Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-04-Speech-4-159"
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"en.20011004.6.4-159"2
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". – Mr President, I will respond to each of the five issues. The UN World Day to overcome extreme poverty is a welcome opportunity to highlight the continuing unacceptable levels of poverty and social exclusion across the world and to stress the need to intensify efforts for their eradication. Being able to lead a life free from poverty and social exclusion is a fundamental human right.
Looking at the global aspect of this challenge, the first and most important point of criticism is the pathetic level of official development assistance, which is now 0.24%, far from the 0.7% that was promised. This is where everyone will be looking on that World Day and we must come up with a European answer to that problem. Another issue we will be facing is financing for development in March next year.
Τhe policy of the European Union towards Vietnam, as to all other countries, is to encourage and support continued progress on human rights and democratisation, and to raise concerns both publicly and in private where abuses or any deterioration in the situation are observed. We have to draw attention, however, to the tendency of the Vietnamese administration to want to control the pace of change and to maintain “social cohesion” during transition to a market economy.
Of course, I do not need to remind you that the European Union is opposed to capital punishment. In the case of Vietnam, the number of offences where the death penalty can be applied was reduced last year. Juvenile offenders, pregnant women and nursing mothers were also excluded. We welcome this progress, but we want to see the abolition of the death penalty altogether.
Our principal concern remains that of freedom of opinion. The original “offence” of Professor Nguyen Dinh Huy in 1992 was to be a co-founder of the “Movement to Unite the People and Build Democracy” a movement supported by Vietnamese exiles in North America. Before that, he had been an active anti-Communist. The detention and interrogation of 15 people last month reported by Human Rights Watch was apparently linked to a request to the government to set up an independent “National Association to Fight Corruption”.
The common thread in all these cases is that, despite some real progress, Vietnam remains a country little accustomed to public dissent. The situation of the Montagnards in the central provinces arose from a complex set of unresolved old problems, but was certainly exacerbated by the lack of effective channels of communication between the local people and the central government. What is needed in Vietnam is continued progress in the country’s reform programme, so that the administration learns to deal with a wider range of views and to appreciate the value of accommodating dissent in the system of government.
When Mr Patten was in Hanoi last July he took the opportunity to raise some of these concerns with the Vietnamese Foreign Minister. Next month, we will be holding in Hanoi a meeting of the EC-Vietnam Joint Commission, at which all aspects of our relations will be reviewed, including our shared commitment to respect for human rights. We shall continue to raise particular issues of concern and individual cases and to encourage continued progress on human rights in Vietnam.
On the situation in Uzbekistan, the Commission shares the European Parliament’s concern about the present situation in Central Asia. It is clear that the drought is causing damage in the Aral Sea area and particularly in Western Uzbekistan. For example the Amu Darya, where the major problems lie, is reported to have 70% of the normal water level in its upper reaches and just 40-45% in the lower stretches.
In addition to natural causes, some structural reasons can explain the present situation such as poor maintenance of water-irrigation systems, inadequate water management at regional level between the newly independent states, and agricultural practices which are water demanding such as rice and cotton. Lack of sustainability would be the short version of what this is all about.
The July 2001 UN assessment mission to Western Uzbekistan has attributed the absence of water to fundamental structural problems (such as irrigation and crop policies). So what is needed are ways to improve water management and agricultural practice.
These activities are of a developmental nature. The response so far here is not falling within ECHO's mandate as such. We are, however, looking at this region from a humanitarian aid point of view, where we see a real risk of a negative fall-out from the situation in Afghanistan. In fact, ECHO will include a strengthening of the ability to do something relating to this part of the world in a package soon.
While the challenge of combating poverty and social exclusion is particularly acute in developing countries, it also remains an issue of major concern within the European Union. The most recent available evidence shows that 18%, or over 60 million of our population in the EU, are at risk of falling into the category of being among the relative poor. This is a very high figure.
The absence of democracy, transparency and accountability, corruption at all levels and misuse of the flow of assistance provided by the international community are all part of the problem. Since the independence of these countries, no real effort for maintaining the water system has been made. In addition, national rivalries between the countries in the region have blocked cooperation and also international efforts have been made more difficult.
We have been active in Central Asia in trying to develop long-term projects linked with the structural causes of the drought. A Tacis programme has been developed to fight against the consequences of the drying of the Aral Sea.
The Commission thinks that only long-term reform by the Uzbekistan Government itself can solve the current problem. Emphasis should be put on: the creation of alternative forms of employment in the drought-affected areas to improve the irrigation systems in use in these affected areas and, in general, improve water conservation; the introduction of more drought-resistant and less water-hungry crops through further research into new crops, pilot schemes, model farms and whatever is necessary to farm in a sustainable manner in this environment. Definitely a more effective allocation of water throughout the region is needed.
We hope that Tacis can develop activities to address these issues, in particular at regional level, but the challenge is huge relating to our actual means.
Let me turn to East Timor. The democratic elections on 30 August were a cornerstone in the transition towards independence. The Commission was pleased to see how peacefully the electoral process took place. The outcome – with no two-thirds majority for a single party – will require the Constitutional Assembly to work together and to seek a consensus. This will hopefully stabilise the political landscape even further.
I think we can be justly proud of the contribution made by the European Union election observer team, and I am happy to congratulate Mr Kreissl-Dörfler on his leadership of the team of 24 Observers. We will certainly look into the possibility of sending another observer team to the presidential elections in 2002. In general, I am very pleased with the cooperation with the Parliament and Parliament can be pleased with itself because of its ability to deliver high-quality electoral observation.
