European Parliament resolution on the results of the work of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly in 1999
Date: 2000-02-17
Institutions: Committee on Development, European Parliament
Subjects: ACP-EU Joint Assembly, activity report

29.11.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 339/263

Thursday 17 February 2000

Calls upon the Council to support the adoption of a resolution condemning the gross human rights

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violations perpetrated by the Russian armed forces in Chechnya;

Calls upon the Council to support the adoption of a resolution expressing great concern about
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human rights violations in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia and Kosovo, in particular as regards the
situation of minorities as well as political prisoners;

22.
Urges the Council to condemn firmly the systematic discrimination and the constant repression
perpetrated against women by the Taliban Afghan regime which undermines their fundamental rights
and can rightly be defined as gender apartheid, and further to condemn the systematic discrimination
perpetrated against women by the government of Saudi Arabia;

Urges the Council to appeal to the Iranian authorities to end the widespread systematic oppression
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and to ensure that the Islamic Republic of Iran accedes inter alia to the Convention on the Elimination of
all forms of Discrimination against Women as a practical and unequivocal means of showing its commit-
ment to initiating a process of reform of its policy, in particular towards women;

24.
Calls upon the Council to support full investigation of systematic and gross human rights abuses in
Sierra Leone, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, especially as regards
war crimes and crimes against humanity; asks that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice;

Calls upon the Council to support full investigation of human rights violations in East Timor, espe-
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cially as regards crimes against humanity; asks that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice;

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Instructs its President to make the necessary arrangements to send a European Parliament delegation
to participate in the 56th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, starting on 20 March 2000 in
Geneva;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments

27.
of the Member States and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN.

9. ACP-EU Joint Assembly

A5-0032/2000

European Parliament resolution on the results of the work of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly in 1999

The European Parliament,

; having regard to the resolutions adopted by the Joint Assembly at its 28th and 29th sessions in Stras-

bourg (29 March to 1 April 1999) (1) and Nassau (11 to 14 October 1999),

; having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure,

; having regard to the report of the Committee on Development and Cooperation (A5-0032/2000),

A. whereas the view formed by Parliament on the activities and resolutions of the ACP-EU Joint Assem-
bly contributes to the consistency of European Union development policy; whereas, likewise, the Joint
Assembly has a fundamental role to play in the development and strengthening of relations between
the EU and its ACP partners,

B. whereas Parliament attaches the utmost importance to development policy and to strengthening

ACP-EU relations, and above all to promoting human rights the world over,

(1) OJ C 271, 24.9.1999.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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29.11.2000

Thursday 17 February 2000

C. whereas the democratic legitimacy of the European Parliament and Joint Assembly gives them great
authority to raise public awareness as to the importance of development policy and the objectives
thereof,

D. whereas 1999 has proved to be a crucial stage in ACP-EU cooperation; whereas the Joint Assembly
has played a pivotal role in the development of negotiations on renewing the Lomé IV Convention,
which expires in February 2000,

E. mindful of the failure of the WTO Conference in Seattle, of the absolute requirement for the European
Union to achieve a suitable waiver to enable continued trade preferences with at least existing market
access for our ACP partners, and of the need to provide the WTO with more transparent structures,

F. whereas, furthermore, the costs and benefits of liberalising multilateral trade resulting from the Uru-
guay Round have not been spread equitably between the industrialised nations and the developing
world, and the poorest countries have suffered most,

1. Welcomes the significant contribution made by the Joint Assembly to the debate on, and negotiating
process for, the successor agreement to Lomé IV, and reiterates its absolute commitment to the finalisation
and implementation of the successor agreement as a central pillar of the European Union’s development
policy;

2.
Calls for the new Convention to provide for an enhanced role for the Joint Assembly and improve its
working methods to the full so as to adapt them to the newly emerging forms of cooperation, including
the possibility of holding regional Assembly meetings; stresses the fact that the Joint Assembly is truly a
Parliamentary assembly, representing the peoples of ACP and EU countries, where the elected ACP Repre-
sentatives now make up 75-85 % of the ACP total; further calls for preparatory measures to ensure equal
participation by ACP partners in Question Time and urgencies considered by the Joint Assembly;

3.
Calls on the ACP States to include in their delegations to the ACP-EU Joint Assembly a wide range of
political opinion in their respective countries, following the example of the European delegation, so as to
ensure a balanced debate;

Asserts that the credibility of the European Union’s commitment to its ACP partners will depend

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largely on the financial allocation for the 9th EDF;

Underlines yet again the need to incorporate the EDF into the Community budget in order to allow

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for efficient parliamentary control of the allocation and implementation of funds;

Reaffirms that the fight against poverty remains a key aim of development policy and welcomes the

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1999 Joint Assembly general report on the matter;

Opposes diverting certain appropriations for the poorest nations in the Community budget to fund

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the reconstruction of Kosovo;

8.
Notes with interest the conclusions and proposals formulated by the Joint Assembly’s Working
Groups, which examined on the one hand the impact of climate change and potential adaptation strategies
for those small island states most at risk from this global trend, and on the other hand regional cooper-
ation in the ACP countries as a means of tackling the problems of globalisation and as a key to growth;

Notes further the results of the work of the follow-up group on fisheries and its important contribu-
9.
tion to the debates at the Joint Assembly on issues pertaining to fisheries, one of the main sectors in which
mutual interest and interdependence are most apparent; therefore urges that the proper level of consis-
tency between European Union fisheries policy and development policy be assured, in the spirit of the
Council resolution of 7 June 1997, in order to guarantee the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources
for the future benefit of all;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 339/265

