Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-02-10-Speech-1-059"
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"en.20030210.7.1-059"2
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"Mr President, this was the last time the Porto Alegre Social Forum and the World Economic Forum will take place on the same day. The Porto Alegre Forum took place against a backdrop of active opposition to and protest against the possible war with Iraq, and the Economic Forum in Davos discussed the future of the world in an atmosphere which one very authoritative commentator described as more regrettable than ever. I feel that, from this point of view, it is extremely significant that dialogue, which has thus far been greatly lacking between these two events, was represented by the presence of the Brazilian President, Mr Lula da Silva, who, in both cases, upheld the need for huge structural reform – the kind of reform that he has undertaken to carry out in his own country – of the world economic system, wholeheartedly condemning the empty principle of free trade at all costs, which only actually applies to the poor countries since the wealthy countries can afford to be protectionist whenever and however they want.
Not least for all those who firmly believe that the role of the Union on the international stage is not just to be a vassal but to endeavour to bring about democratic globalisation, it is clear that the election of President Lula da Silva and his government is cause for hope and huge expectations, as you will certainly have noticed, Commissioner Lamy, since you were in Brazil in the days immediately following Porto Alegre.
At Porto Alegre, the movements confirmed their mission to become a kind of outpost for an attentive, active world public opinion, and this was quite clear, not least to the 700 members of parliament who were present and agreed on an agenda which I feel is worthy of mention here. First and foremost, active opposition to the war: four members of the Brazilian Parliament took part in the much-criticised delegation to Iraq, and there was very broad support for the initiatives seeking to instigate parliamentary debates all over the world, in addition to the demonstrations due to take place on 15 February.
The challenge, however, which we feel to be particularly important for our institution and the European Union is the Cancún conference and reform of the international financial institutions. On this matter, unlike the situation as regards the question of Iraq, Europe does have some clout, and you, Commissioner Lamy, represent it with great authority. Europe can make a difference. What we are asking from you is simple and important: transparency, not least towards Parliament, in terms of the negotiations you conduct, and the possibility of open debate at least as regards basic decisions on investments, agriculture and the liberalisation of services. There is no need to shy away from this. We need to have the courage to uphold positions which are sometimes uncomfortable but which can make it quite clear that the European Union is not blindly following the lead of the United States but takes its responsibility towards the world seriously. For instance, Commissioner, please do not backtrack on the agreements you committed to at Doha on medicines and TRIPS."@en1
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