kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
if i may i will conclude my remarks by doing something that honourable members have also done in this debate.
i recall that when i was in south africa a few years ago i was taken for a drive outside of johannesburg up into the country.
as we drove through the countryside the driver said pick a village pick any village that you like in the next hour'.
he said that in africa the tradition is that you do not lay the headstone for one year after the death of a person so any crosses that you see small crosses represent people who have died within the last year.
he said to me very simply those are the victims of aids.
honourable members what i saw was the tragedy of an unnecessary devastation and i pay tribute to the honourable members who have put forward this resolution and promise to do my best to support its implementation.
final point again.
but what we are really focused upon and i believe we must be focused upon is making paris a reality.
he is soon to be leaving my team which i think is a bit of a shame. but nonetheless i am hoping through trilogue that we will continue to make progress.
it is important i suspect for all of us here; each of us has particular constituencies and constituency issues but nonetheless we must come together to deliver what is required for the climate and indeed for the european union.
i have been describing it to others a bit like a jenga tower.
but they will because they have to.
but what i do stress is as you pull out each block just remember if that tower topples we have to rebuild it and we will rebuild it in a much less favourable climate literally and will also rebuild it in a much more challenging way.
the question is which blocks are you going to try and pull out of the agreement right now and will the tower remain standing?
and let us keep to the fore of our minds during both this debate and the vote that follows that we have indeed got to stick with paris.
it is a simple as that.
we have got to pass this and i hope with all your support we can do that very thing.
many of you here will remember i resigned as well during that process but you did not accept my resignation.
how do we ensure that we can stop the rise in the temperature of the globe?
we often lose sight of it and i have more than once lost sight of it in various amendments in various elements of this particular package.
so here i stand and again i am very appreciative of all who helped that be achieved.
i do not know the answer to that. that rests i suspect more in your hands than it does in mine.
i am not sure if jenga exists in all the member states of the eu but broadly it is a tower of various blocks and again the game is for you to pull out different blocks hoping that the whole thing does not topple over. well here we are folks.
but i might just hint that that would be a useful thing for us to be doing tonight. it is important to stress again that is one hundred and ninety seven days since i was given this particular dossier to move forward.
so please be under no illusion when you are considering which amendments you wish to pull out or push in that we need to deliver a package that works for everyone together.
it is also important for me to stress each of the elements of the package.
and i hope that the agreement that we secure by passing this report will help move it in that direction will help remind those member states they have a commitment which they have signed up to that we must deliver against the paris ambitions.
let me also stress that we must make sure that the agreement is brexit proof.
i should also of course as i look toward the front of the room and i see in the form of mr caete a gentleman i once described as the father christmas of the college of commissioners because again he brought back from paris quite an extraordinary agreement.
i have been very blessed by an assistant system called ross mckenzie who helped me deliver this particular package.
i know that the council conclusions are not there yet. i know the council is not yet ready to embrace this;
so let me conclude by saying this is the time to get it right.
hopefully we get broad support for that tomorrow knowing that it is not very popular in council.
we now have someone in america who could easily walk the road of climate scepticism.
of all i congratulated you to your birthday despite your very unfortunate example of the jenga tower because as it happens i am my family's jenga champion so i am available for a match at any time.
one of my colleagues made a very important point where is the risk analysis in all of this?
lobby power environmental degradation job losses theft and fraud.
i am sorry everyone i will not be able to support this.
just think about the impact that this is going to have if it goes through and i do not doubt it will.
we increased the ambition with a higher linear reduction factor.
we also watered down parts of the original proposal.
those words went through my head many times during our negotiations.
one point five degrees we have less than five years left.
to those who simply and only want to do their best please vote wednesday in favour of the total environment committee package without any amendments.
stick to it and you are not doing what is required;
he made absolutely clear that we have to do what is required instead of just doing our best.
we lowered the annual benchmark we lowered the threshold for qualitative assessment and we opened a door to lower the auction share.
are we doing our best or are we doing what is required?
that is close to nothing.
is it doing what is required?
let us make clear what is in the paris agreement two degrees and even if possible stay close to the one point five degrees. two degrees means that we have only twenty years left of current global emissions.
yes we did improve the original commission proposal here and there.
