unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive  - Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Claude Gruffat
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Hungary
Language: FR

Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Commissaire, chers collègues, derrière ces noms et acronymes de MiFIR et MiFID se cachent des enjeux bien réels et majeurs pour la vie des gens aux quatre coins de l'Europe. Comme l'a dit ma collègue Karima, rapporteure fictive dans ce délicat dossier, les textes qui en sont sortis auront en effet un impact très concret sur le porte-monnaie de nos concitoyens et concitoyennes, et nous pouvons nous féliciter des victoires portées par la famille des écologistes, ici. Dans mon travail au sein de la commission ECON de notre institution, depuis plusieurs mois, j'ai lu et entendu des propos d'experts et d'expertes pointant le rôle de la spéculation sans limite et des manipulations de marché dans des hausses extrêmes de prix que nous avons connus depuis le 24 février 2022 et le déclenchement de cette guerre par Poutine en Ukraine. Combien de millions de personnes parmi les plus vulnérables ont été dans l'obligation de demander un échelonnement des factures et ont été dans l'obligation de ne pas se chauffer ou de procéder à des coupes dans leur budget quotidien, pour pouvoir régler leurs factures de chauffage, d'électricité comme l'hiver dernier et l'hiver en cours. Selon le rapport annuel d'Oxfam sur les inégalités qui vient de paraître aujourd'hui, 99 % de la population européenne s'est appauvrie ces trois dernières années. Oui, 99 % de la population européenne s'est appauvrie ces trois dernières années. Non, la spéculation financière n'est pas l'unique cause de cette inflation, mais oui, elle a joué un rôle que personne ne peut sérieusement nier. Et pourtant, ce facteur a été complètement négligé par la Commission européenne et a été tout bonnement ignoré par les groupes de droite de cet hémicycle, trop occupés à défendre les intérêts des grandes entreprises. La disposition que mon groupe a portée dans le coupe-circuit, cette capacité donnée aux autorités de marché de suspendre les opérations sur des produits donnés en cas de volatilité conséquente, permet d'atténuer, à défaut d'annihiler complètement, ce problème de façon significative. Le sujet est cependant loin d'être clos et beaucoup reste à faire. Lors de notre prochain mandat, nous serons là pour nous assurer que les grandes entreprises non financières qui agissent comme des spéculateurs sans scrupules soient bel et bien soumises aux mêmes règles que les traders. Dès 2025, nous nous battrons pour ériger de véritables barrières contre la spéculation sur les matières premières. À l'instar de ma collègue Karima je vous appelle donc à appuyer ce texte.
Debate: Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive  - Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Clare Daly
Political group: The Left
Country: France
Language: EN

Madam President, I think in some ways this regulation is a little bit like trying to close the stable door after the horse has bolted. In 2007, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive introduced competition in the market of equity trading in line with the objectives of the European Union, which made free movement of capital a fundamental freedom protected by the Treaties. Now this is neoliberalism unleashed. What did you actually expect would happen? It was inevitable that speculators were going to gamble on the markets in food and commodities, enabling them to make massive profits while pauperising and starving people in the process. We see the global food price crisis that we’ve witnessed, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, really exposing the real nature of our society, which puts financial interests before the economic well-being of citizens. And while we may try to curb that power here and introduce transparency, the truth is that casino capitalism is uncontrollable. You can’t keep a tiger as a pet. Financial speculation is parasitic; it’s non-productive. It should be outlawed in totality. Full stop!
Debate: Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive  - Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Mick Wallace
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Madam President, in the last 20 years, beginning in the year 2000, there’s been a gradual deregulation of the financial markets worldwide, beginning with the United States, with the rest of the world, including the EU, following suit. This deregulation has continued at pace, notwithstanding the global financial crisis of 2008. The gradual encroachment of financial speculators into new domains, such as food, water and housing, and the financialisation of these areas has had a serious negative impact on society and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency, with regulation now required. We are in this position because we have let hedge funds invest and speculate on the human rights of our citizens. Grain, for example, can be sold 60 times on the market, and more sometimes, before it’s eventually used by people. In Ireland, US vulture funds have garnered huge control of the housing supply at a terrible cost to the Irish people, because the neoliberal Irish Government let them do so. This directive of the European Parliament is a start, but we’ve a long way to go.
Debate: Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive  - Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Nicolas Schmit
Language: EN

