The Commission proposes concrete action for sustainable development and a fairer world

Brussels, 13 February 2002

How should we be tackling the problem of poverty? What is the best way of managing our natural resources and the environment? How should we finance development? With an eye to the forthcoming major international events at which these and other questions will be discussed the Monterrey Conference on development financing (March 2002), the World Summit for sustainable development (in September 2002), and the practical application of the Doha development agenda of November 2001, the European Commission is proposing a first set of responses, making a forceful case for multilateralism as the only effective way of addressing these global challenges. The three communications which the Commission today adopted, at the initiative of President Romano Prodi, the Member of the Commission responsible for economic and monetary affairs, Pedro Solbes and the Member responsible for development and humanitarian aid, Poul Nielson, will be widely discussed within civil society and by the public at large.

Presenting the three documents, which deal with different aspects of the Globalisation challenge, President Prodi indicated the way the European Commission wanted to see things move: "Our world is becoming increasingly interdependent, its problems increasingly complex, and the need for better global governance increasingly obvious. The challenges are global: extreme poverty, environmental degradation, the spread of contagious diseases, international crime and terrorism. To be effective, our response must be multilateral. Our efforts have to be concerted and shared. The European Union has consistently demonstrated its capacity to deal collectively with problems of common interest, in a way which is effective, democratic and mindful of identities. It is therefore well placed to make proposals on how to address such globalisation issues.

The question of aid is more pressing than ever. Globalisation is changing the world, often for the bette. At the same time, though, inequalities between countries and within countries are extremely marked, and in many cases are tending to worsen. Out of a world population of some 6 billion, 2.8 billion people are living on less than €2 a day. This is quite simply intolerable. We must tackle poverty and make sure that globalisation works in the interests of the poor and not against them."

A partnership for coping with globalisation

The Commission is aware of the responsibility that rests on its shoulders. The people of Europe have more confidence in the European Union's ability to cope with globalisation than they have in other bodies. Eurobarometer survey No 55 (of October 2001) shows clearly that 36% of the people questioned trusted the EU more than they did their own governments (25%) to deal with the effects of globalisation.

Globalisation makes it possible to pursue the objective of economic growth, productivity gains and improved living standards across the planet. Many of the developing economies have already benefited. The fact remains, though, that market forces alone cannot bring about a sustainable balance between economic growth and social and environmental objectives.

The widening gap between rich and poor, the problem of endemic poverty in some parts of the world, the sometimes irreparable damage being done to the environment, the vulnerability of some economies to the instability of financial markets call for concerted solutions at a global level and for efforts to be made by all: the industrialised countries, the developing countries, multinational companies, international institutions and civil society.

The action the Commission is proposing for sustainable development

When it presented its Strategy for Sustainable Development in the spring of 2001, the European Commission undertook to back it up with a communication on the external dimension of sustainable development. It has today honoured that commitment. By presenting essential elements for the next World Summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg, the Commission has pinpointed a number of lines of action, with a view to:

• Implementing the Doha development agenda: making a success of the "Doha Development Round" means not only conducting constructive negotiations to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade in goods and services, including in agriculture, but also bringing the developing countries more into the world growth scene and setting out collective rules in areas linked to trade, such as consumer protection, the environment, public health, investment, competition, and minimum labour standards. The "Doha Development Round" is also expected to instigate active cooperation between the Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Labour Organisation.

• Tackling poverty: the Commission has reiterated the enormous importance of meeting the "Millennium Summit" objectives, including the commitment to reduce extreme poverty by half by 2015. This will mean concentrating cooperation resources on the least advanced countries and the poorest population groups, and adopting integrated strategies on education, health, nutrition, drinking water and sanitary installations.

• The sustainable management of natural resources and the environment: the Commission is proposing that the trend towards degradation of the environment be reversed by 2015. It has reiterated the importance of all parties ratifying and implementing the multilateral agreements on the environment, including the Kyoto protocol. It proposes a plan of action made up of 12 measures for the improved management of water supplies, safety at sea, the protection of forests, the promotion of renewable energy sources etc.

• Development financing: with a view to the Monterrey Conference, the Commission is calling on the EU's Member States to show they can make progress towards the objective of committing 0.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to public development aid. As an interim objective, it is proposing that the Member States which are currently below the Community average of 0.33% undertake to work their way up to the average by 2006, which will thereby bring the overall average for the EU up to 0.39%. Currently, only four Member States (the Netherlands, Denmark, Luxembourg and Sweden) are providing more than the targeted 0.7%. The Commission is also suggesting making progress on cutting the heavily indebted poor countries' debts and exploring new forms of debt conversion. It advocates making progress on untying Member States' public aid, and is also advocating a participatory process to address problems of access to "global public goods", which is taken to mean global environment protection, protection against contagious diseases, and ways of financing such measures. The Commission also believes that it is essential to pursue discussion on innovative forms of finance, bearing in mind the problems which would arise with the introduction and management of a global taxation system. In addition, action is needed to make development financing more effective. See MEMO/02/25

• Improving the way the concept of sustainable development is incorporated into EU policies: to be truly sustainable, development has to find the right balance between economic, social and environmental objectives, with a view to securing well-being today without jeopardising the well-being of future generations. Making public action coherent means conducting regular reviews of internal policies which have a significant impact outside, such as energy, agriculture, fishing and immigration, the idea being that they should be consistent with the global objectives. The Commission is initially presenting a method for improved cooperation between the EU institutions, and better coordination between them. It is also announcing concrete applications of the principle of sustainable development, e.g. in conjunction with the planned review of the CAP and of the fisheries policy.

• Improving global governance: support is needed for cooperation between the various international organisations, particularly under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). In addition, the Commission is proposing that the Johannesburg World Summit be seen an opportunity to make real progress on environment policy, more particularly by strengthening the UNEP and promoting implementation of the International Agreements on the environment.

• Improving the international institutional framework: the international monetary and financial system has worked well over the past half-century. Nonetheless, the system remains vulnerable to monetary and financial crises and to abuses like money laundering, the financing of illegal activities and tax fraud. The Commission is looking into proposals and reform measures for crisis prevention and management, moves to restrict the abuse of the international financial system, matters to do with regional and global cooperation, and a reform of the institutional framework.