Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-04-Speech-3-195"
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"en.20080604.23.3-195"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the report I prepared for the Committee on Development reviews the work of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) in 2007. Those of you who are actively involved in this work or are simply interested in it know that it is not a purely formal or symbolic structure, indeed quite the reverse, since the Assembly increasingly functions as a true parliamentary assembly. Its members are increasingly engaged in it, influential figures sound it out and as a result it is acquiring growing political importance. This is the first point that I wanted to emphasise.
The growing political importance of this Assembly also derives from the fact that apart from the fundamental issues relating to cooperation between ACP and EU countries, it also discusses issues which are topical both for Europeans and ACP countries. This is the case, for example, with the Economic Partnership Agreements negotiated between the Union and ACP countries. On this issue, the JPA has confirmed with the Kigali Declaration that the leaders concerned clearly want the European Commission to give ACP countries enough time to negotiate regional development agreements. Kigali is not only an opportunity to show that there is real resistance to these agreements, as they currently exist, but also that this resistance is founded on concerns which are entirely legitimate and which must now be properly taken into account.
In the same way, it is only through participating in the work of the Assembly that many MPs in ACP countries have learnt of the existence of Country Strategy Papers that define areas of cooperation between the EU and their own countries. This serves as a reminder that, for many MPs in ACP countries, the Assembly is sometimes the only possible forum for democratic expression.
I would also like to stress that in 2007 we witnessed the increasing engagement of civil society in ACP countries, with excellent meetings and initiatives being organised on the sidelines of each JPA session. In the fight for development by civil society in ACP countries, the Assembly also represents an extraordinary opportunity for exchange and encounter. In this respect, the Union must be able to support, technically and financially, the presence of these associations and NGOs in the work of the JPA.
Finally, I would like to underline that in our report, we encourage the JPA to strengthen the role of its Committee on Political Affairs. The idea behind this is to make it a true forum for conflict prevention and settlement and to encourage close collaboration between the activities of ACP and EU parliamentarians as election observers within the framework of EU election observation.
You should also know that in 2007 the Assembly met in Wiesbaden, and then in Kigali. Nine resolutions were adopted. The standing committees met four times: twice on the sidelines of the sessions and twice in between those sessions, in Brussels. These committees, which are in charge of following up the resolutions, have since 2007 organised the hearing of the responsible committee members in the corresponding areas.
Apart from several reports, the Wiesbaden session adopted a resolution on the situation in Darfur. There was a very constructive urgent debate on the situation in Zimbabwe. The workshops on immigration, climate change and medicines for neglected diseases all attracted a great number of participants and great interest. The Kigali session adopted three resolutions contained in the reports by the Standing Committees, Committees and two urgent resolutions on natural disasters in the ACP countries and the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mr President, Commissioner, there you have it. I have briefly summarised a formal report that I wanted to give a political content, in order to help explain and more effectively support the work of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly."@en1
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