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A SEED's petition discussed in Parliament | Action Report
A SEED Europe - Worldbank Campaign - 14.04.2008 11:42
On April 9th, A SEED Europe held a colourful public action in front the Parliament's building in Den Haag to submit a petition calling for revision of the Dutch contribution to the World Bank.
Minister Koenders neemt de Petitie in ontvangst
The document, undersigned by more than fifty Dutch organizations was handed in to the representatives of the Finance and Foreign Affairs Commissions in the Parliament and to the Dutch minister of Development Mr. Koenders.
The petition was part of the discussion that was subsequently held between Mr. Koenders and parliamentarians of the Socialist Party (SP) and Green Left. The SP put forward the proposition that World Bank refrains from forcing liberalization and privatization onto poor countries, while the Green Left demanded that no money is given to the World Bank as long as the Bank finances fossil fuel. While the minister rejected the last demand, he accepted the proposal of the SP.
Outside, under the beats of the Rhythms of Resistance Amsterdam samba band, activists illustrated to the Dutch decision-makers how the World Bank relates to the poorest countries. Passers-by and parliament visitors received 500 euro loans, under the condition of adopting tight fiscal restraints on their food expenditures for the coming months*. The borrowers could repay the loans with resources coming available by allowing companies to drill for oil in their garden.
On the questions, put by A SEED to the Dutch development minister, Koenders responded that he would not support phasing out of funding for fossil fuels by the World Bank, as demanded in the petition, while he would like to see an increase in the funding for renewables. While he correctly pointed out that rich countries should be the ones undertaking actions to curb greenhouse gas emissions, Mr Koenders ignored the fact that the oil extraction projects in the South are designed to feed the industrialized countries with more energy, benefiting corporations disproportionally more than the poor countries and speeding up climate change.
Unfortunately, the proposal that the Netherlands requires a phase out of privatization and liberalization conditionalities by the World Bank did not receive majority votes in the Parliament in the session of the Tenth of April. Nor was the proposal for a phase out of fossil fuel funding supported.
Still, the support which the problem of economic conditionalities received on the side of the SP, the Green Left and the Dutch minister, who promised to address the issue during the Spring-meeting of the World Bank is a highly positive development. It is important that the issues are taken serious on by the SP and the Green Left respectively.
Notes:
**Adopting tight fiscal restraints on their food expenditures=Starving them, or significantly decreasing their expenditures on
 E-Mail: info@aseed.net  Website: http://www.aseed.net/petition/
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