unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Niels Fuglsang
Political group: S-D
Country: Italy
Language: DA

Hr. Formand! Vi er ved at drukne i skrald og affald. Og det går kun én vej, og det er desværre opad. Siden 2009 er mængden af affald i Europa steget med 20 procent. Kære venner, jeg er træt af plastik, der ligger og sviner i naturen og i vandet. Det tror jeg, der er mange, der er trætte af. Og i Århus, i Danmark, er man også træt af det, og derfor har man startet en ordning, hvor man har genbrugskopper i stedet for takeaway-kopper. Når man får en kop på en restaurant i Århus, så opstiller man nogle pantcontainere, hvor man kan aflevere den her kop og få pant tilbage. På den måde sikrer man, at disse kopper ikke bare bliver smidt ud og ligger og flyder i naturen. Hvis Århus kan gøre det, så kan vi også gøre det i hele Europa. Derfor lad os få en lov, der udfaser éngangsplastik. Lad os gøre noget godt for både mennesker og natur og lad os droppe undtagelser, som plastiklobbyen rigtig gerne vil have os til at indføre. Lad os få plastikken ud og lad os få naturen og miljøet ind.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Ivan Štefanec
Political group: PPE
Country: Netherlands
Language: SK

Vážený pán predsedajúci, legislatíva o obaloch a odpadoch z obalov je dôležitým míľnikom na ceste k udržateľnému obalovému hospodárstvu v Európe. Dotýka sa takmer každého výrobcu, každého distribútora a tým pádom aj každého spotrebiteľa. To, čo je ale kľúčové, je zdôraznenie rovnakých podmienok a rovnakých pravidiel pre všetkých. Táto legislatíva rozširuje povinnosti pre výrobcov nápojov, osobitne nealkoholických nápojov, ale je kľúčové, aby nediskriminovala jedných na úkor druhých. Obal je obal bez ohľadu na to, čo sa v ňom nachádza, a je dôležité, aby platili rovnaké podmienky pre všetkých. Cieľ 10 % obnoviteľných obalov alebo znovu použiteľných obalov do roku 2030, 25 % do roku 2040 je dosiahnuteľný a počas tejto doby sa dajú vychytať všetky nedostatky. Preto si myslím, že by sme mali dodržiavať najmä v tejto fáze rovnaké podmienky pre všetkých a ďakujem všetkým, ktorí takéto videnie zdieľajú a takýto návrh podporia.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Biljana Borzan
Political group: S-D
Country: Belgium
Language: HR

Poštovani predsjedavajući, na svakoga od nas godišnje se potroši 188 kg ambalaže i pakiranja, a otpad od pakiranja je u zadnjih deset godina porastao za 20 %. Krajnji je čas da počnemo pametnije trošiti resurse kako bismo zaštitili okoliš.  U doba velike inflacije pakiranja se često koriste kako bi se zavaravalo potrošače. Vrećice, kutije, pa čak i boce ostaju iste, a količina se smanjuje. Zabranjujemo pakiranja čija je svrha zavarati potrošače o volumenu proizvoda, bilo da se radi o nepotrebnim slojevima, lažnom dnu ili drugim vrstama pakiranja. Naime, kada kupujemo nešto, tek kada dođemo kući shvatimo da smo bili pod krivim dojmom što zapravo kupujemo, a tada je prekasno.  Ovim zakonom ćemo problem srezati u korijenu te omogućiti građanima da dobiju najbolje za svoj novac.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Laurence Sailliet
Political group: PPE
Language: FR

Monsieur le Président, nos fromages français sont aimés dans le monde entier. Mais qui peut imaginer un camembert ou un Mont d’Or sans son cerclage de bois? Les emballer dans du plastique serait une aberration gustative et environnementale. Le règlement relatif aux emballages et aux déchets d’emballage doit permettre un meilleur fonctionnement du marché intérieur et une meilleure transition vers des emballages durables. Mais il est impérieux d’exclure les emballages en bois de son champ d’application pour protéger un savoir-faire unique, garant de la qualité des produits concernés.  Je parle aujourd’hui du fromage, mais d’autres produits issus d’autres pays sont confrontés aux mêmes écueils. L’Europe doit savoir protéger l’environnement, mais jamais au détriment des spécificités de ses États membres, et donc au détriment de leur prospérité. Chers collègues, ne légiférons pas sans discernement.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: César Luena
Political group: S-D
Country: Italy
Language: ES

