unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: Implementation of the - cohesion policy
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Krzysztof Hetman
Political group: PPE
Country: Netherlands
Language: PL

Pani Przewodnicząca! Pani Komisarz! O tym, jak ważna dla europejskich regionów i miast jest polityka spójności, nie trzeba nikogo przekonywać. Niemniej jednak teraz dostępność tych funduszy wydaje się jeszcze bardziej istotna niż zwykle. Polityka spójności może w znacznym stopniu przyczynić się do odbudowy po pandemii COVID–19, która, jak wiele kryzysów, pogłębiła nierówności w Unii Europejskiej. Nie mówiąc już o kolejnym kryzysie, z którym właśnie przychodzi nam się mierzyć, czyli o wszelkich skutkach haniebnej agresji rosyjskiej na Ukrainę. Niepokojący wydaje się więc fakt, że dochodzi do znacznych opóźnień w przyjmowaniu umów partnerstwa. Mamy pieniądze, ale pieniądze nie płyną do obywateli.  Wydaje się więc, że administracje państw członkowskich są znacznie obciążone po pandemii i że w tej sytuacji skupiły się na wdrażaniu Instrumentu na rzecz Odbudowy i Zwiększania Odporności. Jest to po części zrozumiałe, bo jako instrument antykryzysowy jest on nieco łatwiejszy i szybszy w wykorzystaniu. Dlatego musimy realnie ocenić ryzyko utraty części środków w wyniku opóźnień, o czym mówiła Pani Komisarz. Czy w związku z tym trwa dialog między Komisją a państwami członkowskimi? Jeżeli tak, jakie są najczęstsze powody opóźnień i w jaki sposób Komisja może wesprzeć państwa członkowskie w niwelowaniu tych trudności, tak aby przyśpieszyć ten proces i jednocześnie, oczywiście, nie zaniedbać jakości? Utrata jakichkolwiek środków w sytuacji, z jaką mamy do czynienia, podczas kryzysu, jaki mamy na wschodniej granicy Unii Europejskiej, byłby po prostu katastrofą.
Debate: Implementation of the - cohesion policy
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Vera Tax
Political group: S-D
Country: Sweden
Language: NL

Voorzitter, commissaris Ferreira, beste collega’s, de Europese steden en regio’s staan voor enorme uitdagingen. Ik dacht in eerste instantie aan het verduurzamen van huizen, het aanpassen van de infrastructuur, duurzaam transport en natuurlijk niet te vergeten: COVID-19. Kijk naar de zorgsector of de toeristische sector. Er is veel in te halen en daar kunnen de cohesiefondsen bij helpen. Het wordt dus tijd dat we daar ook echt aan beginnen en gaan implementeren. Maar meer dan ooit is nu natuurlijk de vluchtelingenstroom uit Oekraïne actueel. Ik ben heel blij, commissaris Ferreira, dat u hebt toegezegd dat u gaat kijken hoe de cohesiefondsen daar een bijdrage aan kunnen leveren. Want deze crisis moeten we natuurlijk als eerste het hoofd bieden. Daarom is het belangrijk dat de lidstaten daar ook snel aan gaan bijdragen, en ik ben blij dat u daar een grote rol in hebt.
Debate: Implementation of the - cohesion policy
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Stéphane Bijoux
Political group: Renew
Country: Spain
Language: FR

Madame la Présidente, chère Commissaire, je veux dire d’emblée que quand Vladimir Poutine attaque sauvagement l’Ukraine, il met aussi dans son collimateur l’unité de l’Europe et la cohésion des territoires européens.  Face aux grands défis qui sont les nôtres, y compris le grand défi de la paix, il faut renforcer la cohésion et la solidarité qui sont dans l’ADN de l’Union européenne. Territoire par territoire, région par région, cette guerre impactera absolument tout le monde. L’onde de choc est puissante. Elle ébranle déjà nos cœurs et elle impactera aussi nos économies et nos équilibres sociaux. Il faut accélérer le déploiement des fonds de cohésion au plus près des territoires. Il faut aussi poursuivre les efforts de simplification pour encourager les initiatives locales. La force de notre riposte et de notre résilience passe par l’intelligence collective des territoires.  Vous savez, le dictionnaire dit que la cohésion est une force qui unit. Mais ici, nous savons que c’est aussi une force qui est capable de réunir le meilleur de l’humanité pour affronter ensemble les pires moments de notre histoire commune.
Debate: Implementation of the - cohesion policy
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: François Alfonsi
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: France
Language: FR

