Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-03-01-Speech-4-035"
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"en.20010301.2.4-035"2
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"Mr President, in the European Parliament’s resolution dated 14 December 2000 concerning the indictment of General Pinochet and the consolidation of democracy in Chile we stated clearly that the best way for the European Union to support the process of consolidating democracy in Chile was through an ambitious agreement on political reconciliation and economic association and cooperation. Particular emphasis was to be laid on the human rights clause.
I believe we should congratulate ourselves on the speed, consistency and high degree of consensus with which Parliament, through the Committee on Foreign Affairs, has risen to this challenge. The proposals have already been outlined by both rapporteurs. I therefore only wish to highlight two points. Firstly, as previously mentioned, the crucial importance of the legal basis of the new association agreement for the Committee on Foreign Affairs. This basis must be Article 310 of the Treaty. A number of reasons for this have already been given, notably that this legal basis guarantees Parliament’s assent.
Secondly, I must stress that the Committee on Foreign Affairs feels it is crucially important that the conclusion of these agreements should not be conditional on the outcome of the World Trade Organisation round. On this point, perhaps Commissioner Patten could let us know his views as to how the differences over agriculture might be overcome, particularly as regards Mercosur.
On the subject of these two recommendations, I should also like to highlight how the Committee on Foreign Affairs has contrived to imbue both proposals with a markedly political spirit. This is doubtless the result of the committee’s composition and outlook. Issues relating to foreign affairs and cooperation have been emphasised over and above the tendency to stress the importance of economic and trade relations. The latter are no less important but must not dominate.
We are fully aware that whatever the pace of negotiations, strengthening the political nature of our relations with Mercosur and also the process of integration could impact on Chile. This might serve to counter the influence of the United States in political, economic and commercial relations with Chile, and also the plan to relaunch the American Free Trade Agreement. We would therefore be well advised to carefully monitor any action the new United States administration might take in this regard.
I should also like to congratulate the Commission and Mr Patten for keeping faith with his predecessor, Mr Marín. They have shown great loyalty and responsibility – I would term it political responsibility – in being true to the outline of the initiative launched by him.
Lastly, I would like to put a question to Mr Patten, though he has just left. He is well aware of the importance of the nature of the parliamentary cooperation to be set up between Chile, Mercosur and the European Parliament for the institutional development of the agreements. I should like to let him know in advance that like many other members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs I favour a model along the lines of that set up under the Europe Agreements. That model is based on joint parliamentary committees with a view to improving the current system of delegations. I would like to know what the Commission and Mr Patten’s views on the matter are."@en1
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