Brussels, 04/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament has given its approval to the participation of Greenland (an autonomous territory of Denmark) in the international certification system for rough diamonds known as the Kimberley process.
In the European Parliament's plenary session on 4 February, MEPs accepted two legislative proposals tabled by the European Commission in June 2013 to enable Greenland to join the Kimberley process, and thus to attract potential investors for its mining industry. Two amendments to the legal acts of the EU were accepted by the MEPs - firstly, a new customs regime for the movement of rough diamonds between Greenland and the EU and third countries, and secondly, amendments to the regulation on the Kimberley process in order to extend the scope of its application to Greenland. The Commission proposals follow the requests of Denmark and Greenland - a country which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and considered as an EU overseas territory - in order to enable Greenland, a North Atlantic island which possesses precious stones, to join the Kimberley process that was set up to stem the flow of conflict diamonds.
Greenland and the majority of its population are still greatly dependent on outside financing and revenue from fishing, but fishing revenue is increasingly less stable due to the limits on stocks and quotas, and climate change. Recent research has shown that the territory of Greenland has large diamond resources but its own resources are not sufficient to start significant quarrying. Europe is thus positioning itself in the quest for minerals and precious stones - which is causing competition between the world's large economies. (EH/transl.fl)