Congratulations to the European Union and to Andris Piebalgs

Congratulations to the European Union for the Nobel Peace Prize, and to European Commissioner Andris Piebalgs’ progressive views on human rights and international assistance.

The Hélène De Beir Foundation wants to congratulate the European Union for the Nobel Peace Prize. The European Union is an outward-looking or ‘extraspective’ project, one can reasonably argue that looking outward contributes to peace, more than ‘introspection’ does.

During the same week, European Commissioner Andris Piebalgs’ presented his views on the future of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in a speech to the European Parliament and his views are remarkably progressive and in line with what we stand for:

“These "MDGs plus" would provide the basic rights that every citizen on the planet should expect and demand from their governments at the very latest by 2030, with, where necessary, for the poorest countries, the support of the international community through continued ODA.”

Human rights, including the right to health, must be at the center of international cooperation. The international community should increase pressure on all government to realize all human rights. International assistance should be part of that global social contract – it should not be temporary, but available as long as needed!