Summary: 18 July 2008, New York - Statement delivered on behalf of the European Union, by H.E. Mr. Jean-Maurice RIPERT, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, at the General Assembly, Sixty-second Session, Meeting on the global food and energy crisis
Mr. Chairman,
I am honoured to speak 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 & Montenegro, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Armenia align themselves with this declaration.
A little over a month ago in Rome, the international community met under the aegis of the FAO to seek solutions for the food crisis and achieve international food security.
The facts are worrisome: currently, 862 million persons suffer from chronic hunger and the recent spike in food staple prices increases the hardships of developing countries. By 2050, the world's population will hit 9 billion, and it is estimated that demand for food aid will double to meet the needs of both cities and the countryside. This additional demand to our precious worldwide resources of land and water is enormous and our policies must respect both their vital role and limited
capacity.
This is why it is now necessary to create the conditions for more genuinely balanced international food distribution and agriculture. In fact, the response can only be an international one. If we want to double agricultural production by 2050 in order to feed a population of 9 billion people, the world's wealth of farms must be mobilized.
This concerns us all, at every level and in every field: developing and developed countries, international organizations, the private sector and civil society. This desire to foster improved international agricultural governance to better meet the needs of the food crisis was at the root of the creation of the High-Level Task Force. It also motivated the organization in June of the international conference of Rome, and the adoption during this conference of the Rome Declaration on World Food
Security. In this regard, the European Union welcomes the announcement of an upcoming conference to be held in Spain as a follow-up to the Rome Declaration. This desire also motivated an international partnership recently formulated by the G8, which includes a political component: the strengthening of international coordination between all relevant actors; a scientific component: the creation of an independent and international group of scientists to identify future needs and risks; and a
financial component, with the scaling up of financing in the fight against food insecurity.
Mr. Chairman,
Against this backdrop, we welcome the initiative undertaken by the United Nations Secretary-General to create a special High-Level Task Force chaired by Mr. John Holmes, who is in charge of defining the Comprehensive Framework for Action (CFA).
Based on the analysis of comparative advantages of stakeholder institutions, this framework of actions provides a particularly relevant programme of actions. It also offers a pertinent analysis of the current food crisis and presents a series of ambitious and constructive goals and actions. It is now the responsibility of the governing bodies of the institutions taking part in the High-Level Task Force to endorse the action proposed in the CFA, in view of the creation of an "international
strategy for food security".
Mr. Chairman,
The European Union welcomes the proposal of the Secretary-General to establish an international partnership based on the special High-Level Task Force, which will facilitate dialogue, coordination and mobilization for food security. In fact, above and beyond assistance, policies and national and regional strategies, the consistency of the sectoral policies must be improved (trade, environmental, monetary, tax and legal) for international food security. The European Union also considers it
necessary to involve professional agricultural organizations, companies, civil society, institutional investors, foundations and actors in the financial sector (banks, investment funds, among others).
Now, together we must define the role and the operations of the High-Level Task Force, add clarification regarding the establishment of such a partnership as well as regarding the independent research organization mentioned in the report, which would be likely to assess the implementation of the Comprehensive Framework for Action. Lastly, it is suggested in the report to hold ministerial events at the regional and international levels. In fact, the European Union recognizes that in this regard
it is important to ensure the continuous mobilization of the international community and that it is also necessary to devote the mobilized resources to concrete actions most in line with the needs of the vulnerable populations exposed to the food crisis.
Mr. Chairman,
The European Union also recognizes the need mentioned in the Comprehensive Framework for Action for a coordinated approach at the national level between all partners, which must be carried out based on the needs and priorities of developing countries. The CFA could in fact serve as the organizational framework for coordination and we are calling for the potential beneficiary countries to include the priorities mentioned in the CFA in their PRSP, UNDAF and/or in an ad hoc strategy, which could
serve as a fulcrum for the national implementation of this framework. As rightly underscored in the CFA, the ensuing partnership must be compliant with the principles of the Paris Declaration regarding aid effectiveness, which will be updated in September in Accra.
The European Union recognizes that the emergency response to the most worrying humanitarian situations must also fit into long-term development thinking. Accordingly, food aid must not be given to the detriment of the local economic fabric, and it is therefore necessary to buy locally or regionally whenever possible, which may additionally curtail the impact of the volatility of international food prices. Consequently, the European Union intends to promote untied food aid provided in a
financial form. In this respect, the European Union believes that consideration should continue to be given to the revision of the London Convention on Food Aid. In addition, the European Union reiterates the primary responsibility of States, which notably must provide humanitarian access for the most affected populations.
As the report recalls, the regional level is often a suitable path that might be taken to meet such challenges. The history of the construction of Europe attests to the importance of the regional level, as do the initiatives taken in West Africa as well as on the Indian sub-continent. For instance, regional trade fosters fairer trade since such negotiations involve economies of comparable scope and development levels. Thus, collaboration between the Task Force and Regional Development Banks is
critical. The European Union also encourages the definition of joint approaches between countries from the same region for the implementation of their food security strategies.
Mr. Chairman,
The European Union provides significant humanitarian and food aid to a large number of the world's worst-hit regions, and firmly intends to initiate efforts to offer sustainable solutions to this crisis (e.g. through emergency aid and social protection, by setting up a fund to support farming in developing countries and by increasing aid to agricultural production in order to reduce the effects of higher prices). CAP reform made it more market-oriented, and numerous supply-side regulatory
measures were removed. The European Union recently moved to lower prices on world markets by selling its relief stocks and cultivating fallow land. These measures are now beginning to bear fruit. But the EU is also increasingly emphasizing sustainability within its agricultural policy because it is fully aware that without more protection for water, biodiversity and the carbon sequestration functions of land and forestry, short term gains in productivity will be lost and permanent damage
eventually undermining food production will take place with very serious consequences for food production and supply.
At the same time, the European Union is trying to create an international trade environment that supports small producers in developing countries. To achieve this, it has set itself the goal of reaching an ambitious, balanced and comprehensive agreement at the Doha Round, which could help remove imbalances in world agricultural markets. It also wants to promote effective reform in the FAO, as it considers that the expected synergies of the three Rome-based agencies should allow them to play an
essential role in providing aid to countries as they combat the food crisis.
The European Union recalls that it is also at the forefront of the fight against climate change, whose effects threaten to worsen the food crisis in a large number of countries that are increasingly affected by drought and the scarcity of water, as well as in countries which experience recurrent flooding. Water is essential to guarantee local production, and must be protected by sustainable development policies which form part of a climate change adaptation strategy.
High energy prices are also directly affecting agricultural prices by raising the price of inputs and transportation costs, which will have a significant impact on the cost of food aid. Bio-fuel policies may also affect the production and prices of agricultural products for food, and it will be necessary to ensure the sustainability of bio-fuel policies by setting sustainability criteria for the production of first-generation bio-fuels and by encouraging the development of second-generation
bio-fuels made from by-products.
To conclude, the European Union pledges to work ambitiously and constructively with partners to lessen the negative impacts of the food crisis and make the most of opportunities identified by the High-Level Task Force.
Thank you.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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