Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-12-11-Speech-2-264"
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"en.20011211.11.2-264"2
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"Madam President, Mr Lamy, Mr Fischler, I should like to say, first of all, that I am delighted by the success of the Doha ministerial conference, not only from the point of view of its results, but also from a material point of view.
It took place in excellent conditions, despite all the fears that we may have had. Holding this event in Qatar was in itself a response to the war against terrorism that we entered into following the tragic events of 11 September.
Like other Members who took part in that conference, I appreciated the constant transparency that prevailed between the Council, the Commission and Parliament during the negotiations. That transparency was also the order of the day among the NGOs present at Doha, who are to be congratulated on the efforts that they have made in this direction since the previous conference in Seattle.
We all hoped that this conference would lead to a substantial agreement that would pave the way for growth to be stimulated, thereby contributing towards economic development at a time when the international community is going through a very difficult situation. This ministerial conference certainly enabled considerable progress to be made on various fronts, including the inclusion of China and Taiwan. Another positive result, as has already been mentioned, was in connection with medicines.
As for the rest, the Commission took a tough stance in the negotiations, and the efforts that it made during the final night and on the morning of 14 November enabled the European Union to convince its partners that its positions were well-founded. However, the work programme is still lagging behind the ambitions that we had set ourselves on certain major issues, such as the environment, the Singapore agenda and social standards.
For my part, I should like to make three comments. During the conference, the developing countries often adopted a highly critical attitude towards the European Union. When we were preparing for this ministerial conference, did we listen carefully enough to their concerns? Let us show humility, let us take up our pilgrim’s staff again, let us listen to them and try to understand them, so that we can take their real concerns into consideration, and above all let us stop taking their place in defining the development policy that they need.
Secondly, the Doha ministerial declaration constitutes an undertaking to start negotiations on the priority issues of European enlargement and integration. Finally, now that the real negotiations are about to start, I hope that the transparency that has prevailed so far will continue to do so, and that it will be strengthened still further between us. I have just one question to ask the Commissioner. What will be the general structure of the negotiations which will be defined?"@en1
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