kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
that is why we fought for a higher share for the european social fund as the eu's main tool to tackle poverty and unemployment particularly youth unemployment.
regional disadvantages remain in terms of transport energy infrastructure sustainable urban development and improved it and communications networks.
however to attach macro economic conditions to the payment of structural funding is to go flatly against the very spirit and purpose behind it.
mr president cohesion funding represents a third of the eu budget in the next financial period and despite concerns about its spending it can play a part in assisting communities and nurturing business.
indeed i was delighted to visit the omagh innovation and growth centre in my constituency just a few weeks ago which is supported by the cohesion fund.
the proposed increase in spending on territorial cooperation will facilitate a peace iv programme in northern ireland and the border counties of the republic of ireland a further signal of the intention of these institutions to support northern ireland to deal with the legacy of terrorism and division in our community.
finally i am glad that northern ireland will benefit from transition region status which should give us further access to funding and greater flexibility in its operation.
after all we have useful bilateral military treaties with france and the americans will be helpful with overhead surveillance capabilities.
that is why the au is deploying six zero troops to the central african republic.
there is violence and human need.
now we have the central african republic.
the december european council put an end to ambitions for a european army and instead emphasised national responsibility in military matters recognised nato's key role and called for the eu to focus on its civil contribution to crisis management.
djibouti mali all csdp missions;
there may well be a migration problem but that says something about the security of our borders rather than a need for military forces and actually it is the african union that has the responsibility for intervening militarily in africa.
i can understand how insertion of a small professional military force to secure an airfield to facilitate humanitarian aid and the introduction of those african union troops might be helpful but that is well within the capacity of french armed forces and if they need some additional airlift then britain will give a hand.
madam president the ethnic and religious conflict is obviously the most pressing problem but in a way it distracts us from the underlying long term problems of poverty a lack of economic development and a fragile civic infrastructure.
now these problems are not just the product of the decades following independence or for that matter of the colonial experience.
despite being rich in natural resources and having favourable agricultural conditions the car is one of the world's poorest countries.
we might ask why the area of the central african republic and the rest of sub saharan africa for that matter did not develop the instruments of technology and transport and use them to spread the fruits of their discoveries learning and creativity throughout the world in the way that europe did.
if there has been and continues to be a hindrance to development it must be identified and addressed.
the tasks faced by the elite and by society are recognised and the technical preparations are going ahead.
it seems to me that serbia has finally made up its mind that it genuinely wants a european future for itself. the majority of the political elite believes that this is the most favourable option.
the road to europe will not be easy but europe as a whole benefits from a stable democratic serbia.
two major political problems remain the arrest and transfer of ratko mladi to the hague and coming to terms with the independence of kosovo.
both these point towards psychological barriers.
there is a clear commitment in this direction.
this determination has to be seen in the light of the turbulence of the last two decades.
the decision to opt for europe therefore is a considerable achievement and signals that serbia has become a factor of stability in the region.
previously relatively high tariffs will be totally dismantled within a couple of years with the exception of a few very sensitive agricultural products.
this is particularly timely in the context of the preparations of the opinion on serbia's membership application.
i am convinced that with our joint support serbia will continue to make the right european choices and move ahead in its integration efforts.
rules on competition and state aid are aligned to those of the european union.
the stabilisation and association agreement is a major step forward for serbia on its path towards the european union. the fundamental objective of this agreement is to pave the way for further european integration and reforms and to prepare serbia for european union membership.
this important milestone will serve as an encouragement for serbia as it has renewed its efforts to promote reconciliation in the region.
from an economic standpoint the saa foresees the gradual establishment of a free trade zone and the gradual integration of serbia into the european union's internal market thus bringing economic benefits for both the european union and serbia.
i would also like to express my warm gratitude to the rapporteur for serbia jelko kacin for his report on the european integration process of serbia.
it will make a key contribution to the growth of the serbian economy and help serbia move towards a functioning market economy.
furthermore by gradually integrating serbia into the internal market conditions for investors will become more stable and predictable.
the serbian authorities are currently working hard on their replies which we expect by the end of the month.
this will deliver a positive message for the whole region at a time when we need to reaffirm its european perspective in order to consolidate peace and foster economic prosperity in the western balkans.
