Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-23-Speech-3-209"
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"en.20050223.16.3-209"2
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"Mr President, you said that it was time for action and we in Parliament agree with you. We have a unique opportunity for action this year because we have the two big issues of the banana and sugar regimes on the trade agenda where we can show that we mean business in terms of helping the developing world.
I am pleased with what Commissioners Mandelson and Michel have said. I was recently in the Caribbean, meeting small farmers with tiny farms who cannot survive without access to the EU markets. We cannot rob those slightly less poor people to give to the poorest in the world; we have to have a just reform of the banana and sugar regimes. That will be a real test of our mettle.
The WTO conference in Hong Kong in December will be another enormous test for the EU on tariffs. We all know that we have spoken many warm words over the years, but I have seen what goes on behind the scenes in developing countries – EU tomato paste and American rice dumped on the markets of Ghana and some of the poorest countries in Africa. It is time now for action.
We will be scrutinised by the NGO movement and by public opinion, which today is watching more carefully than ever because of the big campaigns like 'Make poverty history'. They will watch what we do and judge us. That will have a big effect on how public opinion perceives the European Union."@en1
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