Interview news: 'Collective preferences' is an EU attempt to silence domestic critique, says Vandana Shiva 

The EU's emerging concept of 'collective preferences’ in international trade policy is viewed with scepticism by developing nations. It is an attempt by the EU to “survive the critiques of its own citizens while still managing to push free trade in the South,” said Dr Vandana Shiva, Director of Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, Dehra Dun, India.

According to EU Trade Commissioner Lamy, 'collective preferences' would serve as a tool for ‘good protectionism’ - ie it would defend core values, such as social rights, public services, environmental and public health protection, from the excesses of free trade. The development of this new principle is in its infancy within DG Trade of the European Commission but has already triggered a significant amount of public interest following a leaked internal Commission document, dated November 2003.

Dr Shiva talked to EurActiv about the ‘excesses’ of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and, in particular, its provisions relating tointellectual property protectionwhich prevent Indians from following their long-standing tradition ofsaving seedsafter each harvesting period to be planted the year after. "We will treat other life forms as our kin, as our family, and you are not going to force us into a relationship of property with them," she said.

On the issue ofCorporate Social Responsibility, Dr Shiva felt that corporate behaviour has only changed "in terms of the language they use and the brochures they put out" but not "in terms of those who are impacted by these companies". "I think for the first time we really have corporate crime as an epidemic on the planet," she added.

Dr Shiva pointed out that "globalisationwould start to work for people of the South" when agriculture and public services are "re-claimed as democratic, nationally determined public policy issues". Then "we will globalise responsibility, we will globalise compassion. Right now all that has been globalised is greed," said Dr Shiva.

EurActiv interviewed Dr Vandana Shiva at a conference hosted by the parliamentary group of the Greens/European Free Alliance on "Re-making the Global Trading System", on 5 March 2004.

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