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ROME

(Italian Republic)

Minutes of the sitting of Saturday, 11 October 2003

(2004/C 26/01)

(The sitting opened at 6 p.m.)

Formal inaugural sitting

(The sitting adjourned at 7.30 p.m.)

Adrien Houngbedji

and Glenys Kinnock

Co-Presidents

Jean-Robert Goulongana

and Dietmar Nickel

Co-Secretaries-General

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Minutes of the sitting of Monday, 13 October 2003

(2004/C 26/02)

(The sitting opened at 9.25 a.m.)

IN THE CHAIR: Mrs KINNOCK

Co-President

Sitting of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

1. Composition of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

2. Composition of standing committees

The ACP would subsequently forward the names of the second vice-chairmen for each standing committee.

The composition of the three standing committees is contained in Annex 1.

3. Accreditation of non-parliamentary representatives

The Joint Parliamentary Assembly agreed to this.

4. Substitutes

5. Documents received

Motions for resolutions submitted to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly by the Bureau, pursuant to Article 17(2)

CANCÚN

General

- (APP/3611) by the following members: Lucas, Lannoye, Rod, Maes, Schörling and Isler Béguin, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group,

- (APP/3617) by the following members: Schwaiger and Corrie, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group and Manders, on behalf of the ELDR Group,

- (APP/3618) by the following members: Kinnock and Howitt, on behalf of the PSE Group,

- (APP/3619) by the following members: Sjöstedt and Scarbonchi, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group,

- (APP/3625) by the ACP Group.

Commodities

- (APP/3612) by the ACP Group on bananas,

- (APP/3613) by the Caribbean ACP States on rice,

- (APP/3615) by Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Chad, on behalf of the ACP Group, on cotton,

- (APP/3616) by the Pacific ACP States on kava,

- (APP/3624) by the APC Group on sugar.

WEST AFRICA

General

- (APP/3620) by the following members: Cornillet, Corrie and Morillon, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group and Van Hecke, on behalf of the ELDR Group,

- (APP/3621) by the following members: Junker and Theorin, on behalf of the PSE Group and Scarbonchi, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group,

- (APP/3622) y the following members: Rod, Maes, Isler Beguin and Schörling on behalf of the Greens/ALE Group.

Togo

- (APP/3614) by the ACP Group on renewed cooperation between the EU and Togo,

- (APP/3623) by the representative of Togo on Togo.

6. Adoption of draft agenda (APP/3596)

Decision: It was decided to hold a brief debate without resolution.

The deadlines for tabling amendments were as follows:

- concerning motions for resolutions included in the reports presented by standing committees: Monday, 13 October at 6 p.m.

- concerning motions for compromise resolutions to be put to the vote: Monday, 13 October at 6 p.m.

The draft agenda thus amended was adopted.

7. Approval of the minutes of the fifth session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (OJ C 231, 26.9.2003)

The minutes were approved.

8. Children's rights and child soldiers in particular (APP/3587)

- Report by Mr Gemelli and Mr Kamuntu (Uganda) - Committee on Political Affairs

9. Statement by Mr Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) followed by a discussion

(The sitting adjourned at 1.15 p.m. and resumed at 3.15 p.m.)

IN THE CHAIR: Mr HOUNGBEDJI

Co-President

Mr Houngbedji announced that the funeral of Sister Annalena Tonelli, who had been killed in Somalia, would take place during the afternoon. He called for one minute of silence in her memory.

10. Statement by Mrs Margherita Boniver, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs (Italy), President-in-Office of the EU Council

11. Statement by the Hon. Lt. General Mompati Merafhe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Botswana), President-in-Office of the ACP Council

12. Question Time to the Council

Ten questions were put to the EU Council.

Question 6 by Mrs Sauquillo, replacing Mrs Carlotti, on the situation in the DRC and question 15 by Mr Van Hecke and Mr van den Bos, on the DRC and the Great Lakes region,

Question 13 by Mr Imbarcaouane (Mali), on conflict prevention and settlement,

Question 7 by Mr Weldegiorgis (Eritrea), on Eritro-Ethiopian border demarcation,

Question 5 by Mrs Isler Béguin, on political and military unrest in Mauritania.

Mrs Boniver did not have the opportunity to answer the following questions:

Question 8 by Mrs Sauquillo, on EDF budgeting,

Question 12 by Mr Osei-Prempeh (Ghana), on the slow disbursement of the EDF facility,

Question 9 by Mr Faure (Seychelles), on duty concessions on imports of tuna,

Question 10 by Mrs Karamanou, on sustainable food security,

Question 11 by Mr Bowis, on the recruitment of medical professionals in the EU from developing countries.

Article 20(7) provides that questions that remain unanswered for lack of time shall be answered in writing.

Five questions were put to the ACP Council of Ministers.

Question 1 by Mr Davies (South Africa), on Cancún,

Question 2 by Mr Lannoye, on the European Water Fund,

Question 3 by Schörling, on GMOs,

Question 4 by Mrs Sauquillo, replacing Mrs Carlotti, on the Presidential elections in Mauritania,

Question 14 by Mr Imbarcaouane (Mali), on cotton.

