Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-24-Speech-3-345"
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"en.20071024.40.3-345"2
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".
Madam President, Mr President-in-Office, Commissioner, the Socialist Group in the European Parliament has always strongly supported the principle that those people directly affected should have control over development strategies, as this means that their priorities are really taken into account.
In this report we have therefore naturally emphasised that national parliaments and civil society need to be involved in the new EU-Africa strategy. This involvement has to a large extent been missing from the preparations that are currently being made for this new strategy, which seeks to open up a new form of strategic partnership. We urgently need to put this right. In this context we very much welcome the initiative by the Portuguese Presidency to invite delegations from the European and Pan-African Parliaments to attend the December summit in Lisbon. Let us hope that this is not just a symbolic gesture.
We have also insisted – and Mrs Martens mentioned this just now – that there must be real coherence between the different European policies. This means that the measures adopted as part of our policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and immigration, for example, have to take special account of any repercussions there may be for development in the countries of the South and in Africa in particular.
We have also recalled that the European Union promised to do everything possible to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to take all necessary steps to eradicate poverty. With this in mind we are insisting that the new EU-Africa strategy should clearly state its commitments and specify the concrete measures needed to ensure that they are honoured as far as Africa is concerned.
As regards the Economic Partnership Agreements our position is quite clear: we are in no way opposed, either ideologically or on any other basis, to the signing of agreements sanctioning the terms of a partnership that would be beneficial to Europeans and to the peoples of the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) countries alike. However, we will resolutely oppose any agreement that, once signed, puts the peoples of Africa, in particular, in a position that is less favourable than the one they know today. This is the aim of the amendment that we have tabled.
Finally, I would like to point out that, as things stand at present, we still do not know the wording that is to be put forward at the next Lisbon Summit. You informed us that the document in question was being drafted. We shall therefore pay very close attention to the manner in which the recommendations we have made in our report are taken into account in the drafting of this document and shall naturally reserve the right to react accordingly as soon as the text is made known to us."@en1
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