Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-02-10-Speech-1-092"
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"en.20030210.8.1-092"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say how pleased I am that we are holding this debate on the World Trade Organisation and on certain ongoing negotiations. This comes on the eve of another ministerial meeting at which specific political positions on the matter might be sealed.
I am however concerned about the declaration of the Council for TRIPS. It means going back on the undertakings we gave at Doha. Access to generic medicines for developing countries is not just a commercial issue. It is at the heart of development the world over. If we do not make progress on this question, all our other efforts to promote development will be in vain. We would be wasting our time.
Achieved in difficult circumstances, the Doha declaration on public health of November 2001 was an important first step towards helping the populations of developing countries and promoting their interests. We looked forward to at last sending a message of hope to those people. In December 2002 however, opposition to the agreement, for which the United States was entirely responsible, clearly demonstrated that the interests of the pharmaceutical industry took precedence over the health of millions of people.
This stance is not merely unfortunate. It is unacceptable and inadmissible, given that as my fellow Member Mr Désir outlined, the United States was prepared to suspend the Bayer patent in October 2001, because they were experiencing an anthrax attack, which was obviously a matter of greater urgency for them.
We should welcome the efforts of the Commission to reach an agreement on access to medicines. Nonetheless, the Commission is still failing to take enough account of the legitimate demands of poor countries. This comes as we are about to retain the division of countries into a first and a second class, as if the deaths in some regions were less important than deaths in others.
Negotiations with a view to reaching an agreement must recommence at the earliest opportunity. The lives of millions of people in developing countries are at stake. I am convinced agreement could be obtained on the basis of the Doha declaration and Article 30 of the ADPIC agreement, and on that basis alone. An agreement achieved on any other basis, that did not take account of Article 30, would extinguish the hopes of the people of developing countries. They want to lift themselves out of poverty and improve their worsening living conditions, conditions that are increasingly unacceptable. Such an agreement would also send a clear message to the people of Europe. It could be a fine example of the basis on which the European Union works and of the extent of our concern for others.
Commissioner, we call on you to speak for our collective conscience."@en1
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