Strasbourg, 16/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, with 328 in favour, 55 against and 10 abstentions, the European Parliament approved the Council's draft decision over the trade chapter of the Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement signed with Mexico on 8 December 1997 (and the summary of the report by Mrs. Concepcio Ferrer, see EUROPE of 11 March, p.9). On behalf of the European Commission, Mr. Liikanen welcomed this rapid stance by Parliament, before the EC-Mexico Joint Council to be held on the fringe of the European Council of Lisbon, on 24 March. It is, said Mr. Liikanen, a balanced and ambitious agreement, that will enable the Union to fight on an equal footing with the United States on the Mexican market. This is also the opinion of the rapporteur Concepcio Ferrer, Spanish member of the EPP, who, recalling that Parliament had already provided its assent for the Global Agreement on 6 May 1999, stressed the importance of the article relating to the respect of human rights and clauses allowing for the agreement to be suspended in case of violation of these rights. According to her, the agreement should contribute to reducing social disparities and enable Europe to recover its place on the Mexican market, even though there were some "shadows" in a few sectors, notably that of textiles.
On the whole agreeing, Christos Folias (Greek), speaking for the EPP, expressed concern over the consequences that the exception to the rule of origin could have for the European shoe industry: 15,000 small producers and 650,000 workers could suffer from it. It is rather Mexico's social policy that worries Rolf Linkhor (German), speaking for the Socialist Group: in an increasingly free market, there are always losers, he observed, considering that this issue needed broaching with the Mexicans. Mr. Linkhor did, however, said that his Group agreed with the Council's proposal. It is the best trade agreement the Fifteen have ever concluded, said Isidoro Sanchez-Garcia (Spain), speaking on behalf of the Liberal Group, while nevertheless expressing concern for the repercussions of customs liberalisation in the wood sector and for ultra-peripheral regions. Mr. Sanchez would also like to see financial instruments set up to help Community business better exploit the potential offered by the agreement. The Green Group is not unanimous: on the one hand, Wolfgang Kreissl-Doerfler (Germany) considers that the agreement is not the best way of ensuring Mexico's social and ecological development, and refers to the requests of the representatives of Mexican civil society who consider that the agreement should be improved before being adopted. On the other, despite some reservations, the Basque member (Spain), Gorka Knorr Barras, believes that one cannot oppose an agreement that will create the conditions for a more balanced development in Mexico, and which contains a suspension clause should human rights not be respected. The European United Left does not agree with the Council's choices and recommendations, said Luisa Morgantini (Italy), noting the persistence of human rights violations in Mexico and considering that the planned liberalisation would have negative effects in the country. Pedro Marset Campos, of Izquierda Unida (Spain), denounced the clout of the American "boot" in Mexico and expressed his concern for human rights in the country: Europe must send Mexico an "affectionate" signal to place emphasis on the primordial importance of the respect of these rights, he said. The Union for a Europe of Nations, said Elizabeth Montfort (France), considers that this agreement contains more threats than guarantees, especially regarding rules on intellectual property and the textile sector, disarmed faced with American competition on the Mexican market. The European textiles sector will be penalised, agreed Massimo Carraros (Italian DS), placing emphasis on the need to closely monitor implementation of the agreement, especially regarding human rights. Mexico has made efforts at disengaging itself from the "absolute" domination of the United States over its economy, and has made efforts at democratisation, notably through a constitutional reform, observed for his part Spanish Socialist Carlos Westendorp. Portuguese Socialist Antonio Seguro, Chair of the EP's delegation for relations with the countries of Latin America and Mexico, announced that he would soon be going to Mexico to express the legitimate concerns of certain Euro-MPs, as well as to demonstrate support for the efforts of the Mexican Government.