Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-31-Speech-3-219"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20040331.7.3-219"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
Mr President, it was a short but very interesting debate. I would like to say at the outset that I did not mean to disappoint Mrs Frassoni, but I did make in my own contribution a number of points relating to measures that have been taken. However, I accept the point she made regarding the World Bank not being something from which we are disconnected as absolutely valid.
Indeed, Mr Wijkman commented on the protection of vulnerable countries and communities and in particular protection where the temptations of corruption are huge. Of course this is true, and as regards good governance, the World Bank has a responsibility to ensure that. We know from the cases cited here what is happening. We know of the environmental degradation suffered particularly by powerless indigenous peoples.
Mr van den Berg also spoke very dramatically about what he described as the silent and hidden ecological war, and another Member made a point about gold mining and the degradation it has caused. In fact it is quite correct. These matters should be of concern to the World Bank and to the international community.
Mr van den Berg rightly spoke of the need to balance development on the one hand with the rights of indigenous peoples and, equally important, the need to ensure that monies from exploitive and extractive industries are dedicated to the service of the peoples of the region, a point touched on also by Mr Rod.
I would like to make the point that this is a relatively new area of concern to the Council, but the Council is ensuring that the European Union continues to play a role in global fora as a leading partner in favour of sustainable development. That is the most important point, and sustainable development is the term that covers all of these issues ranging from the impact on, for example, indigenous peoples to the impact of environmental degradation and it also includes the disappearance of the yields of this development through corruption.
At the meeting of 2 March, the Council reiterated that the implementation of the commitments to the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development must continue to have the highest priority and to be integrated into all relevant internal and external policies of the European Union. I take that point as relating specifically to Mrs Frassoni's point. The Council expects that all Member States will defend these common views in all international fora, including the World Bank. If I disappointed you in my earlier contribution, I hope I have made up for it now!"@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples