1.
1st ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
– 9 – 11 OCTOBER BRUSSELS
The
newly named ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (former ACP-EU
Joint Assembly) met for the first time following the signing of
the Cotonou Agreement (new ACP-EU Partnership Agreement) in
Brussels on 9-11 October.
During
the opening session the Co-President of the Joint Parliamentary
Assembly, MEP John Corrie (UK), describing the tasks of the
new Assembly stated “We must not be a mere talking shop
… we must be a think-tank from which new ideas for closer
and more effective co-operation emerge.” Mr Corrie also
described the role of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly as a
watchdog over the Commission, and ACP and EU governments.
Under
the new arrangements of the Cotonou Agreement the Joint
Parliamentary Assembly will from 2001 hold additional regional
meetings in ACP sub-regions. It is also supposed to organise
regular contacts with representatives of civil society. A
press release from the Joint Parliamentary Assembly states that
the Assembly will be making direct contacts with grass-roots
organisations, local authorities, farmers, trade unions,
employers, women’s groups, religious groups and NGOs. Eurostep
in its assessment of the new ACP-EU Agreement calls on the Joint
Parliamentary Assembly to, among other things, elaborate, in its
rules of procedure, a clearly defined strategy for working with
civil society representatives. (See http://www.oneworld.org/eurostep/newacpeu.htm)
This should specify means of making Assembly documents,
including draft resolutions, available to civil society
representatives. The PAF is of the view that the role of civil
society representatives participating in Joint Assembly sessions
should also be better defined to reflect the opening up of the
ACP-EU partnership to civil society actors.
At
the Assembly, the EU Commissioner for Development, Mr Poul
Nielson, said with regard to funds for Somalian NGOs in the area
of food security, education and health, the EU is providing
€ 3.5 millions under the 3rd Somalia
rehabilitation programme to be submitted to the European
Development Fund committee in November. On aid for East Timor, Mr
Nielson said negotiations on funding to East Timor had been held
up but a consensus had now been reached. The first tranche of
€ 19 million budget for East Timor is on its way.
The
Assembly was also informed by the ACP Council President Ancient
Georges Dologuele that research into alternative trade
arrangements between the ACP and the EU had begun. The ACP
Council of Ministers is due to meet from 7-12 December to study
proposals on this prepared by the ACP Secretariat.
The
Assembly adopted a number of resolutions on a number of issues
including the following:
The reform of
the banana system: the Assembly rejects the ‘first come,
first served’ proposed by the Commission and reaffirms that
the automatic move in 2006 to a tariff system would only mean the
end of banana production in the Community and in many ACP States.
The WTO waiver
for non-reciprocal preferential trade arrangements: the
Parliamentary Assembly called on the EU to act resolutely to
secure the granting, of duty-free access for ACP products into
the Community markets, in order to implement the Cotonou
Agreement. (According to BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest, the
waiver issue has reached an impasse in the WTO Goods Council.
Honduras has said it will continue to oppose the waiver request
until the EU presents an acceptable amendment to its banana
import system)
The
non-industrialised fishing sector: the Assembly considers
that ACP-EU relations should fully take into account, the needs
and rights of small coastal fishing communities in many ACP
countries, mainly concerning access to resources and markets. It
calls among other things for EU development aid to be used to
promote the ability of ACP countries to patrol their territorial
waters in order to allow fishing fleet activities to be monitored
and thus to avoid over fishing.
Communicable
diseases: the ACP-EU Assembly called on EU Member States and
the Commission to grant a higher priority to combating malaria
and the HIV/AIDS virus.
The
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly also adopted a report on the
challenges of globalisation to the ACP-EU partnership. The
report calls for, among other things:
Ø
A moratorium on any new negotiations in the framework of the WTO,
Ø
A global parliamentary assembly where developing countries would
be equitably represented
Ø
Rich countries to eliminate subsidies on agricultural exports and
tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade;
Ø
The creation of currency transaction tax to reduce the
transfer of capital from developing countries;
Ø
The development of local production for medicines and their
distribution at an affordable price.
More information on
the Joint Parliamentary Assembly should be shortly available at:
http://www.europarl.eu.int/dg2/acp/bru2000/en/default.htm
2.
3rd ASIA-EUROPE MEETING (ASEM) SUMMIT
The
EU and the East Asian nations (the Philippines, Thailand, China,
Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and
Singapore) meeting for the third Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on 20
October in Seoul are set to embark on an ambitious plan of
co-operation which will among other things support South
Korea’s policy of rapprochement with North Korea, and combat
illegal immigration and trafficking in women.
The
EU also aims to use the summit to express its concerns on the
continuing violence in West Timor and Burma’s deteriorating
human rights record; as well as secure ASEM support for the
launch of a new WTO round, despite resistance to further
liberalisation from South-East Asian nations. The civil
society group the ASEM People’s Forum is also meeting in
Seoul. The PAF will endeavour to bring you more news on the event
next week.
3.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TAKES EU COUNCIL TO COURT ON EU CITIZENS
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Further
to the report in PAF 200 on the tussle between the EU Council
Secretary General, Mr Solana, and the European Parliament on EU
citizens’ access to documents, we can now inform you that
the European Parliament has taken the Council to court over the
issue. In a decision on 26 July, the Council established new,
top-secret classification for documents in the field of security
and defence, which infringed the rights of citizens and
Parliament on access to documents.
As
reported by the PAF, Mr Solana, after much criticism, showed a
certain amount of willingness for a mechanism that would
allow a restricted group of MEPs to have access, under certain
condition, to classified documents. However, according to
EP’s Green party president MEP Heidi Hautala,
“Parliament wisely refused today (19 October) the
Council’s fake offer to establish a joint committee to
arbitrate on access to documents… this is not an adequate
solution for the right of citizens on access to documents.
4.
ACP-EU CIVIL SOCIETY ELECTRONIC DISCUSION ON COMMON PROGRAMME FOR
MONITORING COTONOU AGREEMENT GETS UNDERWAY
The
email/web discussion organised by Eurostep in
collaboration with the Liaison Committee of EU NGDOs, titled
“Monitoring the Cotonou Agreement: A Common Advocacy and
Monitoring Programme for ACP-EU Civil Society” got underway
this week. The aim of the discussion is to develop a common
programme amongst a broad range of ACP-EU civil society actors
for advocacy and monitoring of the Cotonou Agreement. The 6
month long discussion will attempt to develop strategies on a
number of issues including monitoring civil society participation
and the development of future ACP-EU trade arrangements.
Interested civil society representatives should contact [email protected]