Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-04-10-Speech-3-039"
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"en.20020410.2.3-039"2
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"Mr President, I would firstly like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Mr Esteve for his opening remarks explaining the amendments. I shall, of course, take note of these.
How can we continue along the path of unbridled liberalisation, which is failing everywhere, without taking stock of previous agreements and ignoring the concerns that are growing in all parts, including the Mediterranean countries?
Although one of the major objectives of the partnership is to improve the economic and social situation of our partner countries, it is now necessary, in addition to this, to satisfy basic and fundamental requirements in terms of health and education. Unemployment figures, for example, or jobs that are directly threatened due to the abolition of customs barriers – namely, 500 000 in Algeria – illustrate how far off-target we are and would even tend to illustrate that other options must be explored, such as that of cooperation between public services.
Is it not also a good idea to take a bolder approach, for example, by establishing a Euro-Mediterranean development and cooperation fund, which would enable the people to define and monitor local projects?
Lastly, the free movement of individuals should be the condition for an equal and fair partnership. We wish to establish harmonisation in the area of immigration and asylum, but only if this contributes to the development of the country of origin and ensures that migrants, on our soil, enjoy dignified and fair treatment which observes human rights and is based on equal rights.
It is impossible to give thought to Euro-Mediterranean relations without contemplating concerted action to bring an end to the war in the Middle East, at a time when Israeli tanks are crushing the Palestinian population and Shimon Péres himself is speaking of massacre.
Sharon’s aggressive, murderous and colonial policy is leading not only the Palestinian people, but also all the people of the region – and that includes the Israeli people – towards a bloody and violent dead end.
We must condemn the crimes and the destruction of infrastructure financed by the European Union. We must call for urgent aid to be sent to the civilian population and for an international protection force to be dispatched to the region.
Since Mr Solana and Mr Patten claim – as they did yesterday in this very House – that acceptable boundaries have been crossed, the European Union must therefore take swift and objective action. It has the resources that are needed. It can decide to suspend the partnership agreement with Israel.
The bombings and killings must stop. The settlements must be dismantled. Israel must respect the United Nations’ resolutions. These are all matters of extreme urgency. If the summit in Valencia can assist in achieving this, so much the better, but it would be totally unrealistic to think that everyone is willing to come around the table in a few days’ time – even if the Palestinian leader were able to leave the territories – if the European Union has not adopted a clear position.
The Mediterranean region is in need of peace so that it can contemplate its future. Another conflict is also placing strain on this partnership, and on relations with North Africa, in particular, and that is the conflict in the Western Sahara. The good relations that the European Union enjoys with Morocco should be used to break the deadlock in this situation and to apply the United Nations’ peace plan which provides for the self-determination of the Western Saharan people.
The situation that has come about since 11 September means that everyone, on both sides of the Mediterranean, must avoid any religion-terrorism equation and must work together to eradicate terrorism from its breeding grounds, which can only encourage the most violent forms of fundamentalism and nationalism.
At this point, I would like to mention the growing poverty, the pillaging of natural resources and the attempts to curtail and sell off national industries. I am in favour, as Mr Esteve states in his report, of encouraging a dialogue amongst equals, which meets social needs by adopting measures to combat unemployment or which promotes trade between countries of the south. I continue to believe, however, that the path towards shared prosperity has been blocked, for the time being, by agreements which are guided by solely economic and financial interests, thus denying the needs of the people who are already suffering from the burden of debt, the drop in the price of raw materials and the austerity imposed by structural adjustments."@en1
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