Mr Chairperson,
I have the honour of speaking 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 and Serbia, the EFTA country Iceland, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this statement.
Globalisation is a fact, it has a differentiated impact and it can benefit mankind in many ways. It concerns all kind of activities – especially the economic field. Through globalisation, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty. Information, ideas, inventions, goods and services, can move quickly from one country to another.
The globalisation that we are witnessing today is the result of the combination of profound political and economic changes with the profound revolution in science and technology.
As a result, 40% of the world’s population that was previously isolated has now entered the global system of production and consumption. Approx 1,5 billion people have entered the global workforce.
Yet, globalisation also has been accompanied by increasing inequalities. Globalisation also means that one country’s problem may come knocking on the doors of other nations. There is a clear link between globalisation and the need for multilateralism. The international community must ensure that the benefits of globalisation are shared by all of mankind. Tackling the current global economic financial-crisis is one of the most important challenges we face in modern times. The impact of the global crisis will affect the employment and economic status of women and men everywhere, and most acutely in the developing world, particularly in LDCs.
The Secretary-General’s report on the role of the UN in promoting development in the context of globalization and interdependence states that globalisation, provided it is equitable and sustainable, can be a positive force.
The main part of the report explores the implications of the present crises for poverty reduction and developing countries' possibilities of attaining the Millennium Development Goals. We welcome the analysis, especially when the timely achievement of these goals is at stake, especially for those MDGs lagging most behind, notably MDG5 on maternal health. Also, with an estimated increase of 105 million hungry people in 2009 there are now 1,02 billion malnourished people in the world, which makes the achievement of MDG 1 on the reduction by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger even more challenging. Let me make a few comments on this last point of the MDGs: the EU has adopted a number of instruments, which reaffirm our commitments for development cooperation, namely the EU Agenda for Action on the MDGs and Council Conclusions on Supporting Developing Countries in Coping with the Crisis. Furthermore, we note that a large part of the report addresses the challenges of climate change and the food crises – highly important issues which have already been analysed in other reports of the UN system this year.
The EU would welcome, in the report, a more thorough discussion on how countries are affected by globalisation, how all countries can share in the opportunities that globalisation brings and better support those countries who have been so far left on the sidelines of globalisation. In this regard, studying the role of the UN in promoting development would also benefit from a reflection on the opportunities for collective achievement of the global public goods. With regard to issues of global governance raised in the Secretary-General’s report, we note the absence of mentioning ongoing reform initiatives and the EU would hence like to reiterate our support for the ongoing reforms of the Bretton Woods Institutions to increase the voice, quota and representation of underrepresented countries, based on objective criteria that reflect changes in the world economy.
Fair, sustainable and greener economic growth is more critical than ever. Open markets and a strong multilateral trading system are keys to economic growth and development. Protectionism on a larger scale has so far been contained. However, as is pointed out in the Secretary-General’s report, some trade protectionist measures have been undertaken, which is cause for concern. The EU emphasizes that the best way to insure the global economy against protectionism is a comprehensive, ambitious and balanced conclusion of the Doha Round in 2010.
Two further issues are critical: firstly to maintain the fight to stamp out corruption, which is a major break on economic development. Secondly to tackle conflict and state fragility, which are a root cause of economic dislocation and poverty.
An important subject raised in the Secretary-General’s report, is the social aspect of globalisation and the idea that social protection schemes are increasingly viewed as an investment in human resources with the potential to promote growth and improve long-term poverty reduction. Indeed, there is growing awareness that investing in human resources is essential to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction.
In difficult times, there is a tendency to reduce investments in areas that are essential for human survival and development, such as the social sectors of health, education and social security, but also opportunities for employment, as well as decent work and other prerequisites and drivers of an economic inclusive growth.
Such measures hit poor people particularly hard, and women and girls are among those that are most at risk. In this regard, the EU welcomes the Secretary-General’s suggestions for a "social protection floor" consisting of essential services and social transfers, and will support and assist countries willing to build up a basic social protection floor. The EU is committed to strengthening the social dimension of globalisation, promoting employment and decent work for all. The EU welcomes the Global Jobs Pact (ILO 2009), which proposes concrete measures to mitigate the impact of the crisis. Also, the implementation of redistributive policies and reduction of inequalities is instrumental. The private sector can play a key role in generating broad-based pro-poor growth and in achieving sustainable development. Efforts of the private sector to accept and implement corporate social and environmental responsibility should be encouraged.
Furthermore, in order to provide basic services to populations and create conditions for economic development, the State more than ever needs tax resources and should engage in reforms to increase them. International tax cooperation is essential in this regard.
We would welcome more information on how the UN is working with other parts of the multilateral system to protect the poor and most vulnerable, e.g. initiatives such as the GIVAS (Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System) and other social protection schemes. We also welcome reform efforts such as the Delivering as One pilots, which seek to maximise the impact of the UN in developing countries by increasing coherence, efficiency and impact on the ground.
Counteracting the effects of the multiple crises - food, fuel and energy, financial and economic, social and environmental - necessitates urgent, more, better coordinated and more coherent actions and investments in key areas such as health, education, and agricultural and rural development. On this last and important subject, the EU fully supports the implementation of the Global Partnership for Agriculture and Food Security.
Women play a crucial role in the rural economies of developing countries, for food security and for the livelihood security of their families and communities. Despite this, women in rural areas are particularly vulnerable to poverty, especially in times of global crises such as the ones we are currently experiencing. They often lack rights of inheritance and formal land titles or reliable tenure to the very land they work. Even in better times, they are therefore extremely vulnerable to eviction. The crises lead to their decreased ability to overcome structural barriers such as those adherent to financial and labour markets. In this respect we welcome the agreement to create a single, powerful UN Agency for women and hope that the necessary arrangements can be concluded quickly to allow it to begin tackling these issues.
To conclude on globalisation, the EU would like to underline its support towards inclusive globalisation in its three dimensions: economic, social and environmental.
Mr. Chairperson,
I would now like to turn to the subject of middle-income countries.
The European Union welcomes the Secretary-General report on “Development cooperation with middle-income countries”, and the continued debate on development cooperation and specifically poverty eradication, good governance, reduction in social and economic inequality, trade diversification and building resilience to external shocks. We recognize that middle-income countries still face significant challenges in the area of poverty eradication and that their efforts to address those challenges should be supported by the United Nations system, the international financial institutions and other stakeholders. We also acknowledge that ODA is still essential for a number of these countries and has a role to play in targeted areas, taking into account the needs and domestic resources of these countries. The pro-poor development of middle-income countries, and particular to the situation of the lower MICs should not be forgotten. The EU takes note of previous discussions undertaken at interministerial middle-income countries conferences as they underscore the need for specific approaches for these countries, especially in terms of infrastructural support. We welcome the agreement for the World Bank to scale up lending to middle income countries for infrastructure projects threatened by future crises, through financial guarantees and temporary higher gearing.
The EU acknowledges the need to provide the most effective mix of support to partners based on country-specific circumstances and welcomes the Evian approach in this regard.
To conclude, the EU continues to support the endeavour of the middle-income countries, while underlining the importance of not deflecting attention and resources from the Least Developed Countries.
Thank you.