unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: A new trade instrument to ban products made by forced labour
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Othmar Karas
Country: Germany
Language: DE

Frau Vizepräsidentin, herzlichen Dank für Ihre Antwort. Zum Abschluss der Aussprache wurde 1 Entschließungsantrag eingereicht*. Die Aussprache ist damit geschlossen. Die Abstimmung findet heute, Donnerstag, 9. Juni 2022, statt. Die Sitzung wird für einige Minuten unterbrochen. Sie wird um 12.00 Uhr mit der Abstimmung wieder aufgenommen. _______________ * Siehe Protokoll.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Rainer Wieland
Country: Germany
Language: DE

Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Anfrage zur mündlichen Beantwortung an die Kommission betreffend den illegalen Holzeinschlag in der EU von Dolors Montserrat im Namen des Petitionsausschusses ( Ich erinnere Sie daran, dass mit Ausnahme der ersten beiden Reihen, die für die Fraktionsvorsitzenden vorgesehen sind, freie Sitzplatzwahl besteht. Nachdem Sie Ihre Abstimmungskarte in das Abstimmungsgerät eingeschoben haben, können Sie dann über Ihr Abstimmungsgerät spontane Wortmeldungen und blaue Karten beantragen. Ich weise Sie auch darauf hin, dass Wortmeldungen im Plenarsaal weiterhin vom zentralen Rednerpult aus erfolgen, außer spontane Wortmeldungen, blaue Karten und Bemerkungen zur Anwendung der Geschäftsordnung.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Valter Flego
Political group: Renew
Country: Sweden
Language: HR

Imamo nikad veću inflaciju i logično je da se trgovačka društva, obrti, ljudi, građani snalaze na svakakve načine, ali to nikako nije i ne smije biti opravdanje za nepoštivanje zakona i za nezakonitu sječu, za uništavanje šuma. Profit i kratkoročna rješenja, odnosno zarada ne smije nikad biti iznad održivosti i zakona, ali na žalost u mnogim slučajevima danas je samo profit postao važan.  Zato predlažem Komisiji da zajedno s državama članicama, zajedno s regijama, ali i gradovima uvedemo svi zajedno reda u prostor. Nevažno, govorimo li o nezakonitoj sječi ili, na primjer, o bespravnoj gradnji, pogotovo u mediteranskim zemljama, koja opet nepovratno uništava najvažniji resurs, a to je, naravno, prostor. Dakle, princip je isti. Zakon se mora poštivati, a države članice i regije, uvjeren sam, žele zajedno s Komisijom riješiti taj problem.  I ponavljam, treba sinergijski djelovati bilo da govorimo o nezakonitoj sječi, bilo da govorimo o bespravnoj gradnji. I zato predlažem da se koriste resursi država, regija i grada, a to su prije svega ljudi, to su prije svega mehanizmi i njihovo poznavanje stanja na terenu kako bi poštivali i provodili zakone.  U tom partnerskom, odnosno sinergijskim efektu lakše će se detektirati ta mjesta nepoštivanja zakona. Lakše će se isto tako sankcionirati prekršitelji, a što je najvažnije, na taj način dugoročno sačuvati i priroda i okoliš za buduće generacije.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Eleonora Evi
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Italy
Language: IT

Io credo che abbiamo quindi bisogno di un migliore controllo e di migliore armonizzazione. L'Unione dovrebbe infatti promuovere l'uso di metodi scientifici per monitorare la deforestazione e verificare l'origine legale del legname in commercio e valutare l'efficacia della gestione forestale. E poi, sono d'accordo con il collega Gheorghe, serve una figura di procuratore ambientale nell'Unione europea contro i crimini ambientali transnazionali, tra cui appunto il disboscamento illegale. Un procuratore ambientale a livello europeo faciliterebbe le indagini transfrontaliere e l'armonizzazione dei procedimenti giudiziari in tutta l'Unione. Infine, è necessaria però anche una chiara definizione del reato di disboscamento illegale, perché gli Stati membri, le organizzazioni e gli
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Joachim Kuhs
Political group: ID
Country: Greece
Language: DE

