Trade support an EU 'success' story
www.eupolitix.com - EU trade support for developing countries has brought tangible benefits to the lives of some of the world’s poorest people, according to a Brussels report unveiled on Tuesday.
The report, ‘Making Trade Work for Development’ illustrates how EU assistance is helping developing countries with the practicalities of benefiting from trade
Between 2001 and 2004 the European Commission spent €2.8 billion supporting developing countries’ efforts to benefit from trading opportunities, revealed trade and development chiefs.
“Trade can make a vital contribution to economic growth and poverty reduction in the developing world. To reflect this fact, we have made trade-related assistance a priority for the EU’s development spend in recent years,â€? said Pascal Lamy, EU trade commissioner.
“During these last five years this commission has made itself a strong advocate for "making trade work for development," said Brussels development chief, Poul Nielson.
Achievements featured in the report include results showing that trade between Kenya and the EU increased threefold in the two years it has been participating in the ACP-wide pesticides initiative programme.
Fair trade projects in India and Mexico have boosted micro-businesses, brought women into the labour markets and launched new brands, while a Bangladesh trade support programme is providing expertise in government departments, allowing the country to participate effectively in WTO and other trade negotiations.
Another success story is the recent launch of an on-line helpdesk, which provides a tool for developing countries’ exporters to access the EU market more easily.
"As it is shown by this selection of cases this is not simply an empty slogan used in Brussels, but very much the reality on the ground in a number of our partner countries,� said Nielson.
“I am pleased to report that these efforts have brought some excellent results on the ground, and these case studies show the very real effect this assistance is having on the lives of people in developing countries,â€? added Lamy.
The French trade commissioner brushed off questions on whether Brussels would appeal a recent WTO ruling on EU sugar subsidies saying that he was still in discussions with Brussels agriculture chief Franz Fischler and national governments.
Lamy also refused to comment on untimely remarks made by Peter Mandelson, his successor to the Brussels trade portfolio.
Mandelson called the EU’s common agricultural policy “financially unsustainableâ€? and in need of reform, and promised to make CAP reform a priority of his five year mandate.
A decision that is certain to face strong opposition, particularly from commissioner Lamy’s French countrymen.
Refusing to succumb to pressure from reporters, Lamy said that he would not discuss comments by his successor before the completion of the European Parliament’s hearings of the new commissioners on 8 October.
“We have to make their lives easy, at least for the moment,â€? he said.
