Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-30-Speech-2-008"
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"en.20040330.1.2-008"2
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".
Mr President, I would firstly like to thank Commissioner Patten for the efforts I know he has made to attend this debate, despite the difficulties with the agenda.
We also believe, Commissioner, that we must have a cooperation policy which can in some way be adapted to this new concept, to this new idea of association. In this regard – and you know what Parliament’s thinking is – Parliament has insisted on having a differentiated legal framework and we also believe that we must promote an entire range of policies in the field of education, culture, vocational training and scientific and technological cooperation. As you know, Commissioner, Parliament has proposed the establishment of a bi-regional solidarity fund, an initiative in which we do not want to create additional bureaucratic structures. We believe that this must be interpreted flexibly and incorporated into the Commission’s initiatives, but we also believe that this initiative must take advantage of the financial opportunities offered by both the European Investment Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
I would like to say finally, Commissioner, that, as you can see, Parliaments’ proposals are extremely ambitious. We hope that this ambition is shared by the Member States and by the Commission in the Communication it is preparing, so that a clear and well-defined message can be sent regarding Europe’s commitment to Latin America. I would also like to say that, in order for this message to be effective and have a multiplying effect – and I make this proposal on behalf of my political group – we must restore and consolidate the strategic alliance and harmonious partnership between the European Parliament and the Commission, which has resulted in so much progress between the European Union and Latin America, as soon as possible.
In order to dispel any doubt, I would also like to congratulate the Commission on its diligence in presenting the guidelines for concluding these Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreements – and I am sure that Mr Patten will remember the meetings we held, with Mr Lamy as well, prior to the Madrid Summit. I would also like to congratulate the Commission on its diligence, efficiency and speed in negotiating these agreements which, as Mr Obiols i Germà has just pointed out, Parliament sees as forerunners to association agreements.
With the discussion in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and the vote, which was unanimous, on these two agreements – something which does not happen very often – and with today’s debate in plenary and the subsequent vote, one stage is being closed and another opened up, marked, I would say, by the forthcoming Guadalajara Summit.
As Mr Patten knows better than anyone, we live in a complex world, in which the European Union has both internal responsibilities, such as the birth of the Constitution or enlargement, and also external responsibilities: the new relationship with Russia, our continuing problems in the Balkans, our responsibilities in Central Asia, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, the Middle East problem and taking relations with the United States in a new direction. In summary, Mr President, the world is a big place and Latin America is just one part of it, but I believe it is very satisfactory that we are acknowledging, as the Commissioner has done, that Latin America continues to be a priority area for the European Union, amongst other things because we have common values and a shared history.
On 19 March a meeting was held between a large delegation of Members of this Parliament and representatives of the Latin American Parliament and its President, representatives of the Andean Parliament and its President, representatives of the Central American Parliament and its President and representatives of the Parliamentary Commission of Mercosur and its President as well. That is to say, a meeting of parliamentarians which represented more than a billion citizens of Europe and Latin America.
That meeting established conclusions on how to mark out the route towards the bi-regional strategic partnership which was established at the two previous summits. We Members of Parliament who attended it – Mr Obiols was there and other Members of this House who are attending this debate – concluded that we did not need a long catalogue of declarations and statements, but that, in order to realise that bi-regional strategic partnership, we simply needed a series of concrete proposals, which we set out in the form of a decalogue.
That decalogue focuses fundamentally on three areas. On the area of political dialogue and will, because – let us make no mistake – it is political will which has driven these relations forward over recent years, and we are therefore proposing the creation of a Euro-Latin American parliamentary assembly, somewhat similar to the Assembly which has been established in the field of Euro-Mediterranean relations. We are proposing to renew and update the ministerial political dialogue, to agree in international fora and in the United Nations system between European and Latin American positions and also to sign a Euro-Latin American Charter for peace and security with a view to creating a forum in which we can deal seriously with issues relating to security and defence, which currently have no specific forum. Above all, we are proposing a renewal of the bi-regional political agenda in order to be able to discuss issues such as those relating to terrorism, the issue of the reform of the United Nations system, the threats to governability, a review of the fight against poverty and many other initiatives.
Nevertheless, Commissioner, political dialogue, however thriving it is, will end and come to nothing unless we translate words into actions. It is clear that one very obvious field in which we must translate words into actions is that of commercial relations. We are therefore proposing that, at the Guadalajara Summit, specific dates be indicated for the association of the Andean and Central American countries, without subjecting them to discriminatory conditions which have not been imposed on other countries or groups of countries, and there are grounds for a debate here – you have referred to integration – on whether integration should be a prior condition or whether it would follow on from association. This Parliament believes that we must make real progress towards integration, but it is perfectly possible for integration to follow on from association agreements.
We also understand and share the desire for the negotiation of a balanced agreement with Mercosur to be completed before the end of this year and this Parliament also believes that, whilst complying with bilateral and regional agreements that have been negotiated or which are in the process of being negotiated, we should promote a kind of Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) with soul, European-style, in which we provide an institutional dimension and complete geographical coverage for relations between the European Union and Latin America."@en1
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