DECEMBER 2006
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Wake-up call for political decision-makers to oversee government action
"This is a wake-up call for all political decision-makers, not least those of us who, as members of parliament representing the interests of the people, have the duty to oversee government action in the field of international trade and promote fairness in trade liberalization", they said. See the complete text of that Declaration.
The legislators present in Geneva called for a strong commitment on the part of all major players in the trade negotiations, including the European Union, the United Sates and the G20, and urged them to reach a balanced agreement on all main negotiating topics of the Doha Round, while placing a special emphasis on the need to ensure meaningful and sustainable economic gains for developing countries, and in particular for the leastdeveloped countries.
At a meeting with the press, the IPU President said that although negotiations are in the hands of governments, one could not help but realize that "for some time now, parliaments have been playing a major role in the field of international trade, and in particular - but not only - agriculture. We are convinced that in the future, a determining factor of world stability will hinge on the challenge posed by the international trade negotiations". He added that the role of parliaments and parliamentarians, in this area, did not overlap with the role of governments, or constitute any "interference" with the autonomy of governments. Mr. Manuel António dos Santos, Vice-President of the European Parliament, said: "as Pascal Lamy recalled in addressing our Conference, the current situation is not good. We support the efforts of the WTO Director- General to overcome this difficult situation. In keeping with his request, we can bring pressure to bear on our respective governments and the European Parliament can press its Member States to help overcome this problematic situation".
"I am quite impressed by the time and attention that parliamentarians have devoted to international trade during this conference", said WTO Director-General, Mr. Pascal Lamy, during the press conference that took place after his hearing with legislators, on 1 December 2006. "It is the first time that so much attention has been given to the dialogue with ministers, experts and myself. I am glad about that, because we have arrived at a crucial moment for the multilateral trade Round launched five years ago. Parliamentarians have the final say. They will decide in the end whether or not they accept whatever deal is concluded. But they also have a big say in the negotiation process". Referring to many WTO Member States, he said "parliamentarians are influencing the position of negotiators everyday. Negotiators operate within what we call an "authorizing environment". In many countries - not in all, but in many - parliaments have a major role to play in defining this authorizing environment. What we need now is for ministers to come back to the table when they are ready. We know that this will not happen tomorrow, and that this will not be possible without parliaments and their authorizing environment providing them with greater flexibility, at least for the players, the richest nations and those which will have to make the biggest effort to unlock these negotiations".
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Over two hundred parliamentarians representing more than 70 countries who gathered in Geneva at the initiative of the IPU and the European Parliament, lamented the fact that despite the promise of greater flexibility, major parties to the negotiations have shown little of it and talks in the key areas of agriculture and non-agricultural market access have not progressed since the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.