Mr President,
ladies and gentlemen,
I am sure you will understand that I cannot give this policy statement without first paying my tributes, on behalf of the Federal Government, to the victims of last Saturday's suicide bombing in Kunduz. Three German soldiers and several Afghan civilians lost their lives in this cowardly attack. Our soldiers lost their lives whilst supporting the work of the international community to help improve the living conditions of the people in the devastated country of Afghanistan and to try to contain terrorism. On behalf of the Federal Government, I would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved at this difficult time. I wish all those who were injured a speedy recovery.
I would like to say the following to the people of Afghanistan: terrorists will not cause us to falter in our mission for freedom, democracy and respect for human rights. Germany will stand by you.
The German soldiers in Afghanistan and all the civilian NGO staff are doing sterling work. They deserve our full support and our sincere thanks. Their work is indispensable.
Ladies and gentlemen, this year's G8 Summit will be held in Heiligendamm early in June at the invitation of the German Presidency. This Summit will provide a unique forum for discussing political responses to the pressing global issues of our time with Heads of State and Government of the Group of Eight countries and the most important emerging economies. As in St Petersburg last year, we will also look at current foreign and security policy issues, just as the G8 Foreign Ministers will do this weekend.
The violent clashes in the Gaza Strip leave us no rest. More missiles are again being fired from the Palestinian territories onto targets in Israel. These attacks must stop. They must give way to renewed attempts to build confidence. Violence is not a solution to the problems. The solution still lies in the vision of two states within secure borders and in peace, for the Jewish people in Israel and for the Palestinians in Palestine. Calm must come to the region as a whole. For this reason the continued attempts to undermine the Government of Lebanon must not succeed. The key requirement is for Syria, too, to adopt a constructive attitude and to finally grant Lebanon diplomatic recognition.
Our shared concerns regarding Iran's nuclear programme will also be discussed at Heiligendamm. Our stance is clear: if the country's leadership complies with its international obligations, we are ready to enter into wide-ranging cooperation with Iran. If it does not, the UN Security Council will take further resolute action.
Foreign policy issues were added to the Summit agenda in the 1980s. Previously, the meetings had focused solely on economic matters. Since the 1990s, environmental and development-policy issues have also been discussed regularly at G8 Summits.
When the first world economic summit was held in 1975 in Rambouillet, globalization was not yet an issue. Today, globalization is at the very heart of our deliberations. We all know that globalization offers great opportunities – opportunities for growth, for employment, for prosperity and for freedom in all countries around the world. And what's more – it brings far more opportunities than risks. We must however recognize these opportunities and grasp them. As an export-oriented nation, Germany has reaped the rewards of the freedoms brought by globalization. Over 8 million jobs currently depend on exports. That's 2.5 million more than ten years ago. The contribution made by exports to our gross domestic product has almost doubled over the past ten years. Exports now account for 45% of Germany's GDP.
But other countries, too, above all our neighbours in Central and Eastern Europe, have globalization and its freedoms to thank for their growing prosperity. Globalization and free world trade likewise offer tremendous opportunities for developing countries. In many such countries, not least in Africa, growth has picked up notably over the past years.
And yet the advance of globalization is viewed by many people in Germany and elsewhere with great concern. The Federal Government takes their concerns seriously. Many people ask probing questions. Is globalization at all susceptible to political control? Are there any alternatives to the form of globalization we know today? Will Europe be able to preserve its prosperity in the face of global competition?
We cannot sweep these questions under the carpet any more than we can ignore the public protests that accompany them. Of course, these protests must be about the issues, and must remain peaceful. In an overwhelming majority of cases, they are. Just think of the innumerable campaigns planned by schools, churches and non-governmental organizations around Germany and in particular near Heiligendamm during the G8 Summit.
Let me spell it out: Anyone who turns to violence renders dialogue impossible. The people who are today loudly criticizing the security arrangements are the first who would blame the security agencies of not taking sufficient precautions if violence were to occur. We should chose our words carefully. On the other hand – and this too I would like to say quite unequivocally – peaceful demonstrators are acting legitimately and will be heard.
It is my conviction that globalization will not make politicians superfluous or powerless. I explicitly do not share the widespread view that politics can exercise no influence on globalization and can only try to tidy up in its wake. On the contrary, we can and must shape globalization through political action, not just in our own countries, but also at international level. The G8 is a valuable body for such efforts. This is crucial, and is indeed the purpose of these meetings.
The aim of the G8 is not to assert the interests of the leading industrialized nations to the detriment of the rest of the world. That would be the wrong approach entirely. The aim is rather to work together to make progress on issues of concern to the whole world and to highlight the responsibility of the leading industrialized nations. That is why the Federal Government has made "growth and responsibility" the motto of its G8 Presidency. For we want the G8 countries to genuinely take responsibility for global developments.
What is new is that we are seeking dialogue with important emerging economies to a much greater extent than ever before. We will therefore meet the Heads of State and Government of China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa at the Heiligendamm Summit on 8 June. We do not want to make the Group of Eight into a Group of Thirteen. But we know that progress on issues such as climate protection, the WTO trade talks or the improved protection of intellectual property is now unthinkable without the emerging economies. We want to develop a shared understanding of these issues that goes considerably beyond the lowest common denominator. The aim is to establish a new, topic-driven dialogue between the G8 and the major emerging economies, which will continue after the meeting in Heiligendamm.
The Summit will focus on seven themes.
The first is the global economic recovery. We want to limit the risks accompanying the continued upswing, or, to put it another way, we want to do everything possible to stabilize the upturn of the world economy. That the world economy is enjoying good health was certified once again by the IMF and the World Bank at their Spring Meetings. The German economy has played a major role in this recovery. In this and the coming year, we can expect growth clearly in excess of 2 percent. The three-pronged approach of consolidating, investing and reform pursued by the Federal Government is working.
What disasters didn't the opposition and various experts predict this approach would lead to? Our policy – they claimed all last year – would nip recovery in the bud. None of their apocalyptic visions came to pass. Recovery is still strong. This is certainly not solely due to the steadfastness of the grand coalition, which refused to be moved from its pursuit of consolidation, reform and investment, but our resolution must have played some small role.
We all know that the financial markets are an essential part of our global economic order. Their stability is a matter that deserves our special attention. In the past years, with the rise of hedge funds, new financial instruments have been created which on the one hand increase market efficiency, but which are not as yet sufficiently transparent. Transparency is in our opinion urgently needed. Only so can the risks that hedge funds pose to the stability of the world economy, and indirectly to confidence in our economic structures, be reduced. That is why I believe it is indispensable to talk seriously about making hedge funds more transparent. This discussion will require patience. Given the considerable differences of opinion on the subject, we cannot expect results immediately. But it is a discussion that has to be held.
I am very glad that our positions converged somewhat at the G8 Finance Ministers Meeting last weekend. The G8 Finance Ministers agreed unanimously on recommendations for supervisory bodies, business partners and those who invest in hedge funds, as well as for the hedge-fund sector itself. Importantly, these recommendations are designed to lead in particular to the development of risk management standards. The Federal Government very much wants to see these standards become enshrined in a Code of Conduct. We therefore want to continue this dialogue after the G8 meeting in Heiligendamm. For these problems have to be solved – of that I am most firmly convinced. If they are not, we will be exposed to incalculable risks.
The second theme is innovation. Innovation is the key to growth and prosperity. Measures to effectively protect intellectual property rights are particularly vital. Product counterfeiting and trademark piracy are a huge problem, in particular for innovative industries in Germany. Did you know that 30% of all mechanical engineering patents registered around the world come from Germany? It is obviously in our interest to effectively protect these inventions. If we don't, we will be at a serious competitive disadvantage on the international markets.
This topic is, as we have seen, becoming ever more important to the emerging economies as well. There is thus increasingly a common interest in promoting the protection of intellectual property rights and innovation. Against this background, we are eager to find joint strategies to fight product and trademark piracy. In addition, we intend to push forward with the dialogue with the emerging economies on the difficulties in implementing the international intellectual property protection system and options for improving it.
The third theme is cross-border investment. Cross-border investments are a key driving force for growth and greater employment. Everybody involved wins, and the world economy has always benefited when foreign direct investment is generally encouraged.
But as we see, there are signs that foreign investors are coming up against new protectionist obstacles in some countries. These countries include the industrialized nations themselves – such signs have repeatedly been seen recently, in Europe too – and the emerging economies, which often only allow foreign firms to buy into their companies subject to strict conditions, such as only permitting minority holdings.
We are therefore seeking a commitment at Heiligendamm from the G8 countries to open their markets to foreign investment. But it is in my opinion vital that we should expect our trading partners to provide the same openness that foreign investors find in our markets. Reciprocity is the key. Nothing else is acceptable.
Theme four: Strengthening the social dimension of globalization. Here we have a major responsibility. Open markets need social ownership and political acceptance. I would like to thank Deputy Chancellor Franz Müntefering, who has prepared this theme with great dedication. Progress will only be made in this key area if the G8 looks at the bigger picture. Here too we urgently need the dialogue with the emerging economies and global enterprises. This dialogue is indispensable, and has been pursued prior to the Summit in numerous ways.
The Heiligendamm Summit is to give a strong signal for the adoption of and compliance with social standards: the ILO core labour standards, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Global Compact on responsible corporate citizenship.
I am certain that if social – and ecological – minimum standards are not respected, the world economy will not be the place for fair competition. Now, in this phase of globalization, it is up to us in Germany, who have fared so well with our social market economy, to strongly advocate the social dimension at international level and to do all we can to make it a reality.
Topic five is climate change. This is without a doubt a challenge for all mankind, one that we have often discussed. The most recent scientific studies have mercilessly reminded us that we must act fast to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in order to limit global warming to 2°C.
