In October 2016, the European Parliament spoke about the future of the ACP-EU partnership when the Cotonou Agreement expires in February 2020. It again reiterated the importance it attaches to this partnership between the EU and the 79 countries of Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific and reasserted its determination to modernise this partnership to make it more political, efficient and adapted to new challenges.
On the basis of the draft negotiating mandate presented by the European Commission last December and by following the line advocated by its development committee, it adopted a non-legislative resolution by a show of hands.
This confirms Parliament's position and a significant convergence of views with the Commission, whilst waiting for the Council of the EU to adopt its mandate once the last pending point on migration is resolved (see EUROPE 12033).
Parliament welcomes the main aspects and general architecture proposed for future cooperation based on an umbrella agreement and tailored regional agreements. It is pleased that the Commission largely took Parliament's position, which would like the social pillar and regional pacts to be legally binding, into account.
It is delighted that the sustainable development goals are considered a key objective but regrets the lack of concrete measures for implementation.
The essential factors in the Cotonou Agreement: human rights, democratic principles, rule of law and good governance - have to be maintained as a basis for post-2020 cooperation and made an integral part of the basic agreement, similarly to the regional pacts and protocols.
Parliament is demanding that transversal questions such as environmental sustainability, climate change objectives, gender issues and social justice are included in all policies, programmes and intervention domains of the future of agreement.
It should include the fight against poverty as a central element; including fairness principles, as well as those on mutual respect and mutual interests; maintain political dialogue as an integral part of the partnership and integrate support regimes into sustainable agricultural practices.
The resolution indicates that the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) constitute a basis for regional cooperation and are development and integration tools. Parliament is therefore calling for their full integration into the new ACP-EU agreement.
Parliament is insisting that the Parliamentary dimension of the new agreement be strengthened, particularly the Joint Parliamentary Assembly. It would like meetings between MEPs and the ACP at a level of the regional pacts and that the Pan-African Parliament to become a solid pillar in the future EU-pact.
During the course of the debate on Wednesday evening, Monika Panayotova stated on behalf of the Bulgarian Presidency that the latter was making a lot