MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF MONDAY, 18 MARCH 2019

(2020/C 334/01)

CONTENTS

Formal opening sitting 2

Sitting of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly 2

Composition of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly 2

1. Adoption of agenda (AP102.732) 2

2. Approval of the minutes of the last sittings of the 36th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly 2

3. Co-Presidents’ announcements, including decisions taken at the Bureau meeting of 17 March 2019 2

4. Statement by Neven Mimica, Member of the Commission with responsibility for international cooperation and development on stock taking of Commissioner’s five year term, an update on the state of play of post-Cotonou negotiations and the Spotlight initiative 3

5. Debate with Neven Mimica, Member of the Commission with responsibility for international cooperation and development — ‘catch-the-eye’ 3

6. Question Time to the Commission 3

7. Action taken by the Commission on the resolutions adopted at the 36th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly 4

8. The impact of Brexit on the ACP-EU partnership 4

9. Women’s Forum 4

MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF MONDAY, 18 MARCH 2019

(The sitting opened at 11.00)

Formal opening sitting

The following addressed the Assembly:

Teodor Meleşcanu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Joseph Owona Kono, Co-President of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Louis Michel, Co-President of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly and Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, President of the Senate of Romania.

(The sitting adjourned at 12.21 and resumed at 15.02)

IN THE CHAIR: Joseph OWONA KONO

Co-President

Sitting of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

The Co-President welcomed all the participants.

Composition of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

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 (AP102.732)

The agenda was adopted as shown in these minutes.

2. Approval of the minutes of the last sittings of the 36th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

The minutes of the last sitting had not yet been approved. Unless Members made comments by 19 March 2019 at 10.00, the minutes would be deemed to have been approved.

3. Co-Presidents’ announcements, including decisions taken at the Bureau meeting of 17 March 2019

The Co-President reported on the results of the Bureau meeting of 17 March 2019.

The following decisions were taken:

a) The standing committees would draft the following reports: Committee on Political Affairs — Democracy and respect for the constitution in EU countries and ACP states Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade — Diversification of ACP economies: challenges and opportunities Committee on Social Affairs and the Environment — Reducing the number of unemployed youth in ACP and EU countries

b) The 38th Session of the Assembly would take place from 30 November to 4 December 2019 in Kigali (Rwanda).

c) A fact-finding mission to Togo would take place from 31 March to 2 April 2019.

Speaker: Sir Louis H. Straker (Saint Vincent & The Grenadines).

4. Statement by Neven Mimica, Member of the Commission with responsibility for international cooperation and development on stock taking of Commissioner’s five year term, an update on the state of play of post-Cotonou negotiations and the Spotlight initiative

Neven Mimica, Member of the Commission with responsibility for international cooperation and development, recalled the significance of the Cotonou partnership and provided an update on the state of play of the current post-Cotonou negotiations. The aim of the future partnership is to create a more strategic and influential ACP-EU alliance on the international stage. Thanks to the proposed regional structure, the new partnership is expected to be more in tune with regional and local realities. Negotiations are progressing with the second round expected to close in April 2019. The Commissioner also provided some information on the EU-UN Spotlight initiative, which aims to prevent and end all forms of violence against women and girls. The Commissioner encouraged Members to help to make this initiative a success.

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

Speakers: Clifford Andre (Seychelles), Halifa Sallah (Gambia), Michel Kamano (Guinea), Sir Louis H. Straker (Saint Vincent & The Grenadines), Mathew Sahr Nyuma (Sierra Leone), Pally Iriase (Nigeria), Alpha Ousmane (Burkina Faso), Sangeet Fowder (Mauritius), Ahamada Soukouna (Mali), Louis Michel, Ben Abdallah Banda (Ghana), Oumouri Mmadi Hassani (Comoros), Sebastian C. Kopulande (Zambia), Jacob Oulanyah (Uganda), Babiker Mohamed Tom Bakhit Dafaalla (Sudan), André Misiekaba (Suriname), Federico Abaga Ondo (Equatorial Guinea), Siaosi Ofa Ki V. Sovaleni (Tonga), Agathon Rwasa (Burundi), Papa Babou Ndiaye (Senegal), Margaret Kamar (Kenya) and Rick Tchamako Mahe (Vanuatu).

Many ACP Members asked questions about the post-Cotonou negotiations and expressed concern about the proposed regional structure, which was perceived as an attempt to dismantle the ACP group and identity. Clarification was requested on the common ACP foundation, on the future institutional set-up and on the parliamentary dimension of the future partnership. Questions were raised in relation to the security-development nexus and the situation in the Sahel and the G5 countries, and others focused on trade matters, the impact of Brexit on ACP economies, tax governance, and EU policy in the field of innovation and technological transfer.

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

6. Question Time to the Commission

11 questions were put to the Commission in total.

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

Oral question 1 by Neena Gill on the outcomes of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership and EU climate finance to ACP partner countries

Oral question 2 by Jo Leinen on involving ACP countries in EU climate diplomacy strategy

Oral question 3 by Enrique Guerrero Salom on establishing a minimum capacity for self-reliance in the health sector in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan

Oral question 5 by Norbert Neuser on the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa

Oral question 7 by Thierry Cornillet (replacing Nathalie Griesbeck) on ACP-EU relations and the fight against corruption

Oral question 8 by Halifa Sallah (Gambia) on Sustainable or Responsible Fisheries Agreement’s with ACP States

Oral question 9 by Catherine Bearder on implementing the ACP-EU Partnership

Oral question 11 by Maria Heubuch (replacing Bodil Valero) on the situation in Burundi

The authors of questions 4, 6 and 10 were not present.

7. Action taken by the Commission on the resolutions adopted at the 36th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

Commissioner Mimica indicated that the Commission had transmitted notes on the resolutions adopted in Cotonou (Benin) on: the fight against cybercrime and drug trafficking; the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the heart of economic transformation in ACP countries; combating the destabilising effects of wildlife trafficking in ACP countries and promoting the implementation of the external dimension of the EU Action Plan against wildlife trafficking, and the urgencies on the impact of the rise of populism on globalisation, and on the impact of climate change, in particular on Small Island Developing States. These follow-up notes were discussed in the relevant committee meetings.

8. The impact of Brexit on the ACP-EU partnership

Debate without resolution with Baroness Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General, Commonwealth Secretariat

Baroness Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, paid tribute to the significance of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and mentioned the existing fruitful collaboration between ACP countries and the Commonwealth. She recalled that 40 ACP members were also members of the Commonwealth family and shared many similarities, such as close historical ties, language and common law. She focused her intervention on the trade implications of Brexit, which in the end will depend on the nature of the UK’s future relations with the EU. Baroness Scotland set out how the Commonwealth could collaborate with the ACP in the future and mentioned the possibility of strengthening existing areas of collaboration and intensifying the partnership.

Speakers: Alpha Ousmane (Burkina Faso), Michael Gahler, Halifa Baboucar Sallah (Gambia), David Martin, Sir Louis Straker (St. Vincent & the Grenadines), Catherine Bearder, Clifford Andre (Seychelles), Mathew Sahr Nyuma (Sierra Leone), Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Joachim Zeller, Jomo Mfanawemakhosi Dlamini (Eswatini Kingdom), Neena Gill, Pedro Silva Pereira, Julie Ward, Mauricia Thomas-Francis (Saint Lucia), Sebastian C. Kopulande (Zambia) and Jo Leinen.

Several ACP Members expressed concern about the impact of Brexit on trade, the export of ACP commodities, and rules of origin. There were also questions on the impact of Brexit on financial resources allocated to development and technical assistance provisions.

9. Women’s Forum

Forum co-chair Julie Ward presented the conclusions, which focused on combatting the trafficking of women and girls in Europe and ACP countries. Members were briefed on the specific situation in Romania, where more and more women and girls are being trafficked for sexual, labour and organ-trade purposes. Despite the existence of the appropriate legislative framework, the Romanian authorities face difficulties in combating the criminal gangs involved in such trafficking. It was suggested that the topic should be further debated in the framework of the Political or the Social committees.

Speakers: Halifa Baboucar Sallah (Gambia), Tulia Ackson (Tanzania).

(The sitting closed at 18.43)