Hinzu kommt: Zwischen den Begriffen Holzeinschlag und Entwaldung wird nicht klar unterschieden; die Begriffe sind schwammig. Nebenbei bemerkt: Hauptursache für die Entwaldung dürften gelegte Waldbrände sein, nicht illegaler Holzeinschlag. Die EU-Forststrategie für 2030 begegnet weiteren grundsätzlichen Bedenken. Sie ist nicht nur ein Bürokratiemonster, sie ist vor allem ein gravierender Eingriff in nationalstaatliche Kompetenzen, und sie widerspricht dem Subsidiaritätsprinzip. Oder glauben Sie wirklich, dass die Wälder Finnlands genauso zu bewirtschaften sind wie die wenigen Bäume auf Malta oder in Zypern? Und so geht es weiter: Mit den Totschlagbegriffen Klima oder Biodiversität sollen noch mehr Waldflächen unter Schutz gestellt werden und so der seit Generationen erfolgreichen nachhaltigen Bewirtschaftung entzogen werden. Der Holzeinschlag müsse reduziert werden, wird gesagt, um Klimaschutzziele und den  Aber was können wir tun? Wir müssen wieder verstehen, was Nachhaltigkeit ist. Der Begriff der Nachhaltigkeit wurde ja bereits vor über 200 Jahren in der Forstwirtschaft erfunden. Damals fuhr man noch nicht mit dem  Weiter gilt: Naturschutz, Umweltschutz und Forstwirtschaft müssen Zuständigkeit der Mitgliedstaaten bleiben. Wir sollten alles tun, um dem Subsidiaritätsprinzip wieder Rechnung zu tragen.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Ryszard Czarnecki
Political group: ECR
Country: France
Language: PL

Chciałem podziękować Pani Komisarz za bardzo profesjonalne wystąpienie. Cieszę się, że nasza koleżanka z Europarlamentu przez 6 lat, dzisiaj tę funkcję sprawuje. Myślałem, że Pani Komisarz powie, czy nielegalnie pozyskuje się drewno w Dubrowniku, pięknym Dubrowniku, gdzie Pani była przez dwie kadencje burmistrzem. Tego nie słyszałem, ale może tego problemu tam nie ma. Myślę, że w tej sprawie byłoby dobrze, abyśmy działali do pewnej granicy. Nie może to się stać pretekstem, aby zauważając ten problem tworzyć instrumenty, które by wychodziły poza obecne ramy działania Unii Europejskiej i pozwalały Unii wchodzić w kompetencje krajów członkowskich.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Germany
Language: DE

Herr Präsident, meine Damen und Herren! Wir verlieren täglich wertvolle Wälder in der EU durch rechtswidrigen Raubbau, und das sogar in stark geschützten Natura-2000-Gebieten. Dabei gehen kriminelle Netzwerke besonders brutal vor. Rücksichtslos werden hektarweise Wald kahlrasiert; wir kennen die Bilder. Das ist ein enormer ökologischer, aber auch wirtschaftlicher Schaden. Und es wirkt sich nicht nur fatal auf Böden, Artenvielfalt oder Klima aus, sondern erschüttert auch vor Ort das Vertrauen in den Rechtsstaat.  Ich habe zwei Fragen an die Kommission: Warum ist die Kommission bisher nicht weiter in dem Verfahren gegen Rumänien vorgegangen? Warum sind wir nicht vor Gericht, obwohl nachweislich absolut nicht genug unternommen wird, um illegale Abholzung endlich zu verhindern? Und die zweite Frage, vielleicht an Ihren Kollegen vom AGRI: Ist es nicht die Tatsache, dass wir es in der EU nicht schaffen, große Kahlschläge als legale Holzerntemethode zu regulieren, die uns daran hindert, zum Beispiel mit Satellitentechnologie illegale Kahlschläge eindeutig zu erkennen und die Akteure zu stellen? Wenn wir die Prinzipien einer nachhaltigen und schonenden Waldwirtschaft EU-weit verbindlich machen würden, könnten wir nicht illegale Kahlschläge viel besser eindämmen?
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Angel Dzhambazki
Political group: ECR
Country: Germany
Language: BG

