unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Sandra Pereira
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: PT

Senhor Presidente, este debate insere-se na operação de ingerência e desestabilização contra a Bielorrússia que a União Europeia, as suas Instituições e, particularmente, alguns Estados-Membros tentam levar a cabo. A instrumentalização dos refugiados e requerentes de asilo, na sua maioria procedentes do Afeganistão e do Iraque, que se encontram nas fronteiras da Bielorrússia com a Polónia e a Lituânia, e que têm como destino países que integram a União Europeia, é um claro exemplo desta ação que não tem mais do que objetivos geoestratégicos e políticos, colocando em causa a vida e a segurança de milhares de pessoas que procuram uma vida melhor.  O que se exige é que a União Europeia e os Estados-Membros pautem a sua ação pelo respeito da soberania, independência e integridade territorial deste país, no cumprimento dos princípios da Carta das Nações Unidas e do Direito Internacional, respeitando o direito do povo bielorrusso, como de qualquer outro povo, a decidir do seu presente e do seu futuro.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Ivan Vilibor Sinčić
Political group: NI
Country: Czechia
Language: EN

Mr President, unfortunately, Belarus is not the only place with endangered democracy. Listening to this debate today, many people in Europe will ask themselves: where are my freedoms? What about repression against us in Europe? What about repression against the people who just want to be free from the mandatory nature of digital COVID certificates – a useless document for prevention? Protests – we speak of protests in Belarus one year ago, but we cannot see the protests in our own capitals today. We speak of dictatorship, but where is democracy in our own countries? Is a bleeding person hit by the police in Minsk more important to us than a bleeding person in Berlin or Paris protests? We are blackmailing our citizens. Policies have been installed that have stolen their normal life. You cannot keep your job without the DCC; you cannot enter a public building without the DCC. There is even an idea rolling that the staff will not be permitted into this very building in the European Parliament without a DCC. If this continues, we can throw to the trash decades of work on declarations, resolutions and conventions that speak of rights and freedoms.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Rainer Wieland
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Mr Sinčić, it happens occasionally that even speakers from political groups are not following the agenda. This is the business of the political groups but you are non-inscrit, and you get the speaking time from a structure which is delivered by Parliament. I personally believe that with those people who get speaking time on that ticket we need to guarantee that those people stick to the agenda. I think this was not the case in your case, and I am going to inform the President that we have a closer look at such appearances.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Esteban González Pons
Political group: PPE
Country: Slovenia
Language: ES

Señor presidente, los que salieron hace un año a las calles de Bielorrusia no eran alborotadores, ni radicales, ni extremistas, sino ciudadanos anónimos, maestros, estudiantes, abogados, amas de casa, jubilados; no eurodiputados. Y solo pedían dos cosas: libertad y democracia justa. Más de siete mil hombres y mujeres fueron perseguidos, detenidos, torturados y enviados a prisión sin juicio. Ni siquiera sabemos hoy cuántas personas siguen encarceladas por orden de Lukashenko. Ahora el dictador bielorruso ha dado un paso más y ha empezado a emplear miles de refugiados iraquíes y afganos como armas humanas contra las democracias vecinas. Antes era la guerra híbrida de las injerencias electorales. Ahora se trata de desestabilizar nuestras fronteras orientales utilizando como proyectiles a personas que viven en suma desgracia. Putin y Lukashenko se han convertido en traficantes de personas. Putin y Lukashenko son jefes de la mafia que compra y vende personas en el este. Las sanciones contra Lukashenko deben no solo continuar, sino incrementarse. Y nosotros no debemos descansar hasta llevar a Lukashenko a la Corte Penal Internacional.  Muchas veces desde esta tribuna he pedido solidaridad para el sur. Hoy pido solidaridad para el este. Lo mismo que España, Italia y Grecia son frontera de la Unión Europea, lo son Lituania, Letonia y Polonia.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Maria Arena
Political group: S-D
Country: Belgium
Language: FR