Madame la Présidente, Madame la Commissaire, à chaque étape historique, la politique de cohésion a permis d’intégrer à l’Union des peuples et des pays nouveaux. Elle est ainsi devenue fondamentale pour la construction européenne. Face à la pandémie de COVID-19, l’Europe a dû faire face à une crise économique très grave, à laquelle elle a répondu par des programmes de relance ambitieux.  Une nouvelle crise survient, avec la guerre en Ukraine, dans notre voisinage immédiat. Les pays et les régions limitrophes sont au premier rang et de nouvelles politiques d’urgence devront être décidées. Mais si cette succession de crises nous amène à engager des réponses immédiates, il ne faut surtout pas s’écarter des fondamentaux de la politique de cohésion, qui sont un pilier essentiel de l’Union. Aussi, il faut s’alarmer des retards que nous observons. Il faut faire en sorte qu’ils soient résorbés et, surtout, que le cap de la politique de cohésion soit fermement tenu pour l’avenir de l’Europe.  Dans les temps troublés que nous traversons, l’Europe doit s’attacher à la solidité de ses fondamentaux. La politique de cohésion en fait partie. Elle a un rôle essentiel pour décliner sur tous les territoires européens les priorités votées dans ce Parlement. Nous comptons sur vous pour tenir fermement ce cap.
Debate: Implementation of the - cohesion policy
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: José Manuel Fernandes
Political group: PPE
Country: Ireland
Language: PT

Senhora Presidente, Cara Comissária, Caras e Caros Colegas, todos reconhecemos que a política de coesão é fundamental, é crucial. E é crucial para a coesão, para a competitividade e para a sustentabilidade. Por isso, é urgente que haja coordenação entre a política de coesão e os planos de recuperação e resiliência, para termos sinergias. E também é muito urgente que não se perca nem um cêntimo da política de coesão 2014-2020. E aí eu fazia desde já uma pergunta: qual é o montante de despesas que não foram autorizadas e que estavam disponíveis de 2014 a 2020 e que podem ser, por exemplo, utilizadas para fazer face à calamidade que nós todos estamos a viver?  Mas também é urgente que os acordos de parceria se executem e para isso têm que ser aprovados. E, lamentavelmente, só a Grécia é que tem o acordo de parceria aprovado. E estes acordos de parceria, Senhora Comissária, deviam ter um envolvimento dos territórios e dos beneficiários. Deveriam ter como princípio a simplicidade e depois também a transparência. Era necessário que nós soubéssemos onde é que o dinheiro está a cair, em que projetos, quem são os beneficiários finais e a localização. Até porque há algo que me custa: é ver-se, por exemplo, que a política de coesão, muitas vezes, é contra a coesão. Muitas vezes, o dinheiro destinado às regiões mais pobres vai para as mais ricas, o que aumenta as disparidades regionais, em vez de as diminuir.
Debate: Implementation of the - cohesion policy
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Josianne Cutajar
Political group: S-D
Country: Italy
Language: EN

Madam President, cohesion policy represents one of the most successful examples of European integration, which can help us reduce inequalities among European regions, especially the most peripheral ones. While the eighth report on cohesion has shown us that there are still significant gaps that we need to bridge, a swift implementation for the programming period 2021-2027 would mean to give concrete answers to citizens and small businesses in such difficult and uncertain times. Ahead of International Women’s Day, I’d like to reiterate the call of the report on cohesion policy and gender dimension, a dossier on which I worked last year for the application of gender budgeting in all stages of the evaluation, implementation and monitoring of the European structural and investment funds. Let me conclude by stressing the importance of ensuring gender-sensitive partnership agreements that can also contribute towards reducing inequalities between men and women, fighting the feminisation of poverty, combating women’s exclusion from many economic opportunities and preventing gender-based violence and all forms of discrimination.
Debate: Implementation of the - cohesion policy
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Alin Mituța
Political group: Renew
Country: Germany
Language: RO

Doamna președintă, doamna comisar, vremurile excepționale pe care le trăim cer măsuri excepționale.  În primul rând, niciun euro din bugetul Uniunii Europene nu trebuie să mai ajungă la beneficiari din Rusia sau din Belarus. De aceea trebuie să stabilim o interdicție generală ca bani europeni, inclusiv din politica de coeziune, să poată ajunge sub orice formă la companii sau la alți beneficiari din aceste țări.  În al doilea rând, avem deja sute de mii de refugiați în Uniune și acest număr va crește la câteva milioane. Este nevoie să extindem temporar eligibilitatea fondurilor de coeziune pentru proiecte de asistență a cetățenilor ucraineni, în baza drepturilor conferite prin Directiva pentru protecție temporară.  Privind spre viitor, Ucraina va avea nevoie de reconstrucție. Trebuie să susținem crearea unui fond de reconstrucție pentru Ucraina, spre care să direcționăm inclusiv o parte din resursele programului Interreg de cooperare transfrontalieră.
Debate: Implementation of the - cohesion policy
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Franc Bogovič
Political group: PPE
Country: Italy
Language: SL

