Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-22-Speech-2-460"
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"en.20080422.54.2-460"2
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"Madam President, I should like to thank Ms Gomes for the huge amount of work she has done on this report and her close cooperation with colleagues.
The report is very wide-ranging, so I must focus on just a few issues. In particular, I welcome the call for the Commission to come forward as soon as possible with proposals to outlaw all illegally sourced timber and timber products from the EU market. This is essential to stop trade by the back door of Chinese furniture made from illegally logged African timber. Such trade not only puts African tropical forests at risk but also deprives African countries of much-needed tax revenue. The World Bank estimates that illegal logging costs developing countries USD 15 billion a year in lost revenue.
Secondly, I fully support the rapporteur in calling for the EU to adopt a legally binding instrument on controlling arms exports and to maintain its arms embargo on China. Since the report was written, we have had graphic evidence, as a number of colleagues have mentioned, that China is still exporting arms to countries like Zimbabwe, which are perpetrating gross violations of human rights.
On wider trade issues, I personally support the mention of economic partnership agreements (EPAs) in the report. EPAs are not irrelevant, because if they were more flexible and more clearly development friendly, they could serve as a model for China-Africa trade. As it stands, China risks pushing Africa back into the commodity trap.
Finally, I applaud the report’s appeal for multilateral dialogue between the EU, Africa and China. This is particularly important in relation to climate change.
The Commissioner mentioned the example of photovoltaics. No continent is more vulnerable to global warming than Africa, and the future of millions of Africans may depend on the EU bringing China into the post-Kyoto agreement and sharing renewables technology."@en1
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