Ahern blasts US resistance at Summit
In an unexpected broadside, he said the US had been trying to change existing deals and this was hampering talks in Johannesburg.
“They have a terrible habit of trying to unlock things. These are things which have been agreed and long understood, yet you find yourself back pulling at them again.”
He also criticised US resistance to plans to make multinational corporations accountable for the social problems they create, which was stalling a formal agreement to the summit talks last night.
Overall, Mr Ahern said Ireland and the EU had not got everything they had hoped for, but was happy that Ireland played a key role in a number of important deals on issues such as sanitation and clean water.
He said the summit was a breakthrough because it sought to implement the broken promises made at the Rio de Janeiro summit.
Mr Ahern also said the support of the EU illustrated the importance of a Yes vote in the Nice Treaty. “Imagine what it would be like here out on our own? Norway has spent a lot of the time saying how it wants to work with the EU,” he said.
Earlier, in a speech, Mr Ahern promised to meet targets for increases in overseas aid, despite this year’s controversial budget cutbacks.
He said there had been a “shameful” decrease in aid during the 1990s and called on the developed world to do more to help the poor.
Significantly, he announced that Ireland supported attempts to drop Third World debt. This proposal was put forward during the summit talks, but was not agreed upon.
Irish pressure groups welcomed the announcement, with Christian Aid Ireland spokesman, Oisín Coughlan, describing it as a timely and positive move.
Meanwhile, Development Minister Tom Kitt defended Ireland’s strong stance against removing trade-distorting subsidies. He said he recognised they had to be addressed but only under the umbrella of the World Trade Organisation.
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