Alms, Not Arms, Appeal by Willy Brandt. Seepage 3

Alms, not arms, appeal by Willy Brandt. Seepage 3. I .f I -Content~ • Third World 3 Alms, not arms, appeal by Willy Brandt Prosperous pockets cannot survive in today's world 4 World Bank warms of dangers for developing States 5 Stabex proves its worth in aiding poorest States Employment 6 The possibilities of working part time Education 7 Eurydice lin_ks policy-makers in the Nine Environment 8 How to cut down on litter Protecting workers from the dangers of asbestos Lifestyle 9 There is no place like home The Institutions 9 Council gets new Secretary-General Industry 10 Wedding bells ring out across Europe's frontiers Consumers 11 Cheap flights: Laker may appeal to the European Court Paris plays host to top-level conference External relations 12 Community and Brazil forge new links Progress on Lome talks with Zimbabwe Trade 13 Strategy for the Eighties outlined in GATI report 14 The news at a glance Focus 15 Energy crisis may curb our quest for the exotic Euroforum is published by the The contents of Euroforum-which Directorate-General for Information, do not necessarily reflect the Commission of the opinions of the European Commu European Communities nity Institutions-may be quoted or Rue de la Loi 200 reproduced without further permis sion. An indication of Euroforum B-1 049 Bruxelles as the source would be appreciated, Belgium as would a copy of any article Tel. 735 0040/8040 published. Editor-in-chief: Peter Doyle m c: . ;u THIRD WORLD 0 a:u Euro MPs went on to approve a would have to consider whether it i series of more .than 50 proposals for could guarantee fixed prices for ~ increased action by the Community Third World goods. ~ and its Member States. They were I set out in a resolution presented by Italian Communist member Bruno Ferrero for the Parliament's Com mittee on Development and Co Prosperous pockets operation. cannot survive Mr Ferrero said .the worsening world in today's world situation meant that the time had come to abandon the usual charitable approach to development aid. The by Willy Brandt Community should adopt a new strategy for fighting poverty and Chairman of the Independent Com hunger. mission on International Develop ment Issues Alms, not arms, According .to United Nations figures presented to the Parliament, 450 In recent months-indeed for years appeal by million people in the Third World now-we have become increasingly Willy Brandt were undernourished in 1978. conscious of the close interaction be tween East-West and North-South By the end of the century, according issues. We are realizing .that what Former West German Chancellor to the World Bank, over 700 million happens in 'remote' parts of the Willy Brandt called for a 'radical people could be living in absolute world also has a direct impact on reform' of the world's economy to poverty. Europe. eradicate poverty and famine in developing countries during the Euro The motion passed by the 410-member Events in Iran and Afghanistan-and pean Parliament's September session Parliament called for a 'new, more in the Middle East, South East' Asia, in Strasbourg. equitable system of international Southern Africa and Central America relations'. -have dramatically spotlighted the He said the European Community need to see that the balance of inter should play a leading role in the Industrialized countries would have ests between North and South, be forthcoming North-South talks be to accept 'far-reaching adjustments' tween industrialized and developing tween the world's rich and poor to their 'production methods .and countries, is just as important as nations. way of life'. detente in an active policy for the pur suit of peace. There was a 'depression and gro The Parliament also called for a tesque' contrast, he said, between the wholesale transfer of spending on The world is starting to recognize world arms bill which amounts to arms to development aid and a .that peace is not only menaced by 150 million dollars daily and the 'massive .transfer' of technology and power rivalries and conflicts between limited help given to struggling funds to poor countries. extreme ideologies but that the future nations. of mankind is threatened just as much by mass starvation, economic collapse 'It is technically possible for the first Members also demanded a steep and ecological disaster. It is a time for the world to destroy itself. increase in European Comml!nity dangerous illusion to think .that It should also be technically possible food aid by 1982 to 2.5 million fenced-off pockets of prosperity and for the world to solve its hunger tonnes, one-fifth of the estimated security can survive indefinitely in problem', he declared. world need. an age when one-fifth of the world's population, concentrated mainly in World hunger dominated the five-day The Community's Development com the Southern hemisphere, is suffering session of the Parliament and Mr missioner Claude Cheysson promised from starvation and malnutrition. Brandt dominated the one and a half a Commission study of the impact of day debate. The former Chancellor the Common Agricultural Policy on At the beginning of this year the was speaking as a Socialist Euro MP international trade in food. European Parliament, at the instiga but also as chairman of the inter tion of its Committee on Development national Commission on World In some respects, he said, the Com and Cooperation, convened an Poverty which reported earlier this munity already led the field in official hearing in Brussels on world year. improving relations between rich and famine at which I was able to speak poor nations. Apart from food aid, about the report prepared by the le chided western nations for failing the Community guaranteed stable Independent Commission on Inter to match the United Nations target export earnings for many developing national Development Issues under for spending on development aid. nations. my Chairmanship. Initial exchanges Investment by the rich in the poor of views on the report on North countries of 0. 7 per cent of national But Mr Cheysson conceded that a South relations have also taken place product was 'an essential starting vast amount of work still needed to in the Council of Europe's Parliament- point', he said. be undertaken. The Community ary Assembly· and in the parliaments 3 of a number of Member States of the programmes to promote agricultural economic growth were often consider Community-for instance, at the production must be alleviated by able in terms of a slackening in devel end of March, in the British House increased food aid (and the signing opmental momentum and amassed of Commons and, at the end of April, within the near future of an inter indebtedness. The Repor.t adds, 'The in the German Bundestag. The national grains arrangement). formidable task of adjusting fully to Commission of the European Com the new economic environment re munities is also to make an in-depth Finally, serious steps must be taken mains the main challenge to the devel examination of the report with a to reform international economic, oping countries as the new decade view .to fr~ming practical proposals. currency and financial relations, to be begins.' accompanied by national measures on All this goes to show that Europe the part of the developing countries. The annual report, reviewing the past acknowledges its duty to act as a 10 years of development, notes that factor for peace and equilibrium on A critical assessment should also be aggregate annual growth in the devel the world scene. Greater efforts are made of existing international organ oping world during the decade of the needed, however, to give North-South izations. 1970s (1971-1980) was 5.3% as com issues greater prominence in the pared with 3.1 % in the industrialized European Parliament, .to foster public Giant conferences are scarcely a suit nations. Yearly growth rates in the awareness through the media and, able means of attaining the targets 1960s were 5.6% and 5.0% for the jointly with the representatives of I have outlined. Experience has developing and developed countries, the major social groupings-the shown that often they only produce respectively. unions, the Church, youth organ intransigent blocs leaving no leeway izations-to make .the Governments for negotiation. The gains in the aggregate growth of of the Member States put forward gross national product masked wide proposals that may help to find a It is far preferable to do as our Com differences among various groupings solution to this vital social issue of mission suggests and arrange selective of developing countries. Generally the late twentieth century. top level meetings on a regional basis speaking, the richer developing or according to the subject matter of countries fared best during the past In the Independent Commission's the negotiations. The composition 10 years. Thus, the middle-income report we have therefore tried to of these meetings should be such that countries of East Asia grew by 8% frame recommendations on the focal the leading politicians taking part did each year, while annual growth in areas of North-South relations, taking not just express the positions of their the poor countries of sub-Saharan as our main theme common interests own countries. Africa was only 3% . and international solidarity. Four targets are considered to be priorities An initial preparatory meeting along In per capita terms, the contrast for the five years ahead: these lines will probably be held at during the decade was even more the beginning of next year at Mexico's stark. According to the World Bank, Firstly, through a massive infusion of instigation.

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