Minutes of the sitting of Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Date: 2014-03-04
Institutions: ACP–EU Joint Assembly
Subjects: European Parliament, parliamentary debate








C_2014064EN.01000501.xml










4.3.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 64/5






MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF TUESDAY, 26 NOVEMBER 2013

2014/C 64/02
Contents






1.

Urgent topic 1: security in the Great Lakes region









2.

Respect for the rule of law and the role of an impartial and independent judiciary









3.

Institutional cooperation between the African Union and the European Union









4.

Social and environmental impact of pastoralism on ACP countries









5.

Towards a new form of governance for the financing of development









i.

Use of natural resources









ii.

Fiscal reform and redistribution of wealth









iii.

Decentralised cooperation









6.

Any other business




MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF TUESDAY, 26 NOVEMBER 2013


The sitting opened at 9.15 a.m.

IN THE CHAIR: Louis MICHEL

Co-President

1.   Urgent topic 1: security in the Great Lakes region

Jose Costa Pereira (EEAS) gave a presentation on security in the Great Lakes region.
Speakers: Mariya Gabriel, Laurent Ngon-Baba (Central African Republic), Norbert Neuser, Christophe Lutundula (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Fiona Hall, Tesfaye Daba (Ethiopia), Mo-Mamo Karerwa (Burundi), Jean-Jacob Bicep, Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Jacob Oulanyah (Uganda), Dambert René Ndouane (Republic of the Congo), Slavi Binev, Simon Vuwa Kaunda (Malawi), Hans-Peter Mayer, Mohammed Mukhtar Ahmed (Nigeria), Louis Michel and Ana Gomes
Speakers welcomed recent developments in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), notably the defeat of the M23 movement. Members stressed, however, that a purely military solution was not enough, and highlighted their concerns regarding the humanitarian crisis and human rights abuses (in particular against women and children). Speakers noted the need for the Government of the DRC to introduce broad political and institutional reforms, notably in the security sector. This would require the sustained engagement of the international community, as provided for by the Framework Agreement signed in February 2013. There was also a need to prevent the pillaging of natural resources to fuel the conflict in the DRC and the Great Lakes.
2.   Respect for the rule of law and the role of an impartial and independent judiciary

Committee on Political Affairs
Co-rapporteurs: Dharamkumar Seeraj (Guyana) and Filip Kaczmarek
Filip Kaczmarek and Dharamkumar Seeraj (Guyana) presented the report.
Speakers: Mariya Gabriel, Achille Marie Joseph Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, Laurent Ngon-Baba (Central African Republic), Olle Schmidt, Nita R. K. Deerpalsing (Mauritius), François Alfonsi, Tesfaye Daba (Ethiopia), Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin (Ghana), Moses Y. Kollie (Liberia), Hans-Peter Mayer, Abdourahamane Chegou (Niger), Derek Vaughan, Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Ana Gomes, Komi Selom Klassou (Togo), Jacob Oulanyah (Uganda), Joyce Laboso (Kenya) and Francesca Mosca (European Commission)
Members stressed the importance of striking a balance between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary and highlighted the consequences of failing to respect the rule of law, in terms of corruption, lack of investment, and economic decline. They insisted on the need for an independent appointment procedure and a disciplinary system for judges and prosecutors and pointed out that a competent judiciary would be the result of a long-term process requiring systematic civic education from a very early age. Members encouraged the exchange of good practice among ACP countries with experience of similar situations and requested continued help with building capacity.
Co-rapporteurs Dharamkumar Seeraj (Guyana) and Filip Kaczmarek wound up the debate.
Francesca Mosca (European Commission) made concluding remarks.
3.   Institutional cooperation between the African Union and the European Union

Keynote debate
Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chair of the African Union Commission, gave a presentation on institutional cooperation between the African Union and the European Union.
Speakers: Gay Mitchell, Ana Gomes, Olle Schmidt, Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Jean-Jacob Bicep, Slavi Binev, Peter Štastný, Jo Leinen, Tesfaye Daba (Ethiopia), Mariya Gabriel, James Kembi-Gitura (Kenya)
Although the African Union should not necessarily follow the European Union’s model exactly, key principles, such as increasing interdependence between member states and solidarity at all levels, should be pursued. Some members regretted the fact that aid was not spent effectively and that the common values on which the partnership was based were not being put into practice. Some pointed out the complexity of multiple platforms with changing geography. ACP members reassured their colleagues that improving relations with new partners would not hamper their longstanding partnership with the European Union. Members also encouraged closer cooperation on global issues such as migration and climate change.
Erastus Mwencha answered the questions raised by members.
Francesca Mosca (European Commission) and Jose Costa Pereira (EEAS) concluded the debate.