Monsieur le Président, Madame la Commissaire, la répression en Biélorussie n’a pas cessé et s’est même accentuée ces derniers jours. Pourtant, de nombreuses initiatives ont été prises pour traiter cette situation de non-droit, mais ce n’est pas suffisant. Le mécanisme de sanctions imposées au régime et à ses affiliés qui le financent doit être plus fort, plus clair et plus large. L’Union européenne doit aussi impérativement renforcer son action sur la lutte contre l’impunité et soutenir tout mécanisme de collecte et de protection de preuves, pour que les crimes qui ont été commis ne restent pas impunis. Nous devons aussi donner plus de visibilité aux personnes que nous soutenons et ainsi demander l’envoi d’une mission de haut niveau pour rendre visite à ces personnes qui sont en prison. Enfin, il ne faut pas céder au jeu indécent de la migration. La réponse à ce jeu cynique de régimes illibéraux tels que la Turquie, la Libye ou la Biélorussie est une politique de la migration digne de ce nom, qui garantisse la protection des migrants, mais qui garantisse aussi le droit international de la protection de ceux-ci.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Michal Šimečka
Political group: Renew
Country: Italy
Language: SK

Vážený pán predsedajúci, tridsaťpäťtisíc Bielorusov zažilo za posledný rok nejakú formu štátnej represie: zatknutie, uväznenie, mučenie. A to číslo ukazuje na obrovské hrdinstvo Bielorusov, ktorí zoči-voči brutalite neprestávajú bojovať za európske hodnoty, naše hodnoty slobody a demokracie, deň za dňom. To sme si naozaj pred rokom nedokázali ani predstaviť. Rovnako sme si nedokázali predstaviť, že sa Lukašenkov režim napokon stane aj bezpečnostnou hrozbou pre Európu a pre medzinárodné spoločenstvo. Uniesol lietadlo s európskymi občanmi na palube a teraz najnovšie zneužíva zúfalý osud ľudí utekajúcich pred vojnou, aby destabilizoval európske hranice a schengenský priestor. Druhá vec je, že ani Európska únia nezvláda tú situáciu tak dobre, ako by sme možno čakali. Tie sankčné balíky prichádzali neskoro a stále nezasiahli kľúčové sektory ekonomiky, ktoré držia Lukašenka pri moci, ako napríklad petrochemický priemysel. Aj tá diplomatická a praktická pomoc pre bieloruskú opozíciu a občiansku spoločnosť mohla byť a musí byť omnoho výraznejšia. A my sami sme sa tým, že ešte nemáme dokončenú reformu azylového a migračného systému, stali zraniteľnejšími voči Lukašenkovej cynickej taktike. Kolegovia, v týchto dňoch sa veľa hovorí o schopnosti Európskej únie autonómne brániť vlastné hodnoty a presadzovať vlastné záujmy. A tu máme brutálny diktátorský režim priamo v Európe, ktorý mučí vlastných občanov a destabilizuje hranice EÚ. Ak sa nedokážeme vysporiadať s takouto výzvou, tak potom skutočne neviem, ako chceme byť silný globálny hráč.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Jordi Solé
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Bulgaria
Language: EN

Mr President, it’s been one year since brave Belarusians took to the streets to demand democracy for their country, and the dictator is still there. He and his illegitimate regime keep suffocating the democratic revolution, whilst our response so far has failed to make much of a difference.  What is happening at the border between the EU and Belarus is completely unacceptable: the instrumentalisation of migrants by Lukashenko’s regime, but also the response of some Member States, particularly Poland. It should not overshadow the fact that in Europe, in our immediate vicinity, there are 700 political prisoners in jail for defending democracy and freedom, that human rights defenders, opposition politicians, civil society, independent journalists keep being systematically repressed, and that people live in fear and under oppression.  The question is: have we, the EU, done everything possible? To be effective, sanctions must target the economically crucial sectors and companies supporting Lukashenko. The international approach must be consistent. Is it reasonable that while we adopt more sanctions, the IMF grants Lukashenko’s regime USD 1 billion? Stepping up our efforts may not immediately achieve the goal of a democratic Belarus, but it will show the Belarusian people that the EU, with its entire means, stands with them and with their struggle for freedom and democracy.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Paolo Borchia
Political group: ID
Country: Romania
Language: IT

Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, c'è stata una mancanza nel dibattito di questa mattina. Mi spiego: l'Unione ha inasprito le sanzioni e le restrizioni per quanto riguarda il divieto di sorvolo dello spazio aereo e di accesso agli aeroporti europei per i vettori in Russia. Tra le conseguenze ce ne sono di drammatiche. Infatti, è compromessa la sostenibilità dei programmi di adozione, che tradizionalmente coinvolgono famiglie adottive europee e bambini bielorussi, bambini che infatti, una volta adottati, sono costretti a rimanere nel loro paese, rimanendo separati fisicamente dai genitori che non riescono a visitare questi ragazzi se non attraverso alcune visite occasionali. È evidente che queste visite occasionali non possono sostituire il normale funzionamento dei programmi di adozione che, invece, dovrebbero permettere ai minori adottati di vivere permanentemente con la nuova famiglia. È una situazione dannosa per la stabilità di questi ragazzi che, dopo aver perso le proprie famiglie naturali, sono anche privati della possibilità di costruire un legame stabile con i nuovi genitori. Tre settimane fa ho inviato una lettera all'Alto rappresentante Borrell e sono ancora in attesa di una risposta. Servono deroghe alle restrizioni di viaggio, questo per ristabilire un minimo di normalità sulle adozioni e sui soggiorni terapeutici e soprattutto per evitare che i bambini siano sacrificati sull'altare della politica internazionale.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Ryszard Czarnecki
Political group: ECR
Country: France
Language: PL

Panie Przewodniczący! Szanowni Państwo! W jednej ze swoich powieści Ernest Hemingway cytował jako motto angielskiego poetę z XVI wieku, który pisał „Nie pytaj, komu bije dzwon: bije on tobie”. To, co dzieje się na Białorusi, jest elementem szerszego planu geopolitycznego. Za tym stoi Rosja. Musimy mieć tego świadomość. Dziękuję tym wszystkim posłom, którzy przede mną opowiadali się i pewnie po mnie będą opowiadać się za prawami człowieka na Białorusi, za wolnością w kraju europejskim, w kraju który jest częścią europejskiej kultury. To bardzo ważne. Natomiast my, jako politycy, musimy widzieć to w szerszym, geopolitycznym kontekście, bo rzeczywiście w cieniu tego, co się tam dzieje, w cieniu tego wszystkiego stoi pan Putin, Federacja Rosyjska, Kreml. Jest to element walki z Zachodem, a więc walki z nami, z naszymi wartościami. Warto o tym pamiętać.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Nikolaj Villumsen
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: DA

Hr. formand! Lige nu dør flygtninge på grænsen mellem EU og Belarus. Mennesker på desperat flugt fra krig og undertrykkelse bliver mødt med lemlæstende pigtråd og push-backs. Det er ikke alene umenneskeligt, det er et klokkeklart brud på retten til at søge asyl. Mens den socialdemokratiske regering i Spanien har stoppet brugen af barberbladspigtråd på grænsen til Marokko, så sender den socialdemokratiske regering i Danmark glædeligt den selv samme slags dødelige pigtråd til Litauen. Det er skammeligt.  Vi løser ikke flygtningesituationen ved at bryde internationale konventioner. Vi stopper ikke folk på flugt ved at lemlæste dem. Vi må og skal møde mennesker på flugt med medmenneskelighed og med en solidarisk fordeling af de flygtninge, som kommer til Europa.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Dorien Rookmaker
Political group: NI
Country: Netherlands
Language: NL

Voorzitter, de migratieproblemen in Europa lopen volkomen uit de hand. Litouwen en Polen worden geconfronteerd met een toestroom van asielzoekers, die daar door Loekasjenko zijn gedropt. Nederland kent ook een groot tekort aan betaalbare woningen, maar ook daar kloppen gemiddeld 2 500 aanvragers per week aan de deur. De situatie in Griekenland is na zoveel jaar nog steeds niet opgelost. Het is onze verantwoordelijkheid om dit probleem op te lossen in Europa, en dat betekent dat we de zaken anders moeten aanpakken, want zoals we het nu doen, werkt het gewoon niet. We moeten de aanwas van nieuwe asielstromen tegengaan door een harde aanpak van regimes zoals in Belarus, die asielstromen veroorzaken. We moeten werk maken van het bewaken van onze gemeenschappelijke grenzen. We moeten opvang in de regio organiseren en ten slotte moet de EU de afhandeling van asielaanvragen buiten de EU organiseren. De toegang tot Europa zonder geldige papieren kan dan effectief worden geblokkeerd. Het is tijd voor actie!
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Michael Gahler
Political group: PPE
Country: Spain
Language: EN

Mr President, dear colleagues, the Lukashenko regime just prevented my arrested innocent friend Pavel Sieviaryniec from attending his father’s funeral. My sincere condolences to his family. Such behaviour shows the evenly Stalinist and fascist character of this regime.  We must keep the Belarus issue on the agenda. Personal sanctions must be extended to all involved in the persecution of political prisoners. They must be more effectively implemented and extended to private economic profiteers and those state industries that create income for the regime. And let’s add those Russian entities that buy industries in Belarus as we speak.  What we need is to strengthen the legitimacy of the opposition. I wish that the Commission prepares the suggested conference on the future of Belarus, which would involve the leaders of the opposition and civil society to discuss how to implement the pledged financial package for a democratic Belarus once it is emerging.  What we do not need is ambassadors from Member States who refuse to meet Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya, and I wonder whether that is an act of appeasement rather or of personal convenience not to be declared persona non grata. In both cases, not acceptable.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Juan Fernando López Aguilar
Political group: S-D
Country: Germany
Language: ES

Señor presidente, señora comisaria Johansson, los tremendos desafíos impuestos por la vecindad con la Unión Europea de Bielorrusia bajo el infame régimen de Lukashenko no se reducen, por supuesto, a las cuestiones migratorias. Pero es imposible ignorar, desde la perspectiva de la Comisión de Libertades Civiles, Justicia y Asuntos de Interior, los derechos de los potenciales demandantes de asilo ante las fronteras exteriores de la Unión, que incluyen a Lituania, Letonia y, por supuesto, Polonia. Y es crucial asegurar transparencia y supervisión en todas las operaciones en frontera, particularmente en aquellas que cuestionan la efectividad del Sistema Europeo Común de Asilo. La Comisión es guardiana de los Tratados y debe velar por que los procedimientos de asilo y la Carta de los Derechos Fundamentales de la Unión Europea sean observados y respetados también por las agencias de la Unión Europea, también en las operaciones de Frontex. Y, por supuesto, sería bueno que se involucrase también a la Agencia de Asilo de la Unión Europea, que para eso hemos aprobado el Reglamento que la hace crecer para ejercer supervisión sobre el respeto del Sistema Europeo Común de Asilo en todas las fronteras exteriores de la Unión, incluidas las que tocan con ese infame régimen de Lukashenko.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Dragoş Tudorache
Political group: Renew
Country: Lithuania
Language: EN

Mr President, does anyone still remember the outrage we felt when we heard about the hijacking of a Ryanair flight? Can anyone still relate to the terror a young freedom fighter must have felt when he found out that the plane he was on would be landing in Minsk?  Our foreign affairs agenda moves on but, unfortunately, for those imprisoned in Belarus the terror is still real. The torture has been going on for months or even years, and justice has not been served. We cannot turn a blind eye. Our lack of action or reaction is what gives dictators of the world, near or far, the audacity to continue attacking the EU and the values it stands for with all the means available at their disposal. The cynical use of migrants as a political weapon is only one example of what such means can be.  We should therefore continue to hit the Belarusian regime where it hurts the most and add more sanctions, better targeting the economic interests of those oligarchs propping up Lukashenko. Moreover, we should not forget the puppeteer behind Lukashenko. We should specifically name the Kremlin regime an accomplice in this clear breach of international law.  As we talk about strategic autonomy and being geopolitical on the world scene, we have a responsibility to protect those that share, fight and suffer for the very values we promote as Europeans, particularly in our immediate neighbourhood. We must help and support the Belarusian people, we should help journalists and activists, who are being silenced by the regime, and we should do so both financially and politically.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Terry Reintke
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Italy
Language: EN

