Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-30-Speech-4-015"
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"en.20030130.1.4-015"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the times when large parts of Europe suffered from hunger are over, thank God. That is, however, no reason to close our eyes to the fact that there are still real famines in large parts of the world today, especially in Africa. I therefore very much welcome the fact that Parliament is once again drawing attention to this catastrophic situation and backing strategies to fight it.
Ladies and gentlemen, food aid to areas in crisis is too little in itself for a sustainable strategy. Thought must be given to many different factors, and these include structural causes in the developing countries, such as access to land and water, just as much as the need to increase logistical capacities and the existence of suitable infrastructures. Building up capacities that will help people to help themselves must be regarded as a key element.
The unconditional opening of the European Union’s agricultural markets, which is called for by many, is not the only panacea for conquering hunger in the developing countries. Stable prices are important for farmers in the South as in the North. Rather, I see support for the building of national and regional markets as a practicable way of reducing these countries’ dependence on the industrialised nations. Mr President, we must continue to pursue a sustainable interregional strategy that puts the needs of the population to the fore.
Commissioner, I would also like to stress that the transfer of technology and know-how in the field of agriculture is extremely important if a sustainable agriculture is to be achieved that not only produces for world trade but first and foremost supplies its own population with produce. At the same time, however, we must help the developing countries to meet the EU’s important food safety standards by taking public and plant health measures. In this connection, strategies will have to be devised to encourage private sector investment and development.
Finally, Mr President, I would like to expressly say that a great deal of attention needs to be paid to preventing fraud particularly in connection with development aid. Farmers in rural areas in both North and South must not be the losers, because they provide our food and are the basis of all social needs and the guarantors of sustainable development. I am very pleased that we have found so broad a consensus here in this joint resolution."@en1
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