13. Debate on Zimbabwe

14. Statement by the representatives of Eritrea and Ethiopia

15. Statement by the Representative of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the situation in the DRC

16. Statement by Mr John Powell, Assistant Executive Director of the World Food Programme

(The sitting closed at 7.05 p.m.)

Adrien Houngbedji

and Glenys Kinnock

Co-Presidents

Jean-Robert Goulongana

and Dietmar Nickel

Co-Secretaries-General

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Minutes of the sitting of Tuesday, 14 October 2003

(2004/C 26/03)

(The sitting opened at 9.15 am.)

IN THE CHAIR: Mrs KINNOCK

Co-President

1. Substitutes

2. Statement by Mr Poul Nielson, Member of the Commission with responsibility for development and humanitarian aid

3. Question Time to the Commission

Question 2 by Ms Sandbaek on Country Strategy Papers,

Question 11 by Ms Schoerling on illegal exploitation of forests,

Question 12 by Mr Bowis on support for the reduction of the use of biomass fuels,

Question 13 by Ms Sauquillo on migration and development,

Question 14 by Ms Maes on conflict,

Question 17 by Mali on the EDF,

Question 19 by Ms Flesch on the European Development Fund (EDF),

Question 1 by Mr Davies (South Africa) on a possible all-ACP-EU agreement,

Question 4 by Mr Dawit Yohannes, represented by Mr Haile-Kiros Gessesse (Ethiopia), on Trade,

Question 5 by Ms Lucas on Cotton,

Question 3 by Mr Souchet on agricultural policies in the ACP countries and the WTO,

Question 6 by Mr Rod on access to medicines,

Question 9 by Mr Lannoye on liberalisation of water,

Question 15 by Mr Weldegiorgis (Eritrea) on Eritro-Ethopian border demarcation,

Question 18 by Mr Busk on murders in the Seychelles.

Questions 7 by Ms Karamanou, 22 by Mr Van Hecke and van den Bos, 21 by Ms Dykbjaer, 16 by Mr Osei-Prempeh (Ghana) and 8 by Ms Carlotti will be answered in writing.

Question 20 by Ms Sanders was withdrawn.

In application of Article 20(11) of the Rules of Procedure a debate on the situation in the Seychelles was authorised.

4. Follow-up by the Commission to resolutions adopted at the 5th Session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (Brazzaville)

5. Debate on the International Criminal Court

6. Sustainable management and conservation of natural resources in ACP countries in the context of the 9th EDF programming

- Report by Mr Miranda and Mr Boureima (Niger) - Committee on Social Affairs and the Environment

(The sitting adjourned at 1.15 p.m. and resumed at 3.12 p.m.)

IN THE CHAIR: Mrs KINNOCK

Co-President

7. Use of the European Development Fund

- Report by Mr Cornillet and Mr Matongo (Zambia) - Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade

IN THE CHAIR: Mr HOUNGBEDJI

Co-President

8. Urgent topic 1: The outcome of the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Cancún (Mexico), the Economic Partnership Agreements and Commodities

9. Preparation for the World Summit on the Information Society, Geneva, December 2003

Decision: The Co-Presidents will address a message on behalf of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly to the World Summit on the basis of its report on this subject adopted in October 2001.

(The sitting closed at 7.12 p.m.)

Adrien Houngbedji

and Glenys Kinnock

Co-Presidents

Jean-Robert Goulongana

and Dietmar Nickel

Co-Secretaries-General

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Minutes of the sitting of Wednesday, 15 October 2003

(2004/C 26/04)

(The sitting opened at 9.15 am.)

IN THE CHAIR: Mrs KINNOCK

Co-President

1. Substitutes

2. Urgent topic 1: The outcome of the 5th WTO conference in Cancún and the state of negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements (continuation of the debate)

3. Urgent topic 2: The situation in West Africa

(The meeting adjourned at 10.53 a.m. and resumed at 11.05 a.m.)

IN THE CHAIR: Mrs KINNOCK

Co-President

4. Vote on the motions for resolutions

- APP/3587 on children's rights and child soldiers in particular: adopted unanimously with 12 amendments.

- APP/3590 on sustainable management and conservation of natural resources in ACP countries in the context of the 9th EDF programming: adopted unanimously with 7 amendments.

- APP/3602 on the use of the European Development Fund: adopted unanimously.

- APP/3626/COMP on the outcome of the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Cancún (Mexico), the Economic Partnership Agreement and Commodities: rejected.

- APP/3627/COMP on the situation in West Africa: adopted unanimously with 3 amendments.

5. Any other business

The new composition of the ACP Bureau is as follows:

Mr Sardjoe (Suriname), Co-President,

Barbados,

Congo,

Djibouti,

Fiji,

Gabon,

Namibia,

Saint Lucia,

Sierra Leone,

Solomon Islands,

South Africa,

Togo,

Uganda.

6. Date and place of next session

The 7th session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly will take place in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), from 16 to 19 February 2004. This session will be followed by a mission to Eritrea.

