unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Jeroen Lenaers
Political group: PPE
Country: France
Language: EN

Mr President, we’ve heard a lot about the rule of law and the values upon which the EU is founded in the past weeks and rightfully so, because those values are the foundation of our cooperation in the European Union, and without a strong foundation that cooperation will never be sustainable in the future. And those founding values are therefore captured in our Treaties, and they also explicitly include the rights of persons belonging to minorities. Europe needs to live up to that promise, especially now when more than a million citizens of the European Union have reminded us of this promise through a successful European Citizens’ Initiative: a great example of democratic participation and commitment. Therefore I fully support this initiative – action at European level in support of and in addition to the Member States’ policies, with respect for the division of competences, can really make a change in the lives of millions of citizens. So let’s show those citizens that we’ve heard them and let’s get to work for them.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Łukasz Kohut
Political group: S-D
Country: Poland
Language: PL

Panie Przewodniczący! „Zjednoczona w różnorodności” to motto Unii Europejskiej. To piękna idea. Składa się na nią wiele elementów, a jednym z nich jest szacunek i wsparcie dla podmiotowości etnicznej, językowej i kulturowej. Inicjatywa Minority SafePack pomoże wprowadzić ją w życie i objąć ochroną również te społeczności, które z różnych powodów – również politycznych – nie posiadają formalnego uznania ze strony państw członkowskich. I dlatego tutaj stoję: bo to przypadek mojej narodowości, śląskiej, i mojego pierwszego języka, śląskiego. Jednego z regionalnych języków Unii, którym mówi kilkaset tysięcy osób. Europa jest silna swoją różnorodnością. Nigdy o tym nie zapominajmy i nigdy nie przestawajmy o to walczyć. My na Śląsku walczymy o nasz język już wiele, wiele lat. I wygramy tę walkę, gwarantuję. Pięknie dziękuję.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Maite Pagazaurtundúa
Political group: Renew
Country: Germany
Language: ES

Señor presidente, señorías, desde el Grupo Renew hemos defendido y defendemos la protección de las minorías, de los más vulnerables, y, por supuesto, la promoción de la diversidad lingüística.  Actuamos apoyando la libertad de elección, evitando cualquier tipo de discriminación, cualquier tipo de ingeniería sociolingüística maliciosa. Porque se trata de tener más derechos, no menos, y, especialmente, de proteger la lengua materna de niños y niñas al promover el multilingüismo. Yo pertenezco a la primera generación que pudo hacer esto.  Por este motivo, hemos negociado —y agradezco el apoyo de los grupos mayoritarios— específicamente para que donde existe más de una lengua oficial se respeten los derechos lingüísticos de todas las personas, de todas las personas reales.  La Unión Europea es un lugar de encuentro de personas, un lugar de comunicación, y la riqueza lingüística que atesoramos es un tesoro cultural que debemos fomentar de forma abierta y equilibrada, posibilitando el ejercicio de los derechos de cada ciudadano, porque es la Europa de la ciudadanía la que garantiza todos estos derechos maravillosos en libertad.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Diana Riba i Giner
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: France
Language: ES

Señor presidente, comisario, estimados colegas, hoy Europa tiene una doble oportunidad. Por una parte, puede establecer un marco de protección para su diversidad en sus distintas expresiones. Y, por otro lado, la adopción de estas medidas puede reforzar la iniciativa ciudadana, un instrumento indispensable para la democracia. Por esto le pido a la Comisión que no eluda su responsabilidad y que se comprometa a dar una respuesta al más de un millón de ciudadanas y ciudadanos que le piden que proteja la diversidad. Lamentablemente, aún hay demasiados Estados que suspenden en esta materia. El multilingüismo o la diversidad cultural, a pesar de ser patrimonio y razón de ser de Europa, viven amenazados. La Resolución que acompaña a este debate es, en grandes términos, positiva, a pesar de los esfuerzos contrarios de algunos, que ven en la protección de la diversidad una amenaza a sus privilegios.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Cristian Terheş
Political group: ECR
Country: Poland
Language: RO

