Sanatarkat istuntoselostukset

Maanantai 14. kesäkuuta 2010 - Strasbourg

19. Kehitys kohti vuosituhattavoitteiden saavuttamista: syyskuussa 2010 pidettävää YK:n korkean tason kokousta varten valmisteilla oleva väliarviointi (keskustelu)

  Die Präsidentin. − Als nächster Punkt folgt die Aussprache über den Bericht von Michael Cashman über Fortschritte bei der Verwirklichung der Millenniums-Entwicklungsziele: Halbzeitbilanz zur Vorbereitung des Treffens der hochrangigen VN-Vertreter im September 2010 (2010/2037(INI)) (A7-0165/2010).

  Michael Cashman, rapporteur. − Madam President, can I say, as I begin, I think we should really call these not ‘Millennium Development Goals’, but ‘millennium development challenges’. So often the word runs off our tongue – ‘the MDGs’ – but do we ever actually revisit what they are?

Back in the year 2000 when we were going through economic boom times, we made promises and we made commitments. Sadly, colleagues, those commitments have not yet been achieved. We are five years away from the date that we set, 2015, when we would tackle these major challenges.

Let me restate them: the major challenges are extreme poverty and hunger, access to universal primary education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, AIDS, malaria and TB, environmental sustainability and global partnership for development: eight millennium development challenges which still remain challenges. And now, during this week, the EU will come together to hopefully forge a united position ahead of the September plenary at the United Nations in New York.

But I have to say the signs are worrying. There is a lack of commitment to that 0.7% of our gross national income that we said we would commit to taking on these challenges. In some of the least developed countries we are slipping way, way away from the targets that we need to be reaching mid-way through.

There has been some progress and, yes, the investment that we have made – and I use that term wisely – the investment that we have made so far has paid off. The maternal health improvements are there. Child mortality rates are low, low, low and, yes, the numbers of children dying are gradually decreasing.

But our problem is that, not only do we need more money to tackle these commitments, we now need additional finances to tackle the problems associated with climate change which are bedevilling the positions that we are taking in the developing countries and the least developed countries.

And that is why in my report I have looked at not only what we have done so far, but how much more we need to do. And that means looking at the big problem we have in the European institutions of policies, on the one hand, that want to deliver positive change and policies, on the other, which contradict and undermine that.

Think of trade, think of the common agricultural policy, think of the common fisheries policy. Without policy coherence our investment in these countries will never pay off. And it is investment. It is in our long-term economic interest to get rid of these MDGs, to achieve them and get rid of these problems that curse individual lives across the world.

So what I want to see is leadership from the EU. Not the minimum set that they can agree on, but a commitment to that 0.7% of gross national income, a commitment to additional financing; and we do not want a redefinition of overseas development assistance. There must be no tinkering at the edges.

So we have an interesting debate tonight. I want to thank the NGOs across Europe for supporting my report. I wish us tonight and especially in the vote tomorrow to put aside our political differences. It will not be a perfect report; nothing produced by this House ever is, but let me say this: let us not now use party political differences to take away from ourselves the opportunity to go for a united position at the United Nations and achieve the MDGs by 2015.

  Andris Piebalgs, Member of the Commission. − Madam President, the power and the importance of the MDGs come from being a collective commitment to shared development goals. They stand as a common framework to coordinate and check international development activities. They help galvanise development efforts and help deliver opportunity to millions of people around the world.

Despite impressive gains, however, overall progress has been uneven among the different goals, across regions and within developing countries. 2010 really is a milestone. It is necessary to consider what we got right and what went wrong, and what have been the key successes and failures since the signing of the Millennium Declaration.

It is important to reflect on how best to approach the next phase and how to accelerate progress in areas that are lagging behind. It is also critical that progress towards meeting the MDGs is robust and sustained. Strengthening country-owned institutions, policies and service-delivery systems will be essential, as will avoidance or mitigation of shocks and the promotion of broad-based economic growth.

Mr Cashman’s excellent report responds to the issues mentioned and gives powerful guidance for the European Union in preparation for the United Nations high-level meeting in September and beyond.

I am pleased to see a strong convergence between Mr Cashman’s report and the Commission’s communication, a 12-point EU action plan in support of the Millennium Development Goals. We need to respect our aid commitments of 0.7% of GNI by 2015 at the latest. We need to turn aid effectiveness from a good concept into tangible reality. We need to ensure that policy coherence for development becomes a strong tool to guide EU decision-making. We need to pay special attention to countries most off-track, including those in situations of conflict and fragility. We need to pay particular attention to the MDGs that are most off-track, at the same time maintaining an integrated comprehensive approach to the MDGs.

I very much agree that governance is central to the successful achievement and sustainability of the MDGs. The commitment to govern effectively is a basic condition of any pursuit of public development strategies and policy. With the delivery on other commitments we need improved predictability and effectiveness to support country-led developments that foster inclusive economic growth and increase public investments in education, health and infrastructure, enhance success to clean energy and promote low-carbon development. Our aid should act as a catalyst to accelerate domestic resource mobilisation to finance MDGs.

I shall also say a brief word on the discussions we had in the Foreign Affairs Council today. I am broadly satisfied with the conclusions we have reached. There is a clear commitment to meet the 0.7% ODA commitment by 2015. Council adopted gender equality and women’s empowerment in the development plan of EU action for the years 2010 to 2015. Also, the 12-point EU action plan on MDGs proposed by the Commission is reflected rightly.

