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Scoop: EU Globalisation Declaration

Posted by John Doe on 10/12/07

The EU is determined to ensure that globalisation is a source of opportunity rather than a threat, a declaration to be signed at the end of the week by heads of state and government states.

Read the document here (500 kB pdf): eu-declaration-on-globalisation.pdf

The two-page document explaining what the Lisbon Reform Treaty - and at the end of the day the EU as such - is all about will be adopted at the same time as the Treaty. It covers present and future challenges to the European Union.

The document is the outcome of cumbersome word-by-word negotiations among member states’ envoys in the Council’s COREPER formation. Reading it, one wonders whether this is the minimum consensus to which EU countries can agree nowadays.

This post was submitted by John Doe.

future EU, globalisation, priorities
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brusselsblogger

Comment by brusselsblogger | 2007/12/12 at 10:53:44

Some comments:

1) I do not understand the link between the Lisbon Treaty and this declaration on globalisation.

2) Nevertheless, the discussion about globalisation is welcome. I think it is needed. A short document like this is a good start, but it needs to be followed up.

3) While on the one hand the document seems to be straight-forward it is full of little references that are difficult to “decode”. The fact that nothing and nobody is called by name doesn’t increase the readability.

4) The text is a bit too simple for me: Globalisation leads to prosperity and decreases poverty worldwide -> hence more globalisation and open markets -> as long as trade partners and competitors follow the EU

5) Finally, the text does not deal with arguments from those who are critical about globalisation. It is not enough to mention that globalisation has lifted millions of people worldwide out of poverty (and is it true? I hear that the number of people worldwide who are exposed to extreme poverty has increased over the last years - now at about 1 billion).

I would like to add one experimental idea: If I am not wrong then the text defines globalisation as the increased exchange of peoples, goods, services and ideas. What about extending the principle of free movement of people to a global scale? If we would stop to distinguish between legal and illegal migration than we would see very soon where we’d need to act regarding globalisation.
blogarchitect

Comment by blogarchitect | 2007/12/12 at 10:58:38

Agree with a lot of your points. I think the text does point to the upcoming priorities of the EU next year.

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Scoop: EU Globalisation Declaration

2 Responses to Scoop: EU Globalisation Declaration »»