We may have just concluded this file, but we should keep discussing how the EU can best contribute to efficient market structures, especially as we set up the consolidated tapes. We can only ask you to keep monitoring developments on all aspects around the competitiveness and stability of Europe's securities markets. Together, we can make sure that the review, in a couple of years, of the design of the consolidated tape for equity will lead to even more ambition in terms of pre-trade information, as proposed in the ECON report. Finally, market participants and investors will get access to consolidated data on price and volumes. This will make EU capital markets more visible towards EU investors and international investors. In turn, EU listed companies will be more attractive towards investors and the EU markets will become more efficient. As we debate how to make the EU economy more competitive, it's clear that these measures will make a real contribution.
Debate: Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive  - Amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Danuta Maria Hübner
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Let me say again that the MiFID review comes at a critical time for the Union, and the consolidated tape will be a key element of our efforts to ensure that private investment is channelled into the economy efficiently. We also hope we will have an attractive ecosystem for new listings and a more efficient trading landscape. I expect it will boost investment activity, making the Union's markets easier to navigate and more attractive, including for small investors. Tomorrow's vote marks the beginning of the work for the implementation of the regulation. ESMA has already announced that by the end of this year, it will launch the public tender for the first consolidated tape for bonds, which will become operational as of 2025, and the Commission – as Commissioner Nicolas Schmit said – has begun already its work to make the reference data for derivatives more transparent and meaningful. So the work at level two will then continue for the next couple of years. The CMU for quite some time has been a key political project aimed at reducing dependence on bank funding and overcoming national differences, but it was a project that too often lacked the political will and momentum to drive the vision of a robust and integrated capital market union forward. But it was not the case in this review where, thanks to the strong support of all political groups in Parliament and of the Commission, we were able to secure an agreement that is a great success for the Parliament. This House has shown once more that we continue to show the ambition to push towards the creation of a truly single capital market union for the benefit of all European citizens. Given the positive outcome and the strong endorsement at the ECON Committee level, there were only two abstentions. There was no negative vote and nobody was against. I would like to invite all the colleagues to vote in favour of the Interinstitutional Agreement tomorrow.
Debate: The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Evelyn Regner
Country: Netherlands
Language: EN

The next item is the debate on the Commission statement on the need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process (
Debate: The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Nicolas Schmit
Language: EN

Until today, 28 attacks were carried out by the Houthis since mid-November. The Houthis are presenting their repeated attacks as a support to the Palestinian people, and they have launched some missiles toward Israel. The Houthis, together with Hezbollah and some Iraqi and Syrian militias, are aligned with Hamas. The EU has continuously condemned those acts and underlined that they must stop, notably through the EU spokesperson’s statements of 5 and 13 December, and through our latest EU 27 statement of 12 January. The EU also called for the immediate release of the Galaxy Leader vessel and its 25-member crew, illegally seized on 19 November. EU services are also following closely the joint military response of the UK and US, members of the Prosperity Guardian Operation, to repeated Houthi attacks against maritime vessels. The US and UK have carried out joint strikes on 11 and 12 January on over 60 targets at 16 sites in Yemen, with the support of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, as a response to repeated and escalating Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, notably the complex attack of 9 January, following repeated messages from the international community. The EU continues actively engaging and coordinating with partners in all diplomatic fora to counter the Houthi threats to commercial vessels and find effective solutions. The High Representative, on behalf of the EU and its Member States issued a joint statement, published last Friday, welcoming the 10 January UN Security Council Resolution 2722. The UN Security Resolution recognises that states are entitled to defend themselves against the attack against their vessels in perfect contradiction, by the way, of international law. The EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta shares maritime awareness with the multi-nation Operation Prosperity Guardian from its operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Further options will be discussed at the level of the European Council concerning the EU maritime response. However, it is unlikely that the Houthis will be deterred immediately, given the international visibility they have enjoyed with these actions. Houthi leaders have already indicated they will continue their attacks as long as the situation in Gaza remains. They have already resumed attacks, with a missile fired towards US forces on 14 January. The last point of concern is the impact these developments in the Red Sea can have on peace efforts in Yemen, which had reached a new positive phase on 23 December with the UN’s takeover of the peace process following a year of Saudi-Houthi backchannel talks.
Debate: The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Radan Kanev
Political group: PPE
Country: Ireland
Language: BG

