unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: The death penalty in Saudi Arabia, notably the cases of Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish and Abdullah al-Howaiti
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Mairead McGuinness
Language: EN

We remain concerned about the continued use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. According to our sources, in 2019 184 people were executed in Saudi Arabia. A lower number, 27, were executed last year, partially due to an informal moratorium on executions for drug-related crimes.  But each and every execution is unacceptable. In April 2020, a royal decree expanded the provisions of a 2019 law, setting the age of minors at 18 years and exempting minors from the death penalty for most crimes. Both the informal moratorium on executions for drug-related crimes and the adoption of the royal decree were steps in the right direction.  However, more is needed. The royal decree does not cover all categories of criminal offences committed by juveniles, and it should be expanded. The imposition of the death penalty on an individual who was a child at the time of the alleged crime goes against internationally accepted minimum standards.  We have seen the commuting of death sentences for some juveniles who had been sentenced to death. This EU special representative for human rights has raised the case of Abdullah al-Howaiti and other juveniles with the Saudi Human Rights Commission and with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  The European Union deeply regrets the execution of Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish. The EU Special Representative for Human Rights has publicly conveyed this regret. Worryingly, it brings the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia this year to 27, the same number executed in 2020.  We have seen conflicting reports about the age when Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish committed the alleged crimes for which he was executed. The European Union will continue to consistently reiterate its principled position against the use of death penalty in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and advocate for a complete de facto moratorium as a first step towards a formal and full abolition of the death penalty.
Debate: Second voting session
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Pedro Silva Pereira
Country: Bulgaria
Language: PT

Segue-se o segundo período de votação.  Os dossiês serão votados conforme indicado na ordem do dia. O período de votação decorrerá entre as 13h45 e as 15h00. A votação será feita segundo o mesmo procedimento utilizado nos períodos de votação anteriores. Todas as votações serão realizadas por votação nominal.  Declaro aberto o segundo período de votação. Podem votar até às 15H00.  Os resultados do segundo período de votação serão comunicados às 16h30. Os debates prosseguirão com a declaração da Comissão sobre os planos e ações para acelerar a transição para a inovação sem recurso à utilização de animais na investigação, nos ensaios regulamentares e na educação.
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Rainer Wieland
Country: Germany
Language: DE

Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärung der Kommission betreffend die Pläne und das Vorgehen zur Beschleunigung eines Übergangs zu Innovationen ohne die Verwendung von Tieren in der Forschung, bei vorgeschriebenen Versuchen und in der Bildung (
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Michal Wiezik
Political group: PPE
Country: France
Language: EN

Commissioner, without a doubt, the Commission has been investing significantly in very promising, innovative research projects. They have shown the possibilities of advanced non-animal models. At the same time, however, the investments in these innovative methods are still dwarfed in comparison to the current investments in animal studies. In 2017, over 23 million animals were impacted by science. The majority of them were bred and killed without actually being used in the experiments. It all happens despite specific provisions in REACH to promote alternative methods and to only use animals as a last resort.  Today, the EU has major challenges to face: infectious diseases, the fight against cancer and ensuring a clean and safe environment. These challenges are complex and the EU is addressing them on many fronts, one of them research and testing. The rapid emergence of advanced non—animal models offer immense opportunities to replace animals and improve research. The Joint Research Centre has listed many of these methods for several disease areas, but they have not yet been followed by concrete measures.  What we are asking from the Commission is to do more of what it already does, but in a coordinated manner and with concrete goals that can replace animals in specific scientific areas. Targeted funding, education and broad collaborations are key to making innovative advanced models and technologies the new normal. The Commission should work towards inter—agency alignment by setting up a dialogue on the regulatory use of non—animal models in anticipation of the ‘one substance, one assessment’ approach, and to ensure a proper share of the agency’s budget is dedicated to these models.
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Jytte Guteland
Political group: S-D
Language: SV

