Discours du ministre Martin Říman devant la Commission Commerce international (INTA) du Parlement européen
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Dear Members of Parliament,
Today, I have the great honour to present to you the priorities of the Czech Republic, which, three weeks ago, assumed the role of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The Czech Republic is assuming this role for the very first time and is fully aware of the significance of such a step. What is more, we are taking over the Presidency in circumstances, which constitute a crucial test of the viability of the entire European project. I am referring here to the current global financial and economic crisis, which erupted in full force late last year, and which the world is currently grappling with.
As one of the Member States of the European Union we highly appreciate that the preceding French Presidency was able to react with such flexibility to the unfolding crisis. The Czech Republic intends to give maximum attention to the crisis and will be very active in seeking a constructive way to resolve it. Indeed, that is why we have chosen to focus on trade policy and the economic crisis as the theme for the Trade Ministers’ dinner, which is taking place this Sunday. Our aim is to provide for a Ministerial level discussion of the further steps the Union should take in response to the crisis and to set the agenda for action to be taken at a working level. In our view the preparations for the G20 summit in Great Britain will be key, as will be the need to look at how to help European exporters, especially SMEs, the importance of broader issues of access to capital, and also joint action against the rising wave of protectionism in international trade.
Even before the front pages of the newspapers became dominated by the financial crisis, the Czech Presidency chose as its motto “Europe without Barriers.” This motto should be understood on a number of different levels: on the level of politics, of institutions and of trade.
From the viewpoint of the Czech Republic it will be important, especially in times of crisis, that we continue to build on one of the biggest economic successes of European integration. That is to concentrate on free trade that is based on the four fundamental values – free movement of people, capital, goods and services. These are the key principles upon which the future economic strength of a Europe of half a billion people rests. The more freedom and the fewer barriers there are between the countries of Europe, the more competitive the European economy will be globally.
II.
The programme of the Czech Presidency is based on the principle of maintaining continuity of European policies. We have sought to link our Presidency with that of France and the plans of the Swedish Presidency to come via our 18-month Council Programme. This Programme was also drawn up in agreement with the European Commission. The Czech Republic summarized its main Presidency priorities by a short slogan of the “3Es” – Economy, Energy and the European Union in the world. Behind this slogan lies our vision of Europe as an important global player, of a strong and competitive Europe, of Europe prepared to stand up to the challenges which are, at the present time, the most pressing – not least to ensure energy security, which is one of the key pre-requisites for stable economic growth within the Union.
The Czech Republic has taken over the Presidency of the Council of the EU under very unusual circumstances, namely an emerging economic recession. From the point of view of trade policy and of businesses, which create economic value for Europe, it is urgent to push forward today with first and foremost open and liberal policies, which are built on compliance with the clear regulation of world trade. The Czech Presidency will advocate this approach, along with the European Commission, especially within the World Trade Organization, the OECD activities, and in the context of relations of the European Union with individual partner countries and regional clusters.
The revised Lisbon Strategy includes a thesis that in order to achieve economic growth of the EU and to create new employment opportunities, the international trade policies will need to contribute more. The question of “How?” has been fittingly answered in the “Global Europe” strategy, a strategy that was positively espoused by the European Parliament. In our view, these two documents continue to be valid. The chief steps that businesses across Europe now expect from us are greater speed in implementing these strategies, and better communication with those businesses that are currently facing economic difficulties.
The success of the Czech Presidency will not be possible without cooperation with the European Parliament. It is especially in these times of economic crisis that we are very conscious of the necessity for effective cooperation between the Council of the EU and the two other key bodies of the Union – the European Commission and the European Parliament; the cooperation that will be very evident during our Presidency.
III.
Please allow me now to briefly present to this Committee the priorities, which the Czech Presidency has set in terms of international trade.
The financial and economic crisis will have without doubt a negative impact on the growth of the European economy this year. The world economy is dangerously unsteady, and a downturn in demand and difficult access to financing are both factors, which will negatively influence the European economy. I believe that we know how to confront these negative developments within the framework of trade policies. In the first place we need to reinforce the liberalization of world trade, lower all the barriers that European businesses face, and enforce compliance with the transparent multilateral trading system. Any deviance from these principles and their replacement with protectionism might seem to some in the short-term as a solution. However, in reality it would only lead to a deepening of the crisis and an unnecessary prolongation of the economic recession. We should not forget our experiences with the crisis of the 1930s nor of the crises, which came later. The politicians before us made some fundamental mistakes. We must not repeat these mistakes again.