The Council has agreed to make a real step forward in terms of aid effectiveness, inviting concrete proposals from the Commission. I believe that, whilst we should not be complacent, it represents a package that will enable us to lead by example in New York. It is by no means perfect, but provides a basis for progress. Once again my congratulations on Parliament’s MDGs report.

  Alf Svensson, för PPE-gruppen. – Fru talman! Låt mig allra först tacka Michael Cashman för trevliga gemenskaper när han har resonerat kring dessa utomordentligt angelägna och viktiga frågor. Jag vill också säga att det har varit intressant för mig som gammal svensk parlamentariker att vara med här i Europaparlamentet och se att man försöker finna samförstånd. Sen var det väl inte väntat att våra grupper skulle finna totalt samförstånd.

Nu säger Michael Cashman – och jag håller helt med honom – att det behövs mer resurser. Jag tror däremot inte att det alltid ska handla om mer skatter. Jag skulle vilja säga så här: Släpp entreprenörerna loss och ge dem en chans i de fattiga länderna, så att det skapas arbetstillfällen. Jag tror inte heller att det är klokt med det moratorium som Michael Cashman föreslår. Däremot vill jag väldigt gärna stryka under vad som står i punkt 47, där det starkt pläderas för att vi måste ta itu med den diskriminering som finns av grupper i de många fattiga länderna. Detta tycker jag, och säkert många andra, är en fråga som vi skulle behöva uppehålla oss vid väldigt länge när vi talar om millenniemålen.

Det talas om 0,7 procent. Jag skulle väldigt gärna vilja att vi talade om 1 procent av BNI. För det menar jag att de rika länderna egentligen har ansvar för att se till att man åtminstone kommer upp till. Sen är det en annan fråga: Jag tror inte att det är särskilt klokt att fatta ett beslut om att länderna ska nå upp till 0,7 procent även om man så skulle vilja, för jag tror att det i mångt och mycket skulle vara ett slag i luften.

Men dessa frågor är angelägna och de är naturligtvis moraliskt sett de mest angelägna frågor som denna kammare kan syssla med. Att människor dör av törst och hunger borde vara det mest outhärdliga för alla ledamöter av Europaparlamentet.

  Corina Creţu, în numele Grupului S&D. – Într-adevăr, aşa cum s-a subliniat mai devreme, criza economică şi financiară pe care o traversăm îşi pune grav amprenta asupra obiectivelor asumate de statele membre în cadrul Obiectivelor de dezvoltare ale mileniului. De aceea, este de apreciat realismul şi abordarea raţională a autorului raportului, dl. Cashman.

Este îmbucurător să constatăm, după zece ani de la stabilirea Obiectivelor de dezvoltare ale mileniului, o serie de progrese în combaterea sărăciei extreme, a foametei şi a virusului HIV, chiar dacă aceste progrese nu sunt suficiente. Simultan cu identificarea punctelor critice în demersul de realizare a ODM, raportul Cashman prezintă alternative pentru stoparea risipirii fondurilor destinate asistenţei pentru dezvoltare, printr-o îmbinare complexă, dar echilibrată, a acţiunilor de ordin legislativ, financiar şi a mecanismelor de piaţă.

Vreau să subliniez, în primul rând, satisfacţia de a fi citit în corpul raportului recomandarea adresată Uniunii Europene de a canaliza cel puţin jumătate din ajutorul acordat ţărilor celor mai puţin dezvoltate şi de a identifica grupurile cu situaţia cea mai dificilă în aceste ţări, în special în ceea ce priveşte situaţia femeilor, a copiilor şi a persoanelor cu handicap, precum şi de a integra într-un mod mai eficient interesele grupurilor vulnerabile în strategiile sale privind dezvoltarea. În multe zone, situaţia acestor grupuri este critică.

Anul acesta, aşa cum s-a spus în septembrie 2010 la întâlnirea la nivel înalt a Naţiunilor Unite, vom avea, sper eu, o perspectivă mai detaliată asupra situaţiei în domeniul asistenţei pentru dezvoltare. Iar Raportul Cashman exprimă un punct de vedere extrem de structurat şi care are în spate o filozofie a dezvoltării durabile.

  Leonidas Donskis, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Madam President, I hope my colleague, Michael Cashman, and our colleagues will regard my remarks as a supplement and as a token of appreciation, rather than a revision. The MDGs allow us a unique point of entry into the human condition at the beginning of the 21st century. Therefore, it is critically important to come up with a new and fresh perspective, instead of offering that of the 20th century. It is a fact of our time that no development is possible without security, and vice versa. This is why we have tried to offer a more balanced approach to the MDGs, paying more attention to such regions as Central Asia, where poverty goes hand in hand with a lack of safety, insecurity, instability, forced child labour and even slavery.

In addition to the autocratic regimes in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, ethnic violence recently broke out in Kyrgyzstan. Dire straits, combined with instability and violence, may lead to a humanitarian catastrophe in the region. If we need proof that no durable and sustainable development exists without security, we have it here.

