unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: Need for urgent update of the EU list of high-risk third countries for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing purposes
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Damien Carême
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Italy
Language: FR

Madame la Présidente, Madame la Commissaire, Madame la Ministre, les criminels jouent avec les règles du jeu pour financer des attaques terroristes ici ou blanchir de l’argent là-bas. Sans scrupules, ils exploitent nos failles. La Commission et le Conseil ne peuvent rester sans réaction quand un pays tiers présente une menace spécifique et grave pour le système financier de l’Union européenne. Dernier exemple en date: les Émirats arabes unis. Nous savons que ce pays sert de refuge aux oligarques et aux criminels souhaitant échapper à nos règles du jeu et aux sanctions. Le Groupe d’action financière, le GAFI, référence internationale en la matière, a identifié ce pays comme une menace grave pour le système financier dès mars 2022 – cela a été dit à plusieurs reprises. Pourtant, il a fallu attendre neuf mois pour que la Commission mette à jour notre liste noire. Neuf mois auxquels le Conseil a ajouté un délai supplémentaire, nous rendant davantage vulnérables aux menaces et pressions extérieures.  Notre liste européenne devrait s’aligner dans les plus brefs délais sur celle du GAFI. La révision de notre liste noire est trop politisée, opaque et lente. Corapporteur avec Eero sur le règlement antiblanchiment, je prône une réforme en profondeur de cette procédure. La future autorité européenne doit également avoir un rôle clé. Il nous faut aller plus vite. Il nous faut frapper plus fort. Chaque semaine d’inertie du Conseil expose nos systèmes financiers et nos sociétés aux attaques des pires criminels.
Debate: Need for urgent update of the EU list of high-risk third countries for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing purposes
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Emil Radev
Political group: PPE
Country: Austria
Language: BG

Г-жо Председател, поискахме яснота относно мотивите на Съвета за забавеното решение по делегирания акт, затова благодаря на министър Джесика Розуел за дадените обяснения.  За всички ни е важно борбата с изпирането на пари да се води ефективно, не само на вътрешно ниво, имам предвид в целия Европейски съюз, но и на международно ниво, тъй като мръсните пари не признават граници. В тази връзка подходът ни към юрисдикции със стратегически недостатъци в защитата срещу финансовите престъпления е изключително важен. Затова и се отнасям с разбиране към нетърпението на другите политически групи по този въпрос, но не трябва да забравяме, че все още сме в рамките на нормалната процедура и няма място за сериозни притеснения.  Длъжни сме да подходим отговорно въз основа на факти, а не на пристрастия. Това е начинът да изградим адекватна обща европейска позиция спрямо високорисковите трети държави. Позиция, която да е максимално изчистена от задкулисни политически интереси или лобизъм. Призовавам все пак Съвета да вземе възможно най-бързо решение относно делегирания акт.
Debate: Need for urgent update of the EU list of high-risk third countries for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing purposes
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Juan Fernando López Aguilar
Political group: S-D
Country: Germany
Language: ES

Señora Presidenta, señora presidenta en ejercicio del Consejo, todo lo que sea fortalecer la unión de la Unión Europea en la lucha contra el blanqueo y la financiación del terrorismo es ir en la dirección correcta y tiene el apoyo decidido de este Parlamento Europeo. Por supuesto, lo tiene el acto delegado, la lista de terceros países de alto riesgo a efectos de blanqueo de dinero. Pero importante es también que la Presidencia sueca se emplee a fondo en impulsar el nuevo paquete antiblanqueo y contra la financiación del terrorismo, que consiste nada menos que en cinco nuevos reglamentos, incluida la autoridad europea contra el blanqueo. Pero el trabajo no estará completo hasta que no seamos capaces de cumplir el mandato persistente de este Parlamento Europeo de acabar también con todo lo que posibilite blanquear el dinero procedente de negocios ilícitos en el territorio de la Unión Europea, a través del margen de maniobra de sus Estados miembros. Hablamos de g
Debate: Need for urgent update of the EU list of high-risk third countries for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing purposes
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Clare Daly
Political group: The Left
Country: France
Language: EN

