Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-12-18-Speech-4-032"
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"en.20031218.2.4-032"2
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"Mr President, I would first like to address the Member who complained about the fact that the European Parliament did not adopt a position before the Summit, and refer her to the spokesmen of the Groups in the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy who did not deem this issue worthy of being debated in the Chamber before the Summit. Secondly, I would like to point out that the political statement on the Summit, after months of negotiations, fortunately includes a reference to freedom of expression. Countries such as China, Cuba and other communist regimes – and I would like to apologise here to Mr Alyssandrakis, who believes that poverty is the root of all evil, but perhaps the lack of freedom also plays a role – tried, unsuccessfully, to delete this reference from the UN texts.
The current problem is that we have an action plan for the next two years on the basis of which tens of billions will be channelled to developing countries in order to develop the information society. Commissioner Schreyer, I believe that the European Commission should keep a watchful eye on the way these funds are used, by making their use dependent on their opening up and taking specific steps regarding the free market, democracy and fundamental rights. Otherwise, we risk continuing doing what we are currently doing: with our money, with public and private money, we are creating and financing software systems that allow dictatorial regimes and, increasingly, our countries too to censure, filter and prevent access to the information society. That is not the only thing: there is also a problem of the free market. In developing countries, the companies that run the Internet and telecommunications are generally corrupt monopolies or oligopolies that use corruption to restrict individuals’ opportunities to access the Internet and the information society.
If, as we are doing, we are preparing to spend huge sums on these countries, let us make sure that these sums also go towards developing democracy and human rights. Let us make sure we raise the issue of Tunisia where a summit will take place which will be chaired, as the World Organisation Against Torture reminded us, by General Ammar, that is to say, the person formerly in charge of torture in the Tunisian regime.
I would also like to advise Members against picking and choosing, which would leave some having to deal with awkward issues whilst others allow themselves the luxury of only speaking about plans, cooperation and the market, which we also favour and we want to promote, but not to the detriment of freedom and law."@en1
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