Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-02-02-Speech-1-074"

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"In the context of this very serious financial and economic crisis, it is absolutely essential to make progress in concluding the Doha negotiations. At a time of crisis, there is always a tendency to give way to the temptation of protectionism. Protectionism is actually a kind of neurosis which tends to affect societies and states at times when they are faced with serious crises, such as the one we are experiencing. We must therefore clearly fight against the possible emergence of this protectionist temptation, because we know from history where that leads us. It leads to the general impoverishment of the world community and in no way contributes to solving the grave problems that confront us. One thing, however, is protectionism, which is to be criticised absolutely and should be resisted, and another, quite different thing is the need to guarantee the protection of legitimate interests in the various areas of the world into which we are divided. That is where the European Union also has an obligation to uphold the interests of Europeans, and not just the interests of Europeans as consumers, but also the interests of Europeans as producers. That is why it is important to proceed with the multilateral Doha negotiations. Whilst we know that protectionism is in fact a mistake, we also know that uncontrolled liberalisation of international trade inevitably leads to very serious disasters from an economic and social point of view. The only way to avoid such uncontrolled liberalisation is by possibly establishing an agreement in the appropriate forum, that is, the World Trade Organization, a multilateral agreement that establishes rules to safeguard the legitimate interests of all the parties concerned. The role of the European Commission and of the European Union, in this case too, is precisely to restore Europeans’ confidence. There is also a crisis of confidence in Europe today in terms of the capacity for defence and political regulation of those who represent it, whether the Member States, the European Commission or the European Union as a whole. Therefore, the challenge we face is precisely that of helping to put an end to this crisis of representation and confidence by ensuring that we are advancing along the right path. The right path, in this case, is to guarantee a multilateral agreement which safeguards all our legitimate interests."@en1
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