Germany is therefore campaigning hard for the further formulation of international climate policy for the period after 2012. The Spring European Council under our Presidency sent a very important signal on this subject from Europe as a whole. But, as you know, interests diverge far more at international level. This was highlighted very clearly by the discussions at the G8 Environment Ministers Meeting and recently at the EU-USA Summit in late April 2007. It is important first of all that the G8 comes to a common understanding of how climate change can effectively be fought and what international agreements should be concluded for the period post 2012.
To be honest with you, I don't know if we will be able to reach such an understanding at Heiligendamm. But in my view there is no doubt that the leading industrialized nations must take the lead on this issue. Otherwise we will not be able to tackle climate change. Only if we lead by example can we convince the more advanced emerging economies to pledge to take the appropriate steps, without of course infringing their right to further economic growth.
I am glad that the tone of the discussion has changed. The old debate between those irreconcilable opposites, the "economy" and "ecology", has mutated into a debate in which it has become clear that, if we do things the right way, both sides, the environment and business, stand to gain.
Increasing energy efficiency has a prominent role to play. New technologies for power stations, energy-saving facilities technologies, environmentally-friendly fuels and engines – all of these will contribute equally to judicious energy security and climate protection. For this reason we want to talk to the G8 countries on how we can make concrete progress. We have to use the meeting in Heiligendamm to expand our technological cooperation with the emerging economies in the field of energy efficiency, wherever this is possible.
The sixth theme is the liberalization of world trade. We face some important decisions on this subject. Germany has from the very beginning worked hard for a successful conclusion of the Doha round of trade talks. I still believe that a breakthrough is possible, notwithstanding the now tight timetable. But this requires all participants to live up to their responsibilities. They can do this by being more flexible and accepting compromises on the reduction of trade barriers as well as compromises that benefit the poorest countries in the world.
The seventh theme is the future of Africa. Along with the economic and climate policy themes, this will be the main focus of the Heiligendamm Summit. We want to continue and expand our reform partnership with Africa. The African Heads of State and Government of the five NEPAD founding states, as well as the President of Ghana in his capacity as Chairman of the African Union, will be in Heiligendamm on 8 June 2007. As the G8, we wish to underscore our support for the countries of Africa that assume responsibility and pursue reforms. This is an issue to which the entire Federal Government and the Development Minister in particular attach special importance.
Ladies and gentlemen, at the Africa Partnership Forum, held over the past few days, we have again felt how vital our commitment to our neighbouring continent is. We can see that Africa is on the move. Some impressive leaders and characters are at work. More and more states in Africa are becoming democratic. Numerous African states now show stable economic growth of over 5%, and the number of armed conflicts on the continent is falling.
On the other hand, much remains to be done. Just how stony the path to democracy and the rule of law is, has been demonstrated once again by the irregularities in the Nigerian elections. We are also most deeply concerned about the situation in Zimbabwe. The widespread intimidation and persecution of political opponents and the destruction of poor people's homes across the nation cannot be justified in any way.
We naturally also support the United Nations and the African Union in their efforts to bring about a viable peace agreement for Darfur. The people in the region must finally be protected by a joint AU-UN peace mission. Slight progress is indeed being made, but much too slowly for the people on the ground. The Heiligendamm Summit will therefore send an unambiguous message on this subject.
The Millennium Goals for Africa have been set. The time for the international community to define objectives is over. Now we have to implement them. A great deal of political credibility rides on the issue. Our far-reaching pledges to increase our official development assistance made over the past years have the potential to bear fruit. We will deliver on these pledges.
I'd like to say this quite clearly. We will have to tread new paths to do this, for example by using innovative financial instruments. I could visualize winning support in Parliament for funding pro-development climate protection projects in connection with the auctioning of CO2 certificates. That would be a new way of raising money. And I would welcome it very much.
But we also expect our African partners to vigorously advance their reform agendas. We need efficient institutions and structures. Otherwise the funds that we, the developed countries, provide, will not reach the people who need them. That would be fatal.
We are working towards the uninterrupted development of functioning health systems in Africa. In the fight against HIV/AIDS, we support – as agreed – the goal of universal access to prevention programmes, treatment and care by 2010. All parties – international organizations, the African states and the pharmaceutical industry – still need to significantly scale up their efforts to this end.
The Federal Government has increased its bilateral aid for combating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by 400 million Euro in 2007. As holder of the G8 Presidency, we are striving to ensure that the Global Fund is satisfactorily replenished at the end of September.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we all realize that our own interest in a stable world order makes it vital for the African continent to achieve sustainable economic and political progress. Our agenda for the G8 Summit – the seven themes relating to our chosen priorities, the world economy, climate change and the future of Africa – all demonstrate that we recognize Germany's responsibility in the world.
Together with the Heads of State and Government of the G8 countries and the major emerging economies, we aim to give globalization a human face. To this end we want to create the right conditions for greater growth and employment, and we want to find solutions to the major challenges facing humanity such as climate change and the future of Africa.
Growth and responsibility. That is the great chance presented by the German G8 Presidency. We would like to thank all those who devote their energy to turning this chance into reality – the organizations, the members of this Parliament, and the many citizens who actively work towards a sustainable, humane world.
Thank you very much.
