Declaration of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, PES President and Carin Jämtin, Coordinator of the PES Development Ministers Network, 21 November 2005
“The new EU Development Policy Statement: The PES wants an Action plan and clear commitments, not just good intentions and empty promises”
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, PES President, and Carin Jämtin, Coordinator of the PES Development Ministers Network and International Cooperation Minister from Sweden, welcomed the European Commission initiative to adopt a new EU Development policy. The new development policy statement (DPS) was launched by the European Commission in July 2005 and aims to provide a Europe-wide consensus on Development policy and to set Development as a key element of the EU's external action along with the common foreign and security policy and trade policy.
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, PES President, said: “The PES wants a concrete action plan and clear commitments to implement the new EU Development policy; not just good intentions and empty promises”.
Europe must exercise greater influence on development issues in key international forums such as the UN, the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO, in support of reform for greater participation of developing countries and more transparency. The DPS must be the tool enabling a more coherent and effective EU development policy.
For the PES, the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 is one of the biggest challenges facing the United Nations and the international community. The current pace must be forced otherwise the MDG’s will not be achieved in 2015. The PES wants to see real progress in terms of new mechanisms to finance development and to achieve the MDG’s, which are not reflected enough in the DPS.
Minister Carin Jämtin, Coordinator of the PES Development Ministers Network, claimed: “It is very positive that the principles of Decent work, with social protection and equality between women and men are included in the DPS. Yet the DPS is not clear on how the EU will promote “Decent work” and ILO Core Labour Standards in its policy and in all international institutions”.
For PES leaders, the gender dimension in the DPS is too weak and must be strengthened with a specific strategy on gender equality.
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, PES President, and Carin Jamtin, Coordinator of the PES Development Ministers Network stated that “Europe has a responsibility and the opportunity to make a major contribution to global justice and solidarity, the DPS will be judged on its capacity to eradicate poverty”.