Vi vet dock att verkligheten ser totalt annorlunda ut. Drygt tio år efter antagandet av direktivet fortsätter de plågsamma djurförsöken med oförminskad styrka. Miljontals möss, fiskar, fåglar men också katter och hundar används varje år i djurförsök i EU. Djuren tvångsmatas med farliga ämnen, deras vitala organ opereras bort. De genmodifieras. De utsätts för brutala övergrepp som brutna ben eller regelbunden exponering av giftiga ämnen. Att djur fortfarande ska behöva genomgå så kallade smärttester där de bränns på heta plattor, det är helt oacceptabelt. Vetenskapen har utvecklats så snabbt att vi nu, om inte förr, verkligen är redo att påbörja en utfasning av djurförsök i vetenskapliga syften. Pandemin har ju visat att forskning och vetenskapliga beslut och försök behöver göras på människor. Djur har inte visat samma symptom som människor. Samtidigt kan vi se också hur nya tekniska hjälpmedel hjälper oss att bättre förstå virusets effekter i mänskliga lungor, i hjärnan och njurarna. Det är inte heller enbart inom forskningsfältet för infektionssjukdomar den vetenskapliga utvecklingen går framåt. I kommissionens egna granskningar från det gemensamma forskningscentret, om icke-djurbaserade metoder inom den biomedicinska vetenskapen, där redovisas den inriktning som forskningen behöver ta för att vinna kampen mot cancer, neurodegenererativa sjukdomar och hjärt-och kärlsjukdomar. Vi har nu två val som medlagstiftare. Antingen fortsätter vi på den väg som kommissionen anträtt, med otillräckliga investeringar och bristande koordinering av innovativa lösningar som inte kräver djurförsök. Eller också investerar vi i smarta metoder, sätter konkreta målsättningar och samordnar våra åtgärder för att gemensamt som union möta de hälsorisker som ligger framför oss. EU måste investera mer för att bli världsledande inom innovation, vilket stärker vår ekonomiska motståndskraft men också rustar oss för kommande kriser.  Nästa steg är att kommissionen inrättar en övergripande arbetsgrupp som inkluderar de relevanta generaldirektoraten, för att samarbeta med medlemsstaterna och berörda aktörer i syfte att utarbeta en handlingsplan för att fasa ut de vidriga djurförsöken inom forskningen.
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Katalin Cseh
Political group: Renew
Country: Sweden
Language: EN

Just a couple of months ago, we witnessed video footage revealing shocking levels of cruelty and animal suffering that breached European animal-testing laws. Findings from a major investigation in Spanish contract-testing laboratory Vivotecnia showed deliberate acts of cruelty and repeated bad practice. And all of this happens only 18 months after similar findings were revealed in a German laboratory. And even health scientists are questioning the reliability of animal studies. Let me quote the British Medical Journal, which says that the claim that animal experimentation is essential to medical development... So science and morality point into the very same conclusion: there are cruelty-free alternatives like computational biology that can enable us to get rid of animal testing once and for all. But ever since I started looking into these issues, I kept on hearing that complete change is impossible, and I get it – old habits die hard, and I even accept that this won’t happen by the... ... is doing better than the rest of the world, but even here, progress is way too slow. We need a credible plan, a plan that measures, targets, and a binding, ambitious timeline. We need to promote and fund cruelty-free alternatives. We want to see increased funding for animal-free research methods and new, advanced non-animal models under Horizon Europe, and then we have to start creating... ... testing bans. This is what our citizens demand, 7 in 10 adults in EU Member States believe that enabling the full replacement of all forms of animal testing with non-animal testing methods should be a priority for the EU. And this is what we are asking from the Commission.
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Tilly Metz
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: France
Language: EN

And as a consequence, every year nearly 10 million animals suffer in EU laboratories, with very limited research results. Indeed, there is a high failure rate – above 90% of new drugs tested on animals – and also a growing number of scientific reviews indicating that they contribute very little in understanding human diseases.  Non-animal methods are game-changing technologies...  ... better coordinated, cross-sectoral and EU-wide approach, across all Member States and all European agencies.  Based on these elements I have some questions for the Commission: does the Commission agree that after 10 years of no progress, we need a plan to accelerate the transition to animal-free methods? That it could work more with the Member States to promote the key competences and knowledge required to use non-animal methods? That it could create mechanisms for preferential funding of non-animal methods? That it could set reduction targets through a more proactive implementation of existing regulations that deal with the safety of chemicals and other products. And lastly, there is a plan to develop the European research area and to set up priority areas where Member States should collaborate.  So does the Commissioner agree that the phasing-out of the use of animals should be one of these priority areas?
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Annika Bruna
Political group: ID
Country: Romania
Language: FR