we do intend to cancel eight hundred million allowances and we found a way to limit the amount of free allowances given to industrial sectors with low trade intensity without endangering their competitiveness internationally. but we have to be honest;
well we are now discussing the only climate tool we have for european industry.
let us see what those words were worth because we know that the current system is not functioning well enough and that is why for example one of the crucial elements is raising the linear reduction factor which brings us a bit closer to paris just a bit.
we are giving an alternative.
looking at the cement sector they have increased their exports because of the free allowances.
that is exactly what we are doing.
that is what cement did with innovation and that is what we are now going to address.
we want to do that for those sectors which have international competition.
but we are giving them an alternative and that is the border adjustment measure.
that is what we are discussing here so this is now the moment when all those nice words on paris should be translated into action.
we are now at the low end of the two degree scenario.
madam president thank you very much to everyone who has taken part in the debate today. i can think of nowhere i would rather be for my birthday than right here right now.
i know that i have not made everyone happy but i think i have shared a little bit of unhappiness across the whole spectrum and that will be the challenge for all of us recognising that we have to take a little bit of unhappiness.
the second point paris changes everything.
the third point we need to offer to our industry sensible protection but we must expect from them sensible efforts as well.
it is also important that this is a stepping stone to a serious trilogue.
i was trying to think of a way of combining all of these points with regard to their urgency.
i too was in marrakech for the climate change talks.
by the middle of the week i had clearly eaten something which i found a little bit unsettling.
halfway between the conference centre and my hotel i was faced with a serious choice i could try and go backwards and hope that i made it in time or i could try to go forwards to get to my hotel and try to make sure that i got there without soiling myself.
in fact that is what we have before us right now.
the real challenge is to get to our hotel and get to that lavatory because we have got to avoid making a mess.
the real danger we have tonight is if we are not able to find that compromise then we will make a mess.
there is a compromise on the table and we have got to get there.
thank you for joining me for my birthday and let us get the deal done.
i do not accept the analysis that you have to agree with them all at this stage in plenary because there are a few things that are not so good.
parliament should not simply add new components that have not been impact assessed.
if we are serious about reducing greenhouse gases then the policy framework must be evidence based and encourage industry to invest in low carbon technology. moving the goalposts or at worst scoring an own goal will not do any good in lowering emissions in the long run. we are particularly concerned about the late inclusion of a border adjustment mechanism added days before the vote in the environment committee with no study on its impacts or costs.
for the ecr this is not the way to protect against carbon leakage.
indeed the provision of free allocations for those sectors most at risk is the best way forward.
in this context i wish to draw attention to the appalling situation in ireland of the so called digital divide'.
i welcome recent statements by the commission which detail the disbursement of eu funds to address this huge challenge.
madam president infrastructural development is crucial to our economic recovery. whereas in the past it was the construction of road and rail that helped stimulate economies in recession and lead the way to future prosperity nowadays we must focus on our information and communications technology infrastructure as a driver of future growth.
their names were william meyer bernard starie reginald pike thomas shaw james mcleish archibald barrowman and albert roberts who will all be honoured on saturday. they made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we often take for granted today and their lives should never be forgotten.
i would also like to thank brett and luella langevad who are paying for the memorial to be laid and raf nine squadron for sending two crews to the ceremony on saturday.
madam president in the middle of the worst economic crises ever to hit ireland we had just two beacons of hope our agricultural sector and our exports. now the agri sector has been hit by an unprecedented fodder shortage due to extraordinary weather conditions.
two thousand and thirteen large parts of the country particularly the region i represent have seen little or no growth adverse weather and extremely heavy rainfall.
farmers and their livestock are facing ruin.
it started during the second half of two thousand and twelve and continued into.
two hundred and fifty five british servicemen were killed and seven hundred and seventy five wounded retaking the falklands an overseas territory of the united kingdom.
i now ask that member to apologise not only to this house and to the islanders but also to the two hundred and fifty five families who lost loved ones. any member who insults the memory of our fallen with ill considered comments such as these is not suited to represent this parliament abroad. i would remind him and other members that the falkland islands are british.
he was awarded the distinguished service medal for leadership bravery and devotion to duty in trying to save his ship.
it is shameful that at least one member of this house does not accept what even the eu has classified as a british overseas territory. it is shameful that the same member ignores the will of the falkland islanders who in march this year voted overwhelmingly in favour of retaining their ties to the uk.
the biggest mystery surrounding them is why the mainstream newspapers and broadcasters have chosen not to report on them since.
it is a cultural entity a religious entity and an entity with overlapping and related ancestries.
the eu goes out of its way to welcome third world immigration and embraces the political and economic doctrine of globalism.
if third world immigrants come to europe they do not become new europeans to replace unborn european babies they turn parts of europe irreversibly into the third world.
it is global capitalism and the related political ideologies that fuel immigration because it regards human beings as though they were merely facts of production.
countries within the region should actively manifest this support.
we are also following closely initiatives to create a new regional human rights system around unasur or the newly created community of latin american and caribbean states.
the eu is one of the organisation of american states' largest voluntary donors and has assisted it in its efforts to strengthen democracy and promote human rights across the region.
we are monitoring the situation very closely and are staying in touch with the organisation of american states and its members. the inter american commission and court for human rights are instrumental in the promotion of democracy and the tackling of human rights abuses in the region.
finally eu readiness to mobilise an election observation mission to the october two thousand and twelve presidential elections or alternatively an electoral experts' mission has been reiterated to the president of the national electoral council on the twenty five april.
deepening existing dialogues such as economic dialogue and opening new ones on energy and climate change.
the eu has always supported the autonomous and integral character of the inter american human rights system.
if such initiatives progress it will be crucial that they are based on the same universally agreed human rights principles and comparable structures of competence and independence to the existing oas human rights protection system so as to avoid any weakening of the protection of human rights in the region. at the same time i would like to underline that we are trying to engage venezuela more actively. this could include
this summit in cochabamba is a good occasion to do so.
encouraging venezuela to continue fully cooperating with the regional and with the international human rights protection mechanisms.
certainly it is not ideal as some people seem to suggest.
at the beginning of may venezuela announced its decision to withdraw from the inter american commission on human rights and in just a few days procedural steps have already been undertaken in this direction.
the inter american system has proven to be very effective in latin and central america the inter american commission being a highly respected institution.
but the defence of human rights is precisely about holding governments accountable for their wrongdoing the more so when the separation of powers within the state is almost non existent and victims of human rights violation cannot find redress in their own country.
in such cases international institutions are their only hope for justice.
international and regional human rights systems must be defended every time their normal and effective functioning is under threat.
this action is in line with the government's refusal for the last ten years to allow any visit of the inter american commission to the country and it is also in line with the criticism expressed by the venezuelan government every time the commission decided on human rights violation in venezuela.
therefore a country's decision to leave it represents a genuine threat the more so when such a decision is likely to influence other countries.
mr president first of all i would like to say that i fully support the joint resolution signed by my group and other groups.
it will be a very first and general debate but i do expect council to focus on how to address the comprehensive nature of the two thousand and thirty agenda how to ensure the best possible contribution what means of implementation and financing instruments can be used best as well as how to improve coherence complementarity and coordination between the eu and the member states.
this agenda will be the focus of global development cooperation in the years to come. but let me be clear the adoption was just a very first step in addressing this global challenge and as agreement on the implementation and review mechanism of the agenda is still to be secured we have important and significant work ahead of us and yes further preparation of the eu position before the july session of the high level political forum in new york is crucial to ensure an optimal and
as most of you know the council is of the view that the follow up and review process should accelerate progress on implementation of the comprehensive two thousand and thirty agenda.
without any doubt the council remains committed to a full and active constructive role of the eu and its member states in the implementation of the two thousand and thirty agenda obviously in close cooperation with all partners and stakeholders.
a roadmap is expected to form the basis for further discussions.
the commission will present a new approach to ensuring economic growth as well as social and environmental sustainability beyond the two thousand and twenty timeframe taking into account the europe two thousand and twenty review as well as the internal and external aspects of the implementation of the un sustainable development goals.
now in our capacity as the eu presidency the netherlands organised on nineteen april a meeting for member states to exchange best practices with respect to national implementation of the global goals.
action oriented outcome that will be in line with eu priorities.
it should also foster broad ownership and accountability.
within this context i am happy to note that revision of the european consensus on development in light of the two thousand and thirty agenda will feature on the agenda of the development council on thursday.
