Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-17-Speech-1-146-000"
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"en.20110117.17.1-146-000"2
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"Mr President, this was an extremely interesting debate. There is poverty in the world. We need to deal with it. One way would be the transfer of financial resources, but it is much better to give the people the opportunity to make a decent living from the work they do. The three tuna processing facilities in Papua New Guinea which are authorised to export tuna to the EU employ around 5 700 people, most of whom are women. Jobs are at stake in Papua New Guinea, which is one of the most poverty-stricken countries.
When it proposes derogations, the Commission takes due account of the risks involved and looks to create safeguards. The Commission takes the view that it is highly unlikely that Papua New Guinea’s exports will cause any serious disruption to the EU’s fishing and canning industry given the low volume of trade between Papua New Guinea and the EU, and Papua New Guinea’s low market share in the EU tuna market of around 3% in recent years. Provisional application dates from 2008, and we have some experience with figures. It will not cause any disruption to Europe’s fishing or canning industries. The development of trade flows will be further analysed in a study on the effect of the implementation of the special rules of origin for fishery products which will be prepared in 2011.
In addition, the Commission will monitor trade with PNG and will not hesitate to take appropriate measures if a serious disturbance of the EU market becomes evident. The Interim Agreement explicitly allows for the application of such measures in its Chapter 2 on trade defence instruments. There is no indication at this stage of any negative impact of Papua New Guinea’s exports of fishery products on the canning industry in other ACP or GSP+ countries. This aspect will also be looked at in the study I have just mentioned.
I should like to add that, independently of any special rules of origin or preferential trade agreements, countries and companies exporting fish or fishery products to the EU will always have to comply with the regulation on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and with the EU’s health and food safety requirements. I believe that the Commission has considered the matter very carefully before bringing this measure forward.
I shall now turn to a broader issue: the EPA in general. Trade is far from simple. As I have said, the only way to eradicate poverty is to allow growth in the developing world. It is true that regional cooperation is rather difficult at the start. It is not just trade agreements that make regional development happen. That is why we have earmarked EUR 45 million for aid for trade in the Oceania region. This is three times more than was provided for under the ninth EDF. It is only by facilitating trade flows that you can expect regional trade to take place. If we look at all developing countries, basically all trade is based on monoculture – one particular export item with a high fluctuation rate. This has a highly disruptive effect in the countries concerned.
When we talk about migratory flows, security, safety and justice in the world, we cannot just say that we do not care about it. We should care about it, and our departments have carried out an extensive study. We are proposing very decent measures which are completely in line with all the European Union’s objectives.
I believe that the measure is right and that the necessary safeguards are in place in case anything goes wrong. I believe we have judged this correctly and I therefore lend my support to this agreement."@en1
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