Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-13-Speech-1-067"
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"en.19991213.3.1-067"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, the EU did a good job in Seattle. The cooperation was good, which I am grateful for. The problem is that the WTO basically lacks popular support, and the developing countries, even if they are present there, feel left out. I therefore believe that it was very important indeed that we agreed to demand greater openness and to make room for popular influence on decision making by means of a parliamentary forum.
When it comes to the failure in Seattle, I do not however believe that we should “cry over spilled milk”, as we say in Sweden. Instead, we should use the time to do some forward thinking. We have been made aware of the problems and we have also, I think, glimpsed certain possibilities. Unlike Mrs McNally, I perceive, rather, a slight opening-up on the part of the Americans, not least in the sphere of agriculture. America has trebled the amount of its agricultural subsidies since the last farm bill was adopted and, although the multifunctional reasons for our policy may not be recognised, large parts of its content nonetheless are in fact acknowledged, which I think is positive.
As a relatively liberal, perhaps very liberal, European politician where agriculture is concerned, I should like to say that we ourselves within the EU ought to reflect upon how we can change the CAP, Agenda 2000 and what follows Agenda 2000 and consider how we might get rid of subsidies which drive down the level of trade. It would be good to discuss this with the developing countries because these are very dependent indeed upon exporting raw materials. It would also be good for other exporters. In fact, an enlarged EU, which we hope we are making great strides towards, will also become more and more dependent precisely upon being able to export agricultural products. It is in specifically this situation that I think that the present talks and the reflections we can engage in will be extremely useful. I believe there are good opportunities for making further progress."@en1
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