In addition to that, we cannot forget about extreme forms of poverty in such European countries as Moldova and Albania. Let us take, for example, some grave problems relating to health care. In Ukraine and Moldova 300 out of 10 000 people suffer from tuberculosis. The aforementioned countries do not fall into the category of least developed countries but they certainly fall into that of developing countries.

If the MDGs do not embrace the least stable and least secure countries, we will never achieve a viable, social and moral order there. Therefore, the time has come to expand our horizons. Although sub-Saharan Africa is crucial to us, we cannot confine the MDGs to this sole, familiar context. We are facing new challenges and we have to react to them. Last but not least, the MDGs are inseparable from the necessity to empower the least developed, developing and least secure countries so that they can shape their future themselves.

  Judith Sargentini, namens de Verts/ALE-Fractie. – Welkom meneer Piebalgs, commissaris voor ontwikkelingssamenwerking. Graag had ik meneer De Gucht, commissaris voor handel, naast u gezien, omdat wij in dit Huis proberen nu de komende vijf jaar een inhaalslag te maken. De millenniumdoelen liggen bepaald niet op schema en toch hebben wij daar met zijn allen een handtekening onder gezet, dat hebben wij beloofd. Wij hebben beloofd - en ik herinner me die leus nog, want ik werkte bij ontwikkelingsorganisaties in die tijd - "Armoede de wereld uit", of in het Engels "Make poverty history". We zijn nog steeds geen geschiedenis aan het schrijven.

En het kán wel. We kunnen wel praten over 0,7% van ons bruto nationaal product aan hulp en zelfs meer. We kunnen praten over nieuwe vormen van financiële hulp, maar dat wordt steeds ingewikkelder in deze tijden van economische crisis. Maar waar we echt over moeten praten, is over een andere manier van samenleven, over eerlijke handel. Wij kloppen ons nu wel op de borst omdat wij de allergrootste voorzieners zijn van ontwikkelingshulp in de wereld, maar eigenlijk zouden wij ons op de borst moeten kloppen over het feit dat wij de grootste consumentenmarkt zijn.

Als wij eerlijk zouden gaan handelen, dan zou een heleboel hulp waarschijnlijk niet meer nodig zijn. Op de een of andere manier blijft het eenvoudiger om hulp te geven dan om te zeggen "wij zullen boertjes in Afrika niet meer wegconcurreren". Als wij multinationals beperken in hun mogelijkheid om de belastingen te ontduiken, dan zouden er een heleboel schatkisten in Afrika beter gevuld zijn. En als ik zie hoe wij omgaan met de stemlijsten voor deze resolutie, waar er geplust en gemind wordt, dan vraag ik mij af waar het grote gebaar blijft? Waar blijft ons signaal dat we over vijf jaar echt de millenniumdoelen zullen halen?

  Nirj Deva, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Madam President, our rapporteur has done an excellent job and has made an appeal for Parliament to give 100% support to the report and to our efforts at the UN. My group is quite happy to give 99.9% support, with a few differences of opinion.

We keep talking about MDGs. What are these MDGs? Well actually there are eight Millennium Development Goals, and I think we should have had more. Had we had more, we would have achieved some of the targets that we have been trying to achieve faster. One of the things that is most important in eradicating poverty is to have stakeholderships, to be able to own something, to have property or to own a small business.

Members have travelled abroad and have seen millions and millions of slums in developing countries and hundreds and thousands of small businesses – garages, shops, repair shops, various people doing various things – at the side of the road as they travel in air-conditioned cars. The trouble is that none of those slums and none of those businesses are registered. They do not have a capital value. Should we be able to recapitalise those properties and those businesses, we would put nine trillion dollars’ worth of capital assets into the hands of the leaders of the developing countries. Yes, nine trillion. That is larger than the entire debt that we have been worrying about in Europe and more than value of the stock markets in New York, London and Tokyo.

However, we have not found a way to capitalise on those properties and those businesses. They are outside the legal system. Had we been able to do that, we would have been able to eliminate poverty faster. This is what has happened in other parts of the world.

  Gabriele Zimmer, im Namen der GUE/NGL-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Mein Dank gilt vor allem Herrn Cashman für die Vorlage dieses Berichtes, den wir im Entwicklungsausschuss mit großer Unterstützung verabschiedet haben, und ich hoffe sehr, dass es uns als Parlament gelingt, gemeinsam unmittelbar vor der Ratstagung zu signalisieren, dass wir den Millenniums-Entwicklungszielen eine übergroße Bedeutung beimessen.

Wir erwarten, dass sich die Mitgliedstaaten ihrer Verpflichtung bei der Durchsetzung der Millenniums-Entwicklungsziele auch bewusst werden, d. h. insbesondere auch bei den von ihnen selbst übernommenen Verpflichtungen, nämlich den entsprechenden Anteil für die Entwicklungshilfe selbst zu zahlen. Herr Cashman hat zu Recht vermerkt: Wir liegen als Europäische Union hier mit minus 20 Milliarden Euro in einem Defizit. Was vornan gestellt werden muss, ist die ganz klare Aussage: Wir kämpfen für die Durchsetzung dieser Millenniums-Entwicklungsziele bis 2015, und wir werden auch nicht zulassen, dass diese Jahreszahl einfach verschoben wird, immer mit der Begründung, dass letztendlich durch die Auswirkungen von Krisen wir als Nationalstaaten dazu nicht mehr in der Lage wären und wir überhaupt das Recht hätten, hier etwas zu verschieben. Aber die Tatsache, dass über eine Milliarde Menschen in Armut und Hunger lebt – 1,5 Milliarden sogar in Armut –, der Nachweis, dass in den letzten Jahren sogar in bestimmten Regionen der Welt, in der Subsahara, die Armut zugenommen hat, die lassen überhaupt keine andere Möglichkeit zu, als hier sehr deutlich einzufordern, was wir hier wollen.

Ich bitte deshalb auch meine Kollegen, gerade auch von der konservativen Fraktion, dass Sie nicht den Bericht mit Ihren Anträgen noch weiter verwässern. Dieser Bericht stellt eine ausgewogene Mischung dar aus realen Forderungen, Anforderungen, dem notwendigen Druck, den wir erzeugen müssen, und wir sollten dort an keiner Stelle irgendetwas zurücknehmen.

Ich wäre sogar an einigen Stellen noch weiter gegangen. Ich hätte auch noch konkret gefordert, dass wir keinen weiteren Vertrag unterzeichnen und weiter leben lassen, der nicht der Durchsetzung der Millenniums-Entwicklungsziele dient. Hier schließt sich für mich nämlich der Kreis: Wir brauchen nicht nur innerhalb der Entwicklungspolitik eine kohärente Politik, sondern es muss für die gesamte EU-Politik wichtig sein, den Kampf gegen Armut und Unterentwicklung konkret zu führen.

  Gerard Batten, on behalf of the EFD Group. – Madam President, no one could fail to agree with the Millennium Development Goals formulated in 2000, and no one could fail to be astounded by the complete lack of reality in believing that such goals could be achieved by the target date of 2015.

Quite apart from the totally unrealistic timescales to achieve these gargantuan tasks, there is the amount of money that the report now says should be spent.

Where is the money to come from? Most countries in Europe, including Britain, are on the verge of bankruptcy, and only stringent public spending cuts will reverse the situation. In these circumstances the way to help poorer countries become more prosperous and alleviate their multitude of social ills is to stimulate the world economy.

We should not be thinking of more ways to tax those businesses that still make profits and drive them abroad beyond the EU’s control. What we should do is the following: relax EU trade barriers and protectionist measures that restrict trade with poorer nations; dismantle the ever-increasing burden of regulation and red tape that is strangling businesses across Europe; abolish the European single currency and allow countries like Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain to return to the world of economic reality.

And, of course, Britain should leave the European Union as soon as possible.

  Santiago Fisas Ayxela (PPE). - Señora Presidenta, Señorías, la lucha contra la pobreza y los otros Objetivos del Milenio deberían unirnos a todos. Y lamento que algunos Grupos políticos hayan introducido determinados temas que puedan hacer difícil esta unanimidad.

Temas morales, como la propuesta del aborto como un método de control de la natalidad, o temas económicos, como la introducción de un impuesto sobre las transacciones de divisas. Creo que es un impuesto muy difícil de implementar, de controlar y de recaudar y, además, si no se adopta de una forma generalizada, sobre todo entre los principales bloques financieros, las operaciones se desplazarían a aquellos países donde no estuviera vigente.

Lamento que el informe, que contiene muchísimos puntos positivos, no obtenga la unanimidad de todos los Grupos políticos a causa de estos temas concretos.

  David-Maria Sassoli (S&D). - Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, signor Commissario, ringrazio il relatore Cashman per il lavoro che ha svolto e per aver ricordato l'importanza del vertice di New York.

L'Europa ha una grande opportunità, quella di presentarsi come partner mondiale per lo sviluppo. I dati che abbiamo sono sempre allarmanti: nel 2009 un miliardo di persone ha sofferto di fame cronica e il dato si è incrementato oggi con la crisi economica. A questo dobbiamo aggiungere i danni provocati dal cambiamento climatico, fattore che non fa altro che ampliare i problemi che si cercava di tenere sotto controllo.

Bisogna riconoscere che gli obiettivi presentati nel 2000 erano sicuramente ambiziosi, ma solo con paesi donatori potevano essere rispettati. Spiace, alla luce di questi impegni per i paesi in via di sviluppo, che alcuni paesi europei siano lontani dagli impegni assunti. Spiace ad esempio che il mio paese – l'Italia – sia ormai a un desolante 0,16% del PIL.

Dobbiamo rendere vincolante per tutti i paesi l'impegno a raggiungere lo 0,70% del PIL entro il 2015, come stabilito dalla Commissione europea. Tutti i paesi devono sentire il dovere morale e l'obbligo politico a mantenere questo impegno. L'eccellente lavoro del relatore Cashman consente al Parlamento europeo di essere protagonista nella difesa della dignità delle persone.

  Franziska Keller (Verts/ALE). - Madam President, the Millennium Development Goals are sure not perfect, but what makes them great and different is that they demand measurable progress, and because they are measurable we can see that we are not on track currently and we need to reinforce our efforts.

The EU institutions – and that includes us – can do a lot to reach the targets. For example, we can use the reform of the fisheries policy to support fisherwomen and fishermen in developing countries rather than industrialised fishing companies. We can use the CAP reform to focus on sustainable agriculture and eliminate all direct and indirect export subsidies – and we can stop ACTA, for which the Commission still has not delivered the proof that it will not hinder access to medicine and technology transfer. And we can finally recognise that you cannot achieve maternal health without women’s rights.

