Brussels, 25/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - The humanitarian and security crisis in the Horn of Africa - and particularly in Somalia - and the consequences of the Arab Spring for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa were central to the concerns of the EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly, chaired by Louis Michel (ALDE, Belgium) and Assarid Ag Imbarcaouane (an elected representative from Mali) in Lomé, which concluded on 23 November.
In an emergency resolution, the Assembly expressed its grave concern at the unprecedented humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa and regretted the unacceptable number of people already affected by famine. It called for the international community to take action to respond to the growing humanitarian needs and avoid any deterioration of the situation.
MEPs and ACP elected representatives condemn the violent crackdown in Syria and Egypt and express their concern about the fact that Libyan weapons could fall into Al-Qaeda hands and threaten the Sahel region, if not the entire world. They call on the EU, the African Union and the United Nations to help manage the humanitarian crisis which affects hundreds of thousands of people who took flight from Libya to neighbouring countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Niger, Mali and Chad) and to Europe.
In a resolution on the impact that the Treaty of Lisbon has on ACP-EU partnership, the Joint Parliamentary Assembly considers that the EU and ACP countries should benefit from the changes brought in by the Treaty of Lisbon, such as the creation of a European External Action Service and the extension of European Parliament competence. Such changes should revitalise the ACP-EU partnership so that the relationship is more than simply a donor-receiver relationship but rather a partner-to-partner relationship. To this end, the Assembly calls for common spheres of interest to be defined, such as energy, climate change and migration. (AN/transl.rt/jl)