Discuția - obiectul acestei discuții - este dacă obiectul acestei petiții intră sau nu în componența sau în competența Comisiei Europene. Articolul doi și trei din Tratatul Uniunii Europene face vorbire despre drepturi individuale ale cetățenilor Uniunii Europene. De partea cealaltă, atunci când vorbim despre drepturi colective sau despre dreptul minorităților, același Tratat al Uniunii Europene vorbește despre faptul că acest lucru este strict în competența statelor membre. Dincolo de ceea ce tratatul vorbește, citez dintr-un raport al Agenției pentru Drepturi Fundamentale a Uniunii Europene în care se spune, și citez: „drepturile minorităților naționale sunt dincolo de scopul legii UE. UE nu are nicio competență cu privire la ceea ce poartă numele de drepturi colective.” Acesta este obiectul discuției: respectăm drepturile și libertățile individuale ale persoanelor din Uniunea Europeană sau aducem în discuție drepturi colective care să fie reglementate de către Comisia Europeană - un aspect unde nu are deloc competență.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Niyazi Kizilyürek
Political group: GUE/NGL
Country: Croatia
Language: EN

Mr President, as the English historian, Lord Acton, emphasised in the19th century, and I quote, ‘the most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.’ In this regard, I welcome the resolution of this House and its call to support national and linguistic minorities. Speaking of our linguistic rights, I would like to take this opportunity to bring to your attention the fact that my country, Cyprus, is a bicommunal and bilingual state, and has two official languages: Greek and Turkish. Please take note. I am not talking about minority languages, but official ones. However, as a Turkish-speaking Cypriot, I am probably the one MEP who cannot speak in his mother tongue, although it’s an official language of a Member State. I call upon all EU institutions to correct this huge mistake, which not only does not help for the reunification of Cyprus but also discriminates against Turkish Cypriot EU citizens.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Michaela Šojdrová
Political group: PPE
Country: Greece
Language: CS

Pane předsedající, ochrana menšin a jejich práv v Evropské unii je důležité téma, zejména v některých členských státech. Otázky práv národnostních a jazykových menšin jsou spojeny i s historií, s tradicemi a také s udržením identity těchto menšin, které mají pocit omezování, obávají se určitého dalšího omezování a žádají nás o podporu.  Evropská unie v rámci svých programů pro vzdělávání a kulturu podporuje jazykovou a národnostní diverzitu, ale nemůže v této věci jednat nad rámec svých kompetencí. Věřím, že Evropský parlament si je vědom citlivosti a také zneužitelnosti této otázky. Ano, chceme uchovat kulturní dědictví vytvářené po stovky let bohatstvím národů a jazykových skupin, jazykových menšin. Ale nechceme, aby tento záměr byl zneužit k separatistickým a politickým účelům. Dámy a pánové, nenalhávejme si, že takové tendence i v Evropské unii nejsou. Přeji si, aby Evropský parlament podpořil občanskou evropskou iniciativu zodpovědně a s ohledem na svoji subsidiaritu.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Ilhan Kyuchyuk
Political group: Renew
Country: Netherlands
Language: BG

Г-н председател, уважаеми колеги, по отношението към малцинствата разбираме колко демократично е едно общество. Във времена на кризи растящ е езикът на омразата и ксенофобията. Слоганът „Единство в многообразието“ не е просто израз, а осмислена кауза на Европейския съюз. Ето защо Гражданската инициатива „ Minority save pack“ трябва да бъде много силно подкрепена. Тя дава възможност за директно участие на гражданите в европейската демокрация и аз съм горд, че 36 263 подписа, това са подписите на български граждани, стоят до онези над един милион европейски.  Време е Гражданската инициатива за защита на езиковите и етнокултурни права да се превърне в общото законодателство. Г-н Комисар, времето за консултации отдавна изтече, време е за европейско законодателство. Сега е време за модерно европейско законодателство, което да гарантира и развие европейското многообразие. То ни е важно, защото е европейска ценност, а преди това е общочовешка ценност.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Hermann Tertsch
Political group: ECR
Country: France
Language: ES