All these example show that development policy is more than a small field. Aspects of development policies can be found in all our committees, and we should be aware of that. Without policy coherence – and that is not just any coherence, but it is policy coherence for development as it is stated in Article 208 of the Lisbon Treaty – we will not get anywhere. And this we should also take into account when designing the External Action Service.

Finally, I would like to know from the Commission what its plans are for the post-MDG commitments that we will also have to talk about at some point.

  Elie Hoarau (GUE/NGL). - Madame la Présidente, mes chers collègues, avouons qu'il est déplorable de constater qu'à deux tiers du parcours, on en soit aussi loin de la réalisation des objectifs initiaux fixés par les OMD. Même si on est en période de crise, la moindre des choses est d'exiger que tous les pays développés, dont l'Union européenne, tiennent leurs engagements, notamment envers les pays pauvres en leur octroyant les 0,7 % de leur RNB pour l'aide au développement.

Par ailleurs, dans le cadre des accords de partenariat économique entre l'Union européenne et les ACP, que je suis de près en tant que membre de l'APP, une trop grande part des crédits est dédiée au commerce au détriment des programmes permettant de réaliser les objectifs du millénaire pour le développement. Un rééquilibrage est, de mon point de vue, nécessaire au profit de ces OMD dans le cadre de ces accords.

  Cristian Dan Preda (PPE). - Aş vrea să subliniez, înainte de toate, faptul că mi se pare esenţial ca Uniunea să promoveze, în Conferinţa de revizuire de la New York, un plan de acţiune ambiţios şi să adopte de urgenţă noi măsuri concrete pentru a ne onora cu toţii promisiunea de solidaritate cu categoriile cele mai defavorizate ale planetei.

Concluziile Consiliului, adoptate chiar astăzi, sunt, din acest punct de vedere, un pas în direcţia potrivită, pentru că, spun eu, Europa trebuie să rămână un lider în lupta împotriva sărăciei şi un partener credibil în pactul global pentru dezvoltare, încheiat prin acceptarea Obiectivelor de dezvoltare ale mileniului. Realizarea acestor obiective presupune, aşa cum se ştie, nu numai căutarea unor noi resurse de ajutor pentru dezvoltare, ci şi voinţa politică de a transforma în realitate aceste obiective.

Pe de altă parte, cred că este momentul să reflectăm asupra integrării sistematice a unei abordări bazate pe drepturile omului în toate acţiunile întreprinse pentru realizarea Obiectivelor de dezvoltare ale mileniului. Respectarea drepturilor omului, promovarea mecanismelor de responsabilitate sunt foarte importante pentru a ameliora condiţia celor ce trăiesc în sărăcie şi finalmente pentru realizarea ODM.

Aş vrea, de asemenea, să subliniez anumite aspecte problematice ale raportului Cashman. Pentru Grupul PPE, introducerea unilaterală a unei taxe de tip Tobin, prevăzută la punctul 8, nu poate fi acceptată, pentru că este greu de conciliat cu ideea finanţării bunurilor publice globale. De asemenea, ideea anulării datoriilor ţărilor în curs de dezvoltare, prezentă la punctul 13, este dificil de susţinut în contextul dezbaterilor asupra necesităţii, pentru aceste ţări, de a-şi asuma responsabilitatea procesului de dezvoltare şi a realizării Obiectivelor de dezvoltare ale mileniului.

În fine, punctul 42 abordează aspecte care ţin de libertatea de conştiinţă a fiecăruia dintre noi şi nu cred că este potrivit să impunem statelor membre ce poziţie trebuie să adopte în materie de avort.

  Norbert Neuser (S&D). - Frau Präsidentin, Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Das Erreichen der Millenniumsziele 2015 ist entscheidend davon abhängig, wie viel Geld die reichen Industrieländer zur Bekämpfung von Hunger und Armut zur Reduzierung der Kinder- und Müttersterblichkeit und zur Bekämpfung von Malaria und Aids zur Verfügung stellen.

Unser Fazit ist ernüchternd: Unsere Versprechen werden nicht eingehalten. Vor der Finanzkrise hatten wir in Europa als reiche Industrieländer für dieses Jahr 2010 den ärmsten Ländern 50 Milliarden US-Dollar zugesagt. Es werden deutlich weniger sein: ca. 36 Milliarden US-Dollar. Auch der vereinbarte Stufenplan, nach dem die reichen Länder 0,7 % ihres Bruttonationaleinkommens für Entwicklungshilfe aufbringen wollen, wird nicht eingehalten werden. Es gibt gute Beispiele, aber mein Land, Deutschland, sieht nicht gut aus. Wir sollten dem Beispiel anderer Länder folgen wie Schweden, Luxemburg, Belgien, Irland, Großbritannien und auch Spanien.

  Enrique Guerrero Salom (S&D). - Señora Presidenta, señor Comisario, señor Cashman, en el año 2000 definimos e identificamos los objetivos que deberíamos alcanzar para luchar contra la pobreza, la exclusión y la desigualdad, pero hicimos algo todavía más importante: asumimos compromisos concretos y generamos una dinámica mundial que ha sido apoyada por gobiernos, organizaciones no gubernamentales y por los propios países en desarrollo.

