Commissioner, in the same vein as my fellow Members, I would like to draw some comparisons between New York and Porto Alegre. At the same time as a weak and unimaginative summit was being held in New York, attended by financiers and decision-makers, the so-called winners, in short, all kinds of wealthy people, three lively forums were being held, for the second time, in Porto Alegre which was the true alternative to Davos. The three forums were attended by people from towns, from civil society and by parliamentarians, who cast a critical eye over the whole world. And this is how – and I sympathise with my colleague from the Liberal party, as the are very happy to do this – the inventiveness of future governance is being created. On the one hand, therefore, everyone in New York was shedding crocodile tears over the attacks of 11 September, not so much because of the unfortunate people who lost their lives but because of the resultant economic downturn. On the other hand, in Brazil, everyone was genuinely turning their attention to the real risks of terrorism and the poverty-stricken situation of poor countries to try to find helpful solutions. If I have to mention some of the highlights, ladies and gentlemen, I would choose a debt tribunal, which is lending support throughout the crisis in Argentina, which outlined the extent of the devastating effects caused by the structural adjustment policies and the burden of debt. This is a subject to which Europe should give greater attention. Europe must assist the countries of the South in making their voice heard at the UN, so that the interests of debt-ravaged countries are finally taken into account, and not simply the interests of the creditor countries. We are still waiting for the European Union to unilaterally abolish the debts of the countries of the south. This would be a strong signal, which would be meaningful. Commissioner, I believe that you could send this signal. Most importantly, I attended the parliamentary forum for the second year running and was pleased to see that many Members of the European Parliament had travelled to Porto Alegre to build up this global network of parliamentarians who support social movements. The more of us who gather from different political and geographical backgrounds, the better we can convey the message of the people; the more of us who already have the legitimate right to universal suffrage, the easier we can influence governments that are all too often more concerned about taking up a seat at a New York-style Davos Summit than about understanding the legitimate ideas of the world’s population. Rest assured, then, that we returned inspired by our discussions and by the contacts we made at the social forum. We shall therefore continue to press the Commission and the Council on challenging subjects such as the feasibility of the Tobin-style tax, the overwhelming responsibilities of the rich countries in the area of climate change, the right of the Palestinian and the Israeli people to live in freedom and in dignity, the right of everyone to a basic aspect of safety, food safety, which is the right to sufficient food and to have access to drinking water.

Political group: Verts-ALE