Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-29-Speech-3-095"
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"en.20020529.7.3-095"2
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"Mr President, the second EU/Latin-American and Caribbean Summit we are discussing today should be viewed in a positive light by a majority in the House.
There has been progress, and positive signals have certainly been sent out. Specific agreements such as the association agreement with Chile have been finalised. The latter will result in the most ambitious and innovative free trade area to date, in line with the preferential agreement signed with Mexico two years ago. Our friends in Mercosur, the Andean Pact, the San José Group and the Caribbean should view the agreement with Chile as a further incentive for subregional integration. It is now up to them to make further progress in this respect, through specific actions, not mere words.
The case of Mercosur and the crisis in Argentina are one example of this, but there are others. Latin American democracies are now more soundly based than they were two decades ago. Nonetheless, their institutional weaknesses must be made good if we are to prevent social imbalance and poverty from afflicting an increasing number of sectors of those societies and destabilising and threatening the democratic institutions.
We ought not and must not rest on our laurels. We should instead forge ahead bravely as regards cooperation with specific countries and projects. Only a few hours ago, the people of Colombia demonstrated their determination and courage as citizens. They came out in favour of peace and coexistence. Sadly, however, terrorists continue to kill, kidnap and blackmail the people of that country and of Peru and Venezuela, whilst we continue to debate whether or not to include those who murder, kidnap or blackmail on the list of terrorist organisations. We are setting a disgraceful example of the use of double standards.
I should like to point out to the Commission’s representative that the management of our development aid is not up to standard. Funding for projects we have committed to arrives late and sometimes badly. Well-founded complaints are received daily, together with examples that do nothing to enhance the Union’s reputation. Still more unfortunately, development aid is being withheld from large sectors of the population that simply cannot afford to be deprived of its benefits."@en1
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