The next steps in the formal process will be the adoption of a constitution, hopefully before Christmas this year, followed by the election of a head of state by popular vote, probably around May 2002. Then will come the withdrawal of UNTAET and the declaration of independence. This process seems to be well on track.
At the same time, the evolution of the political process appears to be equally well under way. The highly commendable performance of UNTAET, the recent nomination of an interim cabinet and the further “timorisation” of management functions in the administration have all contributed to this process. East Timor’s regional anchorage will add an additional foundation.
East Timor is at an historical juncture. The emergency phase is over. We now have the chance to get the ambitious independence process right. The international community has to consider now the long-term development issues.
The Canberra Donors’ Meeting last June outlined the current, clearly unsustainable, economic situation and signalled the need for further international assistance. There is a narrow tax base, a lack of skilled entrepreneurs, and rural poverty leading to demographic pressure on the urban areas. But there is a realistic perspective for substantial oil revenues coming on stream around 2005-2006. This could change the picture dramatically. The national budget could double and could hopefully ensure financial cover for basic state functions, as well as some stimulus for the economy.
At the European Councils of Lisbon, Nice and Stockholm, Member States made a commitment to promote sustainable economic growth and quality employment which will reduce the risk of poverty and social exclusion as well as strengthening social cohesion in the Union between 2001 and 2010. The intention is to reaffirm and further enhance the importance of the European social model and to ensure that social policy has an equal status alongside economic and employment policies and that all three reinforce each other.
We need to support the effort of the East Timorese to manage these oil activities better than what we have seen in many other developing countries. Statistics will tell us that it should not be very difficult to do it much better, which may not even be good enough, but definitely it is an opportunity. I would say that so far, so good. It would be wonderful to have best practice demonstrated in this field. Lack of transparency in this area is case-by-case across the world the real reason for a lot of trouble.
Against this politico-economic background, and as one of the major donors for East Timor, the Commission has identified its future role accordingly. We anticipate the need to support one of the poorest countries on Earth until oil revenues provide a more stable economic basis. We will seek to create a development relationship based on a partnership philosophy. This means taking a realistic view of all the requirements.
We are currently drafting a Country Strategy Paper, outlining the sectors. Most likely rural development and public administration will be where we concentrate our activities, suggesting appropriate financial targets for 2002-2006 within these sectors. This is how we will try to do it: focussing both on poverty alleviation and capacity building.
As was said in the debate, East Timor will also be able to benefit from the 'Everything But Arms'Initiative, helping it to develop its foreign trade.
Finally, I turn to Colombia. The Commission shares the deep concern expressed by Parliament concerning the deterioration of the situation in Colombia, in particular, the continuation of human rights violations.
The Commission is seriously concerned with the situation of the Peace Process in Colombia after the recent events that have taken place and it is waiting for the evaluation of this process announced by President Pastrana.
The Commission intends to maintain its support to the Colombian people through ECHO. EUR 10 m are being spent this year. In addition, the Commission has approved under its human rights budget, four new NGO projects worth over EUR 3 m.
As announced by myself in Brussels on 30 April at the third meeting of the Support Group for the Colombian Peace Process, the Commission is currently finalising its proposal for a programme of a “Peace Laboratory” in the Magdalena Medio region in Colombia. This programme envisages the support of actions and movements already being implemented by civil society at local and regional level. The Commission sincerely hopes that conditions on the ground will allow an early implementation of this programme.
The Commission will continue encouraging the Colombian Government and all other relevant political forces to remain strongly committed to the peace process in Colombia, especially during this time of unrest.
As Mr Medina Ortega said, this reminds us very much of the labours of Sisyphus. It is true that it is hard to see progress, but there is no doubt that any relaxation or any type of giving up would definitely make things worse. This is our simple analysis and this is why we continue.
To underpin their commitment, the Council developed common objectives in the fight against poverty and social exclusion. It also agreed that these objectives be taken forward by Member States from 2001 onwards in the context of two-year national action plans against poverty and social exclusion. Furthermore, the Council established a new open method of coordination which encourages Member States to work together to improve the impact on social inclusion of policies in fields such as social protection, employment, health, housing and education.
The national action plans and the development of comparable indicators provide the framework for promoting exchange of good practice and mutual learning at Community level. This will be supported from 2002 by a five-year Community action programme on social inclusion which was finalised following a successful conciliation session involving Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 18 September.
All Member States submitted their national action plans against poverty and social exclusion during June this year. The Commission has been analysing these reports and expects to adopt a draft joint inclusion report on 10 October. This will be the first time that there has been such an EU-level analysis documenting and comparing the situation on poverty and social exclusion across all Member States. It is intended that the joint report will be adopted at the Employment and Social Policy Council at the beginning of December so that it can be tabled and reviewed at the Laeken European Council.
Parallel to the work on the national action plans against poverty and social exclusion, work has been going on to develop a list of common indicators in the field of social inclusion. This will also be presented to and adopted at the Laeken European Council. On the basis of these developments, the Laeken European Council is expected to define the priorities and approaches that will guide efforts and cooperation at Community level.
The issues and concerns raised in the debate on these resolutions are thus well reflected in the initiatives that are being taken. However, a key challenge for the future will be to ensure that all Community decisions, in economic and employment as well as social, policies, are assessed for their impact on social cohesion.
While a lot is now happening, there is no room for complacency. Days like the United Nations World Day for the eradication of poverty provide an important opportunity to remind us of the urgency of the challenge we face if we are to build a more inclusive and peaceful world free from the scandal of poverty and social exclusion."@en1
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