Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-20-Speech-1-268"
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"en.20100920.25.1-268"2
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"Mr President, still on behalf of my colleague, Mrs Georgieva, I should like to thank Mrs Theocharous for this very comprehensive and balanced report on a topical issue, since it is one of the issues being discussed at the highest level amongst world leaders right now at the UN. Your work rightly highlights a fundamental concern of our international cooperation: poverty reduction and job creation. This issue is all the more urgent at the present time, given the economic and financial crisis and the extremely sharp rise in the prices of oil, of raw materials and – as you yourself have said, Mrs Băsescu – of certain foodstuffs.
As the person in charge of financial services, I am also personally concerned by this speculation, this hyperspeculation on raw materials. Indeed, I raised this issue this morning with my colleague, Mr Cioloş, in a debate in Brussels, and we committed ourselves – in addition to what I have already presented this week on the regulation of derivatives – to the introduction of instruments to manage and reduce the speculation – which I personally find scandalous – on commodities, particularly agricultural commodities, to the detriment of countries which are least able to meet their own food needs.
Job creation and social protection have proved to be effective policies for reducing poverty in general, and particularly for combating the negative impact of the crisis on the social sphere. In April 2009, the Commission adopted a communication on the commitment to help developing countries overcome the crisis, and the Council also lent its support to this initiative. This shows our commitment to employment and to advances in social protection for the most vulnerable. Nevertheless, we must not simply react defensively when crises occur; we must also act for the long term. I think that this is the crux of your speech, Mr Ferreira; we must take action in support of these countries, particularly the weakest ones, in the long term.
The European ministers also confirmed their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals in the Council conclusions adopted this week and, as you are aware, a summit is being held at this very moment in New York. Employment promotion and social protection policies, which Mr Mikolášik mentioned, are described in the Council conclusions as an important element of the Millennium Development Goals. The Commission is convinced that it is quite simply impossible to combat poverty without taking account of these two aspects and, as you point out to great effect, Mrs Theocharous, the most vulnerable must be placed at the heart of our development efforts.
Of course, our policies are useless if they are not implemented, if they do not get beyond the debating stage. The introduction of an ad hoc ‘Vulnerability FLEX’ mechanism is a good example of the way in which donors can help maintain the level of expenditure in the social sector. I would also cite the EU’s Food Facility, through which social assistance is given to the most vulnerable. Mr Jahr quite rightly highlighted the issue of farming production capacity to support the sovereignty and autonomy – I say autonomy rather than self-sufficiency – of these countries at regional level. These are also efforts which my colleague, Mr Piebalgs, very actively supports in the context of development policy.
Mrs Theocharous, your report rightly highlights the importance of the UN’s Decent Work Agenda, the Global Jobs Pact. We support these initiatives, and I fully agree with you when I say that we must create a European vision in support of social protection. The Commission has begun some preparatory work which will lead to the creation of this common vision. The first step can be seen in the 2010 edition of the European Report on Development, which specifically deals with social protection in the least developed countries.
We must also find innovative solutions. I think that social economy organisations are precisely the entities that can, in part, provide these innovative solutions.
Finally, I should like to thank you for drawing our attention to the important role of gender equality in poverty reduction. The Commission and the Member States are completely in agreement with you on this point. Moreover, this is why, on 14 June, the Council adopted an action plan to support gender equality at European level which is annexed to the conclusions on the Millennium Development Goals."@en1
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