Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-28-Speech-3-169"
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"en.20010228.9.3-169"2
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"Mr President, during the discussion in this Chamber one of the suggestions made is that we, if we name sectors in which we wish to pursue a development policy, should at the same time as it were, impose conditions on colleagues in other countries in the South. I oppose that. In essence the international commitments that we made at the Poverty Summit in Copenhagen, are commitments between North and South. It is our social task to try to make them operational and primary education and health care play a large part in this.
The underlying idea is that anyone who has no chance of basic education or health care in his own country, has no chance of personal development and therefore of getting a decent start. Of course, sensible interaction is required between the Member States, the European Union, the countries concerned and civil society. On that point we have set important targets, both with the six priorities and with the priorities of the European Parliament for the 2001 budget.
In practice, however, that is not easy: too few well-trained people, an organisation that is not yet effective, underfunding. Still I believe that the Commission has taken an extremely important step – and the Commissioner deserves every credit for this – by putting the emphasis on the problem of poverty and coherence between it and other policy areas. Of course, the Commissioner does not have an easy job: first Commissioner Fischler wants to give the wrong food aid again, then Member States grant Mr Lamy insufficient support when he wants to give extra aid to 48 countries. But gradually you can nevertheless see that a modest step forward is being taken. I believe that in the next few months the main point will be how all those fine words will be put into practice. If these fine words can create a climate in which we can not only well formulate a broader policy together, but can also implement it, and if we support the Commission in a coherent way, we have a good chance of succeeding.
The situation at this moment is definitely not a simple one. Those people involved in the changes in the various services are also very uncertain about the organisational changes. It is not easy, because the people in the delegations are not there yet and sometimes the necessary experience is missing. But we must build up this side of things; if the Commissioner really shows us that he and his Commission, with the support of the Council, are taking a first step in the direction Parliament wishes, then I believe we have the opportunity to enter a new phase together. Let us not look only at all the misery in the world, but also at the positive proofs that we can achieve something together. And if people in the developing countries have a good project of their own that deserves support, then we must take that route.
I should like to see us try to convert all that misery into a positive policy on poverty and to show that with our European help – the EU is the largest donor in the world – we can really make a difference. I wish the Commissioner every success: we shall judge him by his actions, as he will us."@en1
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