Spoštovana gospa komisarka, spoštovana predsedujoča, kolegice in kolegi! Osmo kohezijsko poročilo je zelo jasno pokazalo, da je kohezijska politika uspešna in kohezijsko politiko nujno potrebujemo tudi še v bodoče, kajti še vedno so velike razlike med regijami. In ta osnovni princip solidarnosti, kar kohezijska politika je, mora aktivno in z dovolj sredstvi delovati tudi v bodoče. Covid kriza je pokazala nove probleme, v Evropski uniji smo uspeli tudi sprejeti načrt za okrevanje in odpornost. In ker so bile v preteklosti še neizkoriščene vse kvote iz finančne perspektive 14–20 so vsi tisti, ki so zaposleni s kohezijsko politiko na nacionalni, regionalni ravni, zelo zaposleni. Zato prihaja do precejšnjih zamikov tudi pri sprejemanju partnerskih sporazumov. V teh dneh vidimo novo krizo, se pravi agresijo Rusije na Ukrajino, in val novih beguncev, ki prihajajo v Evropsko unijo. Tudi sam zelo podpiram, da poskrbimo za te nesrečnike, ki so morali zbežati z doma, in da tudi v kohezijski politiki porabimo sredstva v ta namen, da bodo občine, regije lahko dobro oskrbele tiste, ki so pomoči v teh dneh najbolj potrebni. Vsekakor pa bo ta ukrajinska kriza, če smemo temu tako reči, zagotovo spremenila tudi naše prioritete in mislim, da bo v partnerskih sporazumih potrebno veliko kreativnosti tudi pomoči Evropske komisije, da bomo odgovorili na izzive, ki bodo prišli tudi kot posledico te krize.
Debate: Implementation of the - cohesion policy
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Sara Cerdas
Political group: S-D
Country: Czechia
Language: PT

O respeito pelos objetivos do Acordo de Paris, e orientados pelo Pacto Ecológico Europeu, e o objetivo de autonomia energética para a Europa, deverá ainda constituir uma prioridade, em parceria com as autoridades locais, instituições e sociedade civil na preparação dos programas da política de coesão desde o início. Saúdo a intenção da Comissão Europeia, em especial a Comissária Elisa Ferreira, de flexibilizar os regulamentos da política de coesão a fim de permitir o financiamento e apoio imediato às cidades e regiões que acolhem refugiados e também de financiar o apoio aos refugiados ucranianos.
Debate: Citizenship and residence by investment schemes
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Heidi Hautala
Country: Poland
Language: FI

Esityslistalla on seuraavana Sophia in 't Veldin kansalaisvapauksien sekä oikeus- ja sisäasioiden valiokunnan puolesta laatima mietintö ehdotuksista komissiolle sijoittajien kansalaisuus- ja oleskeluoikeusjärjestelyistä ( Jäseniä muistutetaan, että tällä istuntojaksolla keskusteluissa ei anneta pyynnöstä myönnettäviä puheenvuoroja eikä sinisen kortin kysymyksiä hyväksytä.  Huomautan vielä, että viimeaikaisten istuntojaksojen tapaan puheenvuoroja on mahdollista käyttää etäyhteydellä jäsenvaltioiden yhteystoimistoista. Muistutan myös, että istuntosalissa puheenvuorot käytetään edelleen istuntosalin keskellä olevalta puhujakorokkeelta. Kehotankin teitä seuraamaan puhujalistaa ja siirtymään puhujakorokkeen lähelle, kun puheaikanne on alkamassa.
Debate: Citizenship and residence by investment schemes
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Sophia in 't Veld
Country: Poland
Language: EN

