I must first
apologize for the absence of our head of Government,
Mr. Jaume Bartumeu Cassany, who, due to his
institutional agenda, is unable to attend the general
debate.
It is a great honour for the Principality of Andorra
and the Government that I represent to speak in the
General Assembly Hall. We Andorrans are well aware
of the significance of being a small State within the
United Nations. We are not trying to make our mark on
international politics, but we want to make clear our
intention to respect and defend international law,
standards of good-neighbourly relations and the
principle of solidarity between peoples.
Europe is our natural frame of reference. We wish
to be recognized in that way, not only in terms of
cultural and historical affinity, but also in the legal and
economic fields. In brief, our conception of solidarity,
both domestic and international, and our notion of
international relations are the same as those of the rest
of Europe.
Since 1993, we have had a constitutional framework
that allows us to translate all those principles into practice
and to make them a reality. Supported by that
constitutional framework, on 10 August we presented a
law for the exchange of information on fiscal matters,
which, once debated and amended, was approved by
the parliament on 7 September.
We have always been certain of Andorra’s loyalty
to the international community. Yet we thought it
appropriate to dispel any doubts and to follow the
recommendations of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other
international institutions, as expressed in meetings of
the Group of 20.
That is the first example, but others will follow,
because our Government’s priority is to dispel any
doubts about our determination to adapt to the demands
and expectations of our European neighbours and the
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rest of the international community. We are convinced
that this and other steps will be appreciated and
understood by all international stakeholders that may at
any time have harboured doubts about our community
spirit towards the rest of the world. We are also
confident that this new era will enable us to interact
more with Europe and other continents by
strengthening our international bonds and our
economic and human presence.
In line with that legislation, our country has
already been in contact, and even signed agreements,
with some European countries. In the future, we will
do likewise with other countries, including the United
States of America, Australia and Argentina. Needless to
say, our priority has been to negotiate with France,
Spain and Portugal, which are our closest neighbours.
Incidentally, I would add that Andorra has
suffered from a lingering structural crisis for at least
the past four years. This has now been exacerbated by
the world economic crisis. The world cannot solve our
particular crisis for us. We must do it for ourselves. To
concentrate on the idea that interests us, I assure the
General Assembly that our Government’s action
focuses on clearly demonstrating to the international
community that we are fulfilling our duties. We very
much wish to cooperate, promote international ties and
instil confidence.
The exchange of tax information will undoubtedly
result in the signing of double-taxation agreements. As a
result, we will boost our relations with countries with
which previous links were somewhat weak. Indeed, is that
not one of the founding objectives of the United Nations?
The legislation to which I have referred addresses
issues that have been at the heart of OECD discussions
for the past few months. It will affect requests for
information launched after the entry into force of tax-
information exchange agreements or double-taxation
agreements.
Let us be clear, tax havens and fiscal opacity,
which have been identified and condemned as two of
the major financial evils of the twentieth century, are
matters that all Andorrans would like to overcome
soon. Our strategic position is clear, and our
commitment is strong.
At the same time, we are proposing a tax reform
that will allocate resources according to priorities that
serve the general interest and provide guarantees to
Europe and to the rest of the world that we want clear,
transparent and accountable relations. That reform will
offer entrepreneurs and professionals an opportunity to
export goods and services from Andorra on an equal
footing. Only then will international companies
seriously consider the possibility of investing in
Andorra within a stable juridical environment.
I sincerely hope that there will be no doubts
about my Government’s desire to face the economic
issues that have been at the heart of international
debates over the past few months. The need to move
forward towards greater financial transparency in
Andorra leads us to expect the same standards from the
international community. We have understood and
noted that the system that governed the world economy
in the twentieth century has become obsolete.
International organizations and every political,
economic and social institution must make efforts to
guarantee transparency. We believe that reform of the
international economic system should be immediate,
rigorous and credible. It should be led by the United
Nations, in close cooperation with the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund and the World Trade
Organization.
However, in order to face that and other
challenges, we need to modernize the Organization,
revitalize the General Assembly and reform the
Security Council. In our opinion, those objectives,
along with so-called system-wide coherence, must
include the right to gender equality.
We in Andorra thus understand that we need fair,
clear and internationally recognized standards and
regulations to instil confidence in Andorran
entrepreneurs and employees alike. But we should also
consider the demands of the international financial
situation and the need to promote transparency and
regulatory mechanisms for financial activities.
Solving the international financial crisis is one of
our main priorities. There should be no doubt about
that. However, we need to tackle other issues affecting
the international community. I am referring to climate
change. As has already been mentioned in the
Assembly Hall, this is one of the most serious
challenges humankind has ever faced.
We in the Principality of Andorra recognize the
efforts of the United Nations to try to mobilize the
international community. As French head of State and
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Co-Prince of Andorra Nicolas Sarkozy reminded us
here (see ), it is time that each State make a
strong commitment to solving this issue. Andorra’s
commitment to combating the effects of climate change
is real. Progress can already be seen in such efforts as
our ratification of the Convention for the Protection of
the Ozone Layer.
We hope that at Copenhagen in December it will
be possible to adopt a new climate agreement that is
equitable, efficient and ambitious from a scientific
point of view. We believe that, to achieve a positive
result at the Conference, it is essential to involve all
society, especially younger generations.
We believe health to be a fundamental right that
is necessary to achieve sustainable development in
Europe and throughout the world. We face new
challenges in the health sector. The new influenza virus
is one such challenge. The Andorran Government has
decided to fight it by making vaccination available to
the majority of our population. That decision was taken
in cooperation with our neighbours and the World
Health Organization. On another matter, the
Principalities of Monaco and Andorra have joined
forces to finance a four-year project to reduce the
vulnerability of women of reproductive age stemming
from the food crisis affecting Madagascar. Those are
two examples of fruitful and successful cooperation
between international actors.
The responsibility to protect populations against
genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes
against humanity serves to remind us once again of the
need for responsible cooperation. Neither world
Powers nor mid-sized and small countries can abandon
cooperation. We all are necessary, because we all are
inhabitants of the Earth.