(The sitting closed at 12.45 am.)

Adrien Houngbedji

and Glenys Kinnock

Co-Presidents

Jean-Robert Goulongana

and Dietmar Nickel

Co-Secretaries-General

Annex I

Alphabetical list of members of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly

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COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL AFFAIRS

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COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, FINANCE AND TRADE

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COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

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Annex II

Record of attendance at the session from 13 to 15 October 2003 in Rome

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Observers:

Cuba: CASTRO, POLANCO, RAMOS, SERRANO

Netherlands Antilles: LUCIA, MONTE

Also present:

ANGOLA

BARRADAS

CADETE

CANDONGO

DE OLIVEIRA

FAUSTO PAIVA

NETO

PAIVA

ZOMBO CONGO

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

EVUNA

MBA BELA

MEKONG

NKA OBIANG

BENIN

AKPOVI

HINVI

BOTSWANA

GEORGE

MERAFHE

NKATE

BURKINA FASO

KERE

LANKOANDE

PITROIPA

SISSOKO

TAPSOBA

YAMEOGO

BURUNDI

BIKOMAGU

BIKORIHOMA

NIYUHIRE

NYABENDA

CONGO (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF)

BIE

ILUNGA

KANYEGERE LWABOSHI

LUTUNDULA APALA

LWABOSHI

MOKOSA MANDENDE

MUCHANGA MUDIMAR

NKANGA BOONGO

CÔTE D'IVOIRE

GBAOU DIOMANDE

GOSSET

TANOU KONE

YAPOBI-RICCI

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

GARCIA

GARCIA DUVERGE

PAREDES

RODRIGUEZ

VALERA

VIALIERA

DJIBOUTI

MOUSSA CHEHEM

ERITREA

KASSA TEKLE

TSEGGAI

ETHIOPIA

GESSESSE

GHEBRE CHRISTOS

WORKIE BRIYE

FIJI

MATAITOGA

GABON

MAKONGO

MILEBOU AUBUSSON

OBIANG NDONG

GHANA

AGYEMAN

AWIAGA

DSANE-SELBY

WUDU

HAITI

ANGERVIL

AZOR-CHARLES

CLONES

LAMOUR

MAGLOIRE

MONDESIR

PERODIN

JAMAICA

COYE

CAMEROON

AWUDU MBAYA

BAH OUMAROU SANDA

BASSONG

DANATA

KENYA

CHANGWONY

KAHENDE

KEMAMA

LESRIMA

MADETE

MUTHIGANI

CONGO

AMBERO

DIMI

ESSEMA

KAMARA DEKAMO MAMADOU

LEKOBA

LOUBOTA

MABOUNDOU

MBOUMBA

MUDOY

NOTE

A. OBA-APOUNOU

G. OBA-APOUNOU

OBAMBI

OBIA

OKUALATSONGO

LESOTHO

MATLANYANE

MAFURA

RAMMOMENG

MADAGASCAR

BETKOU

JAOSOA

MALI

BA

DAGA

NIANGADOU

SANGARE

SIDIBE

TOURE

MAURITANIA

OULD BELLAL

MAURITIUS

CANGY

GUNESSEE

MOZAMBIQUE

MATE

MUCAVI

NAMIBIA

NGAKARE

PHILEMON

NIGER

ABDOURHAMANE

ASSA

BALARABE

GADO BOUREIMA

NIGERIA

GABASAWA

GARBA

JAGANA

UGOKWE

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

MARO

RWANDA

BIHOZAGARA

KAYITANA

SAINT LUCIA

GEORGE

SIERRA LEONE

GOODWYLL

SUDAN

ABUKASHAWA

ALIM AHMED

BADRI

ELMUGHIRA

LUAL LUAL

MAKUR

SURINAME

BLEAU

BRADLEY

HIWAT

KRUISLAND

RAMKHELAWAN

SARDJOE

SOUTH AFRICA

EGLIN

KIESEWETTER

MATJILA

PELLE

SHOPE

TSHEOLE

SWAZILAND

T. A. DLAMINI

ZEEMAN

TANZANIA

HINGI

MGWAM

ZOKA

TOGO

ATI ATCHA

DJIBRIL S. BAGOUDOU

KORGA

KLUTSE

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

KING-ROUSSEAU

ROUSSEAU

UGANDA

MWANDHA

RWABITA

WONEKHA

ZAMBIA

NYIRONGO

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

NGAISSIO

ZIMBABWE

CHINENERE

DOKORA

MABHIZA

MAKUWAZA

MANGWANA

MUCHADA

NYAKOTYO

PUNUNGWE

RUKOBO

ACP-EU COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

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COMMITTEE OF AMBASSADORS

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

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ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PARTNERS

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CENTRE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENTERPRISE (CDE)

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UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION (UNO)

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UNICEF

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WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP)

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FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANISATION (FAO)

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ACP GENERAL SECRETARIAT

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EU SECRETARIAT

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Annex III

Resolutions adopted

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