Now, already in 2014, colleagues, this House called for a ban on golden passports. Then, in 2017, Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered, among other things because she exposed the corruption—riddled trade in passports. Today, the war in Ukraine puts the spotlight on this problem. Russians are the largest group of third—country nationals that have obtained golden passports and golden visas in the EU, many of them oligarchs with links to Putin’s Kremlin. They escape sanctions merely by waving their nice EU passports. It must end. A large majority in Parliament sends a very clear message to you, Mr Commissioner, a message that cannot be ignored. The Commission has to put legislative proposals on the table before the end of the year. Now is not the time to first wait for the blessing of the Member States to ban these schemes, as it is actually those same Member States that exploit those schemes. So now is the time for the Commission to be independent in the service of Europe and its security. President von der Leyen, incidentally, promised us to consider legislative initiative reports by Parliament as if we have the full right of initiative. So today would be a very good day to honour that promise. Parliament has done its homework. We have put on the table a complete and detailed set of proposals. Now let the national governments explain why they still think it’s a good idea for Russian oligarchs to get EU citizenship or residency rights. First, we want to phase out golden passports, no more sale of citizenship. Second, we call for very strict regulation of the golden visa to the point that they will lose their attractiveness for callous opportunists. Background checks shall be tightened, intermediaries shall be strictly regulated, and a requirement of physical presence shall be strictly enforced. We also call for rules governing the investment itself. It should not be enough to just buy a house or a villa. The investment must be in the real economy and in line with the climate and social objectives of the Union. And if countries monetise their EU membership in this way, then it’s only reasonable that they share that profit with their fellow Europeans in the form of a levy. The proceeds of which will be an own resource for the EU budget. And finally, third countries, often mini states – ‘statelets’ – who benefit from visa—free travel in the European Union should be banned from issuing golden passports as they have become the new route into the EU for undesirable characters. Commissioners, we are looking forward to your proposals. Consider this as support for a new initiative and independence of the Commission. And finally, I would like to thank all my shadow rapporteurs because this report is truly the fruit of a collective effort. So thank you all very much.
Debate: Citizenship and residence by investment schemes
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Jeroen Lenaers
Political group: PPE
Country: France
Language: EN

But for many, many years, our warnings have fallen on deaf ears. And now, with Russia invading Ukraine and starting a horrific war on our continent, it seems that Member States – apart from Malta obviously – have finally woken up and realised that it might not be the best idea to offer a backdoor into Europe for each and every individual with loaded pockets, and God knows what intentions, especially given the fact that 50% of these passports end up in Russian hands.  Both Commissioners today said it’s time to act. I say, better late than never, because those words need to be put into action now and not only temporarily or for the short term, we need a long-term solution. In that regard, the call of Roberta Metsola, our President, directly on the leaders of Europe to close these loopholes and end the dangerous phenomenon of golden passports was very important. We must ban the sale of EU passports and stop the flow of dirty Russian money into the European Union.  As we are facing Putin’s aggression, we must take decisive action at the European level. The legislative initiative we’re discussing today is the best long-term possibility to eradicate golden passports and to ensure that any residence for money scheme in the EU goes hand-in-hand with watertight security checks and thorough vetting of high risk individuals.  Let us be absolutely clear: the so-called Russian elite with links to the Kremlin and dubious self-serving investments cannot be welcome in the EU.
Debate: Citizenship and residence by investment schemes
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Juan Fernando López Aguilar
Political group: S-D
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Presidenta Von der Leyen, en su discurso de investidura y, sobre todo, en el discurso sobre el estado de la Unión de 2020, la presidenta de la Comisión se comprometió a atender el requerimiento firme y enérgico que viene sosteniendo la Comisión de Libertades Civiles, Justicia y Asuntos de Interior desde 2014, cuando, en lo peor de la gran recesión, se generalizaron en —¡cierto!— Chipre, Malta, Bulgaria, pero también en otros doce Estados miembros de la Unión Europea, estos esquemas de adquisición privilegiada de la residencia que da lugar a la libre circulación y abre el plazo para obtener la ciudadanía y el pasaporte de la Unión Europea a quien quiera comprarlo con dinero procedente de negocios corruptos, de negocios ilícitos, de la evasión fiscal.  Esta normativa no solamente es abyecta; es inmoral y es contraria directamente a los valores europeos, y, por eso, hemos exigido una y otra vez, y de nuevo en esta Resolución —que tiene como ponente a nuestra colega Sophia in 't Veld—, que se ponga fin a esos esquemas de adquisición privilegiada de la ciudadanía o la residencia por inversión.  Pero todo esto cobra una importancia recrecida ante la evidencia de que la Unión Europea está obligada a crecer en su respuesta, de una vez, ante la intolerable agresión de Putin contra Ucrania.  Es cierto que la Unión Europea no es una potencia militar, pero tiene que emplear todo su  Por eso esperamos esa iniciativa legislativa prometida por la presidenta Von der Leyen que ponga fin a los visados dorados y a los pasaportes dorados. ¡No a los oligarcas rusos! ¡No a los visados dorados! ¡No a los pasaportes dorados!
Debate: Citizenship and residence by investment schemes
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Ramona Strugariu
Political group: Renew
Country: Italy
Language: EN