start the agreement was just the beginning and now the real part the implementation starts. we have started to work with this comprehensive approach on the different elements of our implementation work from the issue of climate change to the sustainable development part but also migration.
our more and more differentiated partnerships with increasingly diverse partners including middle income countries which will be a complicated debate but we need to have
here i will need your help and our coordination our common work to be courageous enough to bring us to the next stage because my impression is that we will need to work on including in our consensus elements that we have not had so far.
many of you referred to the fact that next thursday we have a development ministers council or rather a foreign affairs council in its development ministers formation and once again i should jump to the other side of the hemicycle to say so but the presidency will forgive me if i play my double hat in a flexible
way we will have a discussion on the review of the european consensus for development including its adaptation to the agenda two thousand and thirty and we will reflect on some new elements of the consensus.
but i believe this is going to be an extraordinary opportunity for us to understand how we have to deal with the world of today with this internal and external coherence that is going to be essential and also to push not only the member states to coordinate more i would say one word on this
it; on working together with member states through joint programming and joint implementation which i believe could be the key for us to mobilise resources in a more strategic way coordinating more what we are already doing towards a common objective.
we are starting to work on the changes the efforts that are needed to shift the mentality we have in our daily work and put together the different parts of our policies that are connected with the implementation of the agenda.
respective responsibility with regard to starting the implementation phase at an early stage. i think there is one lesson we learned very clearly from the previous experience of the millennium development goals which is that we cannot wait and see years go by before we start working seriously on the implementation.
in that problem.
the global humanitarian crisis which i mentioned a few minutes ago also requires that the new secretarygeneral of the united nations who we are going to look towards to implement our programme has some humanitarian experience.
a comprehensive approach to this up to two thousand and thirty requires us to recognise that global poverty has still got a billion people in need but we also have a huge humanitarian crisis in the middle east and we need to understand that in its totality if we are going to make any progress.
but i am already told that the un is now six months behind creating the two hundred and thirty indicators that we need. we must not allow the united nations to use its bureaucracy to slow down this process.
the seventeen sustainable development goals are a great and very important comprehensive sustainable and enjoined effort.
so the commission sees the global two thousand and thirty agenda as a tremendous opportunity for europe for the international community at large.
the commission will present later this year a proposal to revise the european consensus on development in the light of the sdgs and changing global trends.
this is about shaping the future.
i am deeply convinced that new forms of governance and smart regulation are increasingly going to play an important part in that respect.
our intention is to make the implementation of the sdgs like the circular economy a team effort.
eradicating poverty eliminating inequalities and combating climate change are not competing objectives;
it something that is urgent and something we need to have.
if we are serious about the sdgs we need to understand the philosophy behind them;
we need to make sure we enable people to fully participate in society.
one of the challenges in our institutions in our member states will be to prevent dividing up implementation between an international a national and a european strand.
commission is committed to delivering its part in an integrated way and we have made our response to the sdgs one of the priorities of the two thousand and sixteen work programme.
delivering on the sdgs is deeply entwined with our objectives under the ten priorities of the juncker commission.
and europe has a duty to itself and to the international community to lead in the implementation of the sustainable development goals the.
we will present to you an initiative in the course of this year on next steps for a sustainable european future' to map out the eu contribution.
through the europe two thousand and twenty strategy and through a wide range of eu policies from climate change to skills and innovation the eu is already delivering on many sdgs.
i strongly believe that if we take a hard look at our prospects as european society in a business as usual scenario if we do not step up our efforts over the next generation what we can hope to achieve in terms of structural economic growth is not encouraging an annual average of perhaps one to.
this is not about something that is nice to have';
we need to address all three dimensions of sustainable development economic social and environmental.
this is what we need to create in europe and i count on working with you hand in hand.
this is about competitiveness in the widest sense of the word. this is about the future of the european way of life.
what we do at home needs to be consistent with what we do in europe and internationally.
to make this transition from where we are now to where we need to be tomorrow and the day after tomorrow you need governance;
if we fall in the trap of only defending the past all we will find ourselves able to do is to slow down decline.
namely that it is an integrated and universal agenda and no longer the developed world' telling the rest of the world what they need to do.
it will not happen all by itself.
an opportunity also for us all to overcome our own silos whether they are in the services or between countries and between institutions.