Beginning in mid August Venezuela will lose the preferential access it has to the European Union based on the Generalised System of Preferences (SPG +). That was just now announced at the German Parliament (Bundestag) upon request from the Ecologist Party. The Venezuelan government, in spite of its promises, had not ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption. The European Union has thus decided to take back its decision from 9 December 2008 of adding Venezuela to the list of countries benefiting from the SPG +. Gabon, Nigeria and Pakistan also lost their preferential tariffs. The EU does not want to publish the decision about Venezuela in its official journal due to "reasons of political sensibility".
I wonder if the EU is afraid Chávez "freezes" commercial ties with it as he did with Colombia when Bogotá presented proofs Swedish weapons sold to Venezuela ended up in the hands of terrorist organisation FARC.
You can find the official sources (also with the words I put in red here) in the portal of the German Parliament (Bundestag) in German here (if you want to double check, try Google language tools)
Hat off Hans
"I wonder if the EU is afraid Chávez "freezes" commercial ties with it as he did with Colombia when Bogotá presented proofs Swedish weapons sold to Venezuela ended up in the hands of terrorist organisation FARC."
ReplyDeleteThats a real good one. What do we get in the EU from Vzla? Maybe +/-500000 bpd in Oil? No will be less.
So, for europe there is no problem to cut the ties to Chavez. But there is the far left who still dreams of a sozialismus of the 21 century. What will they do if the last bollwerk fails? Go to Noth Korea?(you have nice golfing places there ;-))
Anyway my first congratulation to the EU and my second the the green party of germany. (Was the second time the green ask a seriouse question about Vzla)
I don't know why the EU is being so 'sensitive' about this issue.
ReplyDeleteHere you see the trade relationship between the EU and Venezuela:
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113462.pdf
I imagine it increased a lot last year (latest figures there are 2007).
Even if Venezuela made only 0,32% of EU exports, that means several billion euros. I suppose they don't want that potential going to China (although for a lot of machinery there is little option but Europe or the US)
Hola Kepler, for what Venezuela need the GPS system?
ReplyDeleteThere are barely roads where you can drive normal, Full of holes, collapse roads. The traffic is enormous. We saw in 2008 that even the tank battalions, (going to war) to Colombia where stuck in the traffic. And later on they where stuck because the roads where not strong enough.
Anyway I do not think that Chavez will "freeze" the economic ties with Europe.
He is desperate to get the money what this will bring.
I am glad with the signal that Europe gives that there is too much corruption in Venezuela and as long Chavez is a president there will be corruption.
saludos
Alpha...
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your comments 100%. But I believe they did not mean GPS.! They meant GSP (sistema de preferencias generalizadas... acuerdos de tarifas comerciales internationales) look at the link they offered:
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/global/gsp/index_en.htm
and this one also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalized_System_of_Preferences
...
Kepler...
I do not know if anyone is aware but right now they are too many Chinese people in Venezuela who gain Venezuelan citizenship in few months!!! maybe Mr Chavez really wants that potential to go to China?
:S :(
A Venezuelan hoping for a brighter future :)