Mr President, I would like to thank Mrs Kinnock for her report. The agreement between the European Union and South Africa, which we are debating today, is of great importance. I am all the more favourable towards it because the Council stalled the negotiations at the beginning of the year, which sent out a very bad sign to the South African people. In February 1999, our House expressed its failure to understand this rejection, even if the interests of certain European agricultural producers had to be taken into account. This could have been done though, without threatening the discussions in their entirety. Parliament’s urgent appeal was obviously heard, because the Council finally approved the agreement. I am also pleased that at the insistence of the South Africans, the agreement was extended to cover development cooperation, too. What we have to do now is to follow very closely the way the agreement is applied to ensure that its most positive aspects contribute to the development of the new South Africa. Although it is a “rich country” in one of the poorest continents, relations within society there are still very unevenly balanced, to the extent that the UNDP ranks this country 93rd in its human development index. 52% of annual income goes to only 10% of the population, and unemployment rose from 30% in 1994 to 37% in 1997. These disparities reflect the racial divisions which still exist. To sum up the situation, and this is what South Africans themselves say, “Apartheid has been defeated in political terms, but it is still very much present in the daily life of millions of people, in economic and social terms.” There is a noticeable, justifiable impatience, particularly among the black population. Having showed our solidarity with the movement for freedom from the harsh apartheid regime, we must now support the unprecedented efforts which have led to the RDP. Substantial advances have already been made in providing schooling for children, local medical services, access to drinking water and to electricity. Nevertheless, a great deal still remains to be done. This agreement means all the more to me because, after years of going on demonstrations for the release of Nelson Mandela, I had the privilege of going to South Africa on the day after he was elected President. Finally, we must listen to those expressing their concern about the consequences of free trade. South Africa’s preference was from the outset for an agreement close to the measures of the Lomé Convention, and Unctad predicts an unequal impact on the bilateral movements of trade to the detriment of South African products. Also, concerns and fears at a regional level in the countries within the Southern African Customs Union have not been given sufficient consideration. Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland will be losing a major source of revenue as the entry into force of the agreement will lead to a dramatic fall in the level of the sums currently raised by customs duties in their Union. In addition to this, the appearance on their market of produce subsidised by the CAP will represent a real threat to their agriculture. The agreement that we are discussing is of strategic importance for both parties. It is also of strategic importance for the peace, stability and development of Southern Africa. As well as giving my approval, I would like to finish by putting forward a proposal. Perhaps we could hold hearings in Parliament for the ambassadors of Southern African countries in order to involve them directly in these new relations between the European Union and this part of the world, which is so crucial to the future of the whole African continent.

Political group: GUE-NGL