Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-22-Speech-2-292"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20080422.49.2-292"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"(
) Mr Dillen, a Member of the European Parliament, said that in the situation concerning the food market, we should not just alleviate the symptoms, but cure the illness. In order to do that, we must establish the correct diagnosis. In my opinion this was a very useful debate and it will also help the Council in establishing the diagnosis, and in finding the right answers and cures.
However, what are the reasons that caused the situation on the world food market and the dramatic rise in food prices? The main reason is greater demand. As has already been mentioned, the world’s population has grown, and a large part of this is now due to a higher standard of living. And no one has the right to expect them to return to their previous meagre nutrition patterns.
What is the answer to this great demand? Increasing supplies. I should like to mention here that the Council has already adopted certain measures. As I have already mentioned in my introductory speech, by temporarily abolishing the fallow land obligation we ensure that European farmers can productively use an additional 10% of agricultural land. The significance of this is also evident from the statement made by Joseph Daul on the amount of land in Europe currently dedicated to biofuel. More about this later.
We have also increased the milk quota by 2%. These are only a few measures that the Council has adopted in order to increase supply. Apart from increasing supply in the European Union itself, it is, of course, necessary to act in order to increase food production in other parts of the world, in particular in developing countries.
Another reason is more expensive production, because of higher energy prices, among other things. To find the answers we must look into more intensive research, rationalisation, new technologies, and innovative production in farming.
Climate change is definitely another reason. Long-term droughts in one of the world’s largest producers of cereals and rice have reduced the country’s yields and its contribution to supply on the world market. This is where the European Union is looking for answers, following the line that has been indicated in the batch of energy legislation currently under negotiation, and for which the Presidency has set itself a firm target of seeking to reach agreement by the end of this year.
Now a word or two about biofuels. No doubt there is some connection, but it is not possible to maintain that this is one of the main reasons for the current situation on the food market. In spite of this, the world is considering this aspect very seriously as well. For this reason, on the initiative of the Slovenian Presidency, an
task group was recently set up, its main task being to draw up permanent criteria for the production of biofuels. The purpose of the criteria would be that the production of biofuels should not replace food production, that the social aspects and impact of the production of biofuels are taken into consideration, and that biodiversity is preserved. However, these are just a few words about the Council’s activities and its approach to this serious problem.
I should like to add something else. A combination of high food prices and poverty is the worst possible combination. It is a lethal combination leading to unrest in a number of developing countries; it is a combination leading to starvation. Considering that we shall probably be faced with high food prices for some time to come, we must do more to eliminate poverty, and the Slovene Presidency will make efforts to this end. In our view, one of the important themes for the next session of the European Council is this millennium’s development objective. Europe’s progress towards realising these objectives has almost come to a halt. We would like to provide the European Union with fresh impetus to achieve these objectives, and, as I mentioned earlier, in our view this is one of the significant topics for the June European Union Council.
Thank you again for this debate. I reiterate that I am convinced that it will enable the Council to establish the right diagnosis and find the right remedies."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
"SL"1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples