Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-04-13-Speech-4-320"
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"en.20000413.10.4-320"2
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"This report gives us the opportunity to welcome the European Parliament’s becoming aware of the need to defend the banana producers of, on the one hand, the ACP countries (to whom we have made commitments in the course of renewing the Lomé Convention) and, on the other hand, the outermost countries of the Community.
Although the WTO’s dispute settlement body condemned certain key elements in the competitivity of ACP operators, the validity of the principle of tariff quotas has not been challenged in any way. The fact is that we are, as is often the case, witnessing the overzealousness of the Commission which, in the context of the negotiations initiated within the WTO, has gone too far. In attempting to reconcile the contradictory interests of all parties, in the end it has not been able, or has not wished, to achieve this.
It therefore seems curious, to say the least, to note the paradox of acknowledging that operators are all in favour of a tariff quota system, while adopting the solution of a single rate system!
We therefore congratulate Mr Dary and the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development who are attempting to restore a little order to the Commission proposal which we find simply unacceptable as it stands, because it is selling off Community interests for the benefit of American multinationals whose manufacturing standards are obviously not comparable with EU standards. While it may, admittedly, be quite laudable to seek to obtain the most advantageous prices for consumers, we must still be able to compare like with like, particularly in terms of manufacturing conditions (social legislation, child protection).
We must therefore ensure that we do not tend towards harmonising these social conditions of manufacturing to the lowest common denominator, and, instead, let us pursue, as a priority, the objective of better product quality, without GMOs or pesticides or anything else. Developing better quality products will cause a consequent increase in demand, and thus in the volume of production, with a concomitant reduction in prices!
After years of difficulty due to the economic crisis in industrialised countries and the decline in the economies of Eastern Europe, the Commission’s solution would be likely to cause the untimely disappearance of these producing countries whose economies would not, for want of time, be able to restructure and diversify production. It is clear today that, without actively seeking confrontation, the EU must champion its own point of view, a position which is all the more tenable as present and future European consumers represent a major proportion of the banana market.
We are therefore satisfied with Mr Dary’s report, even if we feel it does not go far enough, particularly in terms of the ACP tariff system, the transition period extended beyond ten years, and the definition of a new system for the allocation of import licences, or additional European aid."@en1
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