Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-05-03-Speech-3-156"
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"en.20000503.9.3-156"2
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"Mr President, in our work on food aid we must not forget that, even today, there are hundreds of millions of undernourished people in the world. The endeavours of our predecessors in the Community institutions succeeded in reducing the total number of undernourished people by over 20% in the space of 30 years. In recent years, the trend has been reversed, which is extremely odd considering the efforts made by the Western world: in certain areas of our planet, the number of undernourished people is constantly on the up and the problem is heightened by natural disasters or, even worse, wars, which have continued to hit the headlines recently.
We must therefore congratulate ourselves on the fact that this issue is still on the agenda of the European Parliament and the countries of the European Union. I was very pleased to note that, as is the case in the Convention we are discussing now, the Community legislator has consistently striven to guarantee food security and not subsistence. The ultimate purpose behind our aid is to bring about food security: with the passage of time, the aid must be gradually replaced by tangible measures and sustainable instruments for consolidating that security, eliminating, at last, the need for any form of aid or intervention.
I am sure that our fellow citizens fully approve and support any initiative undertaken by the Community institutions on the matter of aid, or, even better, support for those communities which are less fortunate than we are. However, I cannot miss this opportunity to touch on an aspect, a principle which, I feel, is of paramount importance, precisely to our fellow citizens. In my opinion, the correct weighting should be given to European production. The Convention does not give any form of priority to European products, not even agricultural produce, which are intended for humanitarian aid.
Europe has always been one of the highest-producing continents in the agricultural sector. For example, the European Union is one of the world's largest producers of starchy products, which are essential for nutrition. This productivity must not be undervalued or underestimated in respect of the produce available on world markets, even in the provision of aid to the most disadvantaged communities. For this reason, I have tabled an amendment, not to the draft Convention, which, I am aware, cannot be amended, but to Mrs Schierhuber’s resolution. This amendment has been judged inadmissible, but my aim in tabling it was to provoke a debate of substance in this Chamber on a topic which, I feel, is of vital concern to our farmers, particularly at this difficult time for them in the aftermath of the reform of the common agricultural policy.
In conclusion, I would stress that the purpose of my amendment, and the purpose, now, of this speech, is to promote the cause of Community products, in particular, agricultural produce, at the time of the conclusion of international agreements, and to urge the European executive bodies not to disregard the millions of people whose livelihood depends on European produce, and I refer not to consumers but to producers."@en1
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