Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-12-Speech-3-157"
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"en.20051012.15.3-157"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Michel is proposing to us today a strategic partnership between the European Union and Africa. This is a fresh opportunity for us to respond to the basic needs of the African continent.
A few weeks ago, the Heads of State or Government met in New York. Back then there were showy declarations and strong pledges of good will, and hope was in the air. Yet, the results were insignificant. The Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved, and Africa is, once again, the big loser in all of this. The desperate situation in Africa has recently been illustrated by images on our television screens: images of men prepared to die on the barbed fencing of our continent in order to gain better prospects and a future for themselves and their children, as well as for their country and their continent.
We are all aware that, in order to help Africa overcome poverty, war, hunger and violence, a process and financial resources must be put in place. We have known what our responsibilities are for a long time. The European Union has a long tradition of promoting development in the African continent, but the results have generally fallen short of the mark. You have declared, Commissioner, that your plan would attempt to strike a balance between social objectives and economic development. I am not one of those people who believe that economic liberalisation automatically leads to social progress and, while we are on that subject, I am concerned about the free trade agreements with the ACP countries. I believe that our investments need to be focused primarily on education, training, research, health care and public services. We must – and I believe that this is one of your priorities – make sure that the funds are used and distributed more effectively, that there is better governance and, in fact, that transparent and peaceful democracies are established.
I have faith, Commissioner, in your political will. I would, however, like you to clarify a few points for us. How do you intend to deal with the diversity of the African countries? More specifically, what is the link between this general plan and various partnerships already in existence? How should we deal with the debt issue, since, in my opinion, this aspect is not sufficiently addressed in the plan? In short, what practical implementation will take place and what resources will be allocated to this strategy?"@en1
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