Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-03-08-Speech-2-086"
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"en.20050308.8.2-086"2
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"Mr President, the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance welcomes the GSP Agreement, but still has major concerns. Allow me to point out the two most serious of these.
Regrettably, the majority rejected a number of the NGOs’ amendments – which the Greens supported – with a view to extending the number of countries entitled to aid. The agreement means, unfortunately, that Indonesia and India are excluded, even though they have significantly lower average incomes than many countries covered by the agreement. This means that EU taxes to the tune of more than EUR 200 million per year are now imposed upon the tsunami-hit country of Indonesia. In actual fact, it looks as if the great spirit of self-sacrifice in the EU countries has been converted into old-style EU protectionism. We want this agreement to be extended to all the countries that comply with the sustainable development criteria, irrespective of their size.
Furthermore, it is disappointing that we continually have to wait for the Commission when it comes to a badly needed reform of the rules of origin. Will the Commission please tell us when we are to obtain the proposal? Without it, the new GSP rules will not work for the benefit of those for whom they were intended. For example, another country hit by the tsunami, namely Sri Lanka, is affected because its clothes production only constitutes one link in the manufacturing chain. The idea is presumably not that the help we provide should, in reality, harm those who genuinely need the most help of all."@en1
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