have a dialogue on human rights.
sri lanka will now be covered by one of the fundamental pillars of gsp the monitoring mechanism which implies three things.
i have raised this with the relevant ministers personally and we expect movement and progress from the government on these issues.
however it is undeniable that the human rights situation has improved with the new government.
we have been explicit that there are a number of shortcomings that need to be addressed.
so i am confident that this measure gsp for sri lanka can help the country to develop its economy on sound foundations that respect human rights and labour rights and that are environmentally sustainable.
we have also seen that the government is resolved to act on controversial issues for instance repealing and replacing the controversial prevention of terrorism act and ensuring that persons arrested are not denied access to legal counsel.
the european parliament plays you play a very important role in this monitoring process because you submit relevant information to us and you use your political leverage to call for visible progress in gsp countries. so we will take the monitoring of sri lanka just as seriously as we take it for all the
firstly it implies written questions the so called scorecards where we ask the gsp countries to detail how they are addressing shortcomings in the implementation of the relevant twenty seven international conventions. secondly we have regular dialogues with the authorities as well as gsp missions and regular interaction with for instance the international labour organisation the various monitoring bodies business trade unions and ngos in order to have a broad and deep understanding of the situation in the country.
that resulted in a government that launched an ambitious reform agenda including reconciliation and justice after the end of a very painful civil war.
with sri lanka we already have a wellfunctioning working group on democracy good governance and human rights and that is broader than the gsp related human rights conventions.
just as with other gsp beneficiaries the eu intends to hold sri lanka to its commitment to improve sustainable development human rights and good governance.
effective and stringent monitoring is key not least because many of us fear that the progress promised by the current government of sri lanka is slow whether that is on changes to the proposed counterterrorism act to bring it into line with international norms operationalising the office of missing persons moving on constitutional change;
the implementation of these international norms and i stress that these are not european union wish lists these are international norms will be to the benefit of all sri lankans in many areas of everyday life and help towards much needed reconciliation.
a timeframe for changes must be agreed with the government and i would be interested to know what the commission has identified as key objectives for the end of.
two thousand and seventeen sri lanka knows from its own experience that gsp can be withdrawn but we hope that all will benefit after so much suffering in the country but it is only going to happen if the government of sri lanka delivers on its promises to its people.
it must build on the un reports such as that of the committee against torture.
gsp as we have been hearing is a process of engagement and better market access to the european union in return for implementation of the twenty seven international conventions.
profusely for blue carding a colleague from my own group but based upon the comments that have just been made mr marias would you accept that we have heard all of these arguments of protectionism for european industries presented in previous cases before in this very house?
mr president may i start by agreeing with and underscoring every word of what was stated by commissioner malmstrm in her opening address. may i also on a personal basis as chair of the south asia trade monitoring committee
it is quite clear that sri lanka today deserves the support of the international community and europe must play its part in that.