unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: Annual implementing report on the EU association agreement with Georgia
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: David McAllister
Political group: PPE
Country: Netherlands
Language: EN

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Georgia is part of Europe. Georgia belongs to Europe. But as we have heard tonight, to be granted EU candidate status, Georgia needs to successfully address the 12 key priorities indicated by the Commission. The Georgian bid for membership will continue to be assessed based on its own merits and its success in implementing all the necessary reforms. Unfortunately, the tense political situation hampers the country’s development.  I want to make five remarks. First, political stakeholders need to refrain from any divisive and aggressive rhetoric, and unite their forces in order to increase trust among all political and institutional actors. Second, the excessive influence of vested interests in economic, political and public life needs to be eliminated. Third, Georgian authorities need to ensure media freedom. This entails editorial independence, transparent media ownership of pluralistic, impartial and non-discriminatory coverage of political views. Fourth, political leaders in Georgia must stop aggressive verbal attacks against Members of our European Parliament and representatives of other partner countries.  And finally – and this is also personal for me – as Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I call on the Georgian authorities: please, please release former President Saakashvili and allow him to undergo proper medical treatment.
Debate: Annual implementing report on the EU association agreement with Georgia
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Cristian Terheş
Political group: ECR
Country: Poland
Language: EN

Madam President, Europeans are now feeling the costs of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine because it is closer to them. But we should never forget that Georgia was the first country against which Russia waged a war of aggression in August 2008. That happened after the recognition of Kosovo and after Germany and France refused to accept Georgia and Ukraine in NATO during the NATO summit in Bucharest.  If Europe would have taken a stronger position against Russia after its war against Georgia, we could have avoided the war of aggression against Ukraine. After being devastated by Russia’s war, and even after 20% of its territory has been illegally occupied by Russian forces since 2008, Georgia has not retreated from its pro-Western course. Georgia was a front-runner among the Eastern Partnership countries, and Georgia is part of the Associated Trio.  The popular support for these European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations are now explicitly written in its Constitution. We should never forget that governments come and go, but nations and people stay.  The Georgian nation and people need our support and a strong sign from the EU now. Georgia’s place is in the EU, and they need our unequivocal support to achieve this goal.
Debate: Annual implementing report on the EU association agreement with Georgia
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Lukas Mandl
Political group: PPE
Country: Portugal
Language: EN

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, I had the privilege to visit Georgia with the Subcommittee on Security and Defence of this very parliament earlier this year, in April. Mr Olekas, our colleague, who is also present in this debate, was always a part of our parliamentary endeavour there. We were standing at the border to the occupied territories, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. And when we read the title of this very discussion today, ‘Annual implementing report on the EU association agreement with Georgia’, we have to state that this is not any annual report. It’s a report in a very specific year, in a year of the so-called shift of paradigms, as all the experts say and as all of us in political life experience and Georgia is more or less at the frontline of the free world, of the Western world.  Georgia has a clear tendency towards the European Union, European values. A lot has to be done in terms of reforms when it comes to the rule of law, when it comes to fighting corruption, when it comes to also proper political competition, not political fight on a sometimes basis of hatred in the country, when it comes to media freedom.  But one could feel and can feel in Georgia that there is a clear European attitude in the population, and as the other parts of the Eastern Partnership, meaning here Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, Georgia can become an EU Member State in the future undergoing these reforms. And we have to run for that even more than in the past due to this shift of paradigms.
Debate: Annual implementing report on the EU association agreement with Georgia
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Liudas Mažylis
Political group: PPE
Country: Luxembourg
Language: LT