Señor presidente, yo creo que en la Unión Europea tenemos un problema con los residuos de envases que este Reglamento aborda —y que ya era hora—.  Creo que hay un buen trabajo de negociación, un buen acuerdo, que combina la ambición y la flexibilidad. Yo creo que, como sociedad, y desde los sectores productivos especialmente, debemos hacer esfuerzos. Primero, para reducir el número de envases. Señorías, asumámoslo: hay muchísimos envases innecesarios y tenemos que aumentar la reutilización. Tenemos que incrementar también el reciclado, tenemos que poder reciclar todos los envases. Ese es el paso que tenemos que dar. Por último, los ciudadanos europeos merecen tener más y mejor información. Por tanto, bienvenida la etiqueta obligatoria para saber cómo desechar cada envase.  Antes mencionaba la ambición y la flexibilidad. Había sectores que necesitaban esa flexibilidad, y la van a tener —el vino, la cerámica, el café, las frutas y las verduras—. Y, por tanto, yo creo que este Reglamento será —cuando finalmente se apruebe— una buena noticia para el Pacto Verde Europeo y para la Unión Europea.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Maria Spyraki
Political group: PPE
Country: Romania
Language: EN

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, needless to say that we have to put an end on the dramatic increase of packaging waste generation. But at the same time, we have to take into account the concerns coming from the market. Various stakeholders raised the issue of effective implementation of packaging regulation. According to my opinion, it is critical to clear out that recyclable and reusable options are complementary. Opting for the most circular packaging model should be the key objective of this regulation. Definitions of recyclability and high quality of recycling still need to take into account both scientific evidence and the practical experience of well-functioning recycling system for certain materials. We can’t deal with a circular model if it is not recognised all the associated benefits of packaging made of renewable material. For instance, it will allow bio-based packaging to fulfil its potential. Legal certainty is much needed also with our definition of composite packaging, of plastic packaging, to ensure compliance with the minimum recycling content targets in plastic packaging. Finally, it would also be important for food packaging or packaging used for food ingredients, especially when it comes to SMEs – that should not be subjected to reuse targets, as those cannot be properly sterilised to be reused in safe condition and without incurring cross-contamination.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Miapetra Kumpula-Natri
Political group: S-D
Country: France
Language: EN

Mr President, Commissioner, there is too much packaging and waste produced today. We all are consumers in the Union. We see that there are many good ways to reduce the waste. Through the packaging that is measured right, avoid mini-scaled packaging, for example in hotels, recycling packaging materials so they do not end up in the waste fill and then also the circular economy can diminish needs for new materials through the reuse also we can find it somewhere.  Reuse does not fit everywhere, but there are ideas for that one also to be promoted. We have the Single-Use Plastic Regulation in place, but it is very narrow, so I expected something more to come. But what we see now that it was banning paper, it was banning composites, and actually what we see in McDonald’s in France, adding plastic cups that comes from oil-based fossils that is imported from outside of Europe and is not recyclable. So I hope the trilogues the best of luck not to replace reusable, renewable paper and composites with the plastic that is now happening. Good luck.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Hildegard Bentele
Political group: PPE
Country: Germany
Language: DE

Herr Präsident! Sehr geehrter Herr Kommissar Sinkevičius, Sie haben zu Beginn der Debatte angeführt, dass wir unser Ziel, Verpackungsmüll zu reduzieren, nur durch den Ausbau von Mehrwegoptionen erreichen werden. Ich glaube, dass es in diesem Zusammenhang sehr wichtig ist, standardisierte Lebenszyklusanalysen zugrunde zu legen. Es gibt keinen Mangel an Studien. Jeder Hersteller produziert seine eigene, oft mit den gewünschten Resultaten. Deshalb mein Appell an die Kommission, den ich auch bei Berichterstatter Torvalds herausgehört habe: Formulieren Sie einheitliche Vorgaben für Lebenszyklusanalysen und machen Sie so stärker deutlich, dass Sie Ihre Vorgaben auf vergleichbaren wissenschaftlichen Kriterien basieren! Dann können wir auch eine bessere und sachlichere Debatte führen.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Maria Grapini
Political group: S-D
Country: Portugal
Language: RO

