From 16 to 18 May, the 21st session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) was held in Budapest. The assembly that takes place twice a year saw the adoption of several reports and comprehensive declarations, inter alia focused on ways to strengthen aid effectiveness.

The consultative body, made up of equal numbers of member of the European Parliament (MEPs) and ACP representatives, reviews the EU’s relationship and cooperation with ACP countries. The principles and goals of the ACP-EU JPA were enshrined in the Cotonou Agreement, signed in 2000.

In addition to debating democracy-building, human rights, including homosexuals’ rights, and how best to ensure the accountability of political leaders, the assembly saw the adoption of a comprehensive declaration setting out participant’s priorities for the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, to be held in Busan in November this year.

The declaration re-iterated the importance of providing budget support as “one of the best ways to increase aid effectiveness”. In a report on “Budgetary support as a means of delivering Official development assistance (ODA) in ACP countries” adopted in plenary session, the JPA’s economic development committee stressed that although ACP countries should meet the criteria of the Cotonou agreement, including transparent public financing and “well defined policies aimed at eradicating poverty”, budget support “should not be overburdened with political demands”. The committee called on donor countries to provide up to 50% of their aid to ACP countries as budget support and to set a collective EU target.

Moreover, in the declaration on aid effectiveness, the Assembly emphasised the need for enhanced parliamentary oversight of aid and accountability on the part of recipient governments. It was proposed that parliamentary capacity be adopted as an indicator of aid and development effectiveness and measured over time, as a means to strengthen democratic accountability.

Participants also urged donor countries to uphold their commitment to providing 0.7% of GNI in Official Development Assistance (ODA) and emphasised the necessity to increase aid predictability through “reliable timetables on their financial flows and long-term development agreements with partner countries, based on mutual accountability for development”.

The need for greater inclusion of actors from a wide range of governance levels was also emphasized at the ACP-EU JPA. The importance of non state actors was stressed by the participants who call on “the EU and partner countries to deepen and broaden the structured dialogue process for civil society organisations (CSOs) and local authority engagement so as to ensure their full and meaningful participation in the planning, implementation, monitoring and assessment of budgets and programmes”.

Below is the ACP-EU joint parliamentary assembly website where you can find the list of all the press releases, reports, declarations and resolutions adopted at the Budapest JPA: ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly

For an overview see: ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (pdf)