Señor presidente, la protección de la riqueza lingüística europea es un deber de todos, pero una responsabilidad —recordémoslo— de los Estados miembros. Por tanto, toda la simpatía por la protección de lenguas minoritarias maltratadas, allá donde lo sean.  Pero lo que pretenden algunos, especialmente en España, no es ayudar a lenguas minoritarias, protegidas, como lo están, por la Constitución y por la práctica, sino que la Unión Europea financie la discriminación contra la lengua común, que pague la política que persigue al español para imponer en ciertas regiones un orden monolingüe por la vía de la fuerza, un atentado contra la libertad, una aberración única en Europa: que la lengua común de toda la nación sea perseguida por motivos ideológicos.  Esa iniciativa la patrocinan en España fundamentalmente separatistas. A estos no les interesa la diversidad lingüística: quieren acabar con la lengua española en ciertas regiones que quieren separar de España, y quieren, además, que lo paguen ustedes. Ahí está la trampa.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Daniel Buda
Political group: PPE
Country: Germany
Language: RO

Domnule președinte, valorile privind respectarea demnității umane, a libertății și a democrației, dar și drepturile și libertățile minorităților naționale reprezintă, fără îndoială, doar câteva dintre valorile fundamentale ale Uniunii Europene. Inițiativa cetățenilor europeni „Minority SafePack” poate reprezenta un instrument menit să contribuie la protejarea drepturilor minorităților naționale, dar orice demers politic, mai ales la nivel european, trebuie să aibă un temei juridic bine fundamentat. Potrivit tratatelor Uniunii Europene, protecția persoanelor care aparțin unor minorități naționale se încadrează în structura politică și constituțională a fiecărui stat, care are obligația să adopte legislații naționale în acest sens. Astfel, nu există niciun temei juridic în tratate care să permită Comisiei Europene adoptarea de acte normative ce pot avea ca obiect drepturile persoanelor care aparțin minorităților naționale. Îi îndemn pe toți actorii relevanți să urmărească exemplele bune, de bune practici din România, unde 17 minorități naționale au reprezentare de drept în Parlament în condiții speciale, fără să îndeplinească pragul electoral.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Izaskun Bilbao Barandica
Political group: Renew
Country: Slovakia
Language: ES

Señor presidente, Hilaria se siente más segura en el médico, si la atienden en su lengua materna. Aurelio también, cuando le explican un problema con su pensión. Esa lengua estuvo prohibida durante la mitad de sus vidas. Hoy el euskera es oficial en el País Vasco, pero tantos años de persecución dejaron huella. Por eso Hilaria y Aurelio, mis padres, yo misma, no siempre podemos usar nuestra lengua, a veces ni donde más la echamos de menos. Por eso necesitamos que se proteja nuestro derecho a vivir en euskera. Una diversidad que genera desarrollo y que fortalece la Unión. Por eso necesitamos y apoyamos el Minority Safepack, una protección europea para derechos fundamentales de más de 50 millones de europeos. No importa ni el vigor de la lengua, ni el número, ni la voluntad de sus hablantes. Se impone la visión selectiva y estrecha de la propia diversidad que tienen algunos Estados miembros. Solo así puede explicarse que no sean oficiales en este Parlamento lenguas más habladas que otras que sí lo son, solo porque tienen Estado.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Pascal Arimont
Political group: PPE
Country: Belgium
Language: DE