Madam President, if you read down the EU’s anti-money laundering blacklist, one of the things that immediately strikes you is that not one of the countries on the list is majority white and not one of them is what we would call the West. Because this blacklist is biased and inconsistent and has a lot more to do about lobbying power than a genuine assessment of risk.  Vanuatu, one of the world’s poorest countries, is on the list. Yet the EU says that the criteria for inclusion is about the economic relevance of the third country jurisdiction for the EU and the systemic impact on the integrity of our financial systems. Seriously? Vanuatu, with a GDP of 9% of Greece’s, is a threat to our financial integrity? Is it not really the fact that we’re picking countries that can’t kick us back?  Nothing being said about the Netherlands, nothing about Ireland, nothing about the US, nothing about the UAE, which is currently leaning on the EU to keep it off the blacklist. And they’ll probably succeed, because we want their oil, just as the Qataris would have succeeded, if they’d only just stopped to bribe us with oil.
Debate: Need for urgent update of the EU list of high-risk third countries for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing purposes
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Mick Wallace
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Madam President, the countries on this list are all non-white Global South countries. It’s uncannily similar to the EU’s tax haven blacklist. The rules are applied unilaterally and are often imposed on acutely vulnerable former European colonies.  For centuries, European economies were built and sustained on the backs of the very colonies which are now desperate to survive and compete in whatever limited way they can. Yet the EU is destroying the ability of these weaker states to compete by weaponising its unilaterally, disproportionately and unfairly applied rules on tax and anti—money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism list.  How can we accept the methodology for this list when the US is not on the list? The US financed al-Qaeda in Syria. The US financed the Mujahedin in Afghanistan. The US gives almost 4 billion every year to the settler—colonial apartheid State of Israel which carries out state terrorism against the people of Palestine. Why aren’t they on the list?
Debate: Need for urgent update of the EU list of high-risk third countries for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing purposes
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Jessika Roswall 
Language: EN

As I said in my introductory remarks, we expect the Council’s examination of the new list to be concluded fairly soon, and certainly by the 20 February deadline. Preliminary views expressed by the Member States lead me to think that the Council will not object to the delegated act, as I said also in my first statement, and also I explained why the delay of one month. As Mr López Aguilar stressed, we will also soon start the negotiations on anti—money laundering legislative files. That is currently on the table. The anti—money laundering regulation, in particular, will further codify EU rules as regards third countries. We look forward to our negotiations on those files as soon as you are ready. The Swedish Presidency will maintain close contact with Parliament and all the rapporteurs for the anti—money laundering legislative files. I will finally just take the opportunity to again reaffirm the importance that the Presidency attaches to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. As I said in my introductory remarks, this is one of the Swedish priorities: security. Thank you again very much for the debate and for your attention.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Katarina Barley
Country: Germany
Language: DE

Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärung des Vizepräsidenten der Kommission und Hohen Vertreters der Union für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik zur Lage in Afghanistan (
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Jutta Urpilainen
Language: EN

In mid-December, we saw the Taliban introduce additional restrictions on Afghan women. They are now excluded not only from secondary level, but also from university level, education. On 24 December, the Taliban issued a decree barring Afghan women from working in NGOs. The European Union strongly denounced these decisions. Furthermore – and this is worth emphasising – the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation made it clear that these decisions had been taken in violation of the purposes of Islamic law.  The humanitarian community has been forced into an operational pause in Afghanistan as female staff are essential for the effective delivery of aid, particularly to women and children. Let me be clear about what this means. In the depth of winter, with temperatures now dropping as low as -30 degrees Celsius and with more than 28 million Afghans in need of humanitarian support, the Taliban have taken a decision to prevent the delivery of aid and assistance services to Afghans most in need.  Even though some of our partners are now able to resume services in areas where exceptions have been made – these are mainly related to the delivery of health services and in primary education – there are still ongoing debates on the way forward.  We discussed these latest developments with the EU foreign ministers last week, who also manifested strong concerns. The United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, was in Brussels last week after her visit to Afghanistan and other countries in the region. She shared with us the results and her engagements with the Afghan de facto authorities and the search for a common position for the international community. Maintaining unity and coordination with our partners, the United Nations and NGOs, will be crucial.  One thing is clear: the current context is not business as usual, and we cannot act as if nothing had happened. We are assessing the different options at hand, yet our response to the Taliban must be calibrated against the need to protect Afghans, save lives and deliver assistance to the most vulnerable – especially women and children. We cannot allow the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan to deepen even further. That is our priority and it underscores everything we do in Afghanistan and all our engagements.  A year ago now, the EU delegation returned to Kabul to help the Afghans in need and to show our continued support for the Afghan people. Since August 2021, the European Union has mobilised EUR 419 million for humanitarian aid and more than EUR 400 million for basic needs and livelihoods. The EU’s presence and engagement show our continued commitment to the Afghan people and their future.  I look forward to hearing your views on the way forward.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Hildegard Bentele
Political group: PPE
Country: Germany
Language: DE

