Andorra, 2009

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

49 09-52592

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.