MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
16.2.2005
pursuant to Rule 108(5) of the Rules of Procedure
by Nirj Deva, Maria Martens, John Bowis, Filip Andrzej Kaczmarek, Ioannis Kasoulides, Eija-Riitta Korhola, Geoffrey Van Orden, Anna Záborská and Zbigniew Zaleski
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
on action against hunger and poverty
B6‑0103/2005
European Parliament resolution on action against hunger and poverty
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Millennium Declaration of 8 September 2000, which sets out the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as criteria established jointly by the international community for the elimination of poverty,
– having regard to the report by the UN Millennium Project Task Force headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs entitled 'Investing in Development: a practical plan to achieve the Millennium Development Goals',
– having regard to the commitments made by the EU at the Barcelona Summit in March 2002 in advance of the Monterrey Conference,
– having regard to the European Commission report on 'Millennium Development Goals 2000-2004' (SEC(2004)1379),
– having regard to Rule 108(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas an estimated 1.2 billion people in the world still live on less than $1 per day, one billion people suffer from hunger and malnutrition and about 24 000 people die every day of hunger or from hunger-related causes,
B. whereas in many developing countries most of the poor and vulnerable groups live in rural areas, and, as a consequence, rural development policies are essential if poverty and hunger are to be tackled effectively,
C. whereas without basic infrastructure, human capital and capital investments developing countries in general, and the least developed countries (LDCs) in particular, are limited to exporting primary commodities rather than processed goods,
D. whereas the European Union provides more than 50% of development aid globally, and whereas in September 2000 the EU Member States and the President of the Commission signed the Millennium Declaration and in December 2001 the UN General Assembly approved the MDGs,
E. recognising that meeting the MDG targets would require a doubling of the current amount of aid and maintaining aid at that level for at least a decade,
F. noting with regret the fact that two-thirds of developing countries spend more on debt servicing than on basic social services,
G. whereas there are important links between environmental sustainability and the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger,
H. recognising that anti-personnel landmines continue to hinder the achievement of development goals in many LDCs,
I. recognising the importance of the Doha Development Round and the need for rules-based trade systems designed to increase the developing world's, especially Africa’s, share of global trade,
1. Expresses its grave concern at the fact that, five years after the MDGs were adopted by the UN, sub-Saharan Africa has not met nor is it on track to meet a single one of the eight MDGs by the target date of 2015; stresses that, unless the international community dramatically increases both the quality and the quantity of its development assistance, the MDGs will be unattainable for a large number of LDCs, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa;
2. Calls on the EU to take the lead in swiftly implementing the UN Millennium Project's report ‘Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals’ launched on 18 January 2005 in Brussels;
3. Calls, in this context, on the EU and other international and national actors to give particular consideration to the Project's suggestions for 'Quick Win initiatives', namely early and short-term intervention providing substantial funding in one or a few clearly determined areas (such as providing malaria bed-nets and anti-malaria medicines, abolishing primary school fees and supplying fertilisers to small farmers) which would bring rapid and large-scale progress in raising the living standards of millions of people in developing countries;
4. Calls on the EU and its Member States to lead donor countries towards the goal of spending 0.7% of their national incomes on development assistance, to deliver on the promised trade and debt concessions, and to pool resources through coordination and complementarity both among themselves and with other donors, as well as ensuring that EU external and internal policies are consistent with the aim of achieving the MDGs;
5. Emphasises that poverty reduction through the achievement of the MDGs must be recognised unambiguously as the overarching framework for EU development policy and indeed for the national development policies of the developing countries themselves, and that this must be reflected clearly in all relevant policy and legislative proposals;
6. Urges the EU to examine its own resource allocation to development and to commit itself to increasing significantly its development spending over the course of the next financial perspective;
7. Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to focus even more attention on action in relation to anti-personnel landmines in post-conflict situations, in particular on more rapid clearance of mined areas and assistance to mine victims in order to help achieve the objectives of the 2004 Nairobi Declaration;
8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take the lead, in multilateral and bilateral forums, in speeding up and extending debt relief efforts in LDCs whose governments respect human rights and the principles of good governance and give priority to poverty eradication;
9. Calls on the European Commission to support measures in developing countries aimed at rural development and, more particularly, at steering agricultural production from unsustainable to sustainable natural-resource management practices in order to prevent resource degradation;
10. Stresses the importance of ensuring that food, agricultural trade and overall trade policies are conducive to fostering food security for all through a fair and market-oriented world trade system;
11. Stresses that capacity building for trade is at least as important as market access for developing countries, and that sufficient funding needs to be made available for diversification and export capacity;
12. Recognises the concern of developing countries about the impact of trade liberalisation and reciprocity, but welcomes the EU’s acknowledgement of the need for special and differential treatment for certain categories of countries and products;
13. Urges, in this context, that full account be taken of the fact that developing countries are heavily dependent on primary commodities, which are particularly vulnerable to price fluctuation and tariff escalation;
14. Calls on the EU and the international community not to view the MDGs as a 'final horizon' but only as a halfway house on the road to ending absolute poverty;
15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the accession countries, the United Nations and the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD.