Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-01-31-Speech-3-242"
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"en.20070131.25.3-242"2
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".
Mr President, many thanks to the rapporteur for his hard work. A strategy to strengthen partnerships with the Pacific Islands sounds good at first encounter and inert enough not to cause any measure of suspicion or discontent. After all, the projected aim is to improve relations, mainly trade, for the mutual benefit of EU citizens and the Pacific islanders.
This might be the case for the majority of the Pacific Island countries. But for a significant number there is a hidden truth in the fact that many of the Pacific Islands are not countries at all: they are 21st century colonies, and two of the colonising nations happen to be members of the EU, namely France and Britain.
Take for example New Caledonia. It has an area of about 18 500 km2 and its approximately 250 000 inhabitants are recorded as being merely a ‘
community’. New Caledonia is not a country but an overseas Department of France. On a much smaller scale, the Pitcairn Islands are an overseas territory of Britain administered by a governor appointed by the Queen of England.
So colleagues, apart from the despicably shameful ethics of accepting that France and Britain should continue to have colonies, we seem to be content with going on to form relations with such colonies as though nothing wrong is going on. In fact, nothing about colonisation and consequent democracy deprivation is mentioned in this report.
In conclusion, let me pose the following question. Since some of the islands are in essence parts of the aforementioned EU Member States, then in reality are France and Britain going to form relationships with themselves through this strategy partnership? Perhaps the Commissioner could enlighten us on this exciting but strange prospect."@en1
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