Mr President, what is the most powerful weapon that dictators and autocrats have? It is not the tear gas they use or the water cannons, or even the machine guns of their brutal police forces. It is oblivion. People like Lukashenko want us to stop caring. They want us after months and months and months to turn a blind eye, to look away and not look at what is happening in Belarus anymore.  Maria Kolesnikova was illegally detained more than a year ago. Last month, she was illegally convicted, once again, to 11 years in prison. Maria is 39 years old. If this madness is not going to be stopped, she’s going to be 50 by the time that this sentence is over, and even if our message today cannot reach her directly right now, as she is in prison, let us make sure that it’s going to reach Lukashenko. This Parliament will not stop caring. This Parliament is not going to look away, and this Parliament is not going to forget what has happened in Belarus. We will continue to stand in solidarity with the democratic opposition in Belarus.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Zdzisław Krasnodębski
Political group: ECR
Country: Greece
Language: PL

Panie Przewodniczący! Pani Komisarz! Ja chciałem tylko przypomnieć, że Parlament Europejski przyjął już trzy rezolucje w sprawie sytuacji na Białorusi, dwie – w tamtym roku, jedną – w tym. Unia nałożyła w czterech pakietach sankcje na Białoruś, które dotyczą aż 166 osób i 15 podmiotów. Mimo to Łukaszenka, nie zrażony tymi surowymi sankcjami, stłumił opór społeczeństwa. Niewątpliwie to on jest zwycięzcą w tym konflikcie. Jego protektor Putin będzie zasilany miliardami euro z Niemiec, nie tylko z Niemiec.  Wczoraj ogłoszono, że Nord Stream 2 został wypełniony gazem i zatrzymanie tej inwestycji to byłaby prawdziwa sankcja. Niestety nie było nas na to stać. Będą więc fundusze na akcję hybrydową na granicy Białorusi z Litwą i Polską. I możemy się spodziewać powtórki roku 2015.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Mick Wallace
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Mr President, the only reason we’re having this debate is because NATO has targeted Belarus for regime change. If the EU cared about human rights, we’d be addressing the plight of refugees and migrants at our borders and police brutality in places like France, Germany and Spain. Tikhanovskaya is a NATO tool: the Belarusian Guaidó. She has Atlantic Council advisers and is close to the likes of the Centre for European Policy Analysis, which is bankrolled by Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Chevron and the US Department of Defense. And much like Guaidó,  Tikhanovskaya has little popularity. According to polling conducted by England’s Chatham House, no less, only 4% of Belarusians believe she’d make a good president, while 23 percent prefer Lukashenko, and Viktar Babaryka is on 25 percent. The protests didn’t start unaided. The CIA caught out: the National Endowment for Democracy admitted to having their people on the ground. This interference should stop. It’s a direct violation of Article 2 of the UN Charter.
Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Rasa Juknevičienė
Political group: PPE
Country: Germany
Language: LT

Gerbiamas Pirmininke, gerbiama komisare, tai, ką dabar išgirdome, yra apgailėtina. Tai girdime per Kremliaus propagandos kanalus. Tai nepriimtina, ką girdime iš Europos Parlamento tribūnos. Aš turiu tai pasakyti. Nenorėtume priprasti ir neturėtume priprasti prie A. Lukašenkos žiaurumo. Jis žiaurus ne tik savo žmonėms baltarusiams. Jam žmogus gali būti kaip mina ar bomba, naudojama hibridiniam karui prieš Europos Sąjungą. Minsko režimas, palaikomas Kremliaus, renka turistus iš Irako ir kitų šalių, kad juos nuvežtų prie Europos Sąjungos sienos ir išstumtų į mūsų teritoriją. Parodėme, kad gebame atremti tokio pobūdžio atakas, tačiau grėsmės išlieka. Esminis būdas sustabdyti šį hibridinį karą – sustabdyti A. Lukašenką, tuo pačiu parodant Kremliui, kad nebandytų dar didesnių migrantų srautų. Turime sutelkti visas pajėgas įkurti tribunolą ...