Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-01-31-Speech-3-254"
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"en.20070131.27.3-254"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank all who have found the time at this late hour to discuss here in the plenary session the important question of integrating sustainability into development cooperation policy. The most important EU documents – the European Community Treaty and the EU Sustainable Development Strategy – define sustainable development as development which allows the present needs of society to be satisfied without reducing the chances of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable development is an all-embracing EU rights principle which should have an influence on all spheres of EU policy, including the development cooperation policy.
One of the most important aims of our community is to fight poverty in the world, to pay back some old debts to developing countries, to help them climb out of the status of least-developed nations and to reach the status of developing nations, and ultimately – the level of developed nations. Developed nations know what the cost of progress and modern life is. I have in mind the environmental impact of human activity – the development of various fields of economy, especially industry. It is a huge cost that is being borne by the whole world, even though not all countries have or use the technology that contributes to the greenhouse effect, CO2 or other pollution. We are all paying, and we all would like to see the amount of pollution reduced. We direct our attention not only to our own economies, adopting appropriate solutions, but we also want developing countries to use non-polluting renewable types of energy and non-polluting technology. However, this is not so simple. The report raised some of the problems of sustainable development and offered some directions for possible solutions for developing countries – and not only for them, but also for the EU itself. Sustainable development comprises three fundamental aspects: stable economic growth, protection of the environment, and social justice and cohesion.
This means that economic issues, environmental protection issues and social issues are interrelated and reinforce each other, and their interconnection should already be in evidence at the policy formation stage. Economic issues are linked with management, human rights, democracy, regional integration and other aspects of economics and life. The financial support of the EU and other countries is necessary for their solution, as are the strengthening of developing countries’ institutional competence, the fight against corruption, new methods of helping businesses and markets to implement sustainable development, the attraction of direct foreign investment, and so on.
The environment is affected by unlawful destruction of forests, which encourages corruption and the possibility of armed conflicts; lack of access to potable water and shortcomings in sanitary conditions; pollution, especially the greenhouse effect; and the use and depletion of natural resources, which are also precursors to conflict situations. In the social sphere environmental issues are also important, such as access to potable water and sanitary conditions, access to education and health care systems, and the fight against poverty. In implementing three fundamental aspects of sustainable development, it is evident that the stimulation of economic growth and the elimination of poverty, together with ensuring the protection of the environment, are the greatest challenges to the EU development cooperation policy.
Therefore, in this policy the EU must also encourage other large economic actors, such as the United States, China and India, to contribute to the implementation of global sustainable development. When stimulating economic growth, it is essential to implement sustainable development in all sectors, to invest in non-polluting technologies, to introduce alternative energy technologies, and, most importantly, to apply entrepreneurial behaviour standards. Talking about the environment, it is important to highlight that international corporations operating in developing countries must respect the environment. A start should be made to implement a code of corporate social responsibility for European firms.
Seeking to fight the deterioration of environmental protection in developing countries, the EU should cooperate more actively with small and medium-sized firms to shape their respect for the environment. The protection of biological diversity, monitoring of the ecological state of the environment and the appropriate measures to support it are our collective debt to coming generations. In the social sphere we must try to achieve the defined millennial development goals, to encourage a sustainable consumption model, to combat diseases, and to direct more official development aid to education about health and environmental issues.
In addition, it is essential to involve the civil society, NGOs and women in finding solutions for the problems of sustainable development, and in invigorating social dialogue. As well as these three fields of sustainable development, I would also like to mention the strengthening of institutional competence as a priority side issue for all sectors. In assisting institutional, administrative and legal reforms, expansion of infrastructure systems and national financial management, the environmental, economic and social impact needs to be evaluated.
These are long-term action programmes to achieve sustainability in development cooperation policy. Already, however, the EU can take action to achieve sustainability, to solve the agricultural export subsidy issue, and to encourage the importation of products that have been produced with respect for sustainability and without contravening international agreements, invoking a migration policy to stop the brain drain from developing countries, as well as stimulating investment in developing countries, and faithfully applying 0.7% of GDP to development assistance."@en1
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