Summary: January 15, 2001: Statement on behalf of the European Union by Spain. Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on Financing for Development (New York)
1. It is a great honor for me to make a statement on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated to the European Union, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, and other countries associated, Cyprus, Malta, and Turkey support this statement.
2. The European Union is committed to a successful Monterrey Conference. Momentum has been building towards a more innovative and holistic approach to Development. We welcome the active involvement of the UN Secretary-General. The Development Committee in Ottawa, the Doha Ministerial meeting and the EU Councils of Ministers for Development, and for Economy and Finance of 8 November and 4 December, as well as the European Council of Heads of State and Government meeting at Laeken on 15 December,
all emphasized the importance of issues related to FfD. In Europe as elsewhere, FfD inspires efforts at coherence, coordination and effectiveness within governments and between organizations.
3. The EU continues to be firmly committed to the implementation of the development goals, targets and commitments of the Millennium Declaration and other major UN Conferences and Summits. We are firmly convinced that the eradication of poverty requires the help of those who have most, but also the collaboration of those in greatest need, in the form of a new partnership, as recognized at the LDC Conference. The EU is certain that a substantial part of the strategies to overcome poverty come
within the field of responsibility of the very states affected by it. The New Partnership for Africa´s Development (NEPAD), which supports the concept of mutual commitment, is a positive step toward a cooperative development paradigm. Sound, pro-poor macroeconomic policies that promote investment, the promotion and protection of all Human Rights, the Rule of Law, democratic institutions, anti-corruption measures and environmental protection are essential. So are efforts to increase national and
international resources including ODA and making them work more efficiently and effectively for development. In these ways we can work together to create bases for sustainable development in those countries that lack them.
4. The European Union welcomes the involvement of key stakeholders and the resulting improvements in coordination and coherence that have characterized this process and hope that will continue after Monterrey, to Johannesburg and beyond.
5. The European Union looks forward to the upcoming negotiations based on the Facilitator´s revised draft, where the EU will present specific comments to each section, in an effort to avoid a line by line negotiation. We are prepared to work on the basis of the proposal of the Bureau, finishing the document by the end of the PrepCom. To this end, we look forward to the valuable inputs from the FfD stakeholders. The successful negotiation of this document is the first step towards a positive
outcome to the Conference, one when we hope to see concrete commitments made and steps taken to fully realize the goals of Financing for Development.
Thank you Mr. President.
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