Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-09-Speech-2-381"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2004-03-09"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Agriculture2
dcterms:Language	"nl"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20040309.14.2-381"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2004-03-09-Speech-2-3822
lpv:speaker	lp:Margrietus van den Berg2
lpv:spokenAs	vice-chair; PES (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 unknown; Partij van de Arbeid (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 vice-chair; Committee on Development and Cooperation (2002-01-22--2004-07-19)3 member; Members from the European Parliament to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly of the Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union (ACP-EU) (2002-02-06--2004-07-19)3 substitute; AFCO (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 member; Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America and Mexico (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, on Saturday, the day before Cancún's failure, the alliance of African countries and countries with the lowest incomes called it a day. They felt completely ignored, particularly by the United States, which supports the cotton farmers in South Carolina with no less than EUR 3.5 billion, whereas Europe supports its cotton sector with only EUR 800 million. As a result, the African cotton states feel very much threatened by this. Poverty is actively created in that way. The countries with the lowest incomes are right to stage a protest against this. This is substantiated by the resolution adopted in February during the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. In the same way that AIDS medicines symbolise the break-through in Doha, cotton symbolises the failure in Cancún. Cotton aid in Europe forms part of agricultural policy that involves high subsidies for cereal, meat and milk. Previously, we Social Democrats have tried to start by decoupling production support by 50% and shifting towards rural policy, nature conservation and animal welfare, in other words, shifting from quantity to quality. The conservative lobby in this House, however, has put a spanner in the works. The Commission is now tabling a modest proposal to decouple by 60% and to channel a good chunk of those subsidies to rural development in the area concerned, but the majority in the European Parliament is hiding behind the US and behind uncertainty as to the outcome, and so pleads in favour of 20% decoupling. I can understand my Spanish fellow MEPs if they do not only want to deal with cotton, but also with cereal, meat and milk, but I regret that we are not acting more boldly and demonstrating that we have learnt the lesson of Cancún. By weakening the Commission’s proposals, we are giving insufficient signals to those people around the world who want fair trade. Accordingly, a number of Social Democrats in this House will be voting against watering the proposals down. I hope that by doing so, we are sending a clear message to the Commission. I would urge the Commission to persevere."@en1

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