Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2017-05-17-Speech-3-608-000"
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"en.20170517.34.3-608-000"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank the Commissioner for pursuing this issue. When we went to Bangladesh it was very clear that access to our market is a huge issue in Bangladesh. As the Chair of the Development Committee, of course I welcome the fact that tens of thousands of workers – particularly women – are gaining a livelihood and making their lives better because they have access to our market. But we also met trade unionists, and they told us about the difficulties they face trying to organise in the workplace, and the serious intimidation. So we welcome what you have done so far, and the letter from your services to the Ambassador in Brussels, because it is important to remind the Bangladeshi authorities that the EBA is not just a technical agreement. It is underpinned by our values, and that includes respect for rights at work.
I have got a couple of additional questions. The first is about even-handedness. This kept coming up time and time again in Bangladesh. It is in no one’s interests to withdraw trade access from Bangladesh, only to see business move to countries where conditions are equally bad or even worse than in Bangladesh. So what reassurances can you give us about the Commission’s future trade agreements with other countries, that they will be similarly tough in making sure people comply with ILO standards and other human rights obligations? Secondly, responsibility of our companies: you cannot get investment in jobs and improving people’s lives unless people get a decent price for the goods that they manufacture. We had the report voted in Parliament last month. The Commission has now adopted your new sustainable garment value chains initiative. What is really going to happen? Are you going to do more? What more is the Commission going to do now to make sure that actually fair prices can be paid for goods from Bangladesh and similar countries for their garments?"@en1
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