Gerbiamas Pirmininke, pakartosiu, ką jau esu čia kalbėjęs. Europos Sąjunga ima patirti nuovargį nuo plėtros politikos. Ir eilinis pavyzdys – kandidatės statuso nesuteikimas Sakartvelui. O juk pagal apklausų duomenis, net 75 proc. Sakartvelo gyventojų pasisako už europinę integraciją. Tokie skaičiai net nematyti daugelyje Europos Sąjungos senbuvių. Nuo 2016 m. Sakartvelas dėjo nemažai pastangų vykdyti ekonomines, žmogaus teisių ir antikorupcijos asociacijos sutartyje numatytas reformas ir buvo vienas pirmaujančių Rytų partnerystėje. Agresyviam Rusijos karui Ukrainoje prasidėjus, kovo 3 d. Sakartvelas pateikė paraišką dėl narystės Europos Sąjungoje. Tačiau viskas, ką gavo, tai šių metų birželį pripažinta europinė perspektyva. To per maža pozityviai žiniai. O pozityvių ženklų siuntimas iš Europos vidinei Sakartvelo demokratinei raidai yra nepaprastai svarbu. Užkraudami jai, o ir kitoms valstybėms vis naujų vykdytinų darbų, permąstykime, ar tikrai taip išplėsim draugų ratą, ar nepabloginam požiūrio į save, ar nedidinam euroskepticizmo? Politiniai įsipareigojimai vienų kitiems visada turi būti dvišaliai. Pagrįstai reikalaudami progreso iš kitų, turime progresuoti ir patys, siųsti Sakartvelui aiškesnę, pozityvią žinią.  Žinoma, aš prisijungiu prie čia pasisakiusių dėl prezidento Saakašvilio.
Debate: Annual implementing report on the EU association agreement with Georgia
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Seán Kelly
Political group: PPE
Country: Greece
Language: EN

Obviously, because of the war in Ukraine, things have changed dramatically, and more and more countries in an eastern neighbourhood see not just their economic viability, but their actual viability per se, as being guaranteed only by joining the European Union and that is something which we should be proud of, but something we should facilitate.  And I think in relation to countries like Georgia, they should be given a time-limit by which they reach the standards required. Having countries like Georgia and Moldova and others on a list ad infinitum, stretching them out, is not fair to them. So, there should be a time limit by which they’re told: you reach these targets by then, otherwise, you wait for another ten years. But you need some type of certainty, and I think that’s what Georgia needs now, because they would be very valuable Members of the European Union.
Debate: Annual implementing report on the EU association agreement with Georgia
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Helena Dalli
Language: EN

But we need also Georgia to work hard and deliver on these reforms, particularly on the 12 priorities, in an inclusive process involving the opposition and civil society and consulting European partners. It is the only way for the country to advance on its chosen European path for the benefit of the future of all Georgian citizens who expect their aspirations to be met. With regard to what the EU has done on the Saakashvili case, we have consistently stressed both in private meetings and publicly that the Georgian authorities have a legal responsibility to ensure the health of all detainees, to provide adequate medical treatment and to respect their fundamental rights, in line with Georgia’s international commitments.  Hence, the Georgian authorities are responsible to act if the health condition of Mr Saakashvili is in critical condition. The EU has repeatedly urged the Georgian authorities to implement recommendations by independent medical experts and to implement the interim measures issued by the ECHR.  Throughout recent months, and most recently on Wednesday last week, we commented publicly to the media that the responsibility for the health of Mr Saakashvili rests with the state. This is not as a matter of political choice, but as a matter of fundamental human rights.  With regard to a timeline for Georgia to join the EU, as you know becoming a member of the European Union is not something that happens overnight. It is subject to a thorough process involving substantial work across all membership criteria. So the pace of accession depends on the progress in reform, first and foremost in the fundamental areas, starting with the rule of law.  Right now, Georgia is encouraged to address the 12 points outlined by the European Commission in order to receive candidate status. The Council has invited the Commission to report on the fulfilment of these steps and priorities as part of its regular enlargement package in 2023.
Debate: ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Evelyn Regner
Country: Netherlands
Language: DE

Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärung der Kommission zu den Beziehungen zum ASEAN im Vorfeld des Gipfeltreffens zwischen der EU und dem ASEAN im Dezember 2022 (
Debate: ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Helena Dalli
Language: EN

