EU Resolution on Food Prices Rise, UN moves on Right to Food and Popular riots while G-20 starts

*Paris/G20/Angelo Marcopolo/- Various last-minute contacts, at the eve of G20 Finances Ministers and Central Banks Governors' 2011 Summit, starting officially tomorrow in Paris marked by a speech of G8 - G20 Chairman French President Sarkozy, before concluding on Saturday, appeared engaged in attempts to mark breakthroughs at controversial issues of Gobal Economy, among a growing echo of tensions, revolts and violent clashes in the surrounding Mediterranean and Middle East region, partly provoked or aggravated by a dangerous Mix of Democratic aspirations and Food Prices' rise, in proportions risking to get out of control, as European and International Organizations denounced these days, showing that the reported opposition of a few countries, as Brazil, to International Monitoring of Raw Materials' prices' volatility, (metals, oil and/or food), becomes more and more untenable.

- A Resolution just adopted by EU Parliament in Strasbourg on "Rising Foàd Prices", strongly denounces the fact that "food prices have peaked for the 7th consecutive month..., reaching the Highest levels since the FAO started measuring .. prices in 1990; ...became a destabilising factor in the global economy and sparked riots and unrest in a number of developing countries and most recently in Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt".

This might only be the tip of the iceberg, since "FAO estimates that the number of undernourished people in the world reached 925 million in 2010, and ...29 countries in the world face food supply difficulties and are in need of external food assistance". Moreover, "poverty and famine still exist in the EU, where  79 million people..live below the poverty line ..; and 16 million EU citizens received food aid through charities last winter" MEPs denounced.

+ Recently, it became also obvious that " food Production can be regularly undermined by ...extreme Weather events, such as floods and droughts", which appeared to be "increasing", (f.ex. the Historic Record Heatwaves which targetted France on 2003 and Russia -as well as Ukraine and Kazakhstan- on 2010 : See Summer 2010 "EuroFora"'s NewsReports).

++ Moreover, "the share of aid to the developing world going to agriculture and rural development has fallen dramatically over the past three decades'", and "investment in sustainable food systems in developing countries has declined", while 'large tracts of land, ...have been purchased by international companies', and 'this land is not always used for food production', and "such developments threaten the food production potential of developing countries"'.

When, f.ex., Oil prices dramatically fall from 145 $ down to only 36 $ per barrel during 2008, and afterwards grow up to 100 $ in 2011, while, in parallel, Wheat's Prices grow from 120 € to 300 € in a few Weeks, after some 2010 Summer's Extreme Weather Events, it's obvious that speculators and manipulators can becom too dangerous for producers and consumers..

Therefore, MEPs from 27 EU Member Countries conclude that "global Food Security is a question of the utmost Urgency for the EU and the Developing World", calling  for "immediate action" to ensure food security for EU citizens and at Global level : ...food should be available to consumers at reasonable prices, while at the same time a fair standard of living for farmers should be ensured", EU Parliament asked.

- In addition, "the Right to food is a basic and fundamental Human Right", implying ...physical and economic access to suitable, safe (from the point of view of health) and nutritious food ....for an active and healthy life", (i.e. excluding both Hunger and Obesity from malnutrition).

>>> Meanwhile, UNO's "Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food", from nearby Geneva, gave, "at the end of January 2011, "8 Recommendations".

In addition, UNO's General Assembly was due to be addressed at New York, by French Minister of Agricuture, Bruno Le Maire, after meeting with UNO's Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

But, even if the more particular aspects of the Food Prices' issue are due to be dealt with by a special Agricultural Ministers' gathering, in the middle of 2011, nevertheless, the necessary overall view on all Raw Materials, as well as Measures needed in order to set some elementary Rules of Law over a galoping Financiarisation of commodities' markets, can only be done by Ministers of Finances, currently hosted by Global affairs experienced French Minister for Finance and Economy, Christine Lagarde.

Naturally, Food prices' issue is just one among many Raw Materials and other Commodities' prices' Volatility, which represent only 1 among 5 Working Groups of the G20 in 2011, the other 4 being focused mainly to Growth, Monetary System, Financial Regulation,     and Development/Climate Change, (Comp. previous relevant "EuroFora" NewsReports). But it's currently the most obviously affecting People's lives in the most immediate terms today.
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A timely innovation at the 2011 Summit chaired by France is that Africa marks a notable entry inside what becomes rather a G-25 (according to the initial idea to progressively enlarge participation to all economically important actors of the Global Economy), by adding to South Africa, as "Guests", also the Chair of the African Union (currently Equatorial Guinea), and of the NEPAD (currently Ethiopia). The move extends also towards the Arab World, with the United Arab Emirates (currently representing Gulf's states). As if to equilibrate this, are added also Spain from Europe and Singapour from S/E Asia. It's true that previous choices to include in a  Global Economy body States whose exports are less than 1,5% of the Global Trade (such as Turkey, Indonesia, South Africa, Argentina), while at the same time excluding almost the whole African Continent (the biggest in the World) wasn't very convincing, as, inter alia, also a Developing Countries' International Conference, organized in 2009 in Strasbourg had clearly shown, given the frustrations of many other Countries, throughout the World, who also revendicated, for one reason or another, their right to be somehow represented....

At an absolutely differend but also Topical issue, observers of this 2011 G20 Finance Ministers and Centra Banks' Governors' Summit in Paris will certainly be interested to learn -or at least guess- more on what became recently one of the most confused matters : Who will become EuroZone's Central Bank's Governor, after France's Truchet's term of office expires, since the initially scheduled German candidate suddeny changed job ? Speculation seem going wide open, including other possible German candidates, a Luxembourgian or, rather an Italian one (from the 3rd Big Country in €uroZone), etc... At a moment when EuroZone Heads of State and Government have just decided (See "EuroFora"'s NewsReport from Brussels' February 4, 2011, EU Summit) to organize an exceptional March Summit on deepening €uroZone's integration and for more Competitivity, open also to other EU Countries, the question of ECB's new President is certainly an important matter.

Comparatively to ECB's succession imbroglio and its propably hidden stakes, USA Fed's Governor Bernanke's recent criticism by Republican Teaparters going against Public Debt after the 2010 Mid Term Congress' Elections, may appear to be more crystal clear...  

Meanwhile, by a symbolic coincidence, while Bankers and Financiers were trying to find a Monetary and/or Markets' coherence in Global affairs, CoE was, at the same time, organizing a debate, at another side of Paris, on Religions' contribution to Intercultural dialogue, as if it searched also a Spiritual Global Coherence...