(EU) and the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR)? - FDCL

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20 at the UN Millenium Summit to halve poverty in 2000. But at the Monterrey Summit from March 18-22 they could just agree on a short-term increase to 0.39 percent. 33 It therefore is not astonishing, that development-issues, as well as questions of cooperation and dialogue, are verbally present in the negotiation process, but that the emphasis of negotiation interests is rather placed on the area of trade matters. As a result voices from the civil society find the inclusion of development (or even sustainable development) in the negotiation process to be quite reserved: “Negotiations of an interregional agreement between MERCOSUR and the European Union have been proceeding steadily since 1999. They include political and economic cooperation as well as trade. Given this broad remit it is extraordinary that issues relevant to the environment and sustainable development have barely been included thus far. An agreement that does not adequately cover the environment and sustainable development will have little credibility, either as an expression of current priorities or as an instrument for future cooperation.” 34 The author of this study reaches the conclusion, that this real absence of development and environmental issues on the part of the European Commission is also due to the institutionalized division: While, for example, within the EU international environmental matters fall into the competence of DG Environment (Directorate- General Environment), the EU-MERCOSUR negotiations lie in the hands of DG Relex (foreign policy) and DG Trade. 35 And in particular the interests of DG Trade naturally focus on trade and investment issues and not on social or environmental matters. 33 In the EU member countries the percentage varies substantially: In 2000, for example, Denmark spent 1.06%; the Netherlands 0.84%, Sweden 0.8% and Luxemburg 0.71% of their GDP in public development programs, while the share in Germany was only 0.22%; 0.2% in Greece and 0.13% in Italy. OECD, January 2000, see: Tabelle Öffentliche Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (ODA) www.eu-kommission.de/pdf/eunachrichten/12_INTERNET.pdf. 34 Konrad von Moltke (International Institute for Sustainable Development): European Union / MERCOSUR Negotiations. The Environment and Sustainable Development Dimension, edited by the WWF European Policy Office, Belgium & WWF Brazil, April 2002, p. 4. 35 Konrad von Moltke (International Institute for Sustainable Development): European Union / MERCOSUR Negotiations. The Environment and Sustainable Development Dimension, edited by the WWF European Policy Office, Belgium & WWF Brazil, April 2002, p. 11.
1.3 Trade – Development – Human Rights? Since the passing of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Nice in December 2000, human rights have been a normative component of EU foreign and internal policy. Already since the 1990s the European Commission has integrated clauses into all bilateral trade and cooperation agreements with third countries, according to which mutual relations are based on the respect for and promotion of human rights and democratic principles. 36 This so-called human rights clause was first mentioned in article 5 of the fourth Lomé-agreement with the ACP-states in December 1989. But even the EU foreign commissioner’s office hurries to admit: “However, Article 5 of Lomé IV and similar articles in other agreements do not provide a clear legal basis to suspend or denounce agreements in cases of serious human rights violations or interruptions of democratic process. It is for this reason that a clause defining democratic principles and human rights as an “essential element” of the agreements with Brazil, the Andean Pact countries, the Baltic States and Albania was introduced in 1992.” 37 Starting in 1992 human rights clauses were integrated into all agreements with third countries, which gave “a clear legal basis to suspend or denounce agreements in cases of serious human rights violations or interruptions of democratic process” to the EU. Initially these “clauses” do not have the juridical status of an obligatory clause, but rather that of a declaration of intent. This is also the conclusion of Klaus Schilder from the non-governmental organization WEED: “It therefore has to be feared that the EU will not convert questions of human rights and democracy into a central issue of the agreements, but rather to subordinate them to economic free trade-interests.” 38 In addition, even though these clauses are directed to all contracting parties, there is at the same time the suspicision that the EU negotiation side is more focused 36 http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/human_rights/doc/index.htm. 37 http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/human_rights/doc/com95_216_en.pdf. 38 Own translation of the following original text: “So ist zu befürchten, dass die EU Menschenrechts- und Demokratiefragen nicht zum zentralen Anliegen der Abkommen macht, sondern vielmehr ihren wirtschaftlichen Freihandelsinteressen unterordnet.” Taken from: Schilder, Klaus (WEED): Regionalisierung unter neoliberalem Vorzeichen? Die polit-ökonomische Geographie der EU-Handelspolitik, June 10, 2003, http://www.weedonline.org/artikel/18513.html. 21
Page 2 and 3: Christian Russau Enforcement of int
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(EU) and the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR)? - FDCL

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