# C_2004120EN.01000101.xml

| 30.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 120/1 |
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30.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 120/1

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ADDIS ABABA

(Ethiopia)

The 7th session was held in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) from 16 to 19 February 2004.

MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF MONDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2004

(2004/C 120/01)

(The sitting opened at 10.40 a.m.)

(The sitting opened at 10.40 a.m.)

Formal inaugural sitting

The formal inaugural sitting was held in the presence of Mr Girma Wolde Giorgis, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

The following addressed the Assembly: Mr Dawit Yohannes, President of the House of Representatives, Mr Ramdien Sardjoe, Co-President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Mrs Glenys Kinnock, Co-President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and Mr Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

(The sitting adjourned at 11.30 a.m. and resumed at 3.20 p.m.)

IN THE CHAIR: Mr SARDJOE

Co-President

Co-President

Sitting of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

The Co-President welcomed all the participants.

1.   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 President of the European Parliament, would be annexed to the minutes.

2.   Accreditation of non-parliamentary representatives

The Co-President announced that the authorities of the ACP States had sent a list of non-parliamentary representatives. In accordance with Article 17(1) of the Partnership Agreement and Article 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, he proposed that these representatives should be recorded and their names listed in an annex to the minutes.

The Joint Parliamentary Assembly agreed to this.

3.   Substitutes

The Co-President announced the following substitutes: André-Léonard (for Manders), Bébéar (for Averoff), Boumediene-Thiery (for Lucas), Bremmer (for Gouveia), Bushill-Matthews (for Balfe), Gahler (for Foster), Klass (for Vidal-Quadras Roca), Knolle (for Sudre), McAvan (for McCarthy), Ribeiro (for Vinci), Roure (for Carlotti), Scarbonchi (for Wurtz) and Volcic (for Fava).

4.   Documents received

The Co-President announced that the following documents had been received:

| — | report by Mr Désir and Mrs Hay-Webster (Jamaica) on behalf of the Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade, on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA): problems and prospects (ACP-EU/3643/04); |
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report by Mr Désir and Mrs Hay-Webster (Jamaica) on behalf of the Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade, on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA): problems and prospects (ACP-EU/3643/04);

| — | report by Mr Morillon and Mr Klutse (Togo), on behalf of the Committee on Political Affairs, on conflict prevention and resolution and the establishment of a lasting peace (ACP-EU/3601/04); |
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report by Mr Morillon and Mr Klutse (Togo), on behalf of the Committee on Political Affairs, on conflict prevention and resolution and the establishment of a lasting peace (ACP-EU/3601/04);

| — | report by Mrs Scheele and Mr Betkou (Madagascar), on behalf of the Committee on Social Affairs and the Environment, on poverty diseases and reproductive health in ACP countries in the context of the 9th EDF (ACP-EU 3640/01). |
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report by Mrs Scheele and Mr Betkou (Madagascar), on behalf of the Committee on Social Affairs and the Environment, on poverty diseases and reproductive health in ACP countries in the context of the 9th EDF (ACP-EU 3640/01).

Motions for resolutions on urgent topics submitted to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly by the Bureau, pursuant to Article 17(2) of the Rules of Procedure.

The Co-President informed the members of the Bureau's recommendations and asked the authors of motions for resolutions on identical subjects to agree on a compromise text.

Urgent topic 1: cotton and other commodities: problems encountered by ACP countries

| — | (APP/3661) by the representatives of Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Chad, on behalf of the ACP Group |
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(APP/3661) by the representatives of Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Chad, on behalf of the ACP Group

| — | (APP/3662) by Khanbhai and Schwaiger, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group and Flesch, on behalf of the ELDR Group |
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(APP/3662) by Khanbhai and Schwaiger, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group and Flesch, on behalf of the ELDR Group

| — | (APP/3667) by Junker and Kinnock, on behalf of the PSE Group |
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(APP/3667) by Junker and Kinnock, on behalf of the PSE Group

| — | (APP/3665) by Rod, Lannoye, Maes, Schörling and Isler Béguin, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group and Sylla, Ribeiro, Sjöstedt and Scarbonchi, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group |
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(APP/3665) by Rod, Lannoye, Maes, Schörling and Isler Béguin, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group and Sylla, Ribeiro, Sjöstedt and Scarbonchi, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