To recall, we have a strong and long—standing relationship with ASEAN. The EU and ASEAN are the two most advanced regional integration organisations in the world. The EU is ASEAN’s third—largest trade partner and second—largest investor. The EU is a top development partner for ASEAN in support of regional integration as well as with ASEAN Member States bilaterally. The EU also continues to seek enhanced EU participation in all ASEAN—led security fora such as the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus. The summit will offer a political forum for the EU and ASEAN to demonstrate a shared political determination to address the impact of multiple regional and global crises, including the Russian aggression in Ukraine, Myanmar, the climate crisis, as well as our joint attachment to international law, multilateralism and internationally agreed norms and standards. The summit will also be an opportunity to explore synergies between the EU’s strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Our Indo-Pacific strategy specifically highlights the centrality of ASEAN. At the summit, leaders are expected to endorse a joint leaders’ statement as a main deliverable of the summit. The joint leaders’ statement will showcase our broad cooperation on trade, connectivity, security and climate change, as well as seek leaders’ guidance for further cooperation. In addition to the joint statement, leaders are expected to endorse the new EU ASEAN plan of action 2023—2027, which outlines priorities for EU ASEAN cooperation. Further deliverables are being prepared, such as support on connectivity under the Global Gateway, including a Team Europe Initiative on Sustainable Connectivity, Global Gateway projects put forward by Member States, the EU—ASEAN Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement, as well as further investment projects such as the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility. We also expect to use the occasion of the summit for the signature of two bilateral partnerships and cooperation agreements with Malaysia and Thailand. Ahead of the summit, several side events will take place. On 12 December DG INTPA and DG EAC are organising an event on EU—ASEAN people—to—people cooperation in higher education. On 13 December DG INTPA is organising an EU—ASEAN Youth Forum which invites youth to discuss about priority issues for EU—ASEAN relations with EU and ASEAN representatives. In the afternoon of 13 December, the EU—ASEAN Business Council organised a business summit and the President of the European Council, several key EU Commissioners and ASEAN leaders attended the event, along with numerous European business leaders. This broad agenda of context shows the depth of our partnership, a partnership that is more important than ever, because the future of humankind will be decided in the Indo-Pacific.
Debate: ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Daniel Caspary
Political group: PPE
Country: Portugal
Language: DE

Der neue EU-ASEAN-Energiedialog und die Bemühung der Europäischen Union, den Übergang der ASEAN-Staaten zu sauberer Energie zu unterstützen, sind weitere positive Signale aus diesem Jahr. Gleichzeitig halten wir an dem gemeinsamen Ziel fest, unsere parlamentarischen Beziehungen konsequent weiter auszubauen. Mit Nachdruck müssen wir uns auch weiterhin für die Einrichtung einer gemeinsamen Parlamentarischen Versammlung zwischen der Europäischen Union und den Parlamenten der ASEAN-Staaten einsetzen. Geschätzte Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Mehr als 60 % der Weltbevölkerung nennen die ASEAN-Staaten ihr Zuhause. Gleichzeitig werden 40 % des Außenhandels der Europäischen Union über die Seewege dieser zehn Staaten abgewickelt. Damit sind Frieden, Sicherheit und Stabilität in Südostasien und der gesamten Region für unsere Partner in den ASEAN-Ländern elementar – aber genauso auch für uns. Konkret bedeutet das: Unser Ziel, von einer strategischen Abhängigkeit von China wegzukommen, erreichen wir nicht nur durch mögliches Einbremsen von Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zwischen der Europäischen Union und China – das sollten wir nämlich nicht tun –, sondern wir sollten die Abhängigkeit vor allem relativ dadurch senken, dass wir wirtschaftliche Beziehungen mit anderen Staaten intensivieren. Und da bieten sich die wirtschaftlichen Potenziale in den südasiatischen und südostasiatischen Staaten wirklich an. Seit mittlerweile zehn Jahren versuchen wir als Europäische Union, Handelsabkommen mit verschiedenen ASEAN-Partnern abzuschließen, manchmal mit Erfolg – wie mit Singapur und Vietnam –, manchmal treten wir aber auch auf der Stelle – wie bei Indonesien, Thailand, Malaysia und den Philippinen, um einige Beispiele zu nennen –, und dies bei Staaten, die, wie im Fall Indonesiens mit 270 Millionen Einwohnern, gewaltige Chancen für uns bieten. Jenseits von Abkommen mit einzelnen Staaten müssen wir auch die Verhandlungen für ein Block-zu-Block-Handelsabkommen zwischen der Europäischen Union und dem ASEAN vorantreiben. Das neue Partnerschaftsabkommen zwischen Australien, Neuseeland und dem ASEAN zeigt eindrucksvoll, was möglich ist, wenn der politische Wille vorhanden ist. Viel zu lange waren wir hier zu träge. Die Kommission ist nun aufgefordert, zügig Fortschritte zu erzielen – in allen Bereichen, bei Handel, aber auch bei Klima, Sicherheit, Energie und auch den Menschenrechtsfragen. Das Potenzial ist da. Nun gilt es, dieses auch gemeinsam zu heben.
Debate: ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Heidi Hautala
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Poland
Language: EN

The worsening situation in Myanmar since the military coup of 1 February 2021 must feature as an important topic in the summit tomorrow. Even ASEAN must clearly and unequivocally take a stance early on regarding an exercise that the State Administrative Council, i.e. the military junta, has planned for August 2023. They call it an election, but it is not an election and it cannot be called as such. In the recent ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, we saw an opening for other stakeholders and the international community to work together to solve the crisis of Myanmar. This is very welcome. Indonesia, as the next holder of the ASEAN chairmanship, is in a key position. The EU needs to extend capacity building development to the democratic forces in Myanmar, and I am talking about the National Unity Government, the National Unity Coordination Council and the ethnic organisations. Capacity to govern and uphold an administration requires knowledge, skills and resources, and we need to do this to make real the vision of a genuine federalist and inclusive democracy that Myanmar will one day be. This needs putting the building blocks in place today.
Debate: ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Mathilde Androuët
Political group: ID
Country: France
Language: FR

Évidemment, vous assurez la promotion de vos échanges, purement commerciaux, en revendiquant un travail coopératif sur les droits de l’homme. À la vérité, ceux-ci sont bafoués dans de nombreux pays avec lesquels nous commerçons et qui font fi de vos timides et souvent hypocrites rodomontades. Le business d’abord. Il n’en demeure pas moins qu’il est impératif que nous ayons des rapports diplomatiques équilibrés avec les pays de l’ANASE, afin de casser le face-à-face entre le bloc chinois et le bloc américain. Mais cette puissance d’équilibre que serait l’Union européenne, existe-t-elle seulement? Outre que vous n’avez pas mandat à l’exercer, nos souverainetés nationales, qui en sont la base, ont été abaissées et remplacées par une impuissance européenne, qu’illustre notamment notre inféodation à Washington, rabaissant aussi les rapports diplomatiques que nous pourrions développer avec d’autres pays du monde, dont ceux de l’Asie du Sud-Est.
Debate: ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Adam Bielan
Political group: ECR
Country: France
Language: EN

As a member of the ASEAN Delegation, I am particularly pleased to see that the new Plan of Action for 2023—2027 includes stepping up cooperation between the parliaments of some Member States and our House. Since the upgrading of their relationship to a strategic partnership in 2020 and the strengthening of the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy in the region, bilateral trade between the European Union and ASEAN countries has been consistently growing. As the second largest source of foreign direct investment for ASEAN, the EU plays a key role in the region’s development.  In this context, I would like to call for a stronger and more critical stance from ASEAN leaders with regard to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. Additionally, the EU must ensure its core values, such as respect of international law and human rights, are upheld globally throughout its partnership.
Debate: ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Helmut Scholz
Political group: The Left
Country: Luxembourg
Language: DE

Südostasien klingt für viele schön. Viel reden wir über wirtschaftliche Kooperation, und der Wunsch ist groß, neue Wirtschaftspartner für die EU zu finden. Doch die Organisation von ASEAN-Abgeordneten für Menschenrechte APHR betont – auch mir gegenüber – immer wieder, wie sehr Demokratie und Menschenrechte in fast allen Staaten der Region unter Druck stehen. Das Militär in Thailand, das Duo der Diktatorenkinder Marcos und Duterte in den Philippinen, die stärker werdende „grüne Welle“ des konservativen Islam in Malaysia und Indonesien, der Diktator in Kambodscha und die autoritäre Regierungsrealität in Laos sind Teil der Wirklichkeit, die bei diesem Gipfel mit der EU an einem Tisch sitzt.
Debate: ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: David McAllister
Political group: PPE
Country: Netherlands
Language: EN

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, tomorrow, as so many speakers have mentioned, our heads of state and government are commemorating 45 years of the partnership between ASEAN and the European Union, a partnership that was upgraded to a strategic level just two years ago. If the relationship between the two most advanced and integrated regional organisations in the world really is to be strategic, issues of concern to the one ought to be considered an issue of concern to the other.  Having said that, tomorrow’s summit offers ample opportunity to strategise the elements of our future security and defence cooperation at a time when international law and maritime security are increasingly being subverted. Like the EU, ASEAN does not attempt to undermine multilateralism. We stand united in our conviction that trade and security should follow rules laid out in international agreements. With the EU being ASEAN’s third largest trading partner and its second largest investor, a region-to-region free trade agreement remains the common long-term objective.  In the meantime, let us make full use of existing free trade agreements with Vietnam and Singapore. I encourage further progress in the negotiations concerning the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Indonesia, and we should also remain open to a resumption of bilateral negotiations with Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines when, of course, right conditions are in place.
Debate: ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Margarida Marques
Political group: S-D
Country: Cyprus
Language: PT

Senhora Presidente, Senhora Comissária, a Cimeira UE-ASEAN tem de ser um momento para aprofundar a cooperação região a região e para expandir as relações comerciais com as nações ASEAN, diversificando as cadeias de abastecimento, o que é positivo para ambos os blocos.  A ASEAN é um parceiro estratégico também para o reforço da autonomia estratégica da União Europeia num quadro multilateral. Esta cimeira é o momento de passar das palavras aos atos, mas terá de ser também uma oportunidade a não desperdiçar para promover valores comuns e universais junto dos governos da região. Incentivamos à criação de um quadro jurídico e político de respeito pelos direitos sociais, laborais e ambientais e de fomento ao apoio às organizações da sociedade civil na região, contrariando a redução do espaço cívico em vários países ASEAN. Incentivamos ao fim das leis que limitam direitos como a liberdade de associação e reunião.  Acima de tudo, esta cimeira tem de resultar no fortalecimento das relações entre a União Europeia e a região ASEAN e os países que a integram.
Debate: ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December
Date: TUESDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Reinhard Bütikofer
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Italy
Language: EN

Madam President, dear colleagues, the commemorative summit that Brussels is preparing for, with the ASEAN Community, offers an opportunity for reflection of how serious we really are with our strategic partnership. That sounds nice, but how strategic is it really?  We learned today from the media that the two sides have not been able to agree on common language about Taiwan or issues around Taiwan.  So I think we should not fool ourselves. That strategic partnership is still much more of a promise and an aspiration than it is a reality. And I think we should clearly identify priority projects to make it a real strategic partnership. I think one of them would be, as Mr McAllister said, a region-to-region FTA. One of them would be cooperating on trusted connectivity projects and one would be systematic cooperation in international organisations.