Brussels, 14/03/08: On the 17-20 March the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) of the ACP and EU will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The JPA meets every six months and brings together an equal number of the MEPs and ACP parliamentarians. The JPA is an important happening for both officials and civil society organisations, working in the field of development cooperation. Eurostep is since long involved in the work around the JPA and is present to monitor the event.

The main topics for this session will cover everything from the situation in Kenya and Chad to climate change and its consequences to the health of the ACP countries. The EPA negotiations are also expected to be subject to heated debates. The parliamentarians are supposed to examine the follow-up to the concerns expressed six months earlier in the Kigali declaration on the EPAs.

The three Standing Committees of the JPA will meet already on 15 March to adopt resolutions on the following subjects: experiences gained from the European regional integration process applied to ACP countries; food safety in ACP countries; and social and environmental consequences from structural adjustment programmes.

Click here for more information about the JPA.