Official Journal of the European Union

MINUTES OF THE MORNING SITTING OF WEDNESDAY, 20 MARCH 2019

(2020/C 334/04)

CONTENTS

18. Statement by Tjekero Twega, Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME development (Namibia), President-in-Office of the ACP Council 11

19. Statement by Maria Magdalena Grigore, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President-in-Office of the EU Council 11

20. Question Time to the Council 11

21. Debate with the Council — catch-the-eye 12

22. Romania and the ACP Countries — Working Together on the Global Arena 12

23. Report of the economic and social partners 13

MINUTES OF THE MORNING SITTING OF WEDNESDAY, 20 MARCH 2019

The sitting opened at 9.02

IN THE CHAIR: Joseph OWONA KONO

Co-President

18. Statement by Tjekero Twega, Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME development (Namibia), President-in-Office of the ACP Council

Tjekero Twega, Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME development (Namibia), President-in-Office of the ACP Council, spoke about the uniqueness of the ACP — EU partnership, and underlined the importance of preserving it, by giving it a new meaning and fresh content. He reaffirmed Namibia’s commitment to the ACP partnership. He also said Namibia believes in multilateralism and in a multilateral approach in finding solutions to conflicts. He continued by describing the Namibian efforts to enhance intercontinental cooperation in political, economic and trade areas. In this framework, the Minister presented the country’ endeavours to create new and quality jobs on local, regional, national and continental level by creating favourable conditions, which start from the appropriate legislative and regulatory framework, easy access to credit for local entrepreneurs and SMEs, especially start-ups, access to infrastructure and energy grids, expansionary domestic economic policies favouring internal demand, and access to duty-free and quota-free export markets. He stressed the importance of producing goods and services with a high added value locally, and not only extracting raw materials and then sending them elsewhere for processing and usage. The Minister also mentioned the importance of SADC regional partnership and of the potential added value of the EU — SADC Economic Partnership Agreement in promoting development.

19. Statement by Maria Magdalena Grigore, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President-in-Office of the EU Council

Maria Magdalena Grigore, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President-in-Office of the EU Council, outlined the main priorities that the EU sees for its relations with the ACP group of states. These included implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate action, the post-Cotonou Agreement framework for ACP-EU cooperation, youth, migration and security issues.

20. Question Time to the Council

9 questions were put to the ACP Council and 5 to the EU Council.

Tjekero Twega, on behalf of the ACP Council replied to the following written questions and supplementary question:

The author of question 1 was not present.

Question 2 by Natalie Griesbeck (replaced Thierry Cornillet) on Cooperation on civil registry matters

Supplementary question on which individual countries are ready to cooperate with the EU on relevant countries.

Question 3 by Natalie Griesbeck (replaced Catherine Bearder) on Implementing the ACP-EU Partnership

The author of question 4 was not present.

The author of question 5 was not present.

Question 6 by Julie Ward on The protection of LGBTIQ+ people in Tanzania

Question 7 by Jo Leinen on Situation in Gabon

Supplementary question on possible AU and EU contributions to facilitate a resolution of the political crisis in Gabon.

The author of question 8 was not present.

Question 9 by Halifa Sallah (Gambia) on Intra/- ACP Cooperation against Dependency Syndrome

Maria Magdalena Grigore, on behalf of the EU Council, replied to the following questions:

The author of question 10 was not present.

The author of question 11 was not present.

Question 12 by Nathalie Griesbeck on Future of ACP-EU relations and international competition

The author of question 13 was not present.

Question 14 by Halifa Sallah (Gambia) on the European Trust Fund for Africa

21. Debate with the Council — catch-the-eye

Members’ questions and comments mainly concerned the Cotonou Agreement and what should come after, the parliamentary dimension of the ACP-EU relations, the pursuit of an African continental free trade agreement, measures to promote industrialisation in ACP countries, the progress made in poverty reduction in Senegal, the massive destruction in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe caused by the cyclone Idai and whether interventions in Haiti need to be revised in order for them to have a real impact on living conditions.

Speakers: Halifa Sallah (Gambia), Mmadi Hassani (Comoros), Norbert Neuser, Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Michel Kamano (Guinea), Clifford Andre (Seychelles), Price Cyprien (Haiti), Ben Abdallah Banda (Ghana), Stefan Gehrold, Jomo Mfanawemakhosi Dlamin (Kingdom of Eswatini), Raphael Mhone (Malawi), Agnima Alain-Michel Lobognon (Côte d'Ivoire), Jacob Oulanyah (Uganda)

Tjekero Twega, on behalf of the ACP Council, and Maria Magdalena Grigore, on behalf of the EU Council, replied to the questions:

22. Romania and the ACP Countries — Working Together on the Global Arena

Exchange of views with Teodor Meleşcanu, Minister of Foreign Affair

Minister Meleşcanu drew attention to Romanian contributions to UN peacekeeping missions in Haiti and Mali. He emphasised Romania’s commitment to effective multilateralism and mentioned its current candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the UN’s Security Council.

Members acknowledged Romania’s reception, under the communist regime, of African students in Romanian universities. They encouraged further steps towards reviving such cooperation. Also climate action was seen as an important area to focus on.

Speakers: Michael Gahler, Halifa Baboucar Sallah (Gambia), Julie Ward, Moses Cheboi (Kenya), Louis Straker (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), Clifford Andre (Seychelles), Stefan Gehrold, Agathon Rwasa (Burundi), Michael Reuben Nyambuya (Zimbabwe), Jacob Oulanyah (Uganda), Babiker Mohamed Tom Bakhit Dafaalla (Sudan), Salomào Luheto Xirimbimbi (Angola), Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Michel Kamano (Guinea), Mmadi Hassani (Comoros)

IN THE CHAIR: Clifford Andre (Seychelles)

23. Report of the economic and social partners

Presentation by Jaroslaw Mulewicz, Chair of the ACP Follow-up Committee, European Economic and Social Committee

Jaroslaw Mulewicz, Chair of the ACP Follow-up Committee, European Economic and Social Committee, presented the report. He emphasised the importance of proper involvement of the civil society in ACP-EU cooperation. Commenting on the current emphasis on increasing private investment in ACP countries, he noted the need for real engagement and dialogue with companies that could provide the investments sought.

Speakers: Michel Kamano (Guinea), Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Halifa Baboucar Sallah (Gambia), Mathew Sahr Nyuma (Sierra Leone), Julie Ward, Alpha Ousmane (Burkina Faso)

Jaroslaw Mulewicz replied to questions raised.

Patrick I. Gomes wound up the debate.

(The sitting adjourned at 13.11 and resumed at 14.49)