Brussels, 17/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission will outline how it is planning to help developing countries benefit from free trade while ensuring that it serves their development purposes. Jointly prepared by Commissioner Pascal Lamy (Trade) and Commissioner Poul Nielson (Development), the Communication on the connection between trade and development is expected to be endorsed by the College of Commissioners. It will enable the Commission to take the first steps in the process of turning its pledges at international level into reality concerning the use of trade as a lever for sustainable development in poor countries (see pp 13/14 on Oxfam's demands in this connection).
The Communication sets the Commission's new initiative against the backdrop of three international conferences that have played a decisive part in forming the new approach to multilateral issues, namely the development agenda outlined in Doha by the WTO Fourth Ministerial Conference (November 2001), the United Nations conference on financing development (Monterrey, March 2002) and the recent Second World Sustainable Development Summit (Johannesburg, September 2002), which all contributed to greater awareness about the connection between development, trade and incorporating developing countries into the global economy.
Convinced that trade and stimulate growth and help cut poverty (the key objective pursued by the EU in its development cooperation), the Commission points out that simply opening up markets will not be sufficient in itself to meet the challenge, but has to be accompanied by a reform of trade as a component of developing countries' development strategies. It argues that the financial aid granted to developing countries for issues concerning trade will have to be adapted accordingly.
The Communication outlines the Commission's recommendations for ensuring a better integration of trade and development strategies and identifies areas where aid should be concentrated in order to stimulate developing countries' trade capacity. It proposes concrete initiatives for stepping up dialogue with developing countries, increasing the aid provided by the EU and helping international aid become more effective.