The EU’s ugly resource grab

Mark Curtis:

EU trade policy has long been hijacked by European business, which wants raw materials at cheap prices. EU priorities are a mirror image of positions adopted by corporate lobby groups. The commission frankly states: “We will rely on EU business to provide much of the information on the barriers which affect their trade or investment with third countries”. There is a serious risk that Europe’s budget and unemployment crisis will put policymakers even more in hock to the demands of big business.

It is hardly surprising that European policy faces mounting opposition from most African countries, which have long opposed signing investment agreements with the EU. The Raw Materials Initiative should be opposed by Europe’s citizens, too, because it distracts from the need to reduce their own consumption. Europeans already consume four times as much as the average African. It is in their own interest to demand new international action to manage use of the world’s limited natural resources equitably and sustainably.

(via Instapaper)