Desde entonces hemos avanzado, pero no suficientemente, y la crisis nos está haciendo retroceder. Hace unos minutos hemos escuchado, desde posiciones euroescépticas y egoístas, que debíamos volver al realismo. Yo declaro que realismo hoy es luchar por cambiar la realidad del mundo, es apoyar este informe mañana en el Pleno, es apoyar al Consejo que, en su segunda conclusión de la reunión de hoy, ha señalado que es posible alcanzar en 2015 lo que nos propusimos en 2000.

  Rareş-Lucian Niculescu (PPE). - Doresc să fac referire la punctul nr. 22 din proiect, care invită Uniunea Europeană să elimine subvenţiile pentru exporturile agricole şi „alte aspecte negative ale politicii agricole”. Cred că acest tip de abordare este hazardat, agricultura europeană nu poate supravieţui fără aceste subvenţii, mai ales în această perioadă de criză economică gravă şi de volatilitate extremă a preţurilor.

Agricultorii europeni sunt oricum puternic împovăraţi de condiţiile privind calitatea şi bunăstarea animalelor, pe care trebuie să le respecte, ceea ce îi dezavantajează în faţa competitorilor externi. Consider că o eventuală eliminare a subvenţiilor pentru exporturi ar fi o greşeală cu consecinţe grave şi îi rog pe colegi să voteze împotriva acestui punct.

  Mairead McGuinness (PPE). - Madam President, I thank the rapporteur, Mr Cashman, for this report and the passionate presentation of it.

I am particularly grateful about his paragraphs 48, 49 and 50 on food security. I actually think his explanatory note is much stronger than the paragraphs in the report, because we have a real problem in the European Union. We are spending less and less of our development aid budget where it is needed most – that is, in subsistence agriculture and among peasant farmers. The figures – and they were in our resolution on food security in January 2009 – are as follows: we have reduced the amount of development aid devoted to agriculture and rural development from 17% in 1980 down to just 3% in 2006.

Perhaps the Commission will tell us what actions they are taking to address that – and I see a nodding head, so I am hopeful – and also to get governments in African countries to recognise that hunger exists in the rural areas where people could actually farm if they had the tools.

I disagree fundamentally with paragraph 22. You know the reasons. We should not go alone on this, and export refunds are not the problem.

  Κρίτων Αρσένης (S&D). - Κυρία Πρόεδρε, θα ήθελα να ευχαριστήσω πολύ τον κ. Cashman για την εξαιρετική δουλειά που έκανε. Πρέπει πραγματικά να υποστηρίξουμε όλοι ένθερμα αυτήν την έκθεση, να στείλουμε το μήνυμα στα κράτη μέλη ότι θα πρέπει να μείνουν συνεπή προς τις υποχρεώσεις τους για την υλοποίηση των στόχων της χιλιετίας, για την καταπολέμηση της φτώχειας.

Εν μέσω αυτής της οικονομικής κρίσης, η οποία - δεν πρέπει να το ξεχνάμε αυτό - μπορεί να πλήττει εμάς, αλλά πλήττει και τις αναπτυσσόμενες χώρες, είναι τα προϊόντα των αναπτυσσομένων χωρών που πολλές φορές δεν καταναλώνουμε και σε αυτές τις χώρες αυξάνεται η φτώχεια, αυξάνονται όλοι αυτοί οι δείκτες που θέλουμε να αντιμετωπίσουμε με τους στόχους της χιλιετίας.

Την ίδια στιγμή η κλιματική αλλαγή, που εμείς προκαλέσαμε, επιδεινώνει την πρόσβαση στην τροφή, σε νερό, στις υπηρεσίες υγείας· επιδεινώνει την ίδια την υγεία. Χρειαζόμαστε λοιπόν επιπλέον πόρους για να αντιμετωπίσουμε και την κλιματική αλλαγή και για να βοηθήσουμε αυτές τις χώρες να προσαρμοστούν στην κλιματική αλλαγή.

Ταυτόχρονα όμως πρέπει να είμαστε συνεπείς και με τους στόχους της χιλιετίας. Γι' αυτό οι πόροι αυτοί θα πρέπει να είναι ανεξάρτητοι. Και χαίρομαι παρά πολύ για τη δήλωση της Επιτρόπου κ. Hedegaard ότι η Επιτροπή στηρίζει αυτό το αίτημα.

  Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris (PPE). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, è difficile accogliere l'appello del relatore Cashman, che ha invitato tutti i gruppi a sostenere fuori dagli schieramenti questa relazione, quando poi in questa relazione si è inserito qualche elemento di chiara marca ideologica.

Ad esempio, al paragrafo 42 della relazione, che riguarda l'impegno per l'aborto sicuro e la pianificazione familiare, si torna surrettiziamente ad inserire principi che noi non possiamo condividere. Noi non chiediamo come Europa agli Stati di finanziare la vita, di finanziare la maternità e la genitorialità responsabile, di sostenere la prosecuzione delle gravidanze, ma invitiamo gli Stati a finanziare lo strumento dell'interruzione di gravidanza come un contraccettivo o come uno strumento per pianificare le nascite e la demografia.

