Parlementaire vergadering EU-ACP wil Haïti helpen met wederopbouw (en)

EFE

The cancellation of Haiti's foreign debt, estimated to be worth 1.0 billion Dollars, investment in earthquake-resistent buildings and the need for “massive reforestation” are just some of the proposals included in the resolution, which will be voted on this Thursday by the EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) Joint Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Tenerife.

The Assembly, which was opened on Monday by Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, expressed its condolences and solidarity with the people of Haiti, which on 12 January was struck by an earthquake that caused 200,000 deaths and injured a further 250,000 people.

The final resolution on Haiti calls for the EU and other donor countries to help repair the structural damage suffered by the country and asks for urgent help to re-establish agriculture, which accounts for 60% of Haiti's food production.

The text of the resolution also asks the EU for urgent help to meet the basic needs of children, including the construction of temporary schools.

Joint statement

Over the weekend before the Assembly, the members of the working party representing the European Union and Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) assembly signed a joint statement calling for a feasibility study into a single financial instrument for co-operation, to help overcome the difficulties caused by using ERDF funds for this purpose.

This is one of the proposals set out in the aforementioned joint statement, which was signed in Tenerife by the members of the working party that is part of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) and the outermost regions of the EU.

The statement was presented by the joint president of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly of the ACP-UE, Louis Michel; the permanent representative of the African Union in Brussels, Mahamat Annadif; and the Vice President and regional Finance Minister of the Regional Government of the Canaries, José Manuel Soria.

The chief demand contained in the document relates to promoting the creation of an area of cooperation called the "Euro-African Atlantic space". In addition, there is a desire to take a further step in support of the development of regional ACP-OMR (outermost regions) insertion in order to promote growth in this area and guarantee security and peace in the whole area.

There is also the intention to improve aspects contributing to promote development, such as air and sea connections, energy efficiency, the information society, tourism, combating illegal immigration, terrorism and organised crime, improving business investment, gender equality, combating climate change and achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

This meeting is being attended by the members of the joint parliamentary assembly of fifteen Atlantic African countries and MEPs from the Canaries, the Azores, Madeira and the French overseas departments.