The Czech Republic will seek, during its Presidency, to make clear progress in the Doha Development Agenda within the World Trade Organization . It is especially at this time that it will be important to achieve an ambitious, balanced and comprehensive result in the DDA negotiations. Notwithstanding the political declaration made by the highest representatives of the G20 countries in November 2008, there has unfortunately not been the sort of progress that would have allowed for Ministers’ summit at the end of last year in Geneva. The Presidency, along with the European Commission, is dismayed at this lack of progress. Nevertheless, we are convinced that a successful resolution is possible. The route to such success demands that we maintain our active role during the preparation of key negotiations. To this end we must liaise not only with the new US administration but also with the upcoming government in India, and of course also with the Secretary General of the World Trade Organization on steps to be taken in the future.
Modalities in agriculture , together with access to industrial products markets are the key issues of the current round. If progress is achieved in the technical rounds of negotiations, a Ministers’ summit in Geneva could become a reality during the Czech Presidency. We are prepared for this role.
Within the framework of the WTO, we as the Presidency will also seek to make progress in negotiations on services, rules, and issues of protection and better enforcement of intellectual property rights , including geographical indications . We will also strive for progress within the area of trade and environment, specifically relating to trade and development and trade facilitation.
The successful conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda is important not only for us but also for developing countries. Their increased involvement in international trade will contribute to their economic growth, improve the credibility of multilateral trade systems and bring about greater political stability in several of these developing countries.
IV.
The overwhelming majority of developed economies, and a large number of smaller and developing countries are members of the WTO. Yet the economic map of the world continues to encompass countries, which are among our most important trading partners but which are not members of this organization. Given their obvious close connection to the EU, I should like to specifically mention two of these countries - the Russian Federation and Montenegro.
It is important for Europe to bring the Russian Federation into the WTO and to have Russia accept the rules of a multilateral trading system. Clearly the issues that have so far blocked Russian accession to the WTO still persist. But I believe that both Europe and Russia are aware of the opportunity now to increase their efforts in these accession negotiations. For these negotiations to proceed, it is essential that all the prerequisites to WTO entry are duly honoured.
Montenegro should be mentioned as an example of the kind of responsible and conducive approach, which is beneficial both for them as a potential WTO member as well as for the EU. Through the membership of Montenegro, which should be achieved in only a matter of months now, we will acquire another economically allied country in the Balkans. A country that is located in close proximity to the EU and which pursues a clear agenda to further align itself with the European Union.
The Czech Presidency considers the search for new trade opportunities and the removal of barriers to third country markets as another important measure in multilateral negotiations toward trade liberalization. We will therefore support negotiations on bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements . That being said, if we are to achieve effective Free Trade Agreements, we will need to reconsider our negotiations, similar, for example, to the Association Agreement with Andean Community. We do not favour endless negotiations, for instance those with the Persian Gulf countries, in which we have been participating without significant results for some time now.
We will also pay particular attention to discussions on the future direction of common trade policy with developed countries. We consider the Transatlantic dialogue with the USA to be the key factor here. We will seek to bring about the closest possible cooperation between the Commission and the Member States within the framework of Transatlantic Economic Council negotiations. I believe it is necessary to make our specific interests clear in these negotiations and to set up a schedule of binding measures, including indicators in order to evaluate their effectiveness. In respect to relations with Canada, the Czech Republic will advocate reaching a commitment to commence negotiations on a new economic agreement, with the aim of making an announcement to this effect at the EU – Canada Summit during our Presidency. This would be fully in line with the new generation of Free Trade Agreements, i.e. it would concentrate particularly on non-tariff barriers to trade. This agreement would be valid for all of Canada’s provinces, and as such would be of great benefit to EU businesses.
The Czech Presidency will also support efforts to conclude a Free Trade Agreement with South Korea. We wish every success to these ongoing negotiations, which are being conducted by the Commission and believe that they could be concluded at the EU – South Korea Summit, which is to take place during the Czech Presidency.
