Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-07-05-Speech-4-020-000"
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"en.20120705.8.4-020-000"2
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"Mr President, Mr Potočnik, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that Europe has done some sterling work here and I also believe that the assessment you have outlined to us was correct. The assessments made by some NGOs and by a number of speakers here sometimes remind me of the assessment of wishes for the New Year: the more you wish for, the more you seem to have achieved. I believe, however, that what counts is what one has genuinely achieved at the end of the year, rather than what one wishes for and resolves to achieve.
If we consider the long-term trends of the last 20 years, it is evident that we have achieved quite a lot. That must also be acknowledged. If we consider access to drinking water, we will see that we are almost on the point of achieving our targets, while things do not look too bad for waste water treatment either. Nonetheless, the problem remains of how we can help the developing world and sustain it.
I believe that it is also necessary, however, to face up to realities. A great deal has changed in the world in the last 20 years. The countries that were more or less on the threshold of development, for example, China and many of the G77 states, have become very strong. That is why the approach of taking action within the United Nations system is certainly justified. I am not so sure, however, that the upgrading of the United Nations Environment Programme to a fully-fledged UN organisation is really the panacea we seek.
With regard to the green economy, I might remind you that we really do seem to be blind in one eye. The point there, too, is that we must involve the private sector on a massive scale, rather than just hoping to achieve success on a top-down basis using the old systems, in other words, development aid. That is why it is so important to take a realistic approach. Europe has achieved a lot here as a driving force, and should remain a driving force. I do not think it is right to start criticising everything at this point."@en1
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