i was in belgrade last november to hand over a detailed questionnaire to the prime minister and the deputy prime minister for european integration.
forging closer ties with serbia entails a number of other advantages for the european union in particular as it will facilitate cooperation in the areas of justice freedom and security the environment transport and customs
the path has been set and the objectives are well known yet it is up to serbia to walk down that path fulfil the required criteria and once ready engage in the negotiation process with the european union.
two thousand and eight serbia has thereby demonstrated a commitment to its economic integration with the european union and has so far established a positive track record.
the self defeating conduct of the bangladesh national party during the recent general election and its ultimate boycott of that election have been unhelpful to one of the rare examples of a genuine secular democracy in south asia.
the space for civil society appears to be narrowing.
it has repeatedly called on all parties to create favourable conditions for transparent inclusive and credible elections.
this leaves the country without proper checks and balances.
this means that the people of bangladesh were not given the opportunity to express fully their democratic choices. since then we have been closely monitoring developments which unfortunately remain a cause for concern.
the eu is closely following key human rights issues notably allegations of excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies and discrimination against minority groups and indigenous people including the lack of implementation of the peace accord for the chittagong hill tracts region.
we very much value the commitment of bangladesh to pursuing the implementation of the sustainability compact and we call on the government to make real progress in meeting compact commitments. while progress has been significant much remains to be done and we must keep up the momentum.
we encourage both countries to discuss the issue and to address the humanitarian situation.
the eu remains committed to continuing to help the government of bangladesh in the implementation of its national strategy on myanmar refugees and undocumented myanmar nationals whilst seeking to improve the conditions of operation of humanitarian service providers.
we will continue to work with the european parliament to monitor the situation and encourage the political parties to engage in genuine dialogue to strengthen democratic accountability and to hold transparent inclusive and credible elections as soon as possible.
the next meeting will take place in the coming month.
we are monitoring the recent policy guidelines on broadcasting. this policy is likely to limit and restrict freedom of speech and have a chilling effect on media freedom.
we are concerned about the situation of human rights and those of minorities and indigenous people.
we all know that politicians whatever their party find a critical press and ngos inconvenient embarrassing and even threatening at times but they are an important element of a democratic society especially when the formal political opposition is weak or non existent.
we want to see the government operate its zero tolerance policy against human rights abuses by law enforcement agencies and we welcome the training put in place with the international committee of the red cross.
we should welcome recent moves to indict a number of officers but the number of those dying at the hands of the rab has begun to rise again.
for those who are concerned about the issues around trade union rights and decent pay and quite rightly concerned there are major issues there.
we are not yet clear about how these changes and particularly the ngo changes will affect donor engagement.
that is why we are concerned at particular legislative changes which we feel put that dynamism at risk.
there is widespread public and political support in bangladesh for this so we welcome the government's acceptance of the supreme court's commutation of the death sentence of mr sayedee under charges under the international crimes tribunal.
we need a strong and independent judiciary and a civil society and active parliament to make sure that the measures take effect.
i would also pick up on what a previous speaker has said that we need to make sure that the international community is paying what it owes to make sure that changes can really be made and take effect.
we have seen eighty eight deaths in the last seven months and there is real concern about the lack of accountability.
we express deep concern about the new media law restricting criticism of the government the proposed ngo law and allegations of widespread abuses by the security forces although the recent commuting of sentence of the islamist leader in the supreme court could help set a new precedent about the absolutely unacceptable use of the death penalty.
i do not think that is wise because formally legally the only vote that matters is the vote by parliament as a whole on the commission as a whole.
at the moment the coordinators from each group have a meeting but our rules are not very clear on this.
that is how i think we should proceed and my report proposes to clarify the procedures in that regard.
the purpose of the hearings is not to give the floor to a maximum number of members the purpose is to get precise information and answers out of the candidate commissioners.
is an example that they might consider.
mr president sometimes what we do here is an example that national parliaments might consider emulating just sometimes and in my view the process we have of holding public hearings of candidates for the commission before we take our vote of confidence on the commission as a whole
i propose that we cut that number to about twenty five but allow each questioner to come back with a follow up question.
the second proposal to improve things is to look at how we evaluate the commissioners after the hearings.
last time however there was at least one country which nominated two and allowed the president of the commission to choose.