Le remplacement est déterminant, car la technologie progresse très vite dans le domaine des expérimentations in vitro, de la modélisation informatique ou encore du microdosage, sans compter les technologies génétiques comme CRISPR-Cas9. Ces nouvelles technologies sont bien plus efficaces pour faire avancer la recherche, mais il y a des blocages, des inerties. Par exemple, les universités utilisent trop souvent les tests sur les animaux faute de moyens financiers pour utiliser ces nouvelles technologies. Quant aux laboratoires, ils subissent eux-mêmes l’inertie réglementaire. Ils doivent encore recourir à des tests sur les animaux pour obtenir les précieuses autorisations de mise sur le marché. Parfois, cela confine à l’escroquerie puisque certaines de ces expériences sont menées mécaniquement pour continuer à avoir du financement. C’est le cas notamment des chiens testés depuis plusieurs décennies pour trouver un traitement contre la myopathie, avec les résultats qu’on connaît. Il est donc important de légiférer au plus vite sur les alternatives à ces expériences. Les attentes des citoyens, tout comme les progrès technologiques, vont aujourd’hui dans le sens de la fin de cette terrible maltraitance animale.
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Jadwiga Wiśniewska
Political group: ECR
Country: Poland
Language: PL

Szanowni Państwo! Liczba wykorzystanych zwierząt w nauce i badaniach, mimo zobowiązania złożonego 30 lat temu przez Komisję, spadła niestety nieznacznie, więc z całą pewnością czas na zmiany. Jak wynika z badań, około 12 mln zwierząt, które są hodowane na potrzeby naukowe, finalnie jest niestety zabijanych bez docelowego wykorzystania. Można by te zwierzęta w jakiś sposób zagospodarować. Chociaż w dyrektywie 2010/63/UE określono podstawowe przepisy dotyczące ochrony zwierząt wykorzystywanych do badań, niestety nie przewidziano strategii zastąpienia zwierząt alternatywnymi formami. A więc zachodzi potrzeba przygotowania działań ułatwiających przejście na innowacje technologiczne, transformację poprawy dobrostanu zwierząt. Wyzwania zdrowotne i środowiskowe, ochrona bioróżnorodności, ochrona klimatu nakładają na nas obowiązek, by zintensyfikować wysiłki, inwestować przede wszystkim w naukę, w badania regulujące oraz edukację. I ta rosnąca przede wszystkim wrażliwość społeczna, o której tutaj mówimy, przejrzystość instytucji unijnych, transparentność powinny położyć większy nacisk na te kwestie.
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Anja Hazekamp
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: NL

Hoe kan het dat dit pas aan het licht komt nadat klokkenluiders aan de bel trekken? En waarom maakt de Commissie nog steeds gebruik van de gegevens die door deze labs zijn verzameld voor de besluiten die zij neemt – bijvoorbeeld voor de toelating van het landbouwgif glyfosaat – terwijl de wetenschappelijke waarde van deze gegevens heel erg laag is? Het doel van de richtlijn die dieren moet beschermen die voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek worden gebruikt, is klip-en-klaar. Alle dierexperimenten moeten worden vervangen door methoden zonder dieren. En toch daalt het aantal experimenten op dieren slechts langzaam. In veel Europese landen neemt het aantal dierproeven zelfs weer toe. Wereldwijd zijn er al geweldige ontwikkelingen, innovatieve en betaalbare cel- en weefselkweken en computersimulaties. Ook ons eigen Gemeenschappelijk Centrum voor onderzoek en het CEVMA hebben indrukwekkende alternatieven gevalideerd, maar daar wordt veel te weinig gebruik van gemaakt. Commissaris, wat gaat u doen om deze alternatieven te promoten en om volop in te zetten op de ontwikkeling van nieuwe technologieën? Al sinds 1993 is het doel in de Europese Unie dat we minder dierproeven doen. Het stoppen van dierproeven is in het belang van dieren én mensen. Gaat u hier na dertig jaar eindelijk voor zorgen?
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Seán Kelly
Political group: PPE
Country: Greece
Language: EN

Mr President, animal welfare can often be overlooked, but I am pleased to say that this is not the case in the European Parliament. Last month, we passed a resolution calling for a ban on the use of cages in animal agriculture by 2027. This was in response to ‘End the cage age’, a European Citizens’ Initiative. Some 1.4 million citizens signed it and we responded in kind. For nearly 30 years, the EU has been committed to reducing the use of and improving the welfare of animals in science. Since 2009, the marketing of any cosmetic products containing animal-tested ingredients have been banned in the EU. Considering that Europe’s cosmetic products market is the biggest in the world, it’s clear that this was a significant step in the promotion of animal welfare. The 2010 EU directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes promotes the three Rs: (1) replacing animal experiments wherever possible; (2) reducing the number of animals used and (3) refining experiments to minimise the impact on animals. This directive also notes that the final goal is full replacement for procedures on live animals for scientific and educational purposes as soon as it is scientifically possible to do so. While the progress made on the three Rs is most welcome, unfortunately, we are not yet close to reaching the final goal and the number of animals being used in research, regulatory testing and education remains high. Thankfully, new developments have been made, the advancement in animal models and these are very relevant because they are human-relevant and therefore present an opportunity for more accurate data. A comprehensive approach will accelerate the transition away from animal testing.
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Eleonora Evi
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Italy
Language: IT

Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, quando l'Unione europea si pone un obiettivo, normalmente si dà una strategia, fissa dei target a medio e lungo termine e vengono stanziati dei fondi. Eppure, nonostante l'Europa si sia data l'obiettivo di mettere fine all'uso di animali nella ricerca e nella sperimentazione, ad oggi non c'è nulla di tutto questo.  Al contrario, a distanza di anni, sono ancora circa 10 milioni gli animali che vengono impiegati nella ricerca scientifica ogni anno in Europa e i finanziamenti europei dedicati ai metodi  Ma non è solo una questione etica. Così facendo stiamo mettendo un freno al potenziale dei metodi innovativi e  Chiedo quindi alla Commissione di presentare il prima possibile un piano di azione con target e tempistiche certe, impegni concreti e misurabili e finanziamenti dedicati ed adeguati a raggiungere finalmente l'obiettivo di una scienza
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Joachim Kuhs
Political group: ID
Country: Greece
Language: DE

Herr Präsident, Frau Kommissarin, werte Kollegen! Wir sind uns anscheinend alle einig, dass Tierversuche abgeschafft werden müssen. Ich frage mich nur: Wie konnte es so lange dauern, und warum hat das so viele Probleme hervorgerufen? Wieso gibt es Millionen von Tieren, die wirklich unnötig leiden? Da vermisse ich ein bisschen, dass wir uns mal Gedanken darüber machen, wieso es überhaupt dazu gekommen ist. Natürlich sind wir Menschen verantwortlich für unsere Mitgeschöpfe, und wir können nicht einfach so tun, als wäre das etwas außerhalb von uns. Wir müssen uns mit dieser Sache wirklich beschäftigen und unsere grundlegende Haltung überdenken. Der weise König Salomo hat einmal gesagt: Der Gerechte kümmert sich um sein Vieh. Kümmern wir uns wirklich um diese Tiere? Oder ist es uns egal? Wir müssen wieder dahin zurück, dass wir uns verantwortlich fühlen und wissen für diese Mitgeschöpfe, und dann brauchen wir Lösungen, um das zu ändern.
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Francisco Guerreiro
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Mr President, Commissioner, the EU has made a clear commitment to proactively reduce and replace animals in science since 1993. However, we are now in 2021, 20 years later, and despite almost three decades long, the number of animals used has decreased very, very slowly.  So why doesn’t the EU have relevant policy initiatives on the line to reduce, replace and actively phase out animal testing? Why don’t we have an action plan setting out a proactive strategy to phase out animal experiments with milestones and timetables? Is the Commission just expecting Member States by their own initiative to invest in the phasing-out of animal testing? Since when has this reality really worked in EU policy? We know that without binding targets, there are no real incentives to progress. And Commissioner, what happens in laboratories cannot just stay in laboratories. We must end animal experimentation now.
Debate: Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education
Date: THURSDAY, 8 JULY 2021
Speaker: Caroline Roose
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Poland
Language: FR

Monsieur le Président, Madame la Commissaire, lorsque l’on parle de l’utilisation d’animaux à des fins scientifiques, j’ai toujours cette image qui me revient dans la tête, celle d’un singe attaché par les poignets et qui fixe la caméra que tient le lanceur d’alerte. On voit la souffrance dans ses yeux. Il semble demander: «Pourquoi?» Puisque ces animaux ne parlent pas, je le répète ici: Pourquoi? La directive de 2010 sur la protection des animaux utilisés à des fins scientifiques avait représenté un pas en avant important. Elle prévoyait que soient utilisées dès que possible des procédures n’impliquant pas l’utilisation d’animaux vivants. Pourquoi le nombre d’animaux utilisés n’a-t-il quasiment pas baissé? Un plan d’action complet, assorti d’objectifs chiffrés et de moyens dédiés est nécessaire. Nous devons former les jeunes scientifiques à l’utilisation des méthodes alternatives. Nous pouvons donner la priorité dans l’attribution des fonds pour la recherche aux projets qui ont recours à des alternatives. Nous pouvons accompagner les acteurs privés qui souhaitent réduire l’utilisation d’animaux. Les alternatives ont souvent de bien meilleurs résultats que l’expérimentation sur les animaux. Nous avons donc tous à y gagner, animaux humains ou non humains.