Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-01-16-Speech-3-250"
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"en.20020116.17.3-250"2
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"Mr President, I would firstly like to thank the rapporteur for the enormous amount of work he has put into this document and for the information that is in it. However, I am disappointed that he is so pessimistic, both looking back to the past and forward to the future. Of course I support some of his criticisms: too much paperwork, a lack of decision-making, slow delivery times and a lack of capacity in developing countries. This has given rise to frustration, but Commissioner Nielson is tackling these problems with some vigour.
I am much more optimistic than the rapporteur. I believe the Cotonou Accord is the right path. Lomé had its faults. But it was a unique concept and much good work was done. The new Partnership Agreement is based on the right principles, enhancing the old Lomé Convention. The theme of poverty alleviation must be right. The only question is how best to implement it. There is much discussion on project finance versus budget support. Should we be using multilateral aid or bilateral aid? I strongly support multilateral aid backed up by bilateral aid where it can complement a project.
I do not believe that project aid has failed. The problem has been the under-capacity of countries to continue projects once they were completed by the European Union. I am equally not yet convinced that budget support can be controlled tightly enough in many developing countries and fear that it will open the door to corruption.
I believe it is the new factors in the Cotonou Accord that will have the most influence: the political dimension, the emphasis on good governance, conflict prevention and resolution, the interaction with civil society, the regional approach to strengthen trade and the Parliamentary element of the Joint Assembly. All these are elements that should strengthen the partnership.
All this has changed my role as co-president in the last year. I certainly have played a more political role in the past year, discussing, for instance, conflict resolution and good governance with President Taylor in Liberia, or having discussions on the Zimbabwe situation with the Presidents of Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique, and hearing and seeing the effects on their countries.
All this depends on an effective Commission, with properly funded and staffed delegations. Most of the ones I have seen are extremely badly serviced at the moment for lack of funds and the petty paperwork they have to handle. This is Parliament's fault. We must urge all countries to ratify the agreement, as Mrs Dybkjær has said, to allow the ninth EDF to come into force.
This partnership has to work. If we really wish to see an end to economic migration and terrorism in the world, we must provide a standard of living in developing countries which persuades people to stay and work there."@en1
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