Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-24-Speech-3-078"
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"en.20080924.5.3-078"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank everyone for this debate, which has shown the importance we attach to the development of our partnership with India, because it is a power that contributes to international and regional stability, because it is, as has been said, the largest, most populous and most democratic country in the region and because it is a country that, in spite of the difficulties that have been mentioned, upholds cultural and religious pluralism.
In response to the concerns that have been voiced by Mr Tannock and others, I would say that the fight against terrorism is a key element of the dialogue between the European Union and India. With regard to the terrorist violence that has struck India, the Union condemns all the attacks of which the country has been victim and, as Mrs Gill stated, our sympathies are with the victims of these attacks, which aim to destroy the multiethnic and multi-confessional nature of Indian society.
Several speakers have, quite rightly, referred to the violence, persecution and attacks targeting the Christian community in general and the Christian community in Orissa in particular. We have been extremely watchful of these incidents and we will obviously address them at the summit. However, as Mrs Gill said, we must provide constructive criticism and we must make sure to praise the courageous attitude, which has been referred to by several speakers, of the Indian Prime Minister, who described these events as a national disgrace and was quick to dispatch 3 000 police officers to Orissa. We remain deeply concerned by the attacks and the violence committed against people of different faiths, in particular the Christian communities. We reiterate that the fight against terrorism must take place in a context of respect for the rule of law and international law.
On the issue of regional stability, raised by Mr Menéndez del Valle and Mr Berman among others, the European Union has requested that the situation in Burma should be included on the summit agenda. The Union wishes to convince all Burma’s neighbours that democratic reform and a peaceful transition in the country are in their interests. We will discuss the matter with India and with other countries. We wish to see greater stability too and hope that the negotiations can bring results with regard to the situation in Kashmir and India-Pakistan relations.
In terms of the social issues mentioned, including child labour, touched on by Mrs Kallenbach, the Council shares these concerns and not only with regard to India. We are negotiating with our Indian partners an action plan aimed at strengthening commitments in the area of corporate social responsibility, decent work and efforts to combat child labour. We have made provisions on fundamental labour rights in line with the International Labour Organisation’s standards a part of our delicate negotiations on the trade and investment agreement. As I said, I share in part Mrs Gill’s opinion, which seems to me a very balanced one. We should stand up for the victims of all terrorist attacks and must criticise India when the measures it takes to counter them appear to us insufficient, but we must also support the Indian authorities when they take appropriate action.
As regards the comments made on nuclear cooperation, I would like to remind you that, on 6 September 2008, an agreement was concluded by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, in which it was agreed to grant a derogation making it possible to establish trade relations with India in the field of civil nuclear power, under the supervision of, with the agreement of and in respect of the conditions set by the International Atomic Energy Agency. I would also stress that India has pledged to extend its moratorium on nuclear testing and that the civil and military programmes should not be confused.
In conclusion, I reiterate that the European Union is alone in developing a firm dialogue with all the emerging countries and which applies to each partner the same human rights criteria, with a compulsory clause appearing in all new agreements from 1995 that requires respect for international law, whether it is in the form of the International Criminal Court, the United Nations conventions on political rights or the application of social and environmental rights. This goes for all emerging countries, including our Indian partners."@en1
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