12.11.2013

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 328/1

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MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF MONDAY, 17 JUNE 2013

2013/C 328/01

Contents

Formal inaugural sitting

Sitting of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

Composition of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

Accreditation of non-parliamentary representatives

1.	Adoption of agenda (AP101.358)

2.	Approval of the minutes of the last two sittings of the 24rd session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (OJ C 158, 4 June 2013)

3.	Co-Presidents’ announcements, including decisions taken at the Bureau meeting of 16 June 2013

4.	Statement by Andris Piebalgs, Member of the Commission with responsibility for development

5.	Question Time to the Commission

6.	Debate with Andris Piebalgs, Member of the Commission with responsibility for development - catch-the-eye

7.	Action taken by the Commission on the resolutions adopted at the 24th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

8.	Economic Partnership Agreements - next steps

MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF MONDAY, 17 JUNE 2013

(The sitting opened at 11.00 a.m.)

Formal inaugural sitting

The following addressed the Assembly:

Louis Michel, Co-President of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Joyce Laboso, Co-President of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Sean Barrett T.D. Speaker of the Dail Eireann, Lower Chamber of Ireland, Presidency of the EU.

(The sitting adjourned at 12.00 p.m. and resumed at 3.00 p.m.)

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.

Accreditation of non-parliamentary representatives

The Co-President announced that two requests for accreditation of non-parliamentary representatives had been received in accordance with article 17(1) of the Cotonou Agreement and Article 1 (2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, due to exceptional cases of force majeure. These representatives would be recorded and their names listed in an annex to the minutes.

1.   Adoption of agenda

The agenda was adopted as shown in these minutes.

2.   Approval of the minutes of the last two sittings of the 24rd session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (OJ C 158, 4 June 2013)

The minutes were approved.

3.   Co-Presidents' announcements, including decisions taken at the Bureau meeting of 16 June 2013

The Co-President reported on the results of the Bureau meeting of 16 June 2013.

The following decisions were taken:

a)

The standing committees would draft the following reports:   Committee on Political Affairs — The global spread of terrorism: the role of the internet and social media   Committee on Social Affairs and the Environment — Mining for oil and minerals on the seabed in the context of sustainable development. The Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade would be invited to give an opinion of the same topic.

b)	A fact-finding mission would be sent to Haiti in September or October 2013 and another one to Zimbabwe in November or December 2013.

c)	To submit to the Assembly for adoption draft amendments to the Rules of Procedure.

d)	To submit to the Assembly for adoption the draft Code of Conduct for the members of ACP-EU JPA participating in election observation missions.

e)	The 10th regional meeting would take place from 17 to 19 July 2013 in Abuja (Nigeria).

f)	An election observation mission would be sent to Mali to observe the Presidential election on 28 July 2013.

g)	The Assembly would participate in the tripartite Conference on urbanisation which will be organised by UN Habitat, the ACP secretariat and the European Commission to be held in Kigali (Rwanda) from 4 to 6 September 2013.

h)	The 26th Session of the JPA would take place in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) from 25 to 27 November 2013.

The Co-President informed the Assembly that the Women’s Forum had met on 15 June 2013.

The Co-President informed the Assembly that a workshop on "Improving the investment climate in developing countries: What role for Parliamentarians?" took place on 16 June 2013.

The Co-President announced the following deadlines:

—	concerning amendments to the compromise resolutions and the two urgent motions for resolution: Tuesday 18 June 2013 at noon.

—	concerning requests relating to voting methods: Wednesday 19 June 2013 at 10.00 a.m. in writing.

4.   Statement by Andris Piebalgs, Member of the European Commission with responsibility for development

Andris Piebalgs, Member of the European Commission with responsibility for development, presented the main conclusions and recommendations of the report of the Post-MDGs Agenda adopted by the High Level Panel of experts appointed by the Secretary General of the UN. The Commission's Communication "A decent life for all" had been the Commission's contribution to this process.

5.   Question Time to the European Commission

Altogether 24 questions were put to the European Commission.

The Commission had previously responded to the questions in writing. Commissioner Piebalgs gave oral replies to the supplementary questions by the following authors:

Question No 2 by Hussien Naïb (Eritrea) on the occupation of Eritrean Sovereign Territories by Ethiopia.