Thursday 17 February 2000

10.
Supports the recommendation, as expressed by the Joint Assembly, to create regional structures for
monitoring and mediation in order to prevent ethnic, economic, social and religious tensions which may
arise and which could potentially lead to serious armed conflicts;

11.
Also supports the call of the Assembly to all parties involved in the Lomé renegotiation to recog-
nise the topic of natural disaster prevention and preparedness as a major element in achieving the priority
objective of sustainable development;

12. Warmly welcomes the signing of the Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation with
South Africa; expresses, nevertheless,
its disappointment with the continuing delays in concluding the
wine and spirits agreement;

13.
Echoes the Joint Assembly’s request to the international community to recognise the state of East
Timor and calls on the Commission to take the necessary steps to ensure the rapid accession of East Timor
to the Lomé Convention;

Reaffirms its deep dismay at the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia and supports the efforts of
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the Joint Assembly to avoid a humanitarian tragedy from which no one stands to gain; welcomes the
mission by the Assembly Bureau to both countries to act as mediator in resolving the conflict peacefully
and offers its full support to the OAU negotiators,

Deplores once again the prevailing political situation in Sudan and regrets that the Joint Assembly

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was unable to pass a resolution on the matter at its sessions in 1999;

Declares its support for the work undertaken by the Joint Assembly Vice-Presidents for human

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rights and calls on all Lomé Convention signatory states to cooperate with that work;

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Requests that an annual report on the countries which have signed the new Convention be sub-
mitted and voted on by the Joint Assembly with a view to emphasising the importance of this subject in
the new relations between the European Union and the ACP countries;

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Points out the current shortcomings in the definition and implementation of the non-execution
clause of Article 366a of the present Convention and insists on the need to revise the said clause so as
to avoid the adoption of arbitrary measures; believes, in this context, that the application of sanctions
ought to be subject to Parliament’s assent in order to guarantee greater objectivity;

19. Welcomes the fact that ACP governments are inviting the Joint Assembly and the European Parlia-
ment to send delegations to oversee electoral processes on an increasingly regular basis and considers it
essential that such invitations be accepted;

Calls for the Joint Assembly to be given a separate budget so that it may successfully undertake its

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parliamentary activities, including the observation of elections in the ACP countries;

21.
Expresses its satisfaction at the holding of the presidential elections in Nigeria and appeals to the
new government to attach the highest priority to strengthening the rule of law, respect for human rights
and good governance;

22.
Stresses that the involvement of civil society in the taking of decisions and the management of
cooperation is a key factor in guaranteeing a successful and sustainable development process, and calls
for support for increased participation, consultation and parallel discussion with civil society representa-
tives, as part of future development of the working of the Joint Assembly;

Calls on the European Union and the ACP countries to strengthen their common stance aimed at
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modifying WTO norms so as to give priority to the eradication of poverty and sustainable development
over trade liberalisation;

Calls also on the negotiating parties to defend the Lomé trade preferences and protocols within the

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WTO;

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Takes note of the concerns expressed by the Assembly about the threat hanging over certain pro-
duction areas such as cocoa, rum, sugar and bananas, whose importance to the economies of some
ACP countries is considerable, and undertakes to take these legitimate concerns into consideration and to
promote the protection of the systems of preferences from which the ACP countries benefit in their trade
relations with the Union;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council, the ACP-EU Joint Assembly

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and the Commission.

10. Stabilisation and association agreement with the Former Yugoslav Republic

of Macedonia

A5-0031/2000

European Parliament resolution on the Commission recommendation for a Council Decision
authorising the Commission to negotiate a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the for-
mer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (SEC(1999) 1279 0 C5-0166/1999 0 1999/2121(COS))

The European Parliament,

; having regard to the Commission recommendation (SEC(1999) 1279 ; C5-0166/1999),

; having regard to the report by the Commission on the feasibility of negotiating a Stabilisation and
Association Agreement with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (COM(1999) 300 ;
C5-0118/1999),

; having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

; having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security
and Defence Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and
Energy and the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (A5-0031/2000),

A. whereas the Commission is proposing to place relations between the EU and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia on an entirely new contractual basis and to afford that country the prospect
of full integration in the structures of the EU,

B. whereas this is the first specific implementation of the concept of a stabilisation and association pro-
cess for the countries of South-Eastern Europe through which the EU seeks to make its contribution to
the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe,

C. whereas in its feasibility report of 16 June 1999 (COM(1999) 235) the Commission concludes that in
the light of the political and economic reforms that have already been implemented under the coop-
eration agreement, and provided there are transitional periods in certain areas, the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia could satisfy the conditions for a stabilisation and association agreement,

D. Pointing out the constructive and responsible conduct of Macedonia during the war that ravaged the
countries of former Yugoslavia and stressing that its delayed approach march to the EU was due to
problems with a Member State rather than to any lack of will to join the Union,

E.

acknowledging the stabilising role which the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has played in
the region during the Yugoslav wars, in particular with regard to integrating the Albanian minority
into the political and social life of the country and the willingness to engage in regional cooperation,

F. Underlining the important role that the Albanian minority could play in this country and the positive
repercussions that this model of coexistence could have in the neighbouring countries, with regard in
particular to Albania and Kosovo,

G. Whereas the development and consolidation of a strong interethnic civil society is a key factor that

could contribute to the internal stabilisation of this country,