Archived press release

Foe condemns eu/us bully-boy tactics in jo'burg

24 August 2002

On the first day of negotiations at the Johannesburg Earth Summit, Friends of the Earth slammed the EU and US for using bullying tactics to promote their free trade agenda at the expense of environmental protection, poverty alleviation and sustainable development – all of which should be the priorities of the Earth Summit.

Non-Government Organisations at the meeting in Johannesburg today obtained secret joint EU/US negotiating document which advocates using the Earth Summit process to promote trade liberalisation and corporate-led globalisation while completely failing to propose legally binding mechanisms to protect the environment or vulnerable communities.

Friends of the Earth called on South African President Thabo Mbeki, official chair of the Earth Summit, to resist these bullying tactics and ensure that the negotiating process is made transparent and fair.

The Earth Summit is the only opportunity for the countries of the world to come together on a level basis and discuss the critical and urgent problems of environment degradation and growing poverty and inequality. The EU and US stance will frustrate many other countries, particularly developing countries who will see the proposal as an attempt to deflect criticisms from their failure to implement what was agreed at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

The EU US joint “Non Paper” on “Globalisation, Trade and Finance” calls on countries to fully implement the WTO Doha agenda of trade liberalisation but proposes only voluntary mechanisms for protection of the environment.

Friends of the Earth Director, Charles Secrett, said:

“This paper proves that the US and EU will sacrifice the environment and poor countries needs for their own selfish free trade agenda. Their position paper on ‘Globalisation, Trade and Financing’, will drive a deep wedge between North and South. There are no binding rules proposed in the paper to control predatory corporations. It is all about voluntary business action and market expansion. The EU and US should use their economic and political power to push genuine development solutions to critical environmental and poverty-related problems. As it stands, this is just a WTO takeover of the Earth Summit process. It is imperative that the host President Mbeki stands up to the Americans and Europeans and safeguards the interests of the environment and developing countries.”

Notes

Copies of the paper are available from the press office at Friends of the Earth

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust