Brussels, 18/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - Addressing the European Parliament's Development Committee, chaired by Luisa Morgantini (GUE, Italy), European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said he was confident in the virtues of trade as a vector of development for the poorest countries as part of a multilateral system governed by fair rules. He said his primary mission was to put trade at the service of investment and ensure the needs of the poorest countries are a priority for EU policies, he said, repeating views outlined in a speech to the London School of Economics last month. I believe in the gradual liberalisation of trade politically and at the same time, in the interest of growth and combating poverty, said Mandelson, adding that three conditions applied - that opening the markets is adapted to the development situation; - that opening of markets should be accompanied by a rules-based multilateral trade system; - and that the creation of new trade opportunities be accompanied by support for building capacity in developing countries. Fair multilateral rules have to be abided by since permanent exemptions are no service to development, he said, adding that fairness presupposed flexibility in the application of progressive rules. He said he was prepared to accept some obligations being lifted for the poorest countries, wanting a case by case examination of the situation of developing countries.
Noting that development is the main topic on the agenda of the WTO Doha Round, Peter Mandelson said that free trade should no longer be seen as mutual market opening. It has to be ensured, he said, that the least advanced ACP and G90 countries can open their markets in a gradual and controlled manner, with the EU's aid. We are not asking them to abolish customs duties but to restrict them to improve predictability for investors, he added. Paying tribute to his predecessor, Pascal Lamy, for his All but Arms initiative, which made the EU the most open market in the world for products from the least developed countries, the Commissioner said that all industrialised countries should pledge in the run-up the to the WTO Summit in Hong Kong in December to follow the EU's lead. Mandelson said flexibility was also required for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and the integrated ACP region (African, Caribbean and Pacific), noting that the transition period for opening markets to EU exports could exceed ten years. But Peter Mandelson did not give a more specific answer to Max van den Berg (Dutch Socialist) who asked whether to reassure ACP states it was possible for non-reciprocity to last until the two regional blocks (the EU and the ACP states) were on an equal footing.
During the debate with the MEPs, the Commissioner answered questions on the following issues:
Questions about Singapore: Answering Carl Schlyter (Green/EFA, Sweden), who asked whether he was in favour of water privatisation in developing countries, Mandelson said he was not asking developing countries to open their market. He said the EU did not get involved in how they manage their market, but when they open it to abroad, it didn't want to see any discrimination against European industry.
Sugar: Mandelson is sticking to the action plan proposed by the Commission to limit the impact of reforming the EU sugar market for developing sugar producing countries. Answering John Bowis (British Conservative), the Commissioner said 'compensation' was a word he would avoid.
Simplification of rules of origin: Quizzed about the proposals by Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs approved by the Commission on Wednesday (see other article), Mandelson said he would have preferred a four-criteria impact assessment (value added, treatment, transformation and amending customs duties) to a single rule based on the criterion of value added in a country benefiting from trade preferences, but said he had been told that that would not meet the objective of simplifying the rules.
GSP reforms: Peter Mandelson said he was disappointed at the failure of the Council of the EU to agree on the draft regulation concerning revised GSPs (application of which was planned to be brought forward to 1 April for countries hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.9). I regret that during the discussions on Wednesday some Member States felt that Europe should put its own interests before developing countries because of the economic situation in Europe, said Mandelson. We have to take account of European industry and workers, but we cannot act solely on account of temporary economic problems. We have to take account, he said, of permanent poverty and the needs of vulnerable countries.
Putting US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz forward as a candidate to take over as President of the World Bank: Peter Mandelson said he did not want to join the argument, noting that his nomination had been a surprise to many but Wolfowitz said he was committed to development and also said he was willing to listen. Let's take him up on that, said Mandelson.
Peter Mandelson is handed a petition calling for developing countries to be given the right
to protect their agriculture markets
Before the debate, the Commissioner was presented with a signature by 62481 European citizens and several thousand African citizens calling on the Commissioner to include defence of the interests of small farmers in the South, more specifically Africa, in all the EU's trade policies. As part of the campaign for the right to protect African agriculture markets from the devastation caused by EU exports of frozen chicken legs, the signatories urge Peter Mandelson to ensure that in all trade negotiations, the EU supports the G33 proposal for a special, easy-to-implement safeguard clause accessible to all countries for any product to deal with rapid increases in imports and the variation in prices around the world. The campaign is entitled, 'Chicken exports, Europe is plucking Africa', supported by a series of NGOs, like SOS Faimf, Attac, Frères des homes, Réseau foi et Justice Afrique, ACDIC Cameroun, Aprodev, Greenpeace, and others.