The signature of the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of South Africa has just been approved by our House by a large majority. I can only rejoice at this Agreement, which I, naturally, voted in favour of. As a local representative, one of my first acts after being elected as Mayor of Saint-Benoît, in Réunion, was to name one of the city squares after Nelson Mandela. It was then 1983, and this purely symbolic act was intended as a fraternal gesture, a hand stretched across the Indian Ocean to the man then languishing in the jails of the apartheid regime. Today everyone can appreciate the distance we have come along the road. And this agreement, whose signature we are approving, comes at the opportune moment to definitively consolidate the process of democratic transition and economic and social stability undertaken some years ago now by the Republic of South Africa. It is in keeping with the tradition of solidarity of the European Union. By establishing a free trade area between two bodies at different stages of development, it even takes on a historic aspect. It also puts the finishing touches to the implementation of the strategy of the Union with regard to this country, a strategy defined, let us remember, under the French presidency. Finally, it is doubtless not without interest to note that the partnership thus cemented with this great nation of the south may contribute to the creation of synergy useful to the European Union within the framework of the delicate negotiations which are about to be opened within the WTO at the Seattle Conference in November. For all these reasons, we can only rejoice at the approval of this agreement. There is, however, one point to which I wish to draw the attention both of this Parliament and of the Council and the Commission: it is the influence which this liberalisation of trade, even over a ten year period, may have on the economic development of the outermost regions, specifically Réunion, a fully functioning European territory located in proximity to South Africa. I did indeed, of course, note the conditions given in Article 23(2) of the agreement, providing for the possibility of making use of supervision or safety measures in the event that the economic development of the “outermost regions of the European Union” should suffer serious damage. It seems important to me, nonetheless, firstly to have an in-depth study made as soon as possible in order to determine as precisely as possible the possible impact of this agreement on the economy of Réunion, and secondly to establish a permanent mechanism for supervision, establishing the conditions for quick intervention. Indeed, failure on our part to remain vigilant could have dramatic consequences for the society of Réunion, which is already seriously affected by unemployment (40% of the active population) and would be in total contradiction to the efforts of the European Union for many years, through the Structural Fund, to promote the economic and social development of the island. It is for these reasons that it seems important to me to draw the attention of this House to this essential aspect.

Political group: PSE