Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-06-Speech-3-057"
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"en.20050706.3.3-057"2
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"Mr President, some journalists have made ironic comments asking why politicians have not already put a stop to poverty, since they are in a position to do so. I do not believe that the issue of global poverty is a matter about which we should joke or make puns.
The fight against global poverty can be said to be a measure of our humanity and Europeanness. Among other things, EU enlargement has meant that a larger number of countries now participate in development cooperation, and the new Member States are playing an increasingly active role in the fight against poverty. Under the auspices of the HIPC debt relief initiative, Poland has decided to cancel all debt from three countries, two of which are in Africa. The total debt of the countries in question, namely Tanzania, Mozambique and Nicaragua, amounted to over USD 53 million. Sudan is another country in debt to Poland that may benefit from debt relief.
As I see it, debt relief is particularly important for countries such as Mozambique, where the state budget is entirely dependent on foreign aid, and it may be the first step on the path towards enabling Africans to help themselves. Richard Mbewe, a Zambian economist living in Poland, once said that, ‘Africans are not children, and they should not be given fish; they should be given fishing rods’.
Poland’s experiences are proof that effective and long-lasting economic reform can only start after a country has undergone political transformation. A large part of the loans granted to Poland in the 1970s went to waste, and debt reduction only made any sense after the changes of 1989. Mr Straw and Commissioner Michel therefore made a key point by saying that good management and the fight against corruption are the most important challenges for Africa.
The second pillar of our policy, in addition to development policy, should be public understanding, and campaigns like ‘Make Poverty History’ help to raise public awareness."@en1
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