Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-10-14-Speech-4-017"

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"Mr President, Mr Lamy, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to thank you, Mr Lamy, for the detailed information you have provided us with on the way in which this reform will be implemented. Against a background of trade globalisation, the reform demonstrates the will of the European Union to make market laws subject to the development objectives of the poorest countries and to human rights objectives, as well as testifying to our ambition to make globalisation more moral. In this context, a thorough evaluation must be carried out of the previous system, and in particular of its impact on the goal of poverty reduction. The complex and partial nature of agreements has sometimes made it impossible to achieve any kind of overview of the way in which the system works, especially as the close relations between exporting countries and certain multinational companies have prevented a thorough evaluation of the system’s impact. The Commission’s proposal to simplify the system is therefore to be welcomed. I should also like to emphasise how important it is to clarify the conditions according to which preferential tariffs are granted, in particular with regard to respect for core labour standards. The need to promote core labour standards goes well beyond relations between poor nations and rich nations. Two conditions must be fulfilled in order to ensure that the system is as meaningful and effective as possible; industrialised countries must naturally be prepared to comply with it, but beneficiary developing nations must also take advantage of it to reduce inequalities within their countries and to improve living and working conditions for their populations. The way to achieve this, of course, is to incorporate criteria and conditions into the system which guarantee respect for workers’ rights and for the human rights conventions to which you referred. In this respect, it is essential that a distinction be made between the ratification of international conventions and their effective application. All our attention must be directed towards ensuring that future regulations clearly indicate the need for beneficiary countries both to have ratified international conventions on core labour standards and to apply them effectively and in full. Procedures for evaluating these two aspects must therefore also be laid down. Whilst on the subject of procedures, why should social partners not be involved in these evaluations by means of consultations? This would provide a guarantee that the experience and practical knowledge held by trade unions in the field of core labour standards would be put to use. More specifically, the European Union should endeavour to promote a greater effectiveness of the instruments of the International Labour Organisation, for example by the possible opening of enquiries to monitor respect for core labour standards under the GSP procedure."@en1
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