Аз съм шокиран да чуя, между другото, и то неведнъж от хора, които политически оценявам като руски активи, това, че нанасянето на удари срещу военните способности на тази пиратска групировка е проблем за търговския трафик, а не за нейната пиратска дейност. Няма съмнение обаче, че трябва да гледаме на тази криза и от нейната хуманитарна гледна точка, от гледна точка на живота и правата на цивилното население в Йемен. И тук отново трябва да отбележим, че тъй наречените „хути“ са групировка, пряко спонсорирана, изцяло обезпечена от ислямисткия терористичен режим в Иран, която носи огромна отговорност за продължаващата вече над 10 години гражданска война и за стотиците хиляди жертви – цивилни, мирни йеменски граждани, и за покъртителния глад, последица от тази гражданска война в Йемен.
Debate: The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Pedro Marques
Political group: S-D
Country: Czechia
Language: EN

The Houthi attacks threaten the international navigation and the maritime security in grave disrespect from international law, and they endanger the lives of the civilian crews, some of them already abducted, and create serious environmental and obvious economic risks. Contrary to what the Houthi leaders say, the attacks are of no help in addressing the war in Gaza. In fact, they further destabilise the region and create increased risks for the populations. They also destabilise the world commerce, with effects that are already being felt in many regions in the world. We don’t need another factor to fuel a possible economic crisis. We therefore urge the Houthis to immediately stop the attacks, and call on all parties to avoid further escalation in the region. We particularly want to tell directly to the Iran regime: be on the right side for once, on the side of stability in your own region. We call on the Member States to be meaningful and take immediate and concerted efforts to address these attacks if the Houthis, of course, do not stop immediately. We need an effective operation in the Red Sea, with an executive mandate to ensure the naval security in the region. This should be built from close cooperation with the regional actors, but also with our international parties, many of them which are already acting on the ground. There is no more time for ambiguities. Europe is a commercial stronghold in the world, but that also means we must protect our trade capacities. Europe and the world are already suffering from the consequences of successive wars, and the spike on energy prices and inflation that came with it. People are dying by the thousands because of these wars. We cannot add the death or the abduction of the crews in the Red Sea, the destruction of our vessels, and the health of a good part of the world commerce to all the tragedies already taking place in front of us. The EU is a world player and should act as such, including, as the High Representative referred recently, by enforcing the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2722, which reiterates that the states have the right to defend their vessels against these attacks in accordance to international law. Let us show that we can act. We will act when threats to the international law arise, no matter where or by whom these threats come to reality.
Debate: The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Hannah Neumann
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Sweden
Language: EN

To be honest, I'm a little surprised that it took the Council so long to come up with the proposal for an EU mission and hopefully a positive decision will be taken soon. But Commissioner, I was also surprised that you were not sharing any information on this with us here today. So do we really need to rely on political leaks to get the information? What is planned, what the process is, when the mission will be happening. So, maybe in your concluding remarks you could share some more information. At the same time, we have to make sure that the Yemeni people, who have been suffering from war, massive violence, escalation and a humanitarian crisis for 10 years will also be seen and will also be important in our response. I was in Yemen in December as the head of a delegation of this Parliament, and I can tell you, Yemenis want nothing more than this catastrophe to end. And we need to make sure that their voices are also heard in the ongoing debate, that their needs are taken into account when setting up our joint EU response, because otherwise the long-term effects of our policy in the region would be detrimental. Colleagues, allow me to make one more additional remark. All the drones and missiles that are being fired at merchant ships, or in the direction of Saudi Arabia, or even trying to target Israel, they were manufactured in Iran, they were transferred to the Houthis by the Revolutionary Guards, and no one will be able to bring peace to this region unless we finally dare to revise our Iran policy, to take a stance, to revise our relations with this brutal regime and to take a clear stance against the Revolutionary Guards. We must call them and treat them as what they are: a terrorist organisation terrorising its own citizens and the whole region.
Debate: The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Marc Botenga
Political group: The Left
Country: France
Language: EN

Now, we need to be clear, because those colleagues that say we need action seem to forget that there’s already been action. Last week, the United States, with a number of European countries, bombed Yemen, bombed cities in Yemen. This was not the first time. Barack Obama bombed Yemen. Donald Trump bombed Yemen. Joe Biden now bombed Yemen. Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen for years. And none of these interventions brought peace or security to the region. Rather, on the contrary, as these attacks were not covered by the Security Council resolution, which spoke about protecting vessels, not about bombing Yemen, this might actually deteriorate the image of Europe and the West in the world further. What we need is now a critical assessment of this policy and clearly look at the consequences and alternatives. And, of course, we need a ceasefire in Palestine as soon as possible.
Debate: The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Mick Wallace
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Madam President, the Houthis have made a humanitarian intervention in the Red Sea in an effort to bring the genocide in Gaza to an end. The Houthis have killed nobody while disrupting shipping in the Red Sea, ships which were facilitating the Israeli genocide. The Israeli regime has killed over 23 000 civilians. Over 10 000 of them are children. So who do the US and the UK attack? No, they didn’t attack the Israeli regime – because they're supporting the genocide. They attacked the Houthis instead, killing at least six people. So Western powers are prepared to kill people to protect the movement of goods, but the same Western powers kill thousands with sanctions in Iran, in Syria, in Venezuela, preventing the movement of some goods. The Houthis are showing solidarity with the Palestinian people, just like South Africa did in The Hague. But sadly the EU solidarity is with US empire and designers. Shame on the EU!
Debate: The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Clare Daly
Political group: The Left
Country: France
Language: EN

Madam President, every day now the mask falls further. On the very same day that the West's pet bulldog, Israel, was hauled into The Hague to face the charge of genocide in which EU countries are complicit, our so-called like minded partners, the US and Britain, flout the UN charter to commit their latest crime of aggression: illegal, unprovoked, unjustified airstrikes on Yemen, lawless barbarous acts to inflame the region and to make worse the catastrophic cost of living crisis being experienced by millions of Europeans.  And now some of you actually want to join them! Seriously, with a straight face, people have come in here and said they want to do that in order to uphold international law – the very same international law that a horrified world has watched being trampled into the ruins of Gaza, while the EU hands Israel more weapons and cheers on the genocide.  The Yemenis have killed no one and yet 25 000 Palestinians are dead, and all you're enraged about is international shipping! It's over. The EU has no moral authority. If you want to sort the situation out, end the genocide!
Debate: The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Özlem Demirel
Political group: The Left
Country: Hungary
Language: DE

Frau Präsidentin! Ja, natürlich sind die Angriffe der Huthi-Milizen auf Handelsschiffe im Roten Meer zu kritisieren. Doch wer das scharf kritisiert und gleichzeitig zu den Verbrechen Israels in Gaza schweigt, der betreibt ein heuchlerisches Spiel und der trägt nicht zu einer nachhaltigen Lösung in der Region bei. Und die USA blockierten im UN-Sicherheitsrat sogar die Forderung nach einem Waffenstillstand in Gaza. Das ist inakzeptabel! Die aktuelle Eskalation im Jemen ist eine Bedrohung für die Menschen dort. Und das sagt nicht etwa nur eine linke Abgeordnete, Özlem Demirel, sondern auch das IRC. Ja, wir reden über Jemen – ein Land, in dem Menschen leben, die schon seit neun Jahren vom Krieg gebeutelt sind, in dem eine humanitäre Katastrophe existiert. Und diese humanitäre Katastrophe wurde auch mit Waffen  Und jetzt sagt die Bundesregierung in Deutschland, sie will auch noch Eurofighter an Saudi-Arabien liefern. Nein, wir brauchen Deeskalation! Was gerade dort im Nahen Osten passiert, ist genau das Falsche. Es widerspricht den Interessen der Völker weltweit.
Debate: The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process
Date: MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Nicolas Schmit
Language: EN

The EU is actively working on solutions to restore maritime security in the Red Sea. This is an international problem that requires an international solution, and coordination. As you asked me about what the EU is preparing in relation to the EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta, further options concerning the EU maritime response will be discussed at Council level, based on a proposal presented by the High Representative. The EU is engaging with partners in different diplomatic fora, and to protect navigational freedoms and maritime security, the EU considers ways to enhance its presence, assets and capacity of actions in the Red Sea and beyond. It is too early to evaluate the impact of the Houthi’s attack and US/UK retaliation on the discussions concerning an internal ceasefire in Yemen. The EU will continue to support UN Special Envoy Grundberg’s work and the UN-steered peace process leading to a final, comprehensive and inclusive peace deal, including a permanent nationwide ceasefire. Just one personal remark. I’m a bit surprised that those who are bombing every night civilians, killing civilians, destroying infrastructures, houses, apartments, that they are in the forefront to condemn what, finally, is a military operation against terrorist attacks against peaceful vessels.