a final point i would mention is the question of gender balance in the commission. this parliament has always attached importance to improving the gender imbalance that has existed up to now but of course we are tied by the nominations that come from national governments if they all nominate just one candidate.
the vote by individual committees on individual commissioners has no legal consequence. therefore we have to make sure it has political consequences and carries weight.
as to the conduct of the hearings the commission supports the envisaged increase of written questions from five to seven on condition that subquestions are abandoned.
in principle the commission supports parliament's objective to ensure that the hearing process is accessible and transparent for eu citizens.
more generally the confirmation period should be enough time to ensure that the new commission can take up office immediately on the normal expiry of the previous commission's mandate.
for vice presidents designate who have a horizontal responsibility spanning the competences of a larger number of ep committees it is indeed appropriate to foresee that hearings are carried out in an adapted format such as an open conference of presidents.
therefore it is the right of members of the european parliament to directly put questions to commissionersdesignate.
i want to thank the rapporteur mr corbett for his excellent and wellreflected report on a topic that members will understand is of great relevance for the commission. the commission welcomes and fully supports the pursued objective of making the hearings a more flexible and dynamic exchange.
for the commission it is of foremost importance that the hearings are conducted in an open fair and consistent manner.
to ensure that commissioners designate are evaluated exclusively with regard to their personal competencies and knowledge of the envisaged portfolio the commission maintains that the results of the evaluation of each commissioner designate should be published individually within twenty four hours after completion of her his evaluation.
the commission looks forward to examining the concrete proposals for amendments to parliament's rules of procedure regarding the hearings of commissionersdesignate.
as for horizontal issues affecting the composition and structure of the commission as a whole the commission recalls the need to fully respect each institution's competences and prerogatives.
in this context the commission supports the call on member states to make timely and gender balanced nominations for candidate commissioners.
in particular hearings for all commissioners designate should follow the same approach for questions and answers both in the written and in the oral phase and for the evaluation of each commissioner designate.
the commission is open to considering how best to facilitate parliament's examination of potential conflicts of interest of commissioners designate. should the commission consider it appropriate to come forward with an amendment to its code of conduct it will seek parliament's opinion as foreseen by the framework agreement.
hearings are however for the elected members of parliament to exercise their scrutiny on commissioners designate.
the hearings not only allow for parliament's scrutiny of the commission in line with the treaty but also provide an important window for citizens on the workings of the union.
in the national parliament in the netherlands before becoming a minister.
mr president i did save one minute of my speaking time to be able to come back at the end but i will be very brief.
allowing follow up questions and genuine scrutiny is a great idea for example.
and who knows if we introduce something like that in the european parliament itself we might get something approaching a real debate here too. but we are completely ignoring the elephant in the chamber.
commissioners hold huge power and yet we are given the opportunity to interview just one potential candidate. i can think of another union which used to love elections with just one candidate.
numerous cases of kidnappings torture and sexual violence have been documented.
in particular they have supplied the tear gas which is used indiscriminately against residential areas.
the bahrain centre for human rights estimates that over one hundred extrajudicial killings have taken place in the last two years and over one eight hundred people including minors were jailed for partaking in protests.
mr president for almost two yeas now the people of bahrain have faced incredible repression and attacks from a regime that is determined not to concede any significant democratic or human rights.
it is sickening hypocrisy that while the major capitalist powers talk about the need for democracy in the region on the one hand the us and britain on the other hand continue to supply this regime with weapons.
bahrain is a matter of importance and concern to the high representative vice president.
at the decision to uphold the sentences of thirteen political activists.
in the same vein i would like to invite the bahraini government to address the social and economic grievances of the bahraini people.
finally i would like to warmly welcome the contribution of the european parliament's subcommittee on human rights following the visit of a delegation of its members to bahrain at the end of december two thousand and twelve and express my appreciation for its balanced recommendations.
the wellbeing of the bahraini people and the avoidance of violence from all sides are at the heart of our actions.
we call on all parties to use the current momentum by generally preparing the ground for sustainable reforms.
we remain convinced that in the spirit of reconciliation clemency should be shown towards human rights defenders and political activists detained in bahrain in connection with the two thousand and eleven events.
the citizens of bahrain must have the right to express their political opinion freely be it at a peaceful demonstration or on a post on a social networking site.
