Secretary-General,Deputy Secretary-GeneralMr. Chairman, Distinguished delegates,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* , the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.
First I would like to congratulate you upon your election as Chairman for this session.
Mr. Chairman,
The EU and its member states maintain close ties with both individual members of the group of Least Developed Countries and with the group as a whole. The EU hosted the Third UN Conference on LDCs in Brussels in 2001, and we retain a particular sense of attachment and interest in its outcome.
The EU would thus like to express its appreciation for the Least Developed Countries Report 2009, for the Report on the UNCTAD-wide activities in implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries, and for the Note on UNCTAD’s contribution to the preparatory process of and to the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, 2011. We recognise the difficulties posed by data limitations and inadequate statistics, and express our gratitude for the people who -in spite of such obstacles- have managed to contribute to these Reports. The EU takes careful note of the analytical insights, conclusions and policy advice, which shed valuable light on some of the pieces needed in the larger development puzzle.
To begin with, we would like to express our appreciation for the significant improvement which has marked the recent socio-economic performance of the LDC-group over the last period. Having reached a growth rate of nearly 8 per cent means that the LDCs as a group have surpassed the 7 per cent target put down in the Brussels Programme of Action.
Export growth has been a driving force of this recent development, and international trade now accounts for about half of the LDCs’ GDP. As expected, there are regional, country and sector variations to be considered in this picture, but the overall message is clear. It confirms that international trade is a strong catalyst for economic growth and poverty reduction. The EU’s “Everything But Arms” scheme has provided duty-free and quota-free market access to all LDC exports since 2001. As of 1 October 2009, also the remaining quantitative restrictions for sugar and rice will lapse, meaning that the EU will be offering full DFQF on all products except arms and ammunitions. We also support efforts to conclude the Doha round, which would further widen the trade opportunities for LDCs, and we continue to urge other developed countries, and more advanced developing countries in a position to do so, to grant duty-free and quota-free market access to all LDC exports.
In celebrating the recent positive development, we should however not forget areas of weakness and of insufficient or uneven progress which still require our continued attention and reiterated support.
The EU fully recognises that LDCs are being severely affected by the global economic and financial crisis, and that recent economic and social progress risk being reversed. For the EU, focusing on the poorest and most vulnerable, while ensuring social development and environmental protection, is of outmost importance. The EU therefore a warm advocate of a Fourth UN Conference on the LDCs, as an occasion to share experiences and best practice, to learn from the past and to plan for the future.
The EU would like to reaffirm its overall commitment to provide 0,7 per cent of GNI in ODA by 2015. The EU is willing, in the context of the above-mentioned overall ODA commitments, to meet collectively the target to provide 0,15 % to 0,20 % of GNP to LDCs, while fully respecting differentiated commitments as set out in the Brussels Programme of Action. Aid for Trade is a stable priority for the EU, and the volume set aside for it in 2007 amounted to 7,17 billion Euros. We urge others to honour their commitments, and we encourage the UNCTAD Secretariat to continue their efforts to diversify the sources of contributions to the LDC Trust Fund.
Mr Chairman,
The LDC Report 2009 has a strong focus on the role of the State and of LDC governments. This role was also emphasised in Brussels in 2001, when the Conference recognised the LDCs’ responsibility for strengthening their own development prospects. For the EU, the role of the state is evident. National governments have the greatest opportunity to create an enabling environment for growth and development. It’s national governments who are responsible for ensuring human rights and citizens’ participation, for solving conflicts by peaceful means, and for addressing the weakness of domestic financial institutions. The role of the private sector, markets and entrepreneurship, should however not be forgotten, as these are vital for driving production, creating jobs and sustaining economic growth. It is therefore essential that governments, when establishing their development strategies, do not fall in the trap of interventionism, import substitution or other policies that have proven to be vary damaging in the past. (Treating the wrong medicine can do more harm than good). Efforts towards a gradual integration in world markets remain essential for growth and development. This will require LDCs to diversify their economies, not just in terms of exports but also choice of trading partners. Hence the importance of fostering south-south trade and regional integration, to reduce dependence on final demand from the North. But it also means investments in health, education and technical training to increase the general level of labour productivity.
All actors, whether international, state or market based, should work together to propel economic growth and to make sure that this growth translates into poverty reduction. In doing this, all actors should adhere to principles of good governance, such as participation, fairness, decency, accountability, transparency and efficiency. The EU will furthermore continue to underline the importance of stable property rights, rule of law and contract enforcement, and of minimizing rent-seeking and corruption.
While recognising that there are no “one size fits all” solutions to the challenges faced by LDCs, the EU would still like to endorse the recent focus on the agricultural sector. It’s worrying that the productivity in this sector has decreased over the last 50 years, as around ¾ of the population in LDCs live from agriculture. For a large number of developing countries, the outlook depends primarily on future trends in the prices of their primary commodity exports. In this respect, we welcome that G20 Finance Ministers in London the weekend before last undertook to improve the functioning and transparency of physical and financial commodity markets.
Rural development should be strengthened, with particular attention being paid to small scale farmers and the role of women. Unfortunately, the lack of functioning markets has driven most of the population into subsistence farming. Productivity will be the key word when assessing the prospect for agriculture in Africa. With regards to the global community, this means shifting attention from short-term food aid and disaster relief, towards strategies that will encourage domestic production. The EU hopes to contribute to this shift through the recently launched 1 billion euro Food Facility framework, which will address the period in-between emergency aid and medium-to-long term development cooperation.
Finally, the EU endorses the emphasis on country-ownership. We encourage UNCTAD to continue the efforts to help LDCs and other developing countries to formulate national development strategies, and include the role of trade in these plans. We welcome the proposal for each LDC to undertake a comprehensive assessment and list priorities and next steps, ahead of the 2011-conference. This would not only build domestic policymaking capacities and ensure country ownership, but also allow for the special needs and capacities of each country to be identified and considered. In this respect we encourage all actors to work together closely with the Integrated Framework so as to avoid duplication and stimulate knowledge-sharing.
Thank you for your attention.
______________*Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.