Last week, this House called for an end to golden visas for Russian oligarchs. An urgent review of all of the beneficiaries of such citizenship or resident status needs to be made, and those attributed to Russian oligarchs and their families – in particular of those linked to sanctioned individuals and companies – need to be immediately revoked. We are still not properly implementing rules in place that we have for countering money laundering. We need to enforce these rules immediately, especially in relation to the assets deposited and spent in the EU. We have these rules. We just need to properly use them and take the risks of money laundering arising from these schemes very seriously. We also need to significantly improve these rules with the new package. Putin’s invasion has once again highlighted the massive consequences of issuing golden visas and golden passports. We need to acknowledge not only the huge revenues brought by these schemes, but also the consequences, which are far worse, namely that these schemes bear major risks in the areas of security, corruption, money laundering and tax avoidance. Examples such as Russian oligarchs purchasing islands in Eastern Finland by using a Cyprus passport, or Russian billionaires receiving a separate passport in exchange for investing in the Bank of Cyprus, need to be immediately stopped. I am therefore calling on the Commission to come up with proposals that will definitely ban this kind of scheme and to propose new laws to harmonise and govern the rules on residence-by-investment schemes. And I am calling on the Member States to carefully look at those real-estate registries and check whether those investments are in luxury villas or in properties, or in the economy, industry and better lives for people, because this is what investment stands for.
Debate: Citizenship and residence by investment schemes
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Saskia Bricmont
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: France
Language: FR

Une promesse d’investissement en échange d’un passeport doré qui permet de voyager librement, d’ouvrir un compte bancaire, de voter, de faire des affaires, voire de blanchir son argent et d’exercer son influence. Des droits accordés en toute impunité aux oligarques russes, fidèles serviteurs et pourvoyeurs de fonds du régime de Poutine. Leur passeport ou visa européen doit leur être retiré immédiatement. Mais le système de passeports et de visas dorés en lui-même comporte des risques inhérents d’évasion fiscale, de corruption, de blanchiment d’argent, d’argent sale investi dans les économies européennes. Il y a huit ans déjà, ce Parlement exigeait l’interdiction des passeports dorés, ce qui aurait fermé une porte à l’ingérence russe. Aujourd’hui, la réalité de la guerre nous rattrape, pointant l’urgence de ce dont la Commission européenne et les États membres ont manqué jusqu’à présent: une réelle volonté politique pour, entre autres, supprimer le système des passeports dorés dans les trois ans, réguler les visas dorés pour les rendre inattractifs, réguler strictement les intermédiaires commerciaux qui profitent de ce système. Le temps où l’Union européenne servait oligarques et autres corrompus indésirables est terminé. Circulez! La citoyenneté européenne n’est pas à vendre.
Debate: Citizenship and residence by investment schemes
Date: MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Nicolaus Fest
Political group: ID
Country: Cyprus
Language: DE

Das Einzige, womit ich hier ein wirkliches Problem habe, obwohl es alle gut finden, ist die plötzlich noch schnell eingeflickte Sippenhaft für alle Russen. Da fragt man sich natürlich: Wussten Sie eigentlich nicht, wer Putin ist? Sagt Ihnen der Name Politkowskaja etwas? Sagt Ihnen der Name Boris Nemzow etwas? Sagen Ihnen die Auseinandersetzungen um die Krim, um Donezk und Luhansk gar nichts?  Grosny ist bombardiert worden, Aleppo ist bombardiert worden. Und was ist, wenn wir jetzt alle auf die russischen Oligarchen gucken? Was ist mit den afrikanischen Warlords? Was ist mit den Kriegsverbrechern? Was ist mit den chinesischen Kommunisten, den hohen Parteifunktionären? Und was ist mit den arabischen Despoten, die sich auch überall goldene Visa gekauft haben? Wir sagen, dass die europäischen Werte nicht zum Verkauf stehen. Aber für mich – ich bin nun Jurist, aber gut – stehen auch die individuelle Verantwortung und die individuelle Schuld für die europäischen Werte. Und dass wir hier Sippenhaft einführen, finde ich extrem problematisch. Ich weiß, das ist eine schwierige Geschichte, aber darüber sollten wir alle noch mal nachdenken. Ansonsten begrüße ich diese Entschließung. Aber mit der Sippenhaft kann ich mich nicht anfreunden.