Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-04-Speech-3-196"
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"en.20080604.23.3-196"2
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"Mr President, thank you very much, but I can assure you that I am really enjoying it here and I know that my dear colleague regrets very much that he cannot be here for this discussion. This exchange of views is very close to his heart, but I can assure you he is not wasting his time: he is travelling to an important meeting outside Brussels.
At the same time, the JPA secretariat has also been transmitting these documents to the representatives of the respective countries in the JPA. We thus have reason to believe that the national parliaments are informed and can take their part in the monitoring and control of development programmes.
It is true that the capacity of national parliaments to play their role fully in the preparation and execution of the EDF is often limited. That is why the EDF finances institutional support in many ACP countries.
Beyond the scrutiny of Country Strategy Papers, the best way to ensure parliamentary control of EDF funds is to put in place general or sectoral budget support programmes. In this way the external funds are completely integrated into the national budgetary procedure where national parliaments play a key role. That is one of the reasons for the Commission’s decision to attribute about 45% of the 10th EDF to budget support programmed in 44 countries, compared to just 25 at the start of the 9th EDF, so there is an upward trend.
Lastly, let me take this opportunity to add my congratulations to the Government and Parliament of Rwanda and to the German Presidency for their excellent organisation of last year’s Assembly sessions.
The Joint Parliamentary Assembly is a unique institution. Mr Michel is my neighbour in the college meeting and this morning he explained everything to me about the functioning of the Assembly, so now I can claim to know a little bit about that.
He mentioned that the JPA is where the spirit of partnership that lies at the heart of the Cotonou Agreement can be witnessed directly, as 156 elected representatives from the European Union and from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries discuss together the core issues of their cooperation. That is real North-South dialogue, a dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect, going beyond the traditional recipient-donor relationship. That is the parliamentary embodiment of ownership and control.
Over the past years the Joint Parliamentary Assembly has become increasingly parliamentary in stature and in conduct, reflecting the maturity of the cooperation between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. Those debates are more open and regional conflicts less frequent. That is indeed a worthwhile achievement.
The Assembly has indeed become a framework for an open political dialogue, showing itself capable of discussing issues of great sensitivity and major political relevance such as good governance, access to healthcare and the impact of foreign direct investment, the migration of skilled workers and the Economic Partnership Agreements.
The excellent report of Mr Hutchinson and the Committee on Development presents this evolution eloquently and on behalf of Mr Michel and myself I would like to congratulate the rapporteur on his work. It presents the achievements and the challenges and explores the possibilities of future development.
One achievement was the leading role that the Joint Parliamentary Assembly played in the monitoring of the EPA negotiations, ensuring a two-way information flow thanks to the discussions with the chief negotiators and with my dear colleague Mr Michel on this matter during the year.
Another important leap has been the transmission by the Commission to the Assembly of the Country and Regional Strategy Papers. That demonstrates the confidence in the capacity of the Assembly to play a more political role and provides an opportunity to show further signs of maturity.
In order to enhance parliamentary scrutiny, Commissioner Michel asked the Commission Delegations to transmit these strategy papers also to the Speakers of the national parliaments via the National Authorising Officer of the EDF in the beneficiary countries. As you are aware, the Commission cannot transmit them directly since according to the Cotonou Agreement the NAO is our official contact point for all questions of programming and of EDF implementation."@en1
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