Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-12-Speech-1-047-000"
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"en.20110912.20.1-047-000"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this is a debate that fails to inspire much of a reaction among people. The issue of the Doha negotiations is far removed from most citizens, the media, and even many governments, which are now busy dealing with far more pressing financial and economic priorities.
This is not a debate that truly excites Brussels, nor even, it seems to me, Geneva, at least not from what I have seen this year, both in the WTO Parliamentary Assembly and in its steering committee, of which I am a member. There is an air of resignation about the fact that nothing is happening now, that nothing must happen, that nothing can happen, that the challenges facing a better-regulated and more generous global market are too complicated, and that the boundaries between the opposing blocs – between emerging countries that regard themselves today as powers and the former powers of old, which are now struggling, countries in constant transition, with an identity crisis – are themselves always shifting and vague.
In other words, the ship that the World Trade Organisation – and, therefore, we too – are aboard does not know where it is heading, because, as Seneca wrote, ‘If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable.’
In the meantime, Commissioner, the poorest countries are losing out: they were encouraged to comply with international trade rules, and a good 32 out of 48 of them have joined the WTO, but what good has it done them so far? Theirs is a paradoxical situation: they account for less than 1% of international trade, but have 12% of the world’s population, people who are often forced to live without access to basic services. The forthcoming Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference has a duty to adopt at least – I repeat, at least – a package of measures to help them, and yet we have received no guarantees on that score – anything but. We call on you, Commissioner, to look into this matter.
Although it would have no significant impact on international trade balances, the poorest countries would benefit greatly from measures such as the introduction of duty-free access quotas for their products, the simplification of rules of origin, the introduction of measures to correct market distortions in sectors such as the cotton sector, the provision of technical assistance to internationalise their economies and – an extremely important requirement for us members of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe – the extension of the TRIPS waiver beyond 2016 for pharmaceutical products and data protection.
As far as we understand, none of this has been agreed yet. I understand your disappointment, Commissioner – we are disappointed too. We support you and the Commission in your commendable efforts. If there is no prospect of meeting the needs of the poorest countries, then we can well imagine the situation regarding much more complex issues, such as the balance between emerging countries, the European Union and the United States.
If I am not mistaken, Pascal Lamy today inaugurated work on the construction of the WTO’s new headquarters in Geneva: this is a first step, and I must say that the need for proactive and industrious efforts to revive the work programme, objectives and the identity of international trade itself has never been so great."@en1
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