Minutes of the sitting of Monday, 25 November 2013
Date: 2014-03-04
Institutions: ACP–EU Joint Assembly
Subjects: European Parliament, parliamentary debate








C_2014064EN.01000101.xml










4.3.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 64/1






MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF MONDAY, 25 NOVEMBER 2013

2014/C 64/01
Contents
Formal inaugural sitting
Sitting of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly
Composition of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly
Accreditation of non-parliamentary representatives






1.

Adoption of agenda (AP101.510)









2.

Approval of minutes of the last two sittings of the 25th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (OJ C 328, 12 November 2013)









3.

Co-Presidents’ announcements, including decisions taken at the Bureau meeting of 24 November 2013









4.

Statement by Andris Piebalgs, member of the European Commission with responsibility for development









5.

Debate with Andris Piebalgs, member of the European Commission with responsibility for development: ‘Catch-the-eye’









6.

Question Time with the European Commission









7.

Action taken by the European Commission on the resolutions adopted at the 25th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly









8.

South–South and triangular cooperation: opportunities and challenges for ACP countries




MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF MONDAY, 25 NOVEMBER 2013


(The sitting opened at 11.00 a.m.)



Formal inaugural sitting


The following addressed the Assembly:
Abadula Gemeda Dago, Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives of Ethiopia, Joyce Laboso, Co-President of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Patrice Tirolien, Vice-President of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, and Hailemariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

(The sitting adjourned at 12.10 p.m. and resumed at 3.10 p.m.)

IN THE CHAIR: Joyce LABOSO

Co-President



Sitting of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly


The Co-President welcomed all the participants.


Composition of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly


The Co-President announced that 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.


Accreditation of non-parliamentary representatives


The Co-President announced that two requests for accreditation of non-parliamentary representatives had been received in accordance with Article 17(1) of the Cotonou Agreement and Article 1(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, owing to exceptional cases of force majeure. The names of these representatives would be recorded and listed in an annex to the minutes.
1.   Adoption of agenda (AP101.510)

The agenda was adopted as shown in these minutes.
2.   Approval of minutes of the last two sittings of the 25th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (OJ C 328, 12 November 2013)

The minutes were approved.
3.   Co-Presidents’ announcements, including decisions taken at the Bureau meeting of 24 November 2013

The Co-President reported on the results of the Bureau meeting of 24 November 2013.
The following decisions were taken:






a)


The standing committees would draft the following reports:






 



Committee on Political Affairs







—


Challenges of national reconciliation in post-conflict and post-crisis states














 



Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade







—


Private-sector strategic development, including innovation for sustainable and inclusive development














 



Committee on Social Affairs and the Environment







—


Social and economic consequences of child mortality and malnutrition in ACP countries


















b)


Draft amendments to the Rules of Procedure would be submitted to the Assembly for adoption.










c)


The 11th regional meeting would take place from 12 to 14 February 2014 in Port Louis (Mauritius).










d)


A fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe would be organised from 29 to 31 January 2014.










e)


An election observation mission would be sent to Madagascar to observe the 2nd round of presidential and legislative elections on 20 December 2013.










f)


Draft amendments on cooperation between the Assembly and the European Economic and Social Committee would be submitted to the Committee on Political Affairs for consultation by written procedure.










g)


The Inter-Parliamentary Union of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IPU-IGAD) would be granted observer status in the Assembly.










h)


The 27th session of the JPA would take place in Strasbourg from 17 to 19 March 2014, and the 28th session in Vanuatu from 1 to 3 December 2014.




Speakers: Michèle Rivasi and Michael Gahler
The Co-President announced the following deadlines:






—


for amendments to the compromise resolutions (on security in the Great Lakes region and on the situation in the Comoros archipelago): Tuesday, 26 November 2013 at noon.










—


for requests relating to voting methods: Wednesday, 27 November 2013 at 10.00 a.m., in writing.




4.   Statement by Andris Piebalgs, member of the European Commission with responsibility for development

Andris Piebalgs, member of the European Commission with responsibility for development, reviewed the progress made in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with a view to the post-2015 development framework, and in planning for the following seven years. He emphasised that the fight against poverty and the fight for sustainability were two sides of the same coin. A single set of goals was needed and would require a new global contract involving governments, individuals, civil society and the private sector. Commissioner Piebalgs made it clear that the European Union remained as committed as ever to doing everything in its power to make the MDGs a reality by 2015. He welcomed the outcome of the UN MDG Special Event held in New York in September 2013.
5.   Debate with Andris Piebalgs, member of the European Commission with responsibility for development: ‘Catch-the-eye’