Ich glaube, diese Frage zerreißt viele von uns. Aber die EU ist der größte Geber an Hilfe, und wir sind als Parlament Mithaushaltsgesetzgeber, wir müssen uns dieser Frage stellen. Ich spreche heute in persönlicher Funktion zu Ihnen als Christdemokratin, als Mutter von zwei Kindern, davon eine Tochter. Und ich denke: Gerade wir in der EU haben den Frauen in Afghanistan viel Hoffnung gemacht, sie gefördert, wo wir nur konnten. Wir können uns jetzt, wo es um das bloße Überleben geht, nicht von ihnen abwenden. Wir müssen darauf hoffen – und dafür gibt es Anzeichen –, dass die neuen Regeln vor Ort weiter ausgelegt werden und dass es gelingen wird, sie durch den Pragmatismus der Hilfsorganisationen vor Ort weiter auszudehnen. Was nicht sein darf, ist, dass die Taliban einen Teil der Hilfsgelder abzweigen für ihre Zwecke. Hier bitte ich die Kommission, eine klare Linie zu fahren und uns Rechenschaft abzulegen. Derzeit sehe ich den einzigen Hoffnungsfunken auf Veränderung bei den afghanischen Frauen. Wir dürfen sie nicht noch schwächer, kränker und ausgegrenzter werden lassen. Sie müssen wieder Zugang zu Bildung bekommen. Das müssen unsere Forderungen sein. Ich denke, wir haben größere Chancen, sie umzusetzen, wenn wir über die humanitäre Hilfe einen Fuß in der Tür behalten, als wenn wir uns verabschieden.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Elena Yoncheva
Political group: S-D
Country: Czechia
Language: FR

Par conséquent, nous devrons au moins commencer à parler. Nous devrons au moins commencer à discuter de la grave menace que la culture illégale d’opium et la production de méthamphétamine représentent pour le pays. Il existe un lien étroit entre le trafic de la drogue et le terrorisme en Afghanistan. Le trafic génère des ressources financières qui sont utilisées par les groupes terroristes opérant dans la région. Vous devez augmenter votre pression sur les talibans pour qu’ils cessent de cultiver l’opium, et leur fournir des moyens de subsistance grâce à des cultures alternatives.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Petras Auštrevičius
Political group: Renew
Country: Lithuania
Language: EN

We, as the European Union, and the rest of the world cannot accept this situation and remain silent. The United Nations framework with active participation of Islamic countries need to be used to find a solution and to promote the transition from the Taliban’s political—social totalitarian regime towards a balanced situation. Aid to Afghanistan must continue in the context of restoring and ensuring the rights of women and girls. For the sake of Afghan’s present and future generations, we must not allow the Taliban to further isolate the country, erase Afghanistan from the world map and allow the gender apartheid.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Tineke Strik
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Poland
Language: EN

Especially because women are only allowed to receive aid from female workers, this ban will push people over the cliff. Let us not be misled, this is not just a way to pressure the West into negotiations, this is simply how the Taliban view society and the role of women. ‘I feel like I am in prison, treated like an animal that has no goal. This is not a life. I am dead and yet alive’, says a young female aid worker.  Commissioner, I agree with you, we must prioritise the well-being and the rights of Afghan women, children and men left behind in this horror and we can do so much more. Step-up the funding of aid organisations, they cannot resolve all the humanitarian aid at the moment. Use diplomacy to convince partner countries to join the sanctions and isolate the Taliban internationally, and offer sustainable protection to Afghan women and girls who are on our territories. The EU Asylum Agency has concluded that they are entitled to asylum, but many of them are still in a legal limbo and suffer from uncertainty. Commission, follow up this instruction from our agency and enforce their right to protection. Words of solidarity and grief mean nothing without concrete support.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Thierry Mariani
Political group: ID
Country: Croatia
Language: FR

En 2009-2010, j’ai eu l’honneur d’être le représentant spécial de la France en Afghanistan. J’ai rencontré des femmes afghanes qui en imposaient bien plus que notre appareil institutionnel. Instruites, libres, courageuses, elles ne se battaient pas contre des moulins à vent, mais bien pour leur dignité et leur avenir. Elles ont été les grandes oubliées de nos institutions. Car pour aider les femmes afghanes, concrètement, il fallait assurer un compromis géopolitique à Kaboul. Il fallait cesser de choyer le Pakistan. Il fallait travailler avec toutes les composantes de la vie politique afghane, et pas uniquement avec un gouvernement fantoche qui a fui le pays en ayant ruiné l’armée et volé le peuple. En un mot: en Afghanistan, défendre les femmes nécessitait d’être réaliste – tout ce que nous n’avons pas souvent su faire.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Clare Daly
Political group: The Left
Country: France
Language: EN

Well, I’m glad to see the leaked documents from November, when the Commission had finally woken up to the fact that humanitarian aid is not enough, no matter who distributes it. But even the conservative Human Rights Watch has acknowledged that the shortfalls in food, education and health will not be met without a plan that involves the Taliban. We might hate it, but it’s the reality. Otherwise, we’re condemning millions of Afghans to poverty, misery, death and destruction.  The Afghan people don’t deserve to be punished as retribution for the West losing its unjust war. We have to lift the sanctions. We have to unfreeze the financial flows. We have to let the Afghans survive and live. Shutting our minds and closing our eyes is not good enough any longer!
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Fabio Massimo Castaldo
Political group: NI
Country: France
Language: EN

Madam President, dear Commissioner, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 55% of the Afghan population is in dire need of humanitarian assistance. And numbers are set to rise due to the winterisation of the crisis. The decision to ban women from working in the public sector is not only unacceptable in itself, but it also constitutes a crime against humanity as it directly hampers the delivery of the humanitarian aids. Therefore, apart from expanding our individual sanctions to the Taliban leadership, we should also submit a formal request to the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute those responsible. Nevertheless, we ask you, Madam Commissioner, to encourage and support the United Nations and engage NGOs to find workarounds that can prevent the halt of the humanitarian assistance. Dear colleagues, we cannot look the other way while children, women and men, to which we promised a better future, are starving and do not have access to medicines. While we strongly and unwaveringly condemn the abhorrent policies put in place by the Taliban regime, we must do all we can for avoiding that Afghanistan becomes the hell on earth.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Željana Zovko
Political group: PPE
Language: EN

Madam President, Madam Commissioner, we should not close our eyes after our retreat from Afghanistan and forget about the peacebuilding efforts of the last decades. We should not let apartheid against women flourish. With the takeover by the Taliban, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has severely deteriorated, and I deeply deplore the recent ban by the Taliban of all the activities of female aid workers. In a humanitarian crisis, women and children are the most vulnerable, and it is often female aid workers that can deliver the highly—needed assistance to these groups and reach the most remote communities.  I call on the EU diplomatic service therefore to work on the removal of these restrictions and to make further humanitarian aid conditional on lifting this ban. Furthermore, more needs to be done against the threat posed by terrorist groups that reside, train and operate in Afghanistan.  While the international engagement in Afghanistan was exactly to fight against terrorism, these groups are getting stronger again. They form a danger for Afghani people, their neighbouring countries and the wider world. Mistakes from the past should not be repeated. Security should be safeguarded.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Dietmar Köster
Political group: S-D
Country: Lithuania
Language: DE

Frau Präsidentin! Die Taliban haben 35 Verordnungen gegen Mädchen und Frauen erlassen. Sie treiben den Prozess ihrer Unsichtbarmachung immer weiter voran. Nun dürfen afghanische Frauen nicht länger für internationale Organisationen und NGOs arbeiten. Tausende Frauen können ihre Familien nicht mehr ernähren. Die Gesundheitsfürsorge droht zusammenzubrechen. Frauen und Mädchen werden von der Gesundheitsversorgung ausgeschlossen. Menschenleben stehen auf dem Spiel. Die Asylagentur der EU kam letzte Woche zu dem Schluss, dass afghanische Frauen und Mädchen generell von Verfolgung bedroht sind und daher Anspruch auf den Flüchtlingsstatus in der EU haben. Dem folgend hat der dänische Beschwerdeausschuss für Flüchtlinge jetzt beschlossen, einem bereits bestehenden Ansatz Schwedens und der Asylagentur zu folgen, Frauen und Mädchen aus Afghanistan als eine Gruppe von Konventionsflüchtlingen zu betrachten. Dem müssen alle EU-Mitgliedstaaten folgen. Die Kommission muss endlich ein EU-Aufnahmeprogramm für afghanische Flüchtlinge auf den Weg bringen. Das sind wir den Frauen und Mädchen und den Menschen in Afghanistan schuldig.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Nicola Beer
Political group: Renew
Country: Germany
Language: DE

Frau Präsidentin! Afghanische Mädchen und Frauen durchleben einen vernichtenden Albtraum: kein Zugang zu Schulen, kein Zugang zu Universitäten, regelrecht verbannt aus dem Leben des Wissens und der Bildung! Einer ganzen weiblichen Generation droht in Afghanistan das gesellschaftliche Vergessen. Die weibliche Stimme Afghanistans, sie wird von den Taliban erstickt. Den Frauen und Mädchen wird ihre Existenz zynisch, beispiellos und brutal zerstört. Das Ausbildungsverbot der Taliban ist vernichtend und skrupellos. Tun wir bitte etwas! Jeder Tag, den wir nicht handeln, ist eine Kapitulation vor den Taliban. Jeder Tag, den wir nicht handeln, lassen wir die Frauen und Mädchen in Afghanistan im Stich. Wir brauchen jetzt eine breite Allianz für eine afghanische Online-Universität. Diese Online-Universität bietet mit Bachelor- und Masterstudiengängen Afghaninnen und Afghanen sowohl in Afghanistan wie auch im Exil die Möglichkeit, ein Studium zu beginnen oder fortzuführen. Viele afghanische Hochschullehrerinnen und Hochschullehrer mussten fliehen und könnten an der Online-Universität weiter unterrichten und forschen. Damit halten wir das Fenster auf für die jungen Menschen in Afghanistan, für eine selbstbestimmte und mutige Perspektive jenseits von Unterdrückung und Feindseligkeit.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan
Date: WEDNESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Alessandra Moretti
Political group: S-D
Country: Spain
Language: IT

Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, sono più di un milione le ragazze che in Afghanistan non possono andare a scuola. Vietare l'istruzione alle ragazze non solo nega un diritto fondamentale, ma priva l'Afghanistan del contributo professionale, culturale, economico e sociale delle donne, perché senza il lavoro delle donne il paese non potrà riprendersi dalla situazione attuale, che vede il 97 % della popolazione in povertà e 20 milioni di persone che soffrono di fame acuta. A essere a rischio sono tutti quei servizi essenziali, normalmente gestiti da donne, indispensabili per salvare vite, soprattutto di ragazze e bambini. Sono loro oggi a trovarsi vittime di violenze, torture e abusi sessuali, senza poter far appello ad assistenza legale e sanitaria. Chiedo alle istituzioni europee di esprimersi a favore della concessione di visti temporanei per ragazze e donne afgane, affinché possano trovare un ambiente sicuro in Europa e scappare dall'inferno. Non spegniamo i riflettori sull'Afghanistan, continuiamo a denunciare gli abusi e le violenze che subiscono le donne per mano dei talebani. Non lasciamole sole.