Sehr geehrter Herr Präsident, sehr geehrter Herr Kommissar! Wir sprechen heute über Minderheiten. Ich selbst gehöre der deutschsprachigen Minderheit in Belgien an. Ich bin also deutschsprachiger Belgier, ich bin Belgier, ich bin Europäer, und meine Identität ist daher vielschichtig. Die eine Identität schließt die andere nicht aus, sie bedingt sie sogar. Minderheitenschutz ist daher keine Frage der politischen Einstellung – Minderheitenschutz ist ein Grundrecht, und der richtige Umgang mit Minderheiten ist eine Überlebensfrage der Europäischen Union. Ich möchte mich aber heute auf ein spezifisches Element konzentrieren, und das ist das Geoblocking. Wenn ich in meinem Wahlkreis einen deutschen Film sehen will, ist das fast ausschließlich nur im Live-TV möglich. In der Mediathek, bei den Streaming-Diensten wie Netflix oder bei Plattformen wie Apple ist mir der Zugang ganz einfach aus urheberrechtlichen Gründen gesperrt. Leider hat sich diese Situation durch die Geoblocking-Verordnung nicht verbessert – ganz im Gegenteil! Wir müssen also die Überarbeitung der Geoblocking-Verordnung dringend nutzen, um eine Ausnahme für definierte sprachliche Minderheiten auszuarbeiten. In meiner Region in Belgien oder beispielsweise in Südtirol wäre dies ohne Probleme möglich, weil diese Regionen geografisch klar eingrenzbar sind. Diese Gebiete könnten lizenztechnisch sehr einfach dem direkt benachbarten Sprachraum zugerechnet werden. Meine sehr geehrten Damen und Herren, wir haben es in unseren Grenzräumen geschafft, Grenzen abzubauen. Wir dürfen nicht zulassen, dass genau diese Grenzen im Internet wieder künstlich hochgezogen werden.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Johannes Hahn
Language: EN

But let me start by saying that for the Commission, inclusion and respect for the rich cultural diversity of Europe is one of its main priorities and objectives. ‘United in diversity’ is the motto of the European Union. The Commission confirms its commitment both to policy support and funding. Respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities is part of the founding values of the European Union and its, if I may say so, DNA. The principle is explicitly mentioned in the Treaty on the European Union. It’s not only compatible but part of our European identity. Moreover, any discrimination on the basis of membership of a national minority is explicitly prohibited under Article 21 of the Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. The adoption of the EU Anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025 is a clear example of the role the Commission aims to play in this regard. Another good example of concrete policy action involving minorities is the recently-adopted EU Roma framework. As I indicated, this debate is timely, as the College has another few weeks to finalise the Commission’s formal answer to the initiative. Thank you again for this very fruitful, interesting and inspiring debate.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Marcel Kolaja
Country: Germany
Language: EN

The debate is closed. I have received two motions for resolutions tabled in accordance with Rule 222(8)*. The vote on amendments will take place on Wednesday, 16 December 2020 and the final vote will take place on Thursday, 17 December 2020. ––––––––––––––– * See Minutes.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Andrea Bocskor
Political group: PPE
Country: Romania
Language: HU

Ennek érdekében fontos, hogy az Európai Unió olyan jogi keretet dolgozzon ki, ami a területén elő nemzeti kisebbségek fennmaradását, anyanyelvük, kultúrájuk, nemzeti identitásuk megőrzését segíti elő. Egy ilyen jogi keret kidolgozásával és megfelelő ellenőrző mechanizmus alkalmazásával az EU bizonyítaná, hogy valóban tesz a kisebbségek jogvédelme terén. Bízom abban, hogy idővel a szomszédsági és társult országokra is pozitív hatással lesz a kezdeményezés, illetve a kidolgozott jogi keret és a területükön élő polgárok számára is biztosítják az őket megillető jogokat.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Milan Brglez
Political group: S-D
Country: France
Language: SL

V zadevnem primeru se tudi zato najbolje odraža dodana vrednost tega instrumenta ne le za krepitev glasu državljank in državljanov pri oblikovanju in usmerjanju politik na ravni EU ter s tem zmanjševanje občutka demokratičnega deficita, ampak tudi za to, da se na dnevnem redu institucij EU znajdejo teme, ki zadevajo dnevno življenje ljudi, a so politično občutljive ter zato ne podprte s strani posameznih države članic ali (evropskih) političnih grupacij. Varstvo manjšin spada med temeljne vrednote EU iz 3. člena Pogodbe o Evropski uniji. Kot take in kot del korpusa univerzalnih človekovih pravic pravice manjšin ne morejo nikoli biti notranja zadeva držav članic. Na evropski ravni je potrebno uskladiti vsaj minimalne standarde varstva pravic manjšin ter mehanizme za nadzor nad implementacijo pravic manjšin neločljivo povezati z instrumenti za zaščito človekovih pravic ter vladavine prava. Pričakujem, da bo Evropski parlament v nadaljnjih fazah pobude zavzel jasno stališče v tej smeri.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Andor Deli
Political group: PPE
Country: Germany
Language: HU

