EP neemt rapport aan over werk van de gezamelijke Parlementaire Assemblee van de ACS-landen en de EU in 2007(en)

Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on behalf of the Development Committee on the work of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in 2007. The report welcomes the fact that in 2007 the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) provided a framework for an open, democratic and in-depth dialogue on the negotiation of EPAs between the European Union and the ACP countries, as shown by the adoption of the Kigali Declaration on development-friendly EPAs.

The House stresses the concerns expressed by the JPA over several aspects of the negotiations, with regard to both form and substance and points out that the debate is continuing since the adoption of EPAs with the Caribbean and interim agreements with certain countries and regions.

MEPs call on the parliaments of the ACP countries to demand that their governments and the Commission involve them in the process relating to the preparation and implementation of the Country Strategy Papers concerning cooperation between the European Union and their country (period 2008-2013).

The report calls on the Commission to supply all available information to the parliaments of the ACP countries and to provide them with assistance in this work of democratic control, in particular by supporting their capacities.

Darfur and Congo

The report Considers that the JPA resolution on the situation in Darfur, adopted in Wiesbaden on 28 June 2007 and the JPA resolution on the situation in Congo, in Kigali on 22 November 2007, are significant examples of this enhanced dialogue;

Parliament considers that the JPA, a forum for debate between European and ACP parliamentarians, plays a positive role in political dialogue and in the quest for a global, inclusive agreement for peace and development for the people of Darfur.