Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-17-Speech-1-124-000"
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"en.20110117.16.1-124-000"2
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"Madam President, the debate definitely went beyond the scope of this Voluntary Partnership Agreement. It is not only trade that affects forests: the forest is an energy resource for these countries, and population growth also has an impact on the forest.
So I would like to emphasise again that this is a first step in addressing just one of the areas of concern. I know that it is not a solution, but you have to start somewhere in addressing the issues.
Also, I would not like to discourage you with regard to the level of commitment of the countries concerned. I know that dealing with these countries is sometimes not simple, but they are countries with a difficult history. They got their independence 50 years ago, and not exactly in the same circumstances as some of our countries got independence, so things take time. It takes time to establish state institutions capable of fighting corruption or establishing the management of resources, and they are on the right track. In Africa, in particular, they have economic growth even in times of crisis, and this means they are getting stronger and getting better.
I realise this is just one indicator, but overall, there has been encouraging news, and the only way we can improve the process is by working together. That is where we come in with sustainable forest management: we are talking about Congo-Brazzaville (the Republic of the Congo) and Cameroon today, but we are also working with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and with Indonesia. We are still negotiating but we have high hopes of a positive conclusion.
So I would say that the risks here are minimal. Commitment is the starting point and I look on this process as a very positive one.
We should also consider the global commitment to fight climate change. Cancún gave some assurances that other parts of the world also take things seriously in that regard. We are not the only ones who would like the world to be fair and sustainable, and other parts of the world will learn from us.
Let us take, for example, energy efficiency drives. We made a start, and other parts of the world have followed. The same applies to resource efficiency. If we can use less timber, then other parts of the world will definitely learn from our example. I believe there are a lot of ways in which we can lead.
Last but not least, I would like, once again, to guarantee that the Commission will conduct monitoring, not only by my own staff, but also through the EU delegations and the Member State delegations that we have. This is one of the processes in which we share our efforts with the Member States. The Commission does not simply work alone and, in many respects, Member States’ experience has been particularly crucial in concluding this voluntary partnership agreement.
I would ask this House really very much to deal with this consent process because I believe it is a healthy process, it goes in the right direction and, at the same time, does not provide the answers on all the issues that you have raised today."@en1
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