Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-17-Speech-1-131-000"
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"en.20110117.17.1-131-000"2
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"Madam President, firstly, I would like to say that I know that, for good reasons, Commissioner De Gucht cannot be with us this evening. I would like to thank him for taking the trouble to call me last week and explain why he is unable to be here, and I would like to thank him and his team at DG Trade for their cooperation and, in particular, Martin Dihm for all his assistance.
Bearing that in mind, it should not be seen as a sign of EU acceptance of the political regime in Fiji. I would urge the Fijian Government to make moves towards democracy. I hope that the necessary reforms can take place to allow financial support for the Fijian sugar industry to be allocated.
On fishing, the fisheries sector plays a key role in Papua New Guinea’s economy and – importantly – provides employment and income to its citizens. In the three tuna processing plants which export to the EU, there are 5 700 employees, the majority of whom are women. This is a country where it is sometimes difficult to find good employment for women.
I support the purpose of the flexible rules of origin in this agreement, namely, to develop the processing industry, but it is essential that the industry develops in a sustainable manner. Environmental considerations are paramount and I have asked, in my report, for the Commission to monitor this aspect and to report back regularly to Parliament on compliance with the regulation on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
I appreciate that there are some concerns in this House – and specifically in the Committee on Fisheries – about the potential impact of Papua New Guinea’s tuna imports on the EU industry. However, when we look at the latest figures, we can see that during the period 2003-2009, imports made up around only 2% of total preserved and prepared fish imports and around only 3% of preserved and prepared tuna imports. I do not believe that this low level of imports will threaten the domestic EU industry, especially if we take into account the limited capacity of the Pacific states’ fishing fleets and the limited on-land processing capacity.
Nevertheless, it is, of course, right that we should continue to monitor the situation and that, if there are any unexpected increases in fishing products coming from Papua New Guinea, the Commission should take appropriate action. As I mentioned earlier, I hope that the Pacific states can agree a comprehensive regional EPA.
In my report, I have recommended the inclusion of several points of substance in future negotiations, which I hope the Commission will take into account. These include intellectual property. Too often, we talk about intellectual property from one side only, but I hope that we will look at intellectual property in terms of including traditional knowledge. I also hope we will add transparency in government procurement as well as provision for issuing working visas of up to 24 months.
As we move towards a full EPA, I hope the Commission will involve all the Pacific states but, in the meantime, let us press ahead and get the interim EPA with PNG and Fiji on the books and working as a demonstration of what we can achieve in the future.
I have tried, in my role as rapporteur, to follow on from the good work of the previous rapporteur, my former colleague Glyn Ford. I am fortunate that the adoption of Glyn’s resolution in 2009 meant that Parliament already had a clear position on the EC-Pacific Interim Economic Partnership Agreement. Parliament’s formal position then is the one that I have tried to follow in my report and question today.
I would like to thank Donatella Pribaz, who was the committee administrator responsible. This turned out to be her last report for the committee before her promotion, so I would like to wish her well in her new job and thank her for making my task here easier. Finally, in terms of acknowledgements, I would also like to welcome the presence here of the Ambassador for Papua New Guinea and to thank him and his staff for their close collaboration. The insights they provided allowed me to make specific input to the report.
Firstly, I would like to make a few general remarks on the agreement and the regional context. Secondly, I plan to discuss three specific aspects of the EPA which I believe it is important to highlight: namely, Aid for Trade, the Fijian political situation and fisheries. Thirdly, I will comment on the future of EC-Pacific trading relations.
In terms of the background and regional integration, this interim – or goods only – EPA has been negotiated with two Pacific states – Papua New Guinea and Fiji. These are the two Pacific island states that have the highest levels of trade with the EU and have key exports destined for the EU market: tuna and sugar respectively.
The EPA gives Papua New Guinea and Fiji duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market in return for the gradual liberalisation of their markets over a 15-year period. Papua New Guinea has committed to liberalising 88% of EU imports on the date of application of this agreement, and Fiji will liberalise 87% over a 15-year period.
The remaining 12 Pacific states either enjoy duty-free and quota-free access through the Everything But Arms scheme or, because of their low level of trade with the EU, have very little interest in an interim EPA. Nevertheless, I believe it is important that, as we move towards a full EPA, we should pursue our objective of regional integration and continue to press for a full EPA involving all the Pacific states.
In terms of the content of the resolution, Parliament has to consent to this agreement before it can be ratified. We will vote on Wednesday – as you have indicated, Madam President – on two different reports, firstly, on consent, which I am recommending that we give, and secondly on the accompanying motion for a resolution. There are other issues in the motion for a resolution but, as I have said, I want to comment particularly on three.
First, regarding Aid for Trade, funding for implementation is crucial to achieving the agreement’s objectives of economic diversification and poverty alleviation. It is important that a fair and equitable share of the EUR 2 billion set aside in the 2007 Aid for Trade strategy is directed towards the Pacific region. It is also important to highlight that this interim EPA was conceived as a short-term measure to safeguard the Pacific’s trade preferences following the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling."@en1
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