Domnule președinte, domnule comisar, stimați colegi, totdeauna am susținut ca obiectivele ambițioase să fie armonizate, bineînțeles, cu realitatea și cu situația din teren. Este bine că toți vrem să luptăm să se reducă deșeurile din ambalaje, dar să nu uităm că ambalajele sau cantitatea de ambalaje este direct proporțională cu cantitatea de fructe, de alimente pe care le consumă populația. Da, este un consum excedentar și știm acest lucru.  Domnule comisar, stimați colegi, am putea să scoatem un regulament bun dacă am ține cont și de recomandările celor care se pricep. Sunt aici amendamente, am consemnat și eu și sper…. De exemplu, vă dau un singur exemplu: amendamentul 417, care prevede o derogare pentru cele mai performante formate de ambalaje, pentru că nu orice ambalaj se potrivește la orice produs.  Aici trebuie să ținem cont de acest lucru și cred că mâine trebuie să votăm cu foarte multă inteligență și cu foarte multă obiectivitate amendamente pentru a corecta propunerea Comisiei, care, din punctul meu de vedere, nu a fost peste tot obiectivă și nu a ținut cont de realitate.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Beata Mazurek
Political group: ECR
Country: Malta
Language: PL

Dziękuję, Panie Przewodniczący! Panie Komisarzu! Dostrzegam konieczność aktualizacji obecnie obowiązujących przepisów, aby móc skutecznie walczyć z nadmiarem opakowań. Kierunek, który został obrany, jest jak najbardziej słuszny, ale proponowane tempo zmian legislacyjnych wraz z nadmiernie ambitnymi celami sprawia, że będzie to według mnie po prostu niewykonalne.  Zwracam Państwa uwagę na fakt, iż w projekcie dokumentu zabrakło odwołania do różnych okoliczności, jakie zachodzą w każdym z państw członkowskich. Nowe cele powinny być przede wszystkim realistyczne, mierzalne, wykonalne pod względem technicznym, z zachowaniem idei zrównoważonego rozwoju, a więc nie tylko z uwzględnieniem aspektów środowiskowych, ale również gospodarczych i społecznych.  Kolejna kwestia to potrzeba pozostawienia państwom członkowskim jak największej elastyczności w zakresie rozszerzonej odpowiedzialności producenta, systemów aukcyjnych i gospodarowania odpadami.  Przestrzegam także przed wprowadzeniem dodatkowych obciążeń administracyjnych, które będą miały bardzo szkodliwy wpływ na przedsiębiorców. Z tego powinniśmy sobie zdawać sprawę. Tak naprawdę wiele z zawartych w rozporządzeniu uciążliwych obowiązków nie jest do niczego potrzebne, pod warunkiem że opakowania będą w odpowiedni sposób zbierane i poddawane recyklingowi.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Susanna Ceccardi
Political group: ID
Country: France
Language: IT

Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, io quando sento che la Commissione europea ha dei programmi ambiziosi, ho paura perché preferirei che i progetti fossero un po' meno ambiziosi e un po' più calati nella realtà, un po' più equilibrati.  Io ho fatto il sindaco prima di essere parlamentare europeo e, insieme ai miei colleghi, ho passato anni a spiegare ai cittadini come fare bene la raccolta differenziata. Ora che tanti Paesi hanno raggiunto gli obiettivi sul riciclo, diciamo: no, no! Cambiamo tutto, cambiamo le abitudini di tutti i cittadini europei ma soprattutto creiamo un problema alla produzione.  E qui stiamo parlando di agricoltura, della filiera della produzione alimentare, della ristorazione. Chi per ignoranza o malafede acconsentirà a questa ennesima ecofollia sferrerà un colpo mortale a economie dell'Europa, come l'economia italiana, che fattura 600 miliardi di euro l'anno, con 1,3 milioni di imprese e 3,6 milioni di addetti. Pensiamoci.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Mick Wallace
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Mr President, the Killarney Coffee Cup Project is an amazing voluntary initiative by small businesses in the south-west of Ireland. They recently implemented a project that now includes over 50 businesses moving away from single-use coffee cups. Before the project started, Killarney was throwing away one million cups per year. Louise Byrne from the Killarney Coffee Cup Project said, ‘Often packaging and single-use items are not recycled or composted. They simply become general waste. Even if this waste source was managed correctly, it’s only in use for an average of 13 minutes.’ Considering the impact associated with deforestation, water stress, manufacturing, transportation and waste management, she said, ‘I don’t think its use justifies its existence.’ She said, ‘I would argue that watering down goals and policies sends the wrong message to people about political priorities and the true global risk of climate change.’ However, yet again, the EPP have joined forces with the far right to do exactly that: to water down ambition at the behest of the private packaging industry. Pretty sad.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Marc Tarabella
Political group: NI
Country: Austria
Language: FR

