Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-17-Speech-1-134-000"
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"en.20110117.17.1-134-000"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, exemption from the rules of origin is based on a very serious calculation error by the Commission regarding its impact, not only on the EU tuna sector, which is very serious, but also on the Pacific region, which we are seeking to help. Meanwhile, the real beneficiaries are almost exclusively the greedy fleets from China and South-East Asia and their processing industries.
The Directorate-General for Trade established this exemption based on the fact that Papua New Guinea does not have the fishing capacity to exploit its resources. However, according to the most recent data from the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, there are 41 seiners under Papua New Guinea flags operating in the area, which, in 2009, had a catch total of almost 500 000 tonnes. Out of this catch, more than 75 000 tonnes ended up in the European Union (semi-processed and processed), which makes Papua New Guinea one of the six main exporters to the European Union. It is not, therefore, true, as you say, that in order to develop Papua New Guinea’s fishing sector, other fleets needed to be given free entry.
Under no circumstances can the European Union shirk its commitment to sustainable development. However, we are seeing that, under the protection of this exemption, and in order to bring in Asian investors, Papua New Guinea has amended its legislation so that it is not possible to make complaints about environmental damage, and has implemented investment rules that allow local workers and cheap labour from Asia to be hired, along with the worst imaginable labour standards.
If we add to this the fact that, in the regional fisheries organisation that I mentioned, Papua New Guinea is leading other countries in flatly refusing to sign up to any international rules to manage and control fisheries, the result is that, while the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is going the whole hog to combat illegal fishing, others are opening their doors to it. Commissioner, I have just come back from the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, and I am well aware of the position that Papua New Guinea has taken. I therefore maintain the position of the Committee on Fisheries of asking for the exemption to be suspended in the review of the agreement that we are discussing."@en1
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