Г-н Председател, г-жо Комисар, уважаеми колеги, горите са национално богатство. Зеленото е родолюбие. Горите са белият дроб на планетата – в това няма никакъв спор. И докладът на колегата е много навременен. Незаконната сеч и незаконното добиване на дървесина е кражба от бъдещите поколения и то трябва да бъде много строго санкционирано. Едновременно с това обаче трябва да се знае и да се посочи кой го прави. В България, в която имаме една от най-големите площи гора и в Европа и изобщо, горите се управляват от Българската социалистическа партия, която стои отляво. Член е на социалисти и демократи, на социалдемократи. А се добива незаконно от функционери на „Движението за права и свободи“ – хората, които са в групата „Обнови Европа“. Така че, когато говорим за унищожаването на горите, посочвайте тези, които го правят. А те са отляво и отляво – в тези редици. Това са хората, които секат незаконно гори. Продават ги, унищожават ги и по този начин застрашават не само нашия живот, но и на всички останали. Това, което искам да ви кажа е, че зеленото родолюбие и гората трябва да се пазят.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Thomas Waitz
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Denmark
Language: EN

Mr President, Commissioner, in many EU countries we are having a problem with illegal logging. I’ve witnessed it in Estonia, in Slovakia, in Poland, in Spain, in Romania and other countries. But let me focus on Romania. While the Environmental Commission is compiling an enormous amount of evidence towards an infringement procedure, there is ongoing illegal logging in Romania happening, concretely in the Făgăraş Mountains, in the Iaşi area. Every citizen can see on Google Maps how deforestation increased in Romania while we were compiling the information for the infringement procedure. Did the Romanian Government really better the situation? I don’t know. An environmental impact assessment only being done after the forest has been logged, I think is not serving the purpose. To actually reduce transparency and reduce the amount of information that is provided to citizens in the public tracking system for wood trucks is actually not the direction that I think the Romanian Government should go in preventing illegal logging. We have to see that while we are doing an infringement procedure, we see something like panic logging in the region – this increased access to the forests and increased deforestation. And I would urge you to start the court case as soon as possible to save as much as can still be saved, please. I coincide with the question of the public: please tell us what the next steps will be.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Seán Kelly
Political group: PPE
Country: Greece
Language: EN

Fortunately, in my country, it’s the opposite problem we have: we can’t get legal logging, because of rules by the department for planning permission, permitting, etc. – a whole backlog they tried to blame on the European Union, until, of course, that was disproved. And as a result, they have a target of setting 8 000 hectares per year, and they are only meeting 2 000. So I would ask the Commission to look at that and ensure that those who want to set forest in Ireland are facilitated, not what is happening at the minute. Now a good news story is that there is a company in Ireland set up by Enda Keane, Treemetrics, which recently launched a climate—smart forest management platform with the support of the ESA, and I think that’s something that could be very helpful and I would ask the Commission to look into it.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Juozas Olekas
Political group: S-D
Country: Spain
Language: LT

Gerbiamas Pirmininke. Gerbiama Komisijos vicepirmininke. Dėkoju už Jūsų pasisakymą ir pranešimą. Jūs labai gerai paminėjote, kad mes turime gerą įrankį – miškų strategiją – ir kad miškai yra mūsų planetos plaučiai. Iš tikrųjų išsaugant miškus ir užkertant kelią nelegaliai miško ruošai yra svarbūs labai du dalykai. Pirma, tai, kad legali miškų ruoša būtų prieinama nelabai subiurokratinta. Čia mano kolega minėjo apie trukdžius išduodant legalius leidimus. Bet, kita vertus, man atrodo, kad priežiūra miškų kirtimo taip pat yra labai svarbu. Jūs paminėjote palydovines sistemas, kurios yra naudojamos įvertinant miškų būklę. Galbūt galima būtų geriau pasidalinti su šalimis narėmis ir su vietiniais ekspertais, kad ta priežiūra miškų būtų geresnė, o tie, kurie kerta nelegaliai, kad jie būtų atitinkamai nubausti.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Billy Kelleher
Political group: Renew
Country: Denmark
Language: EN

Mr President, the European Union should move swiftly, and the Commission should move swiftly, to take infringement proceedings against countries who fail to implement the basic standards of protection in terms of forestry and illegal logging. And certainly with the technology and satellite observation and tracking systems in place, it should not be beyond the capabilities of Member States not only to observe but to prosecute those that are involved in illegal logging. And I would urge that the Commission would take infringement proceedings against countries who fail to act. In terms of Ireland, as was already referenced, in Ireland the opposite is the case. We can’t plant forestry due to regulation, planning difficulties. And if we do plant it, we can’t harvest it – and I’m talking about commercial forestry – because of the inability of the public administration to deal with licensing for felling. So I would also invite the Commission to look at Ireland’s track record to try and meet our goals of increasing forestry, bearing in mind we have only 11% of our landmass under forestry, and we simply are not meeting any targets in terms of our ambition to increase the amount of forestry planted for commercial purposes.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Joachim Stanisław Brudziński
Political group: ECR
Country: Germany
Language: PL

Panie Przewodniczący! Ponieważ w tej dyskusji została wymieniona Polska, chciałbym powiedzieć – jest takie polskie powiedzenie, przysłowie „Nie było nas, był las, nie będzie nas, będzie las” Polska jest dzisiaj w europejskiej czołówce, jeśli chodzi o powierzchnię lasów. Obecnie powierzchnia lasów w Polsce wynosi ponad 9,2 mln hektarów, co odpowiada lesistości na poziomie 29,6 proc. Zdecydowana większość to lasy państwowe, z czego około 7,3 mln hektarów zarządzane jest przez Państwowe Gospodarstwo Leśne – Lasy Państwowe. Ważny podkreślenia jest fakt, że w moim kraju lasy rosną na glebach najsłabszych. Odpowiedzialna polityka leśna to bardzo dobra okazja, aby nisko pokłonić się właśnie tu, w Parlamencie Europejskim, ludziom odpowiedzialnym za tę politykę. W pas się kłaniam polskim leśnikom, polskim przyrodnikom, pracownikom parków narodowych, parków krajobrazowych, polskim myśliwym. Szczęść Boże. Darzbór.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Mick Wallace
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Mr President, the European Court of Auditors released a report recently linking logging rates to an increase in the consumption of solid biomass for energy purposes. Now, to meet renewable energy targets, burning biomass is the cheapest alternative, so many countries are effectively forced to do so to meet their targets. Sixty per cent of the EU’s renewable energy is coming from biomass, which continues to rise. This leads to the burning of even more wood and the creation of more emissions in a vicious circle. How is this a sound environmental practice? Forest biomass should not be considered a renewable energy source: it actively harms forests by creating a cash—crop forestry plantation industry, which of course makes space for the illegal logging industry in Europe. We seriously need to reconsider the inclusion of forest biomass under the EU Renewable Energy Directive. It is damaging European forests.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Eugen Tomac
Political group: PPE
Country: France
Language: RO

Domnule președinte, doamna comisară, cred și eu cu tărie că avem nevoie de o determinare mult mai puternică în a combate tăierile ilegale în Europa. Vin dintr-o țară care a fost expusă unor defrișări ilegale greu de înțeles și de explicat, pentru că mafia nu are culoare atunci când atacă pădurile. Însă ceea ce vreau să spun cât se poate de sincer este că în ultimii ani legislația în România a fost puternic modificată, mult îmbunătățită.  Dacă până recent tăierea a cinci metri cubi de lemn însemna contravenție, astăzi este infracțiune. Mulți pleacă în pușcărie tocmai pentru că se ating de păduri și cred că România poate și este obligată să își îmbunătățească instrumentele prin care combate defrișările ilegale și asta vom face în continuare.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Andrey Slabakov
Political group: ECR
Country: Spain
Language: BG

Г-н Председател, ще обърна внимание на нещо, което всички вие пропускате. Това се нарича така наречената „битова сеч“ – незаконна битова сеч. Това са хора, които не могат да се отопляват през зимата, и в някои населени места в България започнаха да секат парковете в населените места. Мисля, че това е резултат от енергийната политика на Европейския съюз. Мога да ви кажа, че цените на газа само за шест месеца миналата година преди войната в Украйна се вдигнаха с 300 процента в България. Разбирам, че тези хора ще секат. Може би трябва да има някаква обща енергийна политика и да има някаква защита за населението. Аз не ги оправдавам, че унищожават дърветата. Но започвам да ги разбирам. Скоро никой няма да може да си плати тока. Благодарение на зелената сделка.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Clare Daly
Political group: The Left
Country: France
Language: EN

Mr President, thanks to colleagues for tabling the initiative. I mean, four days ago on every social media platform, the EU was celebrating World Environmental Day, and one of our key targets was to fight deforestation, recognising that forests play a vital role in mitigating the catastrophic impact of climate change. And yet the European Union’s forests only account for 5% of the world’s forests. And in countries like my own, which is twice the size of Switzerland, it is only half of the forestry. And I’m delighted that colleagues from the government parties in Ireland are present, so maybe their government might address this problem, but the forests that we have, we’ve got to protect. And in that context, illegal logging is important to address. I agree with the colleague who spoke before me. There is a distinction between people, out of energy poverty, eking out some fuel to heat their homes and the industrial scale illegal logging which is going on very often cross-border and done through organised crime. There has to be stronger coordination at EU level, but also a holistic approach that allows forest planning with a stronger role for local communities.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Dubravka Šuica
Language: EN

With regard to the use of remote sensing to fight illegal logging, it is important to note that it is the competence of Member States to control the enforcement of the European Union Timber Regulation. It is generally not a sufficient tool to ensure its enforcement, and the planned legislative proposal on a forest monitoring framework will, however, ensure better access to data on forest logging and help fight illegal logging. I already mentioned that the Commission is determined to play its role as guardian of the Treaties. I said that over the past years when we concluded that EU legislation was not properly implemented, we have launched infringement procedures against the Member States concerned. I mentioned Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Estonia, and now a few words on Romania. We are paying great attention to the illegal logging situation in Romania, as this puts into jeopardy human lives and the rich biodiversity of Romanian forests. We are following very closely this case as it strongly relates not only to compliance with Habitat Directive and the Timber Regulation, but also to the credibility of the EU forest strategy. We are cooperating closely with the Romanian authorities and are following up on the work that remains to be done, in particular the restoration of deteriorated forests. Concerning the suggestions and remarks of the Irish MEPs, we have taken good note of your remarks. Dear Members, in the past few years, several petitions have highlighted the extent to which illegal logging grew in the European Union during the pandemic. We have since opened an infringement procedure for breaches of EU environmental law. This shows that we take your pleas seriously. I want to thank honourable Members for following this topic so closely. We are strongly committed to the protection of our forests and environmental defenders in the European Union, and we look forward to the plenary vote expected at the next plenary session this month. And regarding Dubrovnik, there are no forests, only cypress trees and pine trees, and they are under conservation so nobody is doing illegal logging there! Thank you very much for mentioning this.
Debate: Illegal logging in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Loránt Vincze
Political group: PPE
Country: Greece
Language: HU

Polgárok petíciókkal fordultak a Parlamenthez - többek között Romániából is - segítségünket kérve az illegális fakitermelés okozta problémák megoldására. A témát a szakbizottságban megtárgyaltuk és állásfoglalást fogadtunk el. Támogatom az illegális fakitermelés elleni hatékonyabb fellépést, keresnünk kell az intenzívebb európai együttműködés lehetőségeit, hogy megállítsuk az erdők állapotát károsító bűnözői tevékenységet. Ez mindannyiunk közös érdeke.  Köszönöm a Bizottságnak az eddigi erőfeszítéseit és a határokon-átnyúló ügyekben lefolytatott vizsgálatokat az illetékes szerveknek. Meggyőződésem, hogy a tagállamok tudatában vannak felelősségüknek és érdekeltek a bűnözés visszaszorításában, ezért erősítik a jogszabályi keretet, erősítik a hatóságok hatásköreit és eszköztárát, új digitális eredetkövetési eszközöket vetnek be. Az európai belső piacon a fakitermelés és a rá épülő többi ágazat esetében is megfelelő szabályoknak kell érvényesülniük, amelyek tekintettel vannak a biodiverzitásra és garanciát jelentenek, hogy az EU-ban megjelenő faáru legális kitermelésből származik.
Debate: The rule of law and the potential approval of the Polish national Recovery Plan
Date: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2022
Speaker: Vlad Gheorghe
Political group: Renew
Country: Spain
Language: RO

Domnule președinte, sunt jurist și am votat pentru această rezoluție pentru că Uniunea Europeană înseamnă respectarea drepturilor omului, libertate, egalitate, stat de drept. Orice gravă încălcare a lor trebuie să aibă consecințe. Nu putem întoarce capul când un stat membru este în afara tratatelor prin acțiunile liderilor politici și ale partidelor de la guvernare. Banii europeni trebuie să ajungă la cetățeni, nu la partide de guvernare și prietenii lor.  Hotărârile CJ UE și ale instanțelor internaționale trebuie să fie respectate. Corupția, iliberalismul, legile cu dedicație, încălcarea drepturilor unor cetățeni, toate trebuie sancționate. În Uniunea Europeană nu este nimeni mai egali decât alții: niciun stat, niciun președinte sau niciun premier, nicio formațiune politică și niciun cetățean. Nu există țări membre de mâna a doua, nu există state membre mai cu moț. Aceleași reguli trebuie să se aplice tuturor.