(The sitting closed at 12.15 p.m. and resumed at 3.08 p.m.)

IN THE CHAIR: Joyce LABOSO

Co-President

4.   Social and environmental impact of pastoralism on ACP countries

Committee on Social Affairs and the Environment
Co-rapporteurs: Abdourahamane Chégou (Niger) and Fiona Hall
Fiona Hall and Abdourahamane Chégou (Niger) presented the report.
Speakers: Boniface Yehouetome (Benin), Horst Schnellhardt, Norbert Neuser, Catherine Bearder, Michèle Rivasi, Selom Klassou (Togo), Edit Bauer, Christa Klaß, and Peter Craig-McQuaide (European Commission)
Members highlighted the importance of pastoralism and its contribution not only to the economies of African countries, but also to important sectors such as health, the environment and food security. Members also stressed the fundamental role of pastoralism as a way of life and its association with cultural and traditional values going back hundreds of years.
The co-rapporteurs wound up the debate.
5.   Towards a new form of governance for the financing of development

Debate without resolution
i.   Use of natural resources

Speakers: Louis Michel, Boniface Yehouetome (Benin), Horst Schnellhardt, Achille Marie Joseph Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Patrice Tirolien, Joseph Hyacinthe Owona Kono (Cameroon), Fiona Hall, Tesfaye Daba (Ethiopia), Michèle Rivasi, Ana Rita Geremias Sithole (Mozambique), Slavi Binev, Abdourahamane Chegou (Niger), Christa Klaß, Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Makhosini Hlongwane (Zimbabwe) and Peter Craig-McQuaide (European Commission)
Members called for parliaments to hold governments accountable in order to maximise the benefits to citizens of the extraction of natural resources. They also stressed the importance of increasing transparency and promoting good governance in order to combat corruption, tax evasion and other illicit financial outflows.
ii.   Fiscal reform and redistribution of wealth

Anthony Mothae Maruping, Commissioner for Economic Affairs of the African Union, made a presentation on fiscal reform and redistribution of wealth.
Speakers: Edit Bauer, Ole Christensen, Niccolò Rinaldi, François Alfonsi, Abdikadir Aden (Kenya), Slavi Binev, Abdourahamane Chegou (Niger), Virgilio de Fontes Pereira (Angola), Makhosini Hlongwane (Zimbabwe), Louis Michel, Ana Gomes, and Peter Craig-McQuaide (European Commission)
Members stressed the importance of establishing effective tax systems and enforcing legislation to ensure that revenues were collected, accounted for and allocated efficiently and equitably for the benefit of citizens and called for the promotion of sustainable, inclusive development and poverty eradication.
Anthony Mothae Maruping wound up the debate.
iii.   Decentralised cooperation

Jalal Abdel-Latif, UN Economic Commission for Africa, gave a presentation on decentralised cooperation.
Members highlighted the added value of decentralised cooperation as a means of fostering participatory approaches aimed at promoting ownership and empowerment through the involvement, for instance, of civil society in its varied forms. They also stressed the important contribution that such cooperation had made to poverty reduction and the attainment of the MDGs, with fewer resources than those of multilateral and bilateral donors. However, in order to make decentralised cooperation successful, strong and lasting political support was required. Decentralised budgetary support was highlighted as an instrument that could enable the distribution of aid where budgetary support to central government was suspended.
Speakers: Horst Schnellhardt, Myriam Ouedraogo Zare (Burkina Faso), Norbert Neuser, Catherine Bearder, Abdikadir Aden (Kenya), Ana Rita Geremias Sithole (Mozambique), Abdourahamane Chegou (Niger), Peter Šťastný, Selom Klassou (Togo) and Louis Michel
Peter Craig-McQuaide (European Commission) wound up the debate.
6.   Any other business

Co-President Louis Michel announced that the two Co-Presidents had been given authorisation to visit a prison in Addis Ababa on 27 November 2013.

(The sitting closed at 6.30 p.m.)



Joyce LABOSO

Louis MICHEL


Co-Presidents



Alhaj Muhammad MUMUNI and
Luis Marco AGUIRIANO NALDA


Co-Secretaries-General