5th ALDE-CALD Summit

“TRADE is the most powerful tool to lift people out of poverty.”

This statement from Sir Graham Watson, MEP and President of the European Liberal and Democratic Reform (ELDR) Party, captured the main message of the 5th ALDE-CALD Summit. Held in the European Parliament on 4-8 June, the biennial meeting’s theme for its 2012 edition was chosen in light of the unfolding economic crisis in Europe and its potential implications for Asia: “Trade: From Patronage to Partnership.”

More than 40 delegates from all over the world participated in the summit, which had Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) President and MEP Guy Verhosfstadt arguing in the opening session that Europe’s economic turmoil was “more of a political  crisis than an economic crisis” He asserted, “It is about the inability of European leaders to take the right decision at the right time.” Still, Liberal International President and MEP Hans van Baalen said that despite the crisis, there was still a reason for optimism when one looked at the international environment. This optimism can be translated into reality when liberals argue for greater freedom, not less, in the midst of the ongoing crisis, he said.

Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Philippine Country Director Jules Maaten later pointed out that freedom can be the basis for facilitating greater cooperation amongst countries, particularly in terms of trade. Indeed, the first session reiterated that freedom should not only be in terms of goods, but also of services. European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom said, however, that while increasing labor force mobility was desirable, it was not politically feasible at the moment. This was unfortunate as Asia’s comparative advantage is in terms of labor. Cambodian opposition MP Saumura Tioulong remarked as well that the plight of some Asian countries is made worse by their position un the international trading regime, where they are relegated to the production of raw materials and low-technology goods.

By the second session, it was being pointed out that development should not be the only goal of trade. Trade should also be the means to achieve other objectives such as environmental protection and promotion of labor rights, as noted by the European Commission’s Peter Thompson. ALDE Coordinator for Urgencies Marietje Schaake MEP supported this view, nothing that economic interest should not be separated with the values that Liberals holds dear such as human rights, democracy, and rule of law, amongst others. Sri Lankan MP Rajiva Wijesinha warned though that adding much social standards in trade agreements could also run the risk of having these clauses turned into trade barriers. He also emphasized the need to ensure that monitoring of the clauses’ implementation should be based on the objective assessment.

Session Three, meanwhile, emphasized the need to promote trade in all fronts, whether through bilateral trade agreements or multilateral trade negotiations. With the Doha Development Round stalled, all the panelists in this session agreed that bilateral agreements should be pursued as the second best option. In their view, bilateral agreements are not contradictory to multilateral negotiations, but are actually building blocks to it.

A discussion session was then held where participants from Latin America (ALDELAT) and Africa (ALDEPAC) shared their experiences  on trade and compared them with those of Europe and Asia. The meeting was officially closed by ALDE Vice President and MEP Niccolo Rinaldi, who expressed his appreciation for the productive and meaningful discussion on how to make trade mutually beneficial to all concerned. As CALD Chairperson and Cambodian opposition MP Sam Rainsy pointed out, “Trade is related to other values that we hold dear, particularly human rights and individual empowerment. In this respect, is not an end itself, but only a means toward a higher end: the betterment of the individual.”

Participants

Burma:
Win Htein
Nyo Ohn Myint

Cambodia:
Ir Channa
Sam Rainsy
Samura Tioulong

Indonesia:
Hanjaya Setiawan

Mongolia:
Togtokh Battsetseg

Philippines:
Jerry P. Treñas

Singapore:
Brian Lim

Sri Lanka:
Rajiva Wijesinha

Thailand:
Nutt Bantadtan

Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom:
Hans H. Stein
Jules Maaten
Moritz Kleine-Brockhoff

LIberal International:
Hans van Baalen
Emil Kirjas
Robert Wintraceken

International Network of Liberal Women:
Christine de Saint Genois

International Federation of Liberal Youth:
Thomas Leys

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe:
Brenda Ramjee
Opal Joy Brown
Emmanuel Gregoire
Metin Kazak
Pascal Kerneis
Silvana Koch-Mehrin
Cecilia Malmstrom
Therese Murdock
Niccolo Rinaldi
Marietje Schaake
Peter Thompson
Willem va den Broucke
Guy Verhofstadt
Ian Vollbracht
Graham Watson

ALDE-LAT:
Eynar de los Cobos Carmona
Butchard Enrique Rodriguez

ALDE-PAC
Hon Sall Amadou Ciré

Categorised in: Conferences & Workshops

This post was written by CALD