JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT CONCLUDED BETWEEN THE MEMBERS OF THE AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC GROUP OF STATES, OF THE ONE PART, AND THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS MEMBER STATES, OF THE OTHER PART

MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF MONDAY, 19 JUNE 2017

(2017/C 405/01)

CONTENTS

MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF MONDAY, 19 JUNE 2017

(The sitting opened at 11.00)

Formal inaugural sitting

The following addressed the Assembly:

Angelo Farrugia, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta, Mémounatou Ibrahima, Acting Co-President of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Louis Michel, Co-President of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, and Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of the Republic of Malta.

(The sitting adjourned at 12.20 and resumed at 15.18)

IN THE CHAIR: Louis MICHEL

Co-President

Sitting of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

The Co-President welcomed all the participants.

Composition of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

The Co-President announced that the list of members of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, as forwarded by the authorities of the ACP states and the European Parliament, would be annexed to the minutes.

1.   Adoption of agenda (AP102.196)

Speakers: Abderrahmane Marrakchy (Mauritania), Acting Co-President Mémounatou Ibrahima, Co-President Louis Michel, Michael Gahler and Catherine Bearder.

Decision: In order to facilitate the departure of Members, efforts would be made to hold the votes on Wednesday 21 June 2017 as early as possible in the afternoon. The secretariat would prepare an updated draft agenda and work programme of the session to be submitted to the Assembly.

2.   Approval of the minutes of the last sittings of the 32nd session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (OJ C 170 of 30.5.2017)

The minutes were approved.

3.   Co-Presidents’ announcements, including decisions taken at the Bureau meeting of 18 June 2017

The Co-President reported on the results of the Bureau meeting of 18 June 2017.

The following decisions were taken:

4.   Statement by Neven Mimica, Member of the European Commission with responsibility for international cooperation and development

Neven Mimica, Member of the European Commission with responsibility for international cooperation and development, focused his statement on the new European Consensus on Development and on the upcoming Africa-EU Summit, scheduled to take place in Côte d’Ivoire in November 2017. Similarly to Agenda 2030, the new European Consensus on Development is structured around the five ‘P’s: people, the planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. It reaffirms that poverty eradication remains the focus of EU development policy and reconfirms the target of 0,7 % ODA/GNI by 2030. The Joint Communication for a renewed impetus of the Africa-EU partnership makes concrete proposals for the 2018-2020 roadmap.

5.   Debate with Neven Mimica, Member of the Commission with responsibility for international cooperation and development — catch-the-eye

Speakers: Bogdan Brunon Wenta, Norbert Neuser, Halifa Sallah (The Gambia), Michael Gahler, Jomo Mfanawemakhosi Dlamini (Swaziland), Joseph Owona Kono (Cameroon), María Lidia Senra Rodríguez, Michel Kamano (Guinea), Cécile Kashetu Kyenge, Sebastian Kopulande (Zambia), Worlea Saywah Dunnah (Liberia), Clifford André (Seychelles), Maria Heubuch, Hermann Razafindravelo (Madagascar), Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Oumouri Mmadi Hassani (Comoros) and Ben Abdallah Banda (Ghana).

The exchange of views focused on the proposed European External Investment Plan and the role of the private sector in development. The need to improve the business and investment environment in the targeted countries was highlighted, as was the need to support the industrialisation of Africa. The role of science and technology as a factor of growth was also mentioned. Many concerns were raised in relation to the security/migration/development nexus. Other questions focused on existing fisheries agreements, the role of women in development and the specific needs of the small islands. Further questions raised the issue of links between the post-Cotonou framework and the upcoming Africa-EU Summit.

Commissioner Mimica answered the questions raised by Members following the order of the ‘catch-the-eye’ procedure.

6.   Question Time to the Commission

A total of 17 questions were put to the Commission.

The Commission had previously responded to the questions in writing. Commissioner Mimica gave oral replies to the supplementary questions related to the following original questions:

The authors of questions 6, 9, 10, 11 and 14 had no supplementary questions.

The authors of questions 2, 4, 7 and 13 were not present.

7.   Action taken by the Commission on the resolutions adopted at the 32nd session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

The Commissioner referred to a document on the action taken by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the resolutions adopted by the Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Nairobi (Kenya) in December 2016, included in the dossiers.

8.   

Debate with Vincent Cochetel, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR’s) Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean Situation

Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR’s Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean Situation, recalled the difference between refugees and economic migrants. There were currently 67 million forcibly displaced people in the world. On the Mediterranean route, the situation of refugees/migrants currently trapped in Libya was catastrophic, with reports of extensive human rights violations. Vincent Cochetel insisted on the need to provide tailor-made assistance to countries of origin and transit to help them cope with their specific situations. Disrupting the trafficking business model also required cooperation at all levels, which was currently not the case.

Speakers: Bogdan Brunon Wenta, Cécile Kashetu Kyenge, Mohamed Youssouf Goumaneh (Djibouti), Louis Michel, Musa Hussein Naib (Eritrea), Neoklis Sylikiotis, Abadula Gemeda Dago (Ethiopia), Bodil Valero, Halifa Sallah (The Gambia), Thomazeau Price Cyprien (Haiti), Michael Gahler, Abdikadir Omar Aden (Kenya), Martina Werner, Uladi Mussa (Malawi), Ahamada Soukouna (Mali), Anna Záborská, Amadou Dioffo (Niger), Pedro Silva Pereira, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio, Dariusz Rosati, Julie Ward, Babiker Mohamed Tom Bakhit (Sudan), Jacob Oulanyah (Uganda), Daniel K. Shumba (Zimbabwe), Prim Pujals Nolasco (Dominican Republic) and Domenico Rosa (Commission).

Members emphasised the need to address the root causes of migration as poverty remained one of the factors leading to migration. Some Members recalled that migration could be positive for everybody if well-managed and carried out in compliance with international obligations. The fragmented nature of the Joint Valletta Action Plan was mentioned and questions were asked about the implementation of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. Concerns were raised in relation to the negotiation of a number of readmission agreements and to the attempt to place migration concerns ahead of development objectives.

Vincent Cochetel wound up the debate.

9.   

Presentation by Yves Somville, Chair of the ACP Follow-up Committee, European Economic and Social Committee

Yves Somville, Chair of the ACP Follow-up Committee, European Economic and Social Committee, gave a presentation on the recent and future activities of the Follow-Up Committee.

Speaker: Halifa Sallah (The Gambia).

Yves Somville answered the question raised.

(The sitting closed at 18.35)