A balanced and sustainable development is a key global priority, and this can only be obtained through effective cooperation in all the relevant international fora, was the main message of MEP Iuliu Winkler (RMDSZ, EPP), Vice-Chair of the Committee on International Trade (INTA) in the European Parliament (EP), this Wednesday.
INTA and the EP´s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) held a joint meeting this Wednesday on the Argentinian Presidency of the G20. The meeting was held on the backdrop of the upcoming joint INTA-AFET delegation to the Parliamentary Forum of the G20 in Buenos Aires at the end of October.
“A balanced and sustainable development, as an objective of the Argentinian Presidency of the G20, is a vital priority at the global level, and one of the best ways to achieve this balanced and sustainable development is through effective cooperation. We need to work together on multiple dimensions, and from these, I would like to highlight the importance of cooperation on trade and investment. Trade is an engine of growth”, emphasized Winkler during the exchange of views.
The INTA Vice-Chair has underlined that in order for this growth to be sustainable, we need to maintain the multilateral rules-based trading system. “Only like this can we ensure a fair and balanced distribution of the benefits, and also of the costs of global trade. We need a modernisation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The European Union has presented, at the end of September, in Geneva, its proposals for WTO reform. I hope that we will find as many partners as possible within the G20, as only through the modernisation of the WTO will we be able to provide answers to the worries of our citizens throughout the globe. Our citizens are losing trust in trade and in globalisation; we hence need to reenergise and bring transparency into discussions on the effective implementation of agreements in order to gain back the trust of citizens”, highlighted Winkler.
The INTA Vice-Chair stated that protectionism is not a solution, and that trade wars have no winners, only losers. “Only by working together in G20 and other global fora, can we build towards a solid, balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growth, facilitating job creation and fostering the trust of the youth in the future”, added the RMDSZ MEP.
