| If the canary drops dead , you know you have to get out of the mine , and that is what these small island states are.My question to the Commission is this : these islands are very well aware that they are in the front line. There are atolls in the Pacific which are being evacuated at this very moment , but this is not even mentioned in the European press. There are 200 or 300 people who are being moved from the atolls where they have lived for generations. Many of the AOSIS states are ACP countries - in fact , one third of the ACP countries with which Europe has development agreements are small island states. Is the Commissioner prepared to develop a plan with Mr Pinheiro , who is responsible for the ACP countries , to try to work with them to provide help for the AOSIS states , and is she also prepared to attend the hearing on climate change which the ACP Assembly is organizing in Brussels in September. Finally , the latest UN conference , Habitat II on cities , illustrates to us how urgently the Commission needs to let its voice be heard by the Council of Ministers and , ultimately , to reassert its authority | Von einem Botschafter im Pazifikraum wurde einmal gesagt : we are the canaries of the mines . Wenn der canary tot umfällt , muß das mine bekanntlich geräumt werden , und das sind die Small Island States . Diese Inselstaaten sind sich dessen wohlbewußt , daß sie an vorderster Front stehen. Im Pazifik gibt es bereits Atolle , die gegenwärtig geräumt werden. Von der europäischen Presse wird dies nicht einmal erwähnt. Es geht ja nur um 200 oder 300 Menschen , die von ihren Atollen , auf denen sie schon seit Generationen leben , evakuiert werden. Bei einem Drittel der AKP - Länder , mit denen die Europäische Union ein Kooperations - Abkommen geschlossen hat , handelt es sich um kleine Inselstaaten |
