Barroso's free trade rhetoric not backed up by action
Posted, March 03, 2008 @ 00:00
Protectionism warning would carry more weight if Commission President hadn't stood idly by
Brussels, 3rd March 2008 -- Barroso's concerns about European Union protectionism would carry more weight if he had not sat by and allowed individual narrow self-interest to prevail in his own Commission for the past four years, Syed Kamall MEP, Conservative International Trade Spokesman and campaigner against protectionism, said today.
Speaking to the Financial Times, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that protectionist sentiment was rising in the EU as nations saw China as a threat.
He said: "I fear this rise not only in Europe but all over. Political forces in Europe that were traditionally pro-market are today - let's put it elegantly - more prudent. Some on the centre-right are now more conservative in that regard."
Mr Kamall agrees with the Commission President's analysis, but said Mr Barroso has presided over many acts of protectionism against China and encouraged his Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, to shelve a proposed reform to the EU's Trade Defence Instruments, which would have made Europe's trade policy more transparent.
Mr Kamall said:
"If Mr Barroso wants to know where protectionist sentiment in the EU has come from, he need only look in a mirror.
"President Barroso espouses the virtues of free trade, yet he allows the protectionists in his Commission to run the show. The true test of commitment to free trade is when individual cases arise where European production cannot compete with Asia; too often the Commission's response is tariffs or quotas.
"The EU's approach to trade has pushed up prices for many consumers across the EU and it is usually the worst off who suffer the most. In the forthcoming summit, Europe's leaders need to decide whether they want the EU to continue down this road of economic protectionism or finally embrace globalisation.
"It's time the EU listened to the millions of people who will benefit from free trade, not just the unfortunate few who stand to lose out in the short term."