Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-11-Speech-2-402"
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"en.20071211.41.2-402"2
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".
Madam President, this report reminds me of Alice in Wonderland and, Madam President, it is irresistible to challenge the interpreters by exclaiming
. What is going on? Does it really make sense for the EU to use European taxpayers’ money for advertising campaigns seeking to persuade the same taxpayers that they should buy goods they have already financed through subsidies. Of course not. One of the EU’s aims in the common agricultural policy is to guarantee consumers reasonable prices. But, when this is done by financing from taxes instead of by productivity increases, the consumers pay just as much for their food in any case, only by different means. On top of that, the incentive to increase productivity is weakened. So food becomes more expensive in the long run because of this agricultural policy.
The committee advocates restrictions on competition. When tariffs are abolished, production in the Member States is threatened by cheaper products from third countries; and the report proposes increased spending on campaigns aimed at strengthening the Union’s brand and boosting consumption in the Union. The proposal reeks of covert protectionism! We have seen many examples of EU advertising campaigns before.
In 1997 advertising campaigns were run to promote cut flowers produced in the EU when imports became cheaper thanks to the abolition of tariffs. The eminent Swedish columnist, Johan Hakelius, wrote as follows in a leading Swedish newspaper: ‘When EU citizens buy the same kind of flowers all across Europe, of course cohesion and European harmony increase. Tulips are vital to peace’. In this House, it is perhaps necessary to point out that this was intended as irony ...
In 2000 the EU had 450 000 tonnes of olive oil in storage, and the EU decided to run advertising campaigns in the northern countries to inform us how good and beneficial olive oil was.
In 2007 the European Parliament voted money for advertising in the milk sector in order to protect it from increased market liberalisation.
A reform of the common agricultural policy is actually taking place. It is making slow progress, but it is making progress. However, the rapporteur’s proposals take several steps backwards. They seek to replace the reforms which are finally taking place with increased sales promotion measures and information campaigns. The rapporteur puts the blame on the WTO and wants to increase the number of products which should get this support. This is nothing more than unfair competition with agricultural producers in countries outside the EU. The common agricultural policy must eventually be abolished and prices and production be determined by supply and demand, just as happens in all other sectors.
We are stuck with an unreasonable system because of unfortunate decisions in the past. Hence it is all the more important that we move in the right direction. The recommendation here is, regrettably, that we should take the wrong direction. The money which can now be released to benefit the population of Europe through tariff reductions, removal of export restitutions and reduced national support must not be frittered away in more appropriations for sales promotion measures and information campaigns. Promotion campaigns and advertising for goods and services must be paid for by the producers, not by hard-pressed taxpayers.
Europe is on quite the wrong track in this area, as in so many others. The EU must be a Europe of freedom, in which people and businesses compete for the favour of consumers and not for that of the protectionists. For Europe’s sake I wish that I could be optimistic, but unfortunately I cannot."@en1
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