Az Európai Parlement határozatának a célja az hogy ösztönözze az Európai Bizottságot abban, hogy az európai politikák és programok tervezésekor, a többi tényező mellett vegyék figyelembe az őshonos nemzeti kisebbségek helyzetét és jogainak alakulását is. Ez egy egyedi lehetőség, amely nemcsak a jelenlegi Európai Unióról és polgárairól szól, hanem egyúttal üzenet az európai integrációs úton lévő tagjelölt országoknak is, hogy Európai Unió komolyan veszi a nemzeti és nyelvi kisebbségek jogainak alakulását. Itt az Európai Parlamentben már számos alkalommal szót emeltünk az őshonos nemzeti és nyelvi kisebbségek jogainak védelme érdekében, most az Európai Bizottságon a sor, hogy lépjen! Köszönöm.
Debate: European Citizens’ Initiative – Minority SafePack
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Iuliu Winkler
Political group: PPE
Country: Bulgaria
Language: HU

Sok év munkája eredményének vagyunk tanúi. A kezdeményezést, az európai bírósági procedúrát, az aláírásgyűjtést, a jogi javaslattevő munkát, az őszi nyilvános meghallgatást követően a kisebbségvédelmi kezdeményezés most ért abba a fázisba, hogy a plénum elé kerüljön az állásfoglalási indítvány. Arra kérem képviselőtársaimat, hogy támogassák szavazatukkal a Minority SafePack kezdeményezést! Remélem, hogy az EP határozottan, nagy többséggel támogatja az állásfoglalást. Azt várom el az Európai Bizottságtól, hogy a Minority SafePack javaslatai, illetve a Parlament állásfoglalása alapján késedelem nélkül indítsa el a törvényalkotást, hiszen a kisebbségvédelmi kezdeményezés több mint egy millió európai állampolgár aláírással szentesített akaratát tükrözi.
Debate: European Year of Rail
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Adina-Ioana Vălean
Language: EN

The designation of the European Year of Rail will be a unique opportunity to promote rail among our citizens and businesses, but also to reflect and discuss how to make it a more attractive option for transport and travel around Europe. Most importantly, we want to reach out beyond rail’s usual supporters and to young people in particular. We will also cover key themes such as tourism, regional connectivity, cultural heritage, accessibility, equality, education and employment and look at how rail contributes to all of them. The European Year of Rail underlines the importance that this Commission attaches to meeting the Green Deal objectives for transport, including a 90% reduction in transport emissions by 2050. Rail also features prominently in our new sustainable and smart mobility strategy. If the strategies are a recipe for a modern future-proof mobility system, rail is certainly one of its main ingredients. I want to stress three aspects. First, the debates and discussions during next year will drive our work to get more passengers and goods using rail. As you know, in 2021 we will present initiatives targeting both. We will also launch a study on the feasibility of creating a rail connectivity index that shows the potential of rail to compete with other transport modes. For the green label, on which I welcome your views, we’ll look at establishing an EU framework for the harmonised measurement of transport and logistics summations, as we have already announced in the sustainable and smart mobility strategy. The European label would promote the transport of goods via less polluting modes, allowing citizens and businesses to make informed choices. Thank you for your attention and I welcome your questions and your views.
Debate: European Year of Rail
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Dace Melbārde
Country: Bulgaria
Language: EN

Being rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Culture and Education on the Year of Rail, there are two points that I stressed in my report. Firstly, not all Member States have the necessary infrastructure to enable rail connections to the rest of Europe. As a consequence, territorial and social cohesion is slower and people and industries are missing out, including education, tourism and the cultural sector. Secondly, for the Year of Rail to be a success, it is also important to promote the historical and present role of trains, railway stations and rail infrastructure, which have been instrumental in shaping regional traditions and identities and are part of Europe’s cultural, and in particular architectural, heritage that must be protected and cherished. Moreover, during the year, the rail infrastructure can be successfully used as an open space for contemporary art, intercultural dialogue and education of different forms. So let’s look forward to the European Year of Rail, which puts connecting people at the heart of its mission.