kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the authorities need to fully implement the recommendations of the report of the un secretary general's panel of experts and the lessons learnt and of the reconciliation commission. ms ashton is deeply concerned by the increasing number of acts of religious intolerance and discrimination across the world.
unfortunately this year the date of the main session clashes with the foreign affairs council which she will be chairing and which will be discussing syria and key issues of concern on human rights.
introduced by south africa. the eu will work at this session to ensure the success of the follow up panel on discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
two thousand and eleven iran remains a source of serious human rights concerns such as the increasing application of the death penalty and repression against media operators.
we have just had a substantial exchange on syria and you will agree that its dire human rights situation deserves to stay high on the agenda of the human rights council.
to address the continuing critical human rights situation in the country.
we will work to secure concrete follow up to the resolutions on syria adapted by the council in.
we believe that the human rights council should maintain a strong effective capacity to monitor the situation.
this is why early in her mandate she participated last year in the main session of the human rights council together with us secretary of state hilary clinton and delivered a very strong speech on human rights.
the un has a unique legitimacy to promote respect for human rights as universal norms. throughout the past year the human rights council has demonstrated its willingness to respond in a united way to the call of millions of citizens for their right
i would like to highlight some of the eu's priorities for the session.
we want this council to have a direct impact on the empowerment of people and to hold accountable those who are responsible for grave human rights violations.
the issue of accountability in sri lanka should remain on the agenda of the council.
the annual session of the human rights council which brings together key actors on human rights from states to ngos can be considered the world's house of human rights.
i will stress the eu's determination to continue playing an important role in the work of the council.
there must be no impunity for gross human rights violations.
the high representative ms ashton welcomes the continued interest of the european parliament on the eu human rights policy in the un and the intention of parliament to send a delegation to geneva to attend the nineteenth session.
the eu will engage at the human rights council for freedom of religion or belief seeking to renew a strong collective response based on human rights standards. finally last year the council adopted a landmark resolution on lesbian gay bisexual and transgender people
that question allows me to say that we will be voting against a criticism of her in this text when she will be in the foreign affairs council upholding that and other principles when she is unable to be in geneva.
indeed the human rights council will be an historic first after the first ever un resolution on human rights sexual orientation and gender identity was adopted last year.
the council will at last examine in depth the issue of human rights breaches of lgbt people across the world.
we commend the excellent work of the high commissioner for human rights navi pillay and hope this session's panel will be open frank and intelligent.
equally we need to monitor developments in zimbabwe and condemn the systemic and escalating violation of human rights in zimbabwe under the mugabe administration.
in belarus the dictatorial regime needs to be brought to an end the death penalty abolished political prisoners released and free and fair elections must take place.
i also welcome the focus on discrimination against people living with hiv and aids.
mr president human rights and their universality are increasingly under pressure as a result of block politics in the united nations and because of allowing countries into the human rights council who have less than a clean state themselves.
another concern i have is how to ensure that the un human rights council takes the changing world sufficiently into account.
human rights defenders are presented under torture with transcripts of their email mobile phone and other conversations.
people are tortured for their passwords and we see that european technologies play an important part in making that happen in repressive environments.
the struggle for human rights has moved online and digital freedom is increasingly essential for human rights such as freedom of expression press freedom and access to information but also the documentation and sharing of human rights violations with the rest of the world.
frank la rue's un report on freedom of expression is essential in this regard. it also clearly states that copyright enforcement could risk undermining the respect for fundamental rights and freedoms. i would urge prioritising digital freedoms within the un human rights council context and to ensure that information is upgraded.
are all the experts in the world wrong?
so what the market thinks is actually very important.
italian bonds issued this week saw very low demand at very high rates despite the purchasing of billions of italian and spanish bonds by the ecb in the secondary market.
who is going to buy the debt if it is not the investors?
unfortunately they keep silent in this parliament and are absent.
who saves the saviours as federal president wulff rightly asked.
i understand the worries in germany.
greece will have to do the same.
i have the impression that i am attending a funeral in waiting.
that is what we have done with the euro.
apparently these parties have two views one in berlin and one in strasbourg.
germans will have to pay but what if germany gets into trouble itself?
but now realities are flying in our face.
i suppose there is some good news at least and that is that in germany people are waking up;
help it out of the mess that you have put it into.