Monsieur le Président, mettre en place un Pacte vert européen est un impératif. Une priorité. Certains s’entêtent en se disant que tout va bien, ou que tout finira par s’arranger. Il n’en est rien. Parmi toutes les mesures que nous tentons de mettre en place à l’échelle de l’Union pour donner une chance aux générations à venir et lutter contre cette source croissante de déchets, les nouvelles règles en matière d’emballage ont toute leur place. En moyenne, chaque Européen génère 188 kilos de déchets d’emballages par an. C’est énorme. C’est d’ailleurs onze kilos de plus que l’année précédente. Cela nous démontre surtout qu’il est indispensable de légiférer sur la question, car vu que de nombreuses entreprises ne comprennent pas d’elles-mêmes que les ressources de la planète ne sont pas inépuisables, et qu’elles préfèrent privilégier leur propre bénéfice plutôt que l’intérêt général, il n’y a plus d’autre choix que d’imposer des règles strictes.  Et à ceux qui diront que personne ne le fait dans le monde, je répondrai qu’il faut bien commencer quelque part, et que si l’Europe peut être pionnière en matière de recyclage, nous devrions en être très fiers.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Sunčana Glavak
Political group: PPE
Country: Netherlands
Language: HR

Poštovani predsjedavajući, hvala lijepa. Danas se suočavamo, kolegice i kolege, s izazovom koji zapravo definira našu generaciju - upravljanjem ambalažom i ambalažnim otpadom.  Svjesni smo svi toga da se količina ambalažnog otpada u Europskoj uniji povećala sa 66 milijuna tona, i to još 2009. godine. Deset godina kasnije imali smo gotovo 70 milijuna tona otpada. Međutim, ističem važnost jasne regulative i pravne sigurnosti, kao i uključivanje svih relevantnih dionika, uključujući i e-trgovine. No, budimo oprezni s opterećivanjem proizvođača. Ovo uključuje promicanje proizvodnje ambalaže koja se može reciklirati, ali i razvoj infrastrukture za recikliranje i ponovnu uporabu.  Jasno je da naš cilj mora biti stvaranje gospodarstva koje štiti naš planet. Međutim, moramo odlučiti ono što je bitno i realizirati što je moguće u okolnostima koje, budimo jasni u tome, nisu jednake u svim članicama Europske unije.  Stoga, promičemo ambalažu koja će učiniti naš planet zelenijim, međutim, definirajmo prioritete.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Clara Aguilera
Political group: S-D
Country: Spain
Language: ES

Señor presidente, sin duda, estamos en un debate muy importante. Los objetivos de reducción los compartimos todos. Es algo esencial, y en ello Europa tiene que estar a la vanguardia. Pero hay que conciliar la ambición de unos objetivos, que son muy ambiciosos, con la realidad de aquellas empresas europeas que, desde hace años, vienen invirtiendo en innovación y en investigación, apostando por el reciclaje. Esto no puede ser una penalización ahora. Es decir, ahora se hace una identificación de los objetivos con la reutilización, pero el reciclaje en alto porcentaje también hay que valorizarlo. Otra cuestión importante para la Comisión de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural: busquemos un consenso y apoyemos algunas mejoras que este informe aporta a la cadena alimentaria —que son esenciales— a través de las enmiendas presentadas. ¿Qué buscan estas enmiendas? La reducción de los residuos de envases, al tiempo que se mantiene la seguridad alimentaria; la trazabilidad de los productos conociendo el origen y su procedencia; y la prevención del desperdicio alimenticio. A veces los envases nos ayudan a esto.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Rosanna Conte
Political group: ID
Country: Hungary
Language: IT

Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, oltre 700 imprese a rischio, ripercussioni devastanti su migliaia di posti di lavoro e un impatto negativo su oltre il 30% del PIL italiano: ecco, sono solo alcuni degli effetti di questo assurdo regolamento per l'Italia che ha raggiunto un tasso di riciclo del 73,3%, ben nove anni prima dell'obiettivo definito dall'Unione europea.  Eppure l'impegno profuso dalle aziende italiane non basterebbe per far fronte alle follie contenute in questa proposta che mira a sostituire il riciclo con il riuso. Il tutto senza considerare l'aumento dell'uso dell'acqua, dell'energia, dei prezzi per le aziende e i consumatori, oltre a possibili danni nel trasporto, nella conservazione e nella sicurezza di certi prodotti, soprattutto alimentari.  Niente più vaschette per frutti rossi, buste di insalata, pellicole protettive, vasi di fiori, set di cortesia negli hotel, imballaggi per l'asporto. Per non parlare dell'impatto su vini e bevande. Il beneficio sarà davvero proporzionato all'impegno?  No, questa è la via sbagliata e con il voto di domani abbiamo il dovere di stabilire un equilibrio tra la necessità di ridurre gli imballaggi e gli annessi rifiuti e le esigenze dei produttori.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Seán Kelly
Political group: PPE
Country: Greece
Language: EN

There is a very active TidyTowns Committee there, including, I am pleased to say, my wife, people like Johnny McGuire, Carmel Foley, Padraig Tracey, Louise Byrne and former Councillor Mick Gleeson. They saw that in Ireland, the 200 million coffee cups in a population of 5 million were being used every year. The majority of these were not recycled, were not even composted, they went to landfill, and they said they do something about it.  In the local community, over 50 businesses and growing are now having a cup which is reusable, which they all adhere to, saving a lot in terms of waste and particularly giving a good example to society at large. Those cups which were up until now used for 13 minutes of their lifespan. This can be reused and honoured as they go along.  I think there is a huge example here that people themselves, even if there is no legislation, will do something which has benefited to society and benefits particularly in eliminating waste.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Nils Torvalds
Country: Romania
Language: EN

At the same time, we know that everybody has been working under severe time constraints, and severe time constraints also influenced the way in which the impact assessment was done – and that was seen by the rapporteur, Frédérique Ries, in the very beginning when she tried to find a solution on Article 26, and just to sort of accommodate the goals of the Commission with the reality of the industry. On other important points we support the Commission’s ambitions: obligation to recycle packaging by 2030; application of extended responsibility principle on packaging; harmonising labelling; introduction of deposit and return systems; and promotion of recycled content in plastic packaging. Such profound changes towards the circular economy don’t happen overnight, and Frédérique Ries has put all her energy and experience into ensuring that the European Parliament votes within the short time frame to make this regulation something feasible for the economic operators. Circular economy of packaging will help decouple economic development from the use of natural resources, contribute to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, and reduce the EU’s economic strategic dependency on many materials. Harmonised rules are key to remove the barriers for business selling packaging in several Member States or across the EU caused by differing rules between the different Member States. But I think we have to acknowledge also one thing: during the COVID-19 pandemic, we actually learned a different way of behaving. And when human beings learn a different way of behaving, it’s very difficult to unlearn people from this behaviour. So that’s the project we have in front of us. The path mapped out is the right one. It’s up to the plenary session tomorrow to confirm this approach, and then we see how we manage together with Commissioner Sinkevičius the rest of the battle.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Tom Vandenkendelaere
Political group: PPE
Country: Austria
Language: NL

Toch moeten we erop toezien dat we sectoren gelijk behandelen en geen onnodige, noch onhaalbare zaken voorstellen. Laat ons eerst focussen op waar de meeste winsten te behalen zijn, en ook rekening houden met andere uitdagingen, zoals hygiëne of voedselverspilling. België is reeds voorloper op dit vlak en recycleert tot 80 % verpakkingsafval, in tegenstelling tot landen zoals Roemenië en Malta, waar dit slechts 40 % bedraagt.
Debate: Packaging and packaging waste
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Henna Virkkunen
Political group: PPE
Country: Italy
Language: FI

Olemme EPP-ryhmässä ajaneet asetukseen muutoksia, joissa huomioidaan paremmin tuotteen koko elinkaari. Asetuksessa on huomioitava laajemmin pakkaamisen vaikutukset moniin eri osa-alueisiin: niin ilmastoon ja ruokahävikin torjuntaan, kuin elintarviketurvallisuuteen ja logistiikkaankin. Esimerkiksi take away -astioiden uudelleenkäyttötavoitteiden sijaan olisi järkevämpää panostaa pakkausten parempaan keräykseen ja kierrätykseen. Myöskään ehdotetut pullojen uudelleentäyttövaatimukset eivät ole järkeviä. Pohjoismaissa meillä on jo erinomaisesti toimivat pullopanttijärjestelmät, joiden jatkuvuus on turvattava.
Debate: Proposals of the European Parliament for the amendment of the Treaties
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Marc Angel
Country: Luxembourg
Language: EN

The next item is the debate on the report by Guy Verhofstadt, Sven Simon, Gabriele Bischoff, Daniel Freund and Helmut Scholz, on behalf of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, on proposals of the European Parliament for the amendment of the Treaties ( This reminds us that the Conference on the Future of Europe, which took place in this room during two years, has not been forgotten by the representatives of the citizens.