Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-01-16-Speech-3-256"
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"en.20020116.17.3-256"2
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"Mr President, our friend Mr Rod’s recommendation in favour of Parliament’s ratification of the Cotonou Agreement is accompanied by an exhaustive analysis of the agreement, its significance and new developments, made from a critical point of view that we share for the same reasons as the rapporteur himself: because of the gaps in the Treaty and the shortcomings that have already become apparent during its short provisional life. This does not prevent us, however, from supporting it and encouraging its ratification.
This agreement was drawn up in a world significantly different to that of the first Lomé Convention. Under current global conditions, economic instruments are no longer sufficient in themselves to steer globalisation towards the goals of justice. We must also have instruments of political cooperation. For this reason, even with all the shortcomings, this agreement should be welcomed so that we can get the best out of it.
The role of the European Parliament in this agreement cannot be limited to controlling the European Development Fund. I think that we can achieve a great deal with this agreement. At the moment, we can publicise its positive aspects and attempt to have it ratified by our national parliaments. It is scandalous that a year and a half after it was signed, only three of the fifteen Member States appear to have ratified it.
Another important action that we can encourage is the consolidation and effective operation of the national parliaments in ACP countries. Mr Rod highlights the participation of civil society as something new in the agreement and recognises the ever-important role of the State but, within States themselves, efficient parliaments are the best guarantee of preventing poverty, fighting corruption and of making our cooperation more effective, which is the underlying objective of the Cotonou Agreement. We support our partners’ parliaments and also the ACP-EU Joint Assembly, which will be able to carry out the function of democratic control conferred on it by the agreement.
Mr Rod asks us the million-dollar question: does our cooperation in the context of the Cotonou agreement aid the development of our ACP partners or does it simply seek to impose the liberal model on these countries? And does the liberal model actually guarantee fair development in these countries? I think that, on its own, it does not work. For this reason, we should make an effort to ensure that this Cotonou agreement is apart from being merely a framework for trade relations, an instrument for decent and equitable political and economic relations with the ACP States and to ensure that our cooperation with them is one of the pillars of a supportive and democratic world order that we need and which we are committed to, at least, as far as my group is concerned."@en1
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