stand up be a man admit it.
you have three part time overseas dictators that now tell the greek people what they can and cannot do.
so now what you have got is economic governance and everybody here in this front row supports more european economic governance.
and when i stood up here five years ago and talked about greek bond spreads you treated me with such utter derision it was as if i had been led out of the local lunatic asylum.
i saw for the first time even your own supporters shaking their heads.
what is european economic governance? i will tell you what it is it is a plane landing in athens airport out of which get an official from the commission an official from the european central bank and an official from the appalling imf and those three people the troika you call them go in they meet the greek government and they tell the greek government what they may or may not do.
and you cannot say you were not warned. you were told the treaties were fatally flawed. you were all told that greece should never have joined the euro.
right up to the president people are saying all of this represents the death of democracy.
you have killed democracy in greece.
your one achievement is that you have split europe between north and south.
your policies have failed.
frankly unless greece is allowed to get out of this economic and political prison you may well spark a revolution in that country.
the latest economic data and developments point in the direction of these proposals and these policies.
finally we made a number of proposals to tackle the root causes of the crisis on for example financial regulation and addressing macroeconomic imbalances.
my group published a paper a year ago setting out an alternative economic agenda entitled a fair way out of the crisis'.
two thousand and thirteen the commission's latest forecasts expected tomorrow will show that many member states cannot possibly make the two thousand and thirteen deadline.
it is about the content of the policies.
things have moved on this front but an ftt of.
it is absolutely critical that we find a proper balance between consolidation and urgent support for growth and investment.
we proposed a financial transactions tax as part of a broader budget revenue package.
i hope this time you will read it and act on it.
we proposed a european stability agency to manage a system of eurobonds.
we called for a growth and jobs pact. there has been no focus at all on growth or employment in the last year.
it is not just about european economic governance.
on the first the commission does not even support a ban on naked short selling and on the second the council opposes a symmetrical approach between deficit and excess countries.
we launched a monetary union but we did not launch an economic and fiscal union and we know that it is impossible to have one single currency with seventeen different governments seventeen different bond markets seventeen different economic strategies.
a single currency.
that is the request of the financial markets of today.
so you have the choice.
the first is a real economic governance and economic government. excuse me but the proposals of mrs merkel and mr sarkozy a few weeks ago are not doing the job.
now. and it is urgent to do it now and not to wait until the end of the year as some are proposing.
what do we need?
for the first time we have markets which are not asking for more deregulation;
we need growth.
no they are they asking for more unity in europe for a transfer of power to the european level.
a government of heads of state and government seeing each other twice a year is not a government.
i think we also made a mistake of method. what we have used over the last ten years in europe is a bad method a weak method an intergovernmental method and markets simply do not believe that member states can produce enough discipline and enough solidarity to keep together
but what is really at stake is a deep crisis in the eurozone.
that does not exist anywhere in the world.
there is an active debate on eu economic governance and there definitely is a need to rethink our institutional structures.
therefore the necessary condition to protect economic growth and job creation economic recovery is to contain the turbulence and reinforce our economic governance to create solid foundations for the continuation of the recovery
therefore i agree with all those of you who have said that deeper economic integration and policy coordination is one key remedy to the crisis.
let us be honest about this;
i mean you vote;
i very strongly disagree.
we must be able to decide more quickly and more effectively and we must be much better in the implementation of our decisions in the european union.
and to ensure sustainable public finances.
whatever way you look at it it is absolutely certain that a default and or exit of greece from the eurozone would carry dramatic economic social and political costs not only for greece but also for all other
all of these member states must now demonstrate in a convincing way that they are serious.
the commission worked tirelessly through the summer to support the work necessary to implement the decisions.
i would now ask the co legislators to adopt this package as a matter of urgency.
tax. when it comes to the governance of the euro area i am convinced we need deeper and more results driven integration and let me be clear this has to be within the community
deliver. delivering also means that we need a better spirit of partnership and confidence between us the european institutions and the member states their governments and national parliaments.
to deliver this we need more not less europe. deeper integration is part of the
it is action that counts and those euro area member states that are providing the assistance so crucial for the survival and stability of the euro must also clearly show that they are determined to deliver support to countries that implement their programmes as they have agreed. they must acknowledge that this is also to their advantage.
