Summary: September 20, 2004: ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. DIRK JAN VAN DEN BERG, AMBASSADOR, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE NETHERLANDS TO THE UNITED NATIONS. Meeting on Fair Globalisation: Implementing the United Nations Millennium Declaration (New York)
I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.
The EU warmly welcomes this report, and we look forward to contributing to its implementation. Globalisation cannot be complete without the social and equity dimension. It should be inclusive and of benefit to all.
Centrepiece to this important report is the focus on people, as well as on human resource development. We share the view of the World Commission that employment, meaning decent work for all on fair terms, should become a global goal. Employment is the engine of economic growth and the most sustainable means of eradicating poverty and social exclusion.
Another important message from the report is the need for policy coherence, in order to make the multilateral system more effective. There is congruence between the founding principles and aims of the main international organizations, and they therefore share many objectives. We should aim to maximise coherence of initiatives from international organisations so that they are synergetic and lead to progress. If we are to succeed in achieving the MDGs within their set timeframe and the objectives
presented by the commission, we cannot afford to waste the opportunity to improve the lives of many millions of unemployed women and men.
We will be most effective in our efforts if we undertake them with the full involvement of social partners and other parts of civil society. We call on the UN to lead the way by inviting all executive heads of the multilateral system to consider issues for policy coherence initiatives, during the next ECOSOC meeting and the comprehensive review of the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. Cross-cutting priority issues to strengthen the social dimension of globalization should include:
sustainable growth, investement, employment and poverty reduction, gender equality, the integration of the informal economy into the economic mainstream, good governance, the promotion of core labour standards, education and improving prospects for young people.
Finally, we pay tribute to the leadership of Juan Somavia, who has been so instrumental in focusing all of us on the agenda of inclusive globalisation, even before the Copenhagen summit of 2005. We also thank the President of Tanzania and Finland of their leadership. This combined leadership we hope will help bring fair, inclusive globalisation closer.
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