Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-03-10-Speech-4-038"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20050310.3.4-038"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, I should first of all like to congratulate the Commissioner on addressing the issues raised by this debate. One can have a different opinion about the direction and manner in which reforms are being carried out, but this is something I greatly value .
I would also like to congratulate Mr Fruteau and Mr Daul, who have done excellent work and have tabled a resolution that has the ring of excellence about it. Why is this resolution so good? In any event, it shows understanding for the need for reforms, as well as understanding for the fact that this touches upon many social aspects. Moreover, the resolution illustrates that sometimes pure liberalisation in agricultural policy has the opposite effect and it is better to reach sound agreements worldwide.
I am therefore surprised that there are still many in this discussion who still believe that the liberalisation of the world food trade is the perfect solution to resolve all evils in development cooperation and the fight against poverty. Sometimes, one wonders what this unshakeable belief is based on. Over the past ten years, world trade in food has been further liberalised, and Europe now accounts for 85% of exports from Africa to the developed word. What does this add up to? Hunger and poverty have increased, 40% of children in the world are starving and the European consumer enjoys anything but lower prices.
It will not come as a surprise that in that respect, I also have major objections to the amendments, including those tabled by my Dutch fellow MEP, Mr Van den Berg. I sometimes wonder – and I think it is positive to highlight this in the debate – how it is possible that he should first want complete freedom and then believes that the solution will materialise from the chaos on the world food market. I do not share this belief. I believe in agreements, worldwide and in Europe, in order to achieve responsible reform. His idea that the agricultural budget should fund development aid amounts, in my view, to nothing more or less than doing your shopping using someone else’s wallet .
No one can go without food for a day, and I hope that that will be the
for the further debate about the sugar reform in the course of this year."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples