Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-17-Speech-4-166"
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"en.20051117.19.4-166"2
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".
Mr President, during our debates on aid for backward countries and underdeveloped countries we must make a very clear distinction between Asian countries and the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. We have all seen evidence of the fact that the former are rapidly leaving poverty behind them, whereas the latter are incapable of extricating themselves from extreme poverty and health problems, in particular HIV-related problems. The reason for this can be found in people’s mindsets and a lack of education. We should take this opportunity to place particular emphasis on this point.
Although I believe that Mr Wijkman has drafted an excellent report, I must unfortunately voice my objections once again to the House. My question is why this report contains a reference to reproductive health and rights, which after all is just another name for abortion. It is no secret that the House is divided on this issue, and yesterday we witnessed incidents in connection with the exhibition held on Parliament’s premises. I fail to see the point of this ideological approach, which means that we are confronted time and time again with an issue that divides the House. We should hold a separate debate on the issue, instead of bringing it up at every given opportunity.
I would therefore ask the House to vote in favour of Amendments 3 and 4, which have been tabled by Mr Szymański. They seek both to delete the reference to reproductive rights and to highlight the fundamental goals, which include adequate food, clean water, better sanitary conditions and education.
We have heard Commissioner Michel complain in this House about the fact that there is no such thing as an EU common foreign policy in this area. One can only wonder how such a common policy could exist, given that we witness attempts to undermine it at every step. Russia engages in policy-making with France and Germany without any regard for Poland, or at least this has been the case with governments to date. I hope that the new German government will adopt a different approach, and I also hope that things will change when President Chirac leaves office.
The solidarity we show to our immediate neighbours in matters of common interest will be a measure of the European Union’s success, both at EU and at global level."@en1
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