Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-23-Speech-3-302"
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"en.20021023.7.3-302"2
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"Mr President, we have a long way to go before successfully bridging the gap between Third World poverty and living standards in the developed world. The proposed enlargement of the European Union reminds us of the inequalities between existing Member States and the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe. While I am not suggesting that our efforts should be concentrated on assisting these countries in preference to Third World countries, the more we consolidate the economies, particularly the agricultural economies of the proposed new Member States, the more successful we will be in achieving our goal for Third World development.
It does no harm to remind ourselves – and I do not say that for any selfish reason – that the EU's commitment to sustainability of family farming, both in existing Member States and for new entrants, is facing considerable difficulties. While the Commission proposals for a further reform of the CAP are likely to be more compatible with Third World development needs, I fear that our aspirations to protect Community farmers, particularly those on the margins, are not going to be easy to achieve.
The fact that 1.2 billion people living in the rural areas of developing countries live in poverty is a shocking indictment of the developed world, but equally the long-term development and sustainability of Third World economies depend on our efforts and – hopefully – success in helping them to develop and add value to their natural resources, with corresponding measures to assist with market access for their products. It should not, however, go unnoticed that the EU is the world's largest food importer, with 53% coming from developing countries thanks to the CAP compatible trade concessions.
I agree with Parliament's Committee on Agriculture's viewpoint that uncontrolled free world trade has had devastating effects on the development of food crops in developing countries and their entitlement to protect producers by tariff barriers. As regards agricultural and rural development, the EU and developing countries have the same objective of developing a multifunctional form of agriculture with increasing emphasis on rural development and the sustainability of rural communities. It is wrong to place all the blame for the problems of developing countries on the common agricultural policy, particularly for the reasons I have stated.
I support the continuing access of products from developing countries to Community markets but believe the transition must be gradual and carefully planned in tandem with CAP reform. I abhor the term 'dumping' in so far as it refers to food produced in excess of market requirements. It makes no sense to overproduce a food product for which there are no consumers and even less sense to offload that product in a manner which disrupts the agricultural economy of developing countries. Farmers and processors must be discouraged from seeking over-access to the markets of developing countries as a substitute for poor marketing and product diversification within the Community or other developed economies."@en1
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