Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-15-Speech-2-279"
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"en.20051115.27.2-279"2
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".
Perhaps I did not make myself clear in my first speech. I wanted to say that what has been promised for 2006 will not only be achieved but in fact surpassed. We will be doing more in 2006 than we promised, or, to put it another way, we are slightly ahead of schedule. In order not to lose that momentum, which is relative, I have proposed a new objective for 2010. I think I made this clear – it is fairly realistic to think that the 2010 objective will be met. Unfortunately, I do not have any stick with which to force Member States that backslide to honour their obligations.
That being said, I do feel that there is now an awareness of the fact that development policy is of central importance and that, whatever the circumstances, we no longer have any excuse not to honour our commitments. As regards the Millennium commitments, there are also no more excuses. If the will is there, the finances can be found, and I believe that the political will is indeed there. All that remains is to turn it into action.
The next question – and this is the question you are asking – is how additional resources are to be found. You are aware that some countries have already decided to operate a levy or to impose a surcharge on air tickets. You are also aware that we have spoken, and continue to speak, about the Tobin tax on financial transactions, although no consensus has been reached to give the go-ahead.
I should personally like to say that I am of course open to any new ideas on the subject. Some time ago I put forward the idea of a tax on the arms market. Yet there is a minor moral question that comes into play: the legal arms market accounts for USD 1 thousand billion per year, whereas the illegal market is put at more than USD 2 thousand billion. The problem is therefore whether to tax the legal arms trade while, unfortunately, the illegal market escapes?
As you know, in a few minutes Mr Rocard is set to ask a question on the creation of a worldwide lottery, an idea to which I am most open. You will also know that the proceeds from fines paid to the Commission for non-compliance with competition rules is under discussion. Why not set aside this money for development? There is a whole range of options that we are currently assessing to see if they are technically feasible.
I should like to inform you that I have other ideas, albeit subject to the Member States’ acceptance before they can be put in place. Most of these ideas will be neither useful nor genuinely effective if only three, four, five or six countries put them into practice. This has to be done on a far more widespread basis. In conclusion, I have the impression that we will be able to increase development assistance substantially in the years ahead."@en1
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