Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-03-10-Speech-4-045"

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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union has been confronted with the necessity and challenge of reforming its sugar policy, and indeed its agricultural policy as a whole. The current high sugar prices are having a negative impact on both European consumers and the poorest developing countries. The previous reform proposal and quota distribution, however, were a good example of what not to do. This proposal discriminated against the new Member States, which had already had to adapt to the quotas imposed upon them during the accession process. I can illustrate this with the example of the Czech Republic, which during the 1990s cut annual production from over one million tonnes of sugar to 435 000 tonnes. Manufacturing capacities were rationalised at the same time as these cuts were made, which means that production is now efficient and competitive. Yet no such process has taken place in the old Member States, and this should not be forgotten when drafting the new reform proposal. If quotas are to be reduced, then it is the turn of the old Member States to bear the brunt of these reductions. What must not happen is a situation whereby the proposed quota for the Czech Republic, for example, is so low that the country cannot even produce enough sugar for domestic consumption. This would not be because we would not be able to produce it efficiently; it would be so that other European producers could export their sugar to us, thus solving the problem of WTO restrictions at our expense. Such a solution is not only uneconomical; it violates the basic principles of European integration. I believe that those who draft the reform proposal will realise this and put forward a solution that does not discriminate against anyone. I thank you for your attention."@en1

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