This year will also see further negotiations on free trade with India. The broad list of exceptions, which are sought by India, mean these negotiations are unlikely to be easy. Nevertheless, this is an especially attractive market for European businesses. India’s clearly declared interest in reaching an agreement brings fresh promise to negotiations.
Another round of negotiations, which are to take place during the Czech Presidency are on the Association Agreement with the countries of Central America. The Czech Republic will strive to use the time of its Presidency to ensure there is significant progress in talks with a view to timely conclusion of these Agreements. The same applies to negotiations with the countries belonging to the Andean Community , where we will continue according to the revised mandate, which should be approved by the Council next week.
As far as the ASEAN is concerned, the objective of the Czech Presidency is the adoption of a decision on a future negotiation strategy.
The Czech Republic is interested in the successful conclusion of negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements with countries in Africa, in the Caribbean and in the Pacific Rim . We intend to contribute to achieving this objective during our Presidency. Specifically we support further liberalization of trading regimes and we will seek to emphasize dimensions relating to the development and integration of these countries.
With respect to developing relations with our closest neighbours, we will support further progress in negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the Ukraine. A pre-condition to upcoming negotiations will, however, be the strengthening of the Ukraine’s credibility in the eyes of its European partners. We hope that the “Eastern Partnership” initiative that is being prepared will bring about new trading opportunities not only with the Ukraine but also with the remaining five countries in this region. We are interested in developing the dialogue between the EU and Russia about deeper liberalization of the trade conditions with the perspective of concluding a Free Trade Agreement. In our opinion, this may be achieved at a time when Russia complies with the conditions for joining the WTO and becomes a member of this organization. The important issue in our relations with Russia, as well as with the Ukraine, is their compliance with the agreements on energy supplies into the EU.
The Czech Presidency is prepared to support the ambitions of the European Commission to achieve progress in the negotiations on the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation with China. An integral part of these negotiations is updating the agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation from 1985. From the trade angle the important moment will be the High Level Mechanism, which is to take place during the presidency. Among the key offensive interests of European businesses belongs the removal of non-tariff barriers and increased protection of intellectual property rights.
V.
Besides the attention to the DDA and to key bilateral relations, which I have mentioned, the Czech Presidency will also concentrate on the other important trade policy instruments. Along with the European Commission we must achieve significant progress in the implementation of the revised Market Access Strategy. We need to improve cooperation between the various bodies of the Commission, the economic diplomacy of the Member States and the representatives of the business sphere, while identifying, monitoring and effectively removing those barriers that exist in the economic relations. We believe that the mapping of these barriers and their removal is the joint task of all the European countries and the European Commission. We must take unified action in the countries where there are unjustified barriers imposed on EU businesses. A common stand presented by Ministers, Prime Ministers and Presidents on behalf of half a billion Europeans will always be stronger than the voice of one European country alone.
We consider the issue of intellectual property rights as a very significant one in this context. The Czech Presidency will advocate an increased protection and enforcement of these rights. The Presidency perceives the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement as the most important agenda in this regard. Also for this reason, the Presidency will seek a significant progress towards the conclusion of these negotiations.
VI.
Before I conclude, let me express some thoughts about the symbolism of the Czech Presidency. This year, we will celebrate, along with other countries of the European Union, the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the “Iron Curtain.” This event fundamentally changed Europe as well as the entire world. One of our ideals of that time was our return back on the map of the free world; an open world free of unnecessary barriers. Free trade and the opportunity for a fair competition between market economies in accordance with mutually respected rules remains one of the key values, which shape our visions.
One of the consequences of the events that took place twenty years ago was the accession of the Czech Republic, along with other nine countries to the European Union. Currently, we are assuming the role of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This opportunity and the responsibility arising from it give us the strength to successfully complete all the important agendas and tasks I described today.
VII.
Let me assure you that I am very conscious of the fact that in order to achieve these common and high ambitions, we will need to closely cooperate with the European Parliament and with your Committee.
I look forward to this cooperation. Today, I am also here in order to learn directly from you your views of the priorities that you support and to commence the process of close cooperation with you.
I look forward to all your thoughts, suggestions and observations.
Thank you for your attention.
Dernière mise à jour : 16.8.2011 15:51