to tackle the crisis we must correct the excessive deficits and debts in a determined and sustainable
future. after all this is why the community method and the eu institutions were created by the member states in the first
parts. the conclusion i draw is crystal clear the right way to stop the negative cycle and to strengthen the euro is to deepen integration namely within the euro area based on the community
it is an important package which includes measures to increase the flexibility and effectiveness of the efsf that will help to ensure financial stability.
to. the purpose of reform is to strengthen our social market economy;
after all the talk we are now very close to what the commission originally put on the table.
means. we must look at the reforms needed to correct these imbalances so as to create growth and jobs for the future.
united. but the fact is that our way of taking and implementing decisions in the economic and monetary union is consigning us to punching below our
so what is needed now in the short term?
way. moreover the independent work of the european institutions further strengthens the credibility of our economic and budgetary policies.
what would be our credibility on deeper integration if we could not deliver the six pack or the twenty one july agreement?
they have been agreed upon but they have taken too long and have not yet been fully delivered.
and to equip all europeans with the skills talents and opportunities to prosper in the global economy.
open. if we want to ensure democratic legitimacy for decisions taken at european level full unequivocal respect for the role of this house is crucial. if we want european citizens to take ownership of european integration re nationalising euro area decisions is not the way to
we must make the case and persuade our citizens why they should give their support. national politicians need to do much more to explain the benefits that the euro brings and we in the european institutions have a special role to play.
market investors will trust us only when we can show that we are able to deliver on our commitments and in a real determined
europe. in the age of globalisation everybody expects europe to be stronger and
of course the fact there were also difficult moments on the other side of the atlantic creating doubts regarding the situation of the united states of america was also a major factor aggravating the general very negative investor sentiment.
a sound economy also means we need sound financial markets.
let us not confuse these projects for deeper integration with immediate necessities.
only by proving ourselves in this way can we regain the market and public confidence necessary to even aspire to longer term goals to a more ambitious euro area and to a stronger
our citizens the markets and our partners in the world have not yet been convinced that we are capable of taking on that fight and winning it decisively.
now is the time to prove our full commitment to the principles of solidarity and responsibility.
last weekend the greek government took significant steps to deliver on their commitments.
the crisis that we are facing is the result of competitiveness problems.
in the next weeks we will go further with proposals to tackle insider trading and market manipulation among others as well as measures to address concerns over credit rating agencies.
we must avoid compounding the dissatisfaction in public opinion by being seen as failing to deliver overnight what we already know takes
the perspective of recovery and growth should be made a national cause.
the same types of imbalances have also built up worldwide.
they have to return to their original function of a service industry for the real economy.
change. but we must be honest this will not bring an immediate solution for all the problems we face and it will be one element of a comprehensive approach to further economic and political integration.
both commissioner rehn and i came to brussels to drive this work forward. therefore i expect all euro area member states to make good on their promises and urge them to ratify the twenty one july agreement by the end of september.
the development of their profits must reflect the real economy. we have presented a whole series of proposals to this end including those on short selling and over the counter derivatives.
time. it has become clear that we need an even greater integration of our economic and budgetary policies.
ideas that would require substantial treaty change are not going to be a substitute for greece doing its homework or for euro area countries strengthening their fiscal surveillance.
supporting the euro is not just an act of solidarity towards others.
i urge greece to finalise these efforts together with the troika.
place. the economic and monetary union cannot function properly only on the basis of decisions taken by unanimity because if a eurosceptic fringe can determine the position of one member state and if one member state can block decisions the result is that we are not credible.
the obstacles raised by some in implementing the crucial decisions already in the days and weeks following the meeting exacerbated the extraordinary developments in the sovereign bond markets during august.
our impulse for reform must go hand in hand with our sense of fairness and social equity.
reassurance for our citizens for investors and for our world partners can only come from the conviction that a comprehensive approach is being delivered in the short medium and long term.
key. we must use all instruments available to promote growth.
power. it is about efficiency and delivery.
united. we are a valued partner in global fora and debates and we have a significant influence on global issues such as trade and climate change because in those matters we are able to act together
method. this is the way
it foresees lowering lending rates extending the maturities and allowing the facility to do more than intervene only in a precautionary way by allowing it to intervene on the secondary markets.
to deliver a fair society where everyone has a chance in life and nobody is left behind;
jointly. we must show that the community actors are strong united and able to
it is now almost one year since the commission put forward ambitious proposals to strengthen governance of euro area economies.
way. this is the only way to create a union of stability and growth and it can only be done convincingly through the community method. we have a duty to learn the lessons of the crisis and to focus on the creation of growth and jobs. at the top of the agenda is the need to build a strong economy and not to use fiscal or monetary stimulus to live beyond our
weight. only by acting together and maximising the benefits of our interdependence will europe reach its true potential and be able to act as more than the sum of its
europe needs to reform to deliver the good jobs the better healthcare and the comfortable retirement that all europeans aspire
all euro area member states have made commitments and are making efforts to put in order their public finances and to implement economic reforms that are indeed a precondition for growth.
we have to recognise that sometimes there is a real problem between the speed of the markets and the time we take to make democratic decisions. markets are impatient and democracies are usually slower.
as i promised the european commission will also very soon propose a financial transaction
honourable members the signal i receive time and time again from our global partners including in the g twenty is that the world expects a more integrated
solution. it will happen not overnight but in a solid democratic process with the participation of this
this is a fight for what europe represents in the world.
it is not enough to make plans.
another urgent priority is the six pack on reinforced economic governance.
this has resulted in an accumulation of debts and deficits that are simply not sustainable and have been further aggravated by the financial crisis.
mr president finance ministers these days praise the ecb for doing a great job and they have a point because the ecb is now becoming a fiscal institution.
it is a confusion of roads in economic policy and it cannot be successful because it will really create inflation and it will really put more debt on those countries which are now saved apparently from this debt crisis.
i think we have to realise that the finance ministers have to do their job and the sooner they do it the better for the eurozone.
interest rates are too high for southern european countries that are in recession because they have been raised to curb inflationary pressures in germany.
while this might postpone the crisis there is a real danger that the ecb will purchase bonds the market value of which will eventually fall as has occurred with the bonds from greece ireland and portugal.
and even an institution like the ecb cannot survive a massive fall in the assets on its balance sheet without huge recapitalisation at the expense of taxpayers in the eurozone and outside it.
localism is not eurosceptic opportunism or protectionism;
far too often decisions are taken by this house without even considering whether that decision could be taken locally or nationally.
yes we need to mend our public finances but we must also improve competitiveness and cut those costs.
for example we do need international agreement on banks but we do not need every mortgage offer to every resident in every country to be identical.
yes we should work together when necessary but we must also give back responsibility to our citizens and our governments wherever possible.
today we are witnessing such a failure taking place in the eurozone.
the political elites of europe including those in this house dare not admit that what they have introduced is failing even when membership of the eurozone is increasingly damaging the infrastructure of member states.
this arrogant indifference together with growing disenchantment by the peoples of europe is a dangerous brew and is leading to public disorder. more will occur.
the european union exists on the maxim that every problem merely requires more europe when invariably it requires less and less or none at all.
the option that member states return to their own national currencies is never considered even when it obviously is the correct and only course of action.
the single currency contains the seeds of its own destruction.
already it is causing hardship and the breakdown of society.
it is long overdue that this house recognise this reality and place the welfare of the peoples of europe above misplaced political ambition.
in the name of economic governance is something which is incredibly dangerous. far from this european project being something that will engender peace it is likely to do the very opposite.
we need more decisions in the europe we have today in order to make real changes.
i think one of the most important things is to use the opportunity we have.
the european union is the biggest economy in the world but we are not making use of that because we are not the biggest market.
it seems to me that when things were good in europe or we thought they were good everybody was in agreement.
we are being tested politically because of the crisis.
while much of this debate has focused on the economic crisis and the problems in greece i think the problems are much closer to home. they concern the profession that i am involved in as these are problems with the profession of politics.
how do we as elected representatives deliver better for our citizens?
how do we tell them the harsh messages that they may not want to hear but which we need to deliver to them in order to make progress?
we need to look at ourselves to find those answers. what spurs me to keep going is the messages from the extreme right and the extreme left.
greece and other countries are suffering from a crisis of competitiveness.
it will not be solved by imposing yet more high interest loans on greece.
it will not be solved by a financial transaction tax.