Su questo non potremo mai trovarci d'accordo. Una eugenetica di Stato, che finanzia la morte e non finanzia la vita, che sostiene l'interruzione di gravidanza e non sostiene quanti scelgono di interromperla per una questione di disagio socioeconomico, è una questione che non può trovarci assolutamente d'accordo.

  Γεώργιος Παπανικολάου (PPE). - Κυρία Πρόεδρε, ευχαριστώ τον εισηγητή για την πολύ καλή δουλειά που έχει κάνει. Πράγματι, η αποτυχία επίτευξης των ενδιάμεσων στόχων πρέπει να μας προβληματίζει έντονα τόσο λόγο της απροθυμίας κάποιων κρατών μελών όσο και λόγω των αντικειμενικών οικονομικών αδυναμιών που προκαλεί η κρίση.

Επιτρέψτε μου να σταθώ σε ένα συγκεκριμένο σημείο: στον ενδιάμεσο στόχο 8 που αναφέρεται στη βοήθεια των αναπτυγμένων χωρών προς τις αναπτυσσόμενες, σημείο στο οποίο αναφέρθηκαν ήδη αρκετοί συνάδελφοι. Αν και ενδιάμεσος στόχος ήταν να αυξηθεί η βοήθεια προς τις αναπτυσσόμενες χώρες στο 0,56% του παγκόσμιου ΑΕΠ, σήμερα σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο βρισκόμαστε μόνο στο 0,3%, δηλαδή στο μισό του προβλεπόμενου στόχου, και σε ευρωπαϊκό επίπεδο μόνο στο 0,4%. Και βεβαίως σε αυτό προστίθεται και το ηθικό δίλημμα κατά πόσον οι πόροι που διαθέτουμε αφιερώνονται εκεί που πρέπει, σε εκείνους που έχουν πραγματικά ανάγκη και δεν αναλώνονται άδικα μέσα από διεφθαρμένες πρακτικές και κυβερνήσεις.

Καταλήγω λοιπόν τονίζοντας, κυρία Πρόεδρε, ότι χρειαζόμαστε αναπτυξιακή λογική, οικονομική προσέγγιση στα δεδομένα αυτά και όχι απλώς κάποιες φορές να καλύπτουμε τις τύψεις των αναπτυγμένων χωρών προς τις αναπτυσσόμενες.

  Franz Obermayr (NI). - Frau Präsidentin! Die Millenniumsziele sind zweifelsohne wichtig, um den Ärmsten unter den Armen ein Leben in Würde im eigenen Land zu gewährleisten. Wer in seiner Heimat eine ordentliche Lebensgrundlage hat, muss sich nicht in die Hände von Schleppern begeben. Besonders herausstreichen möchte ich auch den Kampf gegen schwere Krankheiten, gerade bei Kindern und Müttern. Hier sollten wir aber auch die Pharmaindustrie in die Pflicht nehmen und dafür sorgen, dass eine zunehmende Versorgung mit Generika sichergestellt werden kann.

Andererseits: Wer Entwicklungshilfe leistet, sollte auch eine Kooperation erwarten. Hier erwarte ich eine Kooperation der Empfänger hinsichtlich der Rückführung illegaler Migranten in die entsprechenden Herkunftsländer. Schließlich muss auch ganz besonders auf nachhaltigen und nachvollziehbaren Einsatz der Mittel geachtet werden. Sauer erwirtschaftetes Steuergeld darf nicht in dunklen Kanälen versickern.

Eines ist ganz klar: Die Leistungsfähigkeit unserer Mitgliedstaaten ist sehr angespannt, und je schneller wir uns erholen, die EU sich erholt, desto eher haben wir die Möglichkeit, langfristig nachhaltige Hilfe zu leisten.

  Karin Kadenbach (S&D). - Frau Präsidentin! Mein Dank gilt vor allem dem Kollegen Cashman. Entwicklungshilfe und Armutsbekämpfung dürfen keine Almosenpolitik – etwa nach dem Prinzip von Zuckerbrot und Peitsche – sein. Ganz im Gegenteil: Wir brauchen verlässliche, planbare, nachhaltige Rahmenbedingungen, die die Möglichkeiten eröffnen, dass Menschen unter menschenwürdigen Bedingungen leben und arbeiten und damit ein existenzsicherndes Einkommen erwirtschaften können. Wir dürfen nicht nur anonyme Zahlen vor Augen haben, sondern wir müssen die betroffenen Menschen und ihre Schicksale sehen. Wir dürfen unsere Energien nicht darauf verwenden, Entschuldigungen und Ausreden zu finden, warum wir unseren Verpflichtungen nicht nachkommen können oder gar wollen, sondern wir sollten unsere Energien darauf verwenden, Vorschläge zur Finanzierung der Entwicklungshilfe, wie sie hier gemacht wurden – etwa die Finanztransaktionssteuer – ernsthaft zu diskutieren.

PRESIDENZA DELL'ON. ROBERTA ANGELILLI
Vicepresidente

  Andris Piebalgs, Member of the Commission. − Madam President, it was a fascinating debate. I would just take a couple of points that I think require some clarification.

The Millennium Development Goals should and can be achieved, and I say this with full responsibility. It is not only my view; it is also the United Nations’ view. It is the view of the developed and the developing world and we need to make an effort.

It is also important that this House calls very strongly for commitment of 0.7% of GNI. I know that it is part of sovereignty that every country decides on its budget, but, if Parliament will not call for it, who else will do it with such a strong voice? It is true that we need to be accountable, but Parliament has a lot of power in this issue. You should not underestimate your strength on this issue, and I believe that it is very important that it should be done.

I believe that it is important also to strengthen our relations with sub-Saharan Africa. I know that there have been a lot of disappointments, but being new in this job and really looking for all the complex of issues with the colonial past, Cold War years, and development, I believe sub-Saharan Africa deserves particular care and particular attention.

The trade issue is important to address and it should be fair trade, but we know that until now these unilateral trade preferences have not helped the countries evolve. They have not been substantial in regional trade either, and our approach now is really to create fair trade conditions, investment for trade and in particular looking for regional trade. I believe that is the right approach and we need to strengthen it. I will work together with my Trade Commissioner. He was, for a short while, also Development Commissioner and he takes these things very close to his heart.

Tax evasion and illicit flows are an important issue but I believe that part of the responsibility lies with the G20 and us to make a very strong global system so that tax evasion and illicit flows are impossible. We also pay particular attention in our projects to support a property register, because, definitely, growth is not possible without a strong property register and legal systems that support it.

On rural and food security issues, it is true that it is a focus of our policy, but part of the money for food security comes through our budget support and that way statistics do not always correctly reflect them. We need to think how to better reflect them, but a clear commitment is demonstrated by our food facility and the money put towards its construction.

I would finish with a call which Michael Cashman made: that this report really deserves cross-party support. I know that some issues are divisive but they should not divide Parliament in strong support for this report. We need this support because society needs it and if Parliament will give overwhelming support for the report, it will be easier for the Communities that care for development cooperation policy really to push forward this agenda and be more successful.

  Michael Cashman, rapporteur. − Madam President, Commissioner, I would like to thank you for your closing words. I absolutely agree with you.

It has been an interesting debate. I want to thank the shadow rapporteurs, who I have really enjoyed working with – Mr Svensson, Mr Donskis, Mrs Sargentini, Mrs Zimmer and all of the others. My memory sadly escapes me – it is something to do with age. Let me say about age – I do not want to live more years and witness more suffering, more hunger, more poverty, and increasing mortality rates amongst women giving birth and amongst children under five. I want us to see these MDGs achieved.

I would say to those who have spoken with some reservation about elements of this report: let us not turn around to our citizens and say that we failed to agree and we failed to vote in favour of that report because it had elements within it that I could not vote for. What kind of signal does it send to people living in poverty and deprivation – without water, without access to health care, without access to education, without access to an equal life – that somehow in a debate in Brussels there were elements within a report that prevented us from doing the right thing for the majority of this planet?

I urge all the colleagues here today to please vote in favour of this report tomorrow – not for me, because Michael Cashman will go back to a home with running water, with health care, will be loved and hopefully be nursed into amnesia and old age. But think of that child or that woman dying in childbirth, think of that child dying through malaria or diarrhoea or TB or AIDS or HIV, and of the young woman denied access to education so that she cannot empower herself for the rest of her life. Think not of us here but think of those outside.

  Presidente. − La discussione è chiusa.

La votazione si svolgerà martedì 15 giugno 2010.

Dichiarazioni scritte (articolo 149)

  Elisabeth Köstinger (PPE), schriftlich. – Vor dem Hintergrund der weltweiten demografischen Entwicklungen, des rasanten Bevölkerungswachstums und der fortschreitenden Ressourcenknappheit gehören greifende Maßnahmen der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit zum Gebot der Stunde. Bei der Erreichung der Millenniumsziele müssen die Beseitigung von Armut und Hunger, der Zugang zu Ausbildung und die Verbesserung der Gesundheit, unter anderem durch die Bekämpfung von Krankheiten, höchste Priorität haben. Die Europäische Gemeinschaft ist in ihrem Vorgehen in der Handelspolitik und der internationalen Zusammenarbeit dringend gefordert, einen konkreten Beitrag in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit zu leisten. Das oberste Ziel muss die Förderung der Eigenständigkeit, Unabhängigkeit und Selbstinitiative der betroffenen Länder sein. Es muss weiters sichergestellt werden, dass finanzielle Maßnahmen in diesem Bereich greifen und ihr klar definiertes Ziel erreichen. Ein Schlüsselmodell für eine nachhaltige Kreislaufwirtschaft nach fairen Spielregeln liegt meiner Meinung nach in der ökosozialen Marktwirtschaft, deren Kernbereich eine klein strukturierte, multifunktionale Landwirtschaft darstellt. Die Bestrebung der Millenniumsziele sollte daher die Förderung eines bäuerlichen Modells der Landwirtschaft sein, das unabhängig und krisenresistent ist, die bäuerliche Familie ins Zentrum stellt und kulturell gewachsenes und auf die regionalen Bedürfnisse abgestimmtes Know-how begünstigt. Diese nachhaltige Form der Landwirtschaft ist in der Lage, eine regionale Eigenständigkeit zu entwickeln, die Versorgung mit Lebensmitteln sicherzustellen und sowohl ökologische, als auch soziale Aspekte abzudecken.