Strasbourg, 16/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - I praise the enormous creative effort that led to the construction of this European house: I can also only tell you of my appreciation for the constant support you have provided to the democratisation process in my country, said Vicente Fox, Mexico's President, on 15 May in his formal address to the European Parliament. Mr. Fox spoke of all the efforts he had made since his elections, on 2 July 2000; notably in combating corruption, measures aimed at improving the efficiency of the administration, measures in the economic field (with encouraging results regarding inflation, interest rates, that are the lowest in the country's history, and unemployment). The Government is working with congress on an in-depth reform of the State and on a particularly important problem for Mexico, that of its indigenous populations (100 million people), he recalled, noting that the country now had an avant-garde law in the matter, and thanking the Union for the support it provided to the solution in the conflict with the Chiapas (see EUROPE of 15 May, p.5). We want to be a "humanist" administration, and the promotion of democracy and the defence of sustainable development are the two pillars of our foreign policy, declared the Mexican President, for whom, the signing of the Inter-American Democratic Charter was a demonstration of this policy. As for human rights, Mexico has decided to play an active role in different international fora, notably in the United Nations Committee on Human Rights, and to combat the death penalty. If the Mexican citizen Gerardo Valdes was able to escape the death penalty in Oklahoma, it was because of pressure from his own country, but also by the Union and especially the European Parliament, Mr. Fox noted. Finally, he hoped that the EU/Latin America and Caribbean Summit this Friday would express a common will to reach a constructive "strategic association", for the good of all the peoples concerned. We want to intensify exchanges with Europe, with its institutions, with each of its countries and regions, Fox concluded.