Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-29-Speech-4-010"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20050929.3.4-010"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to begin by congratulating the Commission on concluding the textile negotiations with a positive outcome. We know how complicated and how difficult that was and our Group would like to congratulate you warmly on that.
I very much regret that the Council is not present for this debate. We have just seen how necessary it is for the Member States to act coherently, and I find the Council’s absence from this debate most unfortunate; I would like it to be informed that we are not happy about it.
I would like to return to a few points that Mrs Saïfi has already raised. The safeguard measures were introduced in the context of the WTO negotiations; that also shows how skilfully the Commission, the Member States and the relevant parliamentary committee negotiated at the time. We in Parliament have always said that this is necessary.
Regarding the first crisis we have just seen with safeguard measures, Commissioner, I would like to ask you something on behalf of my Group. Do you believe that the safeguard measures proposed during the WTO talks and agreed to by China are adequate in the light of the crisis? Do you think that the safeguard measures perhaps need to be reviewed again and possibly amended?
When you reply, which you are welcome to do in writing, I should be grateful if you would again make an assessment of the Member States’ role in this crisis and suggest what must be changed in future.
There is one point you raised, Commissioner, with which I wholeheartedly agree. You said that China has already become a political and economic world power. That clearly shows, of course, that many of the talks we have held in the past, in the WTO or in connection with other international agreements, are now presenting us with a new challenge. We are now dealing with major world powers: China, India, too, in other areas with its software industry, Brazil when it comes to sugar. What challenges do you believe the European Union will have to face in the future in the light of this situation? You said that business is capable of taking on the competition and pointed out that we are the second largest exporter. My question, on behalf of my Group, is this: do you believe that is enough? Do we need to do more, especially for small and medium-sized businesses? Do you think the aid we sometimes give to firms, many of which even then are guilty of outsourcing, is sufficient? Or would you as the Commission suggest that we need more controls to keep a proper check on it?
My final question is this. What do you think of the idea of introducing a European label for products, including textiles, so people can see the conditions under which they were made and the standards to which they were produced?
Finally, thank you again and I look forward to your answer."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples