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Comité
de Suivi |
Press Release
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Comité
de Suivi |
Press Release
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10 th Anniversary Summit on the EuroMed partnership: Environmental NGOs welcome commitments on sustainable development and depollution
The commitment is contained in the final outcome documents adopted on 28 November in Barcelona by the 10 th Anniversary Summit of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, co-chaired by Prime Minister Tony Blair and President of the Spanish Government, Jose Luis Zapatero. Friends of the Earth Mednet coordinator Eugene Clancy said, "The Comite de Suivi has been lobbying for this result throughout 2005, by letters to the European Commission, the UK Presidency, Euro-Mediterranean foreign ministers and in a recent appeal to Euro-Mediterranean leaders. The wording in the 5-year work programme and the Chairman's concluding statement is far more constructive than either the EC draft work plan issued in April, or the conclusions of the 7 th Conference of Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Ministers in May." The MSSD was endorsed on 12 th November by the 14 th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, in Portoroz, Slovenia. The European Community, seven Member states and all Euro-Mediterranean Partner states except for Jordan are Contracting Parties. The CdS has also welcomed the Summit's commitment to work with the UN Environment Programme's Mediterranean Action Plan in developing a roadmap to launch the new 2020 Mediterranean depollution initiative endorsed by the Summit on the basis of a European Commission proposal . "EuroMed environmental NGOs will actively contribute to the 2020 initiative and will participate in the High Level Environment meeting on December19 in Barcelona to launch the depollution mapping process", Mr. Clancy stated. As regards trade liberalisation in the region and the renewed commitment to establish a Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area by 2010 the 5-year workplan adopted by the summit calls for talks to begin as soon as possible on progressive liberalisation of trade in agriculture and services. The Comité De Suivi fears that the free trade agenda is being pushed without due consideration of the adverse economic, social and environmental costs to the Mediterranean Partner countries which will accompany this liberalisation. Widespread adverse social impacts for Mediterranean partner countries (MPCs) with no significant economic welfare benefits are forecast in the most recent research results* undertaken on behalf of the European Commission into the economic, social and environmental impacts of the EuroMed Free Trade Area (EMFTA) under the Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) contracted out to Manchester University UK. The CdS had appealed EuroMed partners to freeze EuroMed trade liberalisation negotiations until the recommendations of the SIA were made available at the end of 2006. The Comite de Suivi shares the major disappointment for EuroMed civil society stakeholders with the lack of clear commitments from the Summit to strengthening democratic accountability and the voice of civil society in Mediterranean Partner countries as well as throughout the processes and programmes of the Partnership.. The Comité De Suivi is also concerned that Mediterranean Partner states were not represented by their heads of state at the Summit, lest this should imply a lack of strong political commitment by these nations to the future of the Partnership. Mr. Eugene Clancy, Friends of the Earth MEDNET co-coordinator, mednet@foeeurope.org
* Environmental NGOs appeal to the Barcelona extraordinary meeting of Head of States or Government http://www.foeeurope.org/publications/2005/appeal_cds_b_10-16Nov2005.pdf * The Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development, was drafted by the Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development, an advisory body of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP). ( http://www.unepmap.org). The MAP services the Barcelona Convention 1976 and its Protocols. The MSSD was formally adopted at 14 th conference of the Barcelona Convention in Portoroz, Slovenia (8-11 November, 2005) . The text is posted on the MAP website: http://www.unepmap.org "Mediterranean Free trade - costly and no real benefit foreseen" - Environmental NGOs position paper on the Sustainability Impact Assessment Phase II of the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area (Nov 2005):
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