Members of the European Parliament and of the Parliaments of the ACP (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific) countries will meet in Port-au-Prince from 18 to 20 December, for the 34th session of the ACP/EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, a political body of the ACP/EU partnership which meets every six months.
The session, under the joint chairmanship of MEP Louis Michel (ALDE, Belgium) for the European side and Sierra Leone MP, Ibrahmi Rassin Bundu, for the ACP States, will be hosted by a country which is one of the poorest and most vulnerable to natural disasters.
Reinforcing the resilience of the ACP countries to climate change and disasters will naturally be one of the most urgent subjects on the agenda.
Mauritania and concerns caused by the worsening democracy and rule of law situation in the country is the second subject of common interest, which will be debated with a view to an emergency resolution.
The Parliamentary Assembly will also debate three reports prepared by its standing committees and will adopt resolutions on: - challenges in the field of the security-development nexus in ACP and EU policies; - improving access to basic health systems, notably to medicines, in the fight against infectious diseases; - the blue economy: opportunities and challenges for ACP States.
The MEPs will also hold several exchanges of views leading to no resolution. For instance, they will discuss sustainable development with Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and former member of the European Parliament. The role of natural resources in promoting sustainable development and the consolidation of the rule of law in the Central African Republic are among the subjects to be debated.
As usual, EU and ACP parliamentarians will have the opportunity to question the European Commission and the Presidency of the Council of the EU and of the ACP Council about all aspects of cooperation between the ACP and EU countries, which are linked together by the Cotonou Agreement. The future of relations post-2020, when this agreement expires, will certainly be discussed. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)