mr president whereas we perhaps do not have all details about the graveness of human rights violations in bahrain it is clear that we have to express our gravest concern over the developments in that country. international focus should now be on supporting the positive elements in this matter.
it is positive that king hamad and his government endorsed the work of the bahraini independent commission of inquiry.
now we have to see that this endorsement is followed by real change on the ground.
of greatest importance here for me are the violations against children.
simply put they are repugnant and the bahraini authorities must make sure they end.
there is one thing common to all state repression regardless of where it takes place or how mighty the government or authority behind it is.
at the end of the day it is always doomed to fail.
there is no way in today's world to keep people unaware of what is going on in their country.
mr president let me make it clear that much of what has happened in the kingdom of bahrain since the anti government protests began two years again has been unacceptable.
it goes without saying that those responsible for such outrages and crimes must be brought to justice.
we therefore welcome the resolution urging the promotion of free speech an end to authoritarian violence and the investigation of alleged abuses.
i have no doubt that the whole chamber will share the desire for both a stable bahraini government and a comprehensive commitment to human rights for all and democracy in that kingdom.
mr president as part of the arab spring the protests in bahrain were initially aimed at achieving more political freedom and equality for the shia population.
there have been cases in which the government has regretfully violated rights and freedoms in particular the right of individuals to peaceful protest free speech and digital freedom.
this resolution does not intend to interfere with bahraini internal politics. it concentrates on the need to respect democratic principles and to ensure that fundamental human and citizens' rights are upheld.
that is why i fully support the call on the commission to clarify the scope and the interpretation of directive ninety eight forty four ec.
we have to ensure that varieties are kept freely available without patents for all who wish to breed.
this means that all modern varieties as well as landraces and wild species are available.
that means free commercialisation of new traits.
we have to ensure legal clarity in regard to the prohibition of the patentability of products obtained from essentially biological processes.
well of course unemployment soared and more businesses went bust than in any other two year period in british history.
mr major was wrong then. he recommends that britain should stay in the european union.
we had to crash out of the erm and it took our economy years to recover.
i refer in particular to three points in this report and the amendments approved today.
secondly quota systems for women in politics and democracy how on earth even if you believe that such demeaning quotas are a good thing can you impose that on countries outside europe?
to twenty eight seven in two thousand and eighty thankfully in my own country while we will have an aging population we do have a very young population as well.
one way of changing it is with this file with its clear proposals ending territorial restrictions enhancing transparency of cross border fees and making it easier for consumers to change financial services and providers.
we have to change this.
these are crucial steps we need to take and that is why i voted for this file.
mr president the financial and banks services in the eu is the area where the internal market has not progressed as far as we might have wished.
as we have heard alcohol bans for young and newly qualified drivers are already in place in other european countries including germany switzerland and croatia.
not a single drop of alcohol before driving for newly qualified drivers is a simple and easy message.
we can stop needless tragic deaths so let us do it.
mr president i am pleased to support the saving lives boosting car safety in the eu report including its section on newly qualified drivers.
despite years of hard hitting campaigns one in eight deaths on british roads still involves a driver over the drinkdrive limit and it is newly qualified drivers in their twenty s who have the highest rates of drinkdriving crashes.
so i urge the british government to take heed of this report and back the british medical association and the road safety charity brake who have also called for the law to be tightened.
hence i strongly support this proposal to take extra measures aimed at reducing the number of incidents on the roads.
in addition we should not neglect the vehicle factor which is fundamental for road safety as the majority of incidents are caused by human error. if we installed mandatory safety related driver assistance systems as singled out in these proposals it could prevent some of those incidents by assisting and correcting drivers' behaviour.
we need to ensure that there is the necessary infrastructure especially in urban areas so that pedestrians and cyclists are not at risk.
mr president this report is not really about car safety. it is about where the proper boundary should be drawn between regional national and european authorities.
you might think that makes me a terrible father or you might think that it is a question of freedom but that isn't really the point.
the point is how on earth did we reach this point where this cannot be decided by our national democratic mechanisms and procedures?
how is this a matter for proper international jurisdiction?
if the european union restricted itself to those parts of jurisdiction that are genuinely in their nature international no one would have had a problem with it. there would not have been a british referendum.
mr president this report underlines that the retail financial services market requires innovation in order genuinely to help consumers and businesses.