Case: Policy coherence in general

29-07-2009 MEPs concerned about Uzbeki children

Different MEPs from parties such as the ECR, ALDE and S&D have raised the issue of forced child labour that is used by the Uzbeki government in order to provide for harvest of their cotton each year. While this led to a call for boycott by the World Fair Trade Organisation, the EU the biggest single destination for Uzbek cotton continued importing the product under the preferential system. Graham Watson (ALDE) particularly highlights the incoherence of this by referring to the commitments the Commission made to eradicating child labour at a global level.
We would like to thank Bill Newton Dunn (ALDE), Roger Helmer (ECR), Graham Watson (ALDE), Claude Moraes (S&D) and Charles Tannock (ECR) for raising this issue.

On the 25th of August the Commission jointly answered to these questions that Uzbekistan still denies any existence of forced child labour during the cotton harvest, but they have been in dialogue on the issue and are urging for independent monitoring of activities. The Commission will continue to pay attention to the issue. For the full answer and links to the questions, click here.

Monitor fair: ALDE, ECR, S&D