Question No 4 by Joe Leinen on Mali after the conflict.

Question No 8 by Michael Cashman (replaced by David Martin) on Political Dialogue on non-discrimination.

Question No 11 by Achille Marie Joseph Tapsoba (Burkina Faso) on the involvement of parliaments and parliamentarians in the process of drawing up the post-2015 development goals.

Question No 12 by Mariya Gabriel on the MDGs in the context of EU development aid policy.

Question No 3 by Olle Schmidt on the human trafficking in Sinai.

Question No 14 by Gay Mitchell on sanitation and hygiene issues in developing countries

Question No 15 by Zita Gurmai on sexual and reproductive health rights in the 11th EDF.

Question No 16 by Catherine Bearder on EU support for Small Scale Energy Projects in ACP countries.

Question No 17 by Fiona Hall (replaced by Catherine Bearder) on energy access in ACP countries.

Question No 18 by Marielle de Sarnez on cooperation with a view to achieving sustainable use of raw materials in ACP countries.

Question No 19 by David Martin on EPA progress in light of the Market Access Regulation withdrawal.

Question No 20 by Norbert Neuser on Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Kiribati.

Question No 22 by Lautafi Purcell (Samoa) on Samoa’s graduation from the LDC category, January 2014 and Differentiation – EU Agenda for Change.

The authors of questions 1, 7, 10, 13, and 24 had no supplementary questions.

The authors of questions 5, 6, 9, 21 and 23 were not present.

6.   Debate with Andris Piebalgs, Member of the European Commission with responsibility for development "catch-the-eye"

The exchange of views focused on topics including gender, health and reproductive rights, renewable energies, water security, budget support, Mali, Eritrea and the security situation in the Sahel. Members were of the view that post-MDGs objectives should be applicable not only to the developing countries, but to every country in the world.

Speakers: Miguel Angel Martinez Martinez, Ana Rita Sithole (Mozambique), Christa Klass, Rajeshree Kumaree Nita Deerpalsing (Mauritius), Michele Rivasi, Piet van der Waal (Namibia), Hans-Peter Mayer, Netty Baldeh (Gambia), Jacob Oulanyah (Uganda), Olle Schmidt, Abdourahamane Chegou (Niger), Edwin Banda (Malawi), Musa Hussein Naib (Eritrea), Percy Taione (Tonga), Assarid Ag Imbarcaouane (Mali), Hassab El Rasoul Amir (Sudan), Alem Deng (South Sudan).

Commissioner Piebalgs answered the questions raised by members in the order taken by the "catch the eye" procedure.

7.   Action taken by the European Commission on the resolutions adopted at the 24rd session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

Commissioner Piebalgs referred to the document concerning the follow-up by the Commission to the resolutions adopted by the Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Paramaribo (Suriname).

8.   Economic Partnership Agreements - next steps

Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade

Co-Rapporteurs: Edwin Banda (Malawi) and Patrice Tirolien

Patrice Tirolien and Edwin Banda (Malawi) presented the report.

Speakers: Bobbo Hamatoukour (Cameroun), Frank Engel, Assarid Ag. Imbarcaouane (Mali), David Martin, Mohammed Mukhtar Ahmed (Nigeria), Niccolò Rinaldi, Nasraddin Mohammed Omer (Sudan), Jean-Jacob Bicep, Patrick Gamedze (Swaziland), Charles W. Kakoma (Zambia), Christophe Lutundula Apala (Democratic Republic of Congo), Peter Štastný, Peter Thompson (European Commission).

Some ACP and EP Members expressed divergent views on whether EPAs were beneficial from both a development and a regional integration perspective. Some EP Members emphasised that comprehensive regional EPAs were aimed at improving economic conditions in the ACP countries and expressed concerns regarding misunderstandings about the benefits of EPAs. Some EU and ACP Members were of the view that focus should be placed on the initial objectives of EPAs, as laid out in the Cotonou Agreement, and to aim at concluding mutually beneficial, WTO compatible regional EPAs.

(The sitting closed at 18.20 p.m.)

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