Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-19-Speech-2-289"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070619.42.2-289"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, I shall present you with a few figures on the activity of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly in 2006. It met twice, in Vienna and Bridgetown, as is the norm for the Assembly. Just to slip in a word about Bridgetown, it so happens that Bridgetown is in Barbados and that Barbados is regarded as a tourist destination, like the entire Caribbean. Needless to say, the press pounced on this engagement, proclaiming that the Members of the European Parliament were off on a jaunt to the Caribbean. It is difficult enough to make a joint assembly work without travelling to its member countries. Now it just happens that among the countries of the Caribbean and the Pacific, and even among the countries of Africa, are some in which tourism is a major economic activity. Is that a reason not to go there? Avoiding those countries would be discourteous and would paint a distorted picture of the activity of ACP countries.
Lastly, let me conclude with the parliamentary dimension. It is absolutely essential that we, by which I mean the Members of the European Parliament but more especially our parliamentary counterparts in the ACP countries, explore the potential of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly as a source of information. Such a function would entail an upgrading of the secretarial capabilities of the ACP side. This would involve introductory training and a higher level of interest among our parliamentary counterparts in the European Development Fund and its implementation but also in the formulation of integrated national and regional plans, in the country strategy papers and in the economic partnership agreements. We welcome the allocation of some of the EDF funds to the training of Members of Parliament with a view to ensuring that the Joint Parliamentary Assembly has recourse to people who have the structures, engage in the deliberations and possess the information with which they can make the Assembly a really useful body.
Another statistic is that nine resolutions were adopted. I will not enumerate them all but simply point out that some highlighted future problems, such as tourism and development, bird flu and energy problems in ACP countries. My next statistic is that there were seven joint delegations, one of which – the mission to Malta and Tenerife – raised awareness of migration problems.
I would like to emphasise some aspects of the year’s activities. I must mention the arrival on the scene, and indeed the increased involvement in the work of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, of non-governmental players. That is an entirely welcome development, even if the involvement of these players often takes the form of parallel events. Be that as it may, their participation is undoubtedly a useful complement to the work of our Assembly. I have had the honour of being the Vice-President responsible for these matters. My term of office lasts until the next meeting of the Bureau, and I believe it is important that this post is filled.
Another point concerns the economic partnership agreements. I noted Commissioner Michel’s passionate support for these agreements. Here too, the Joint Parliamentary Assembly has played a leading role by monitoring the negotiations and by creating a two-way information flow, through which European Members of Parliament can obtain fuller knowledge of the lie of the land in the ACP countries and our ACP partners can see through the fantasies concocted by some deranged individuals, who misrepresent the economic-partnership agreements as some sort of Trojan horse of Liberalism, and I thank Commissioner Michel for reminding us that they are instruments of development policy and that their terms have not been set in stone, contrary to the rumours circulating in the corridors of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
Lastly, we have held hearings with the chief negotiators and the competent Commissioners on this matter, which has enabled us to deepen our knowledge of the economic-partnership agreements.
With regard to Darfur, I will not revisit the substance of this issue, which, I am sorry to say, is still far from having been exhausted. I simply wish to highlight an aberration, namely the use of separate voting colleges. At the first session, we had a common resolution on Darfur adopted in Vienna, whereas in Bridgetown a separate vote was requested; this blocked the resolution, because our ACP counterparts did not adopt it. They effectively yielded to pressure from a number of countries. In the report, I suggest that this practice be abandoned, so that the Joint Parliamentary Assembly can function as a genuine joint assembly in which the democratic principle alone prevails.
As for the parliamentary dimension – to which I shall return in my conclusion, Commissioner – let me simply remind you of the commitment you made on the transmission of the strategy papers to the ACP countries, of course, and to the European Parliament. I think it is important that our ACP counterparts should be involved.
Finally, as regards the rise of the Pan-African Parliament, I believe it is very important that we should have a partnership with that Parliament and a parallel partnership with the African Union. I believe that a delegation went there and that we have undertaken to host a visit by its President.
Another point relates to the strengthening of sub-regions within the ACP area. There are four regions in Africa plus the Caribbean and the Pacific regions, and it would be beneficial to strengthen the sub-regions, since only a regional approach will allow the economic-partnership agreements to be properly implemented in the interests of everyone."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples