UN General Assembly
1994

problems. The two conferences none the less sent out an encouraging signal: there is growing recognition that we must tackle such problems together, and this I believe is a very important basis for the World Social Summit, which will be held next year in Denmark. In many countries women are still excluded from active participation in public life. We expect the World Conference on Women, to be held in Beijing next year, to heighten awareness of this. In the Maastricht Treaty we Europeans for the first time made development policy an integral part of a treaty system for Europe. We undertook to seek the sustainable economic and social development of the South, to promote its integration into the global economy and to combat poverty. Despite the huge budget difficulties facing its member States, the European Union has increased its development assistance from over $1 billion in 1988 to almost $3 billion today. Funds for emergency disaster relief and food aid were increased to $1 billion this year. Even more important than such financial transfers, however, is the task