Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-12-11-Speech-2-257"
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"en.20011211.11.2-257"2
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"Madam President, the self-appointed opponents of globalisation were in the headlines only for a short time. They thought they had exiled the WTO to the desert. Doha's very remoteness brought about a compromise anyway, one that was signed by all 142 members. What a contrast with Seattle in 1999, when debates on content were overshadowed by clashes on the street. I was there when militant demonstrators paralysed our conference and, in professional fashion, immediately supplied photos of the performance they put on. Doha again saw highly polarised debates between the seven hundred accredited NGOs and the national delegations, but it achieved important results. Three years are to be spent working on a new world trade round in order to facilitate further liberalisation of the global economy. The EU had its way in agricultural issues. One aspiration is that subsidies should come to an end, but this is not a precondition of the forthcoming negotiations. It is unfortunate that investments and environmental issues could not yet be put on the negotiations' agenda; they will be on it in two years’ time at the earliest. We all have to give way somewhere – the USA on hormonally treated meat, the labelling of genetically modified produce and the opening up of the textiles market. The EU, too, must dismantle barriers, above all, Commissioner, as regards protection of farming.
We must strike a balance between the opening of markets and their regulation. On the one hand, import restrictions are to be dismantled; on the other, the import of low-quality cheap produce is to be prevented, for, firstly, they are a danger to the consumer, and, secondly, pirated copies and infringed patent rights cost businesses billions. We are opposed to total liberalisation. Social security and public services need to be tested, but state monopolies should not be dismantled while private ones are built up. Changes to the agenda are just as important. Let us then call for sustainable protection of the environment, social standards and the punishment of human rights violations."@en1
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