The exchange of views focused on topics including: gender and female genital mutilation; education and vocational training as part of the post-2015 agenda; a strategy for job creation; food security and nutrition; biofuels; development financing; access to renewable energy; EU donor coordination; Ethiopia’s efforts to reduce child mortality; distribution key and differentiation in the framework of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), commitments as regards the funding required to attain the MDGs; and the state of play with regard to economic partnership agreements.
Speakers: Ana Gomes, Christophe Lutundula (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Abdourahamane Chegou (Niger), Komi Selom Klassou (Togo), Michèle Rivasi, Tesfaye Daba (Ethiopia), Gay Mitchell, Nita R.K. Deerpalsing (Mauritius), Olle Schmidt, Mariya Gabriel, Maria Da Graça Carvalho, Horst Schnellhardt, Christa Klaß, Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Ana Rita Geremias Sithole (Mozambique), Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin (Ghana), Odirile Motlhale (Botswana), Boniface Yehouetome (Benin), Philippe Boulland, Makhosini Hlongwane (Zimbabwe), Joseph Hyacinthe Owona Kono (Cameroon), Mo-Mamo Karerwa (Burundi) and Lucie Milebou (Gabon)
Commissioner Piebalgs answered the questions raised by members according to the ‘catch-the-eye’ procedure.
6.   Question Time with the European Commission

A total of 21 questions were put to the European Commission.
The Commission had previously responded to the questions in writing. Commissioner Piebalgs gave oral replies to the supplementary questions posed by the following authors:






 


Question 1 by Derek Vaughan on climate change and MDG financing;










 


Question 2 by Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez on how to integrate sustainable development and the fight against climate change in ACP countries into the post-2015 agenda;










 


Question 5 by Enrique Guerrero Salom on EU–Africa and EU–Sahel strategies;










 


Question 6 by Ana Gomes on the crackdown on freedom of the media and political dissent in Angola;










 


Question 7 by Mariya Gabriel on the fight against the Lord’s Resistance Army;










 


Question 8 by Olle Schmidt on human trafficking and irregular migration;










 


Question 10 by Marielle de Sarnez (replaced by Niccolò Rinaldi) on the fight against child malnutrition;










 


Question 12 by Fiona Hall on funding for immunisation in Africa;










 


Question 13 by Michèle Rivasi on the transparency of public-private partnerships in the field of vaccines;










 


Question 14 by Jo Leinen on land grabbing: implementing UN Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests;










 


Question 15 by Catherine Bearder on biofuels and land title rights;










 


Question 18 by Gay Mitchell on resilience and disaster risk reduction in ACP countries;










 


Question 19 by Lautafi F.S. Purcell (Samoa) on the future of the ACP group of states;










 


Question 20 by Patrice Tirolien on the EU–ACP partnership after 2020;










 


Question 21 by Michael Cashman (replaced by Derek Vaughan) on the third revision of the Cotonou Agreement.




The authors of Questions 3, 4, 11 and 17 had no supplementary questions.
The authors of Questions 9 and 16 were not present.
7.   Action taken by the European Commission on the resolutions adopted at the 25th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly

A document concerning the Commission’s follow-up to the resolutions adopted by the Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels had been included in the dossier.
8.   South–South and triangular cooperation: opportunities and challenges for ACP countries

Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade
Co-rapporteurs: Elvis Mutiri wa Bashara (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Jean-Jacob Bicep
Jean-Jacob Bicep presented the report on behalf of the two co-rapporteurs.
Speakers: Christophe Lutundula (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Andre R. Worrel (Barbados), Hans-Peter Mayer, Joseph Hyacinthe Owona Kono (Cameroon), Marlene Mizzi, Niccolò Rinaldi, Netty Baldeh (Gambia), François Alfonsi, Peter Štastný, Dharamkumar Seeraj (Guyana), Christina Gutierrrez-Cortines, Nita R.K. Deerpalsing (Mauritius), Piet Van der Walt (Namibia), Adjedoue Weidou (Chad), Makhosini Hlongwane (Zimbabwe) and Peter Craig-Mcquaide (European Commission)
Members emphasised the importance of new forms of cooperation which would enable emerging countries to play a greater role in view of declining development aid and the need to learn from their experiences. Members did, however, stress that in order for such cooperation to bring longer-term sustainable development and contribute to economic growth, it needed to be accompanied by a transfer of technology and know-how. Research and innovation should also play a pivotal role in such cooperation.
(The sitting closed at 6.35 p.m.)


Joyce LABOSO

Patrice TIROLIEN


Co-Presidents



Alhaj Muhammad MUMUNI and
Luis Marco AGUIRIANO NALDA


Co-Secretaries-General