Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-10-20-Speech-3-734"
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"en.20101020.28.3-734"2
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"Madam President, may I firstly thank the Commissioner and colleagues Martin and Caspary for their very helpful comments. Following the floods which took place, I actually have travelled to Pakistan to see for myself the extent of the devastation. The devastation caused by the floods is the biggest natural disaster in Pakistan’s history. It is certainly beyond anything that I could have imagined or expected to see.
Certainly, when I met with the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 22 September, he was very appreciative of the EU’s response to date and he believed it to be a very courageous response; courageous in the way that Commissioner De Gucht has described it. We have to be absolutely sure that we continue to react in an appropriate way. The Commission has now come forward with a legislative proposal to cut the tariff to zero on 75 tariff lines covering 27% of Pakistan’s exports to the EU, which would boost Pakistan’s exports by about EUR 100 million a year. This really is now a test of the EU’s credibility.
We must ensure that we translate the political agreement reached by EU leaders into action that will make a real difference and give the Pakistani economy a lifeline at this desperate time of need. We are, after all, their largest trading partner. I hear the concerns made by colleagues in this Chamber and it is only right that we are fair in our response; fair but ambitious. The trade concession to be offered to Pakistan needs to represent a credible effort by the EU and bring about meaningful economic benefits to Pakistan, whilst taking into account sensitivities of our own industries as well as other WTO members – in particular, those of least-developed countries.
I believe through this proposal we are being ambitious, we are being courageous, but, above all, we are being fair to ourselves, as well as to the people of Pakistan."@en1
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