mr president there is an air of unreality about much of this debate
all these reports concerning the promotion of democratic and human rights worldwide and financing instruments for development cooperation must be seen in the context of the chilling statement made yesterday in this very chamber by the united nations secretary-general
he said that sixty-five million more human beings will be plunged into extreme poverty in our world this year alone
that is the harsh reality that flies in the face of fine words by government and the commission
outside the doors of this chamber huge banners with eu logos proclaim halt poverty
at the same time the eu commission and indeed the major groups in this parliament are pushing neoliberal economic policies that slash budgets and public services savaging the living standards of ordinary people while transferring massive resources in bailouts to banks and speculators
on financing development cooperation the commission congratulates itself on the new tariff reductions for bananas agreed with latin america banana producers but in reality this new arrangement is for the benefit of powerful transnational corporations
the huge banana exporters like chiquita and del monte will gain hugely but african caribbean and pacific countries and small producers will be devastated
of course the subsidy to small banana growers who face ruin because of the new agreement must not come from established social funds but from elsewhere in the eu budget
trade should be for the benefit of small producers and working people the majority not major transnational corporations
