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EU Agricultural Reform
3. Mr. Gordon Marsden (Blackpool, South): If he will make a statement on the impact of EU agricultural reform on the developing world. [124274]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Gareth Thomas): The agreement reached by the Agriculture Council on 26 June will benefit developing countries, as well as European farmers and taxpayers. The most important change is the de-linking of support from output, which should begin to reduce excessive production, the dumping of which harms developing countries. The agreement also paves the way for reforms to other EU commodity regimes and, most importantly, should give new momentum to the current round of World Trade Organisation negotiations, which are vital for the future economic growth and prosperity of developing countries.
Mr. Marsden : I wish to pass on thanks and congratulations to the Government on everything that they have done to achieve that first welcome start in common agricultural policy reform, but does my hon. Friend agree with those trade justice campaigners whom I met recently in Blackpool that reforming the world trade rules is essential to protect developing countries and to prevent dumping—principally, the dumping of agricultural products by American multinational companies? Will he give an assurance that, at the WTO conference in Cancun this September, the Government will put very strong emphasis on reforming the system to benefit developing countries, so that poor banana growers in St. Lucia or cotton growers in Kenya do not find their livelihoods disrupted by unfair trade rules?
Mr. Thomas: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. As he says, the CAP reform process in the Agriculture Council is a first significant and serious reform. It injects some new momentum in the run-up to Cancun at a time when we have missed a series of
deadlines. As we in Europe have moved, it is now up to others, particularly our friends in America and in the Cairns group, to give some ground, too.
Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby): But can the Minister confirm that the fudged and inadequate reform of the CAP will allow the continued dumping of subsidised agricultural produce on the developing world? Can I refer him to a letter that he sent today to my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key), who did the job that I am currently doing extremely well? It says that
- "you will be aware that this"—
- "is due to expire on 31 December . . . Although the European Union is pressing for its renewal as part of a new WTO Agreement on Agriculture, proposals currently on the negotiating table contain no such provision. Failure to extend the Peace Clause would mean that domestic support measures . . . would be open to challenge in the WTO."
Mr. Thomas: I welcome the hon. Gentleman's return to international development in his first appearance on the Front Bench in that role. In my limited experience, I suggest that he will find the welcome short. In terms of his specific questions, he is wrong to be so negative about the process that was agreed. The Agriculture Council looked specifically at the direct support that is provided. We can now move on to look at the issue of export subsidies in the context of the WTO negotiations. In terms of the peace clause, we are continuing to negotiate on that issue, and we need to await the outcome of those negotiations.
Mr. Piara S. Khabra (Ealing, Southall): May I ask the Minister what are the prospects of CAP reform? Only yesterday, the members of the International Development Committee visited Brussels, and I was part of that delegation. We were given the impression by the EU Development and Co-operation Committee that perhaps CAP reform is not a priority, and that the EU common foreign and security policy will take priority over everything else.
Mr. Thomas: Let me reassure my hon. Friend that CAP reform has been a fundamental part of our agenda. The result that we secured at the Agriculture Council, led by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, allows us to move forward significantly, and the series of measures has been welcomed by the least developed countries. Given the number of deadlines for progress that we have missed, as I mentioned, I hope that my hon. Friend will recognise that we now have the opportunity to move forward.
Tony Baldry (Banbury): Do the CAP reform proposals fully meet Harbinson 2 and the second modalities paper on the reductions of the blue box subsidies? What is the position now with regard to the amber box? Will the EU at the WTO seek to deal with
export subsidies to broaden the measure to US export credits and dealing with food aid? What will be done to enhance market access for developing countries?
Mr. Thomas: I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman for his work on the International Development Committee. In terms of the Harbinson proposals, the CAP reform that we have negotiated allows us to engage seriously and to meet the Harbinson criteria for the agenda. In terms of the specific points about market access, we are committed to having negotiations in Cancun about market access, and we have made a series of proposals for tariff reduction including an overall average tariff reduction of some 36 per cent. and a minimum reduction of some 15 per cent. We have therefore given significant ground. It is now up to others to give ground on issues of market access, too.
Democracy (Afghanistan/Iraq)
4. Mr. Graham Allen (Nottingham, North): What improvements in democracy the Department has helped with in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq since 11 September 2001. [124275]
The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Hilary Benn): The United Kingdom supported the emergency Loya Jirga in June 2002 that elected President Karzai. The Department for International Development is providing £500,000 to support the public consultation for the new constitution for Afghanistan. In Iraq, DFID is working closely with other Departments and the leadership of the Coalition Provisional Authority to help to restore a functioning administration in the country and to lay the foundations for the development of representative and democratic Iraqi self-government.
Mr. Allen : Is my hon. Friend aware that there is a moral case for global military intervention to spread democracy, put forward by the neo-Conservatives in the United States, but that unless we actually achieve a development of democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, we will reinforce the view of many people that we have adopted a pre-emptive strike attitude to many countries that we do not like? That will in turn lead to an undermining of democracy and make it harder to develop democracy in those countries. Will my hon. Friend redouble his efforts to make sure that democratic structures are brought into being in Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as possible?
Hilary Benn: My hon. Friend is absolutely right, because the ultimate test of whether the action that has been taken in those two countries succeeds in the long term will be the extent to which self-government is restored. We should bear in mind the fact that both countries have suffered grievously over the previous 25 years and that restoring democracy is not an easy task. However, what is most important—experience in Iraq over the past couple of months has reinforced this point—is that the people of those countries should see that there is a process that will enable them to move
from where they find themselves today to where they want to be. We hope in the next few days to see in Iraq, with the establishment of the governing council that will begin to appoint the first Ministers, the beginning of that process, and that is to be followed by the establishment of the constitutional convention. On Afghanistan, there is a timetable aimed at achieving the first elections in June 2004. It is important that everybody works hard to try to maintain that timetable.
Rev. Martin Smyth (Belfast, South): Does the Minister agree that a proper police service is needed in a democracy? In that context, will he pay tribute to those who are volunteering for the police service in Iraq? Furthermore, what steps are being taken to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people? How are we communicating with them in the mass?
Hilary Benn: I share the hon. Gentleman's sentiments about the importance of policing. I join him in paying tribute to those Iraqis and others who have come in to support the reform and training of the new police force in Iraq. He is absolutely right to suggest that that is required if we are to bring about security and to enable all the other things that we want for that country to occur.
The hon. Gentleman is also right to draw attention to the need to communicate effectively. The Coalition Provisional Authority has further work to do on that front. It is important that the Iraqi people are able to hear and see what is being done so that they can support the process and, therefore, undermine those who are trying to destroy it.
Mr. Michael Connarty (Falkirk, East): To some of us who went to Iraq before the conflict, it was clear that the Kurdish people had already developed a very strong democratic model in their devolved assembly. Is my hon. Friend concerned that they have said that they are not happy with the proposal that they should go into an appointed council and are worried that the advances that they have made in democracy will be eroded in the period in which the council operates before there is a proper constitution and a democratic election?
Hilary Benn: It is, of course, the case that the north of the country has enjoyed a different history in recent times because of the protection that has been provided to that part of Iraq. That prevented Saddam from doing to that part of his country what he had done to the rest of it. It is very important, in the interests of the future of the country as a whole, that everybody pulls together as we work to try to establish a democracy. However, in the end, the precise form of that will have to take account of the different circumstances in different parts of the country and the different traditions to ensure that all the people and all their political representatives then subscribe to the democracy that is created.
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