Urgent topic 2: damage caused by cyclones in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean and the need for a rapid response to natural disasters

| — | (APP/3663) by the representatives of the Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Samoa and Tonga |
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(APP/3663) by the representatives of the Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Samoa and Tonga

| — | (APP/3664) by Wijkman, Lulling, Corrie and Wieland, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Junker, on behalf of the PSE Group and van den Bos, Flesch, Sanders-ten Holte and André-Léonard, on behalf of the ELDR Group |
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(APP/3664) by Wijkman, Lulling, Corrie and Wieland, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Junker, on behalf of the PSE Group and van den Bos, Flesch, Sanders-ten Holte and André-Léonard, on behalf of the ELDR Group

| — | (APP/3666) by Schörling, Isler Béguin, Rod, Maes and Boumediene-Thiery, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group |
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(APP/3666) by Schörling, Isler Béguin, Rod, Maes and Boumediene-Thiery, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

5.   Adoption of draft agenda (ACP-EU/3641)

The following spoke: Sardjoe (Co-President), Arouna (Niger), Faure (Seychelles), Imbarcaouane (Mali) and Nickel (Co-Secretary-General EU).

The deadlines for tabling amendments were as follows:

| — | concerning motions for resolutions included in the reports presented by the standing committees: Monday, 16 February at 6.00 p.m. |
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concerning motions for resolutions included in the reports presented by the standing committees: Monday, 16 February at 6.00 p.m.

| — | concerning motions for compromise resolutions to be put to the vote: Tuesday, 17 February at 3.00 p.m. |
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concerning motions for compromise resolutions to be put to the vote: Tuesday, 17 February at 3.00 p.m.

The draft agenda was adopted as shown in these minutes.

6.   Approval of the minutes of the 6th session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (OJ C 26, 29.1.2004)

Mr Bowis spoke.

The minutes were approved.

IN THE CHAIR: Mrs KINNOCK

Co-President

Co-President

7.   Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs): problems and prospects (ACP-EU/3643/04)

| — | Report by Mr Désir and Mrs Hay-Webster (Jamaica) - Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade |
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Report by Mr Désir and Mrs Hay-Webster (Jamaica) - Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade

Mr Désir and Mrs Hay-Webster presented their report.

Statements were made by:

| — | Mr Pascal Lamy, Member of the Commission with responsibility for external trade, |
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Mr Pascal Lamy, Member of the Commission with responsibility for external trade,

| — | Mr Jayen Cuttaree, Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Regional Cooperation (Mauritius), on behalf of the ACP group. |
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Mr Jayen Cuttaree, Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Regional Cooperation (Mauritius), on behalf of the ACP group.

The following spoke: Schwaiger, Davies (South Africa), Kamotho (Kenya), Howitt, Mporogomyi (Tanzania), Rod, Matongo (Zambia), Ribeiro, Metsing (Lesotho), Faure (Seychelles), Souchet, Imbarcaouane (Mali), Beda (Sudan), Khanbhai, Conteh (Sierra Leone), Junker, Touray (Gambia), Goebbels, François (St Lucia), Dawaleh (Djibouti) and Gunness (Mauritius).

Mr Sukhdev Sharma, Member of the Economic and Social Committee of the European Communities, made a statement.

Mr Lamy and Mr Cuttaree responded to the debate.

Mrs Hay-Webster and Mr Désir concluded the debate.

IN THE CHAIR: Mr SARDJOE

Co-President

Co-President

8.   Urgent topic 1: cotton and other commodities: problems encountered by ACP countries (ACP-EU 3668/04)

The Co-President gave the floor to Commissioner Lamy for a statement on the subject of the urgent topic.

The following spoke: Khanbhai, Imbarcaouane (Mali), Natchaba (Togo), Akpovi (Benin), Junker, Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Rod, Ramotar (Guyana) and Jana (Malawi).

IN THE CHAIR: Mr PRESCOD

Co-Vice-President

Co-Vice-President

The following spoke: Gahler, François (St Lucia), van den Berg, Straker (St Vincent and the Grenadines), Howitt, Prince Guduza (Swaziland), Kamuntu (Uganda) and Mporogomyi (Tanzania).

(The sitting closed at 7.14 p.m.)

(The sitting closed at 7.14 p.m.)

Ramdien SARDJOE and Glenys KINNOCK

Co-Presidents

Jean-Robert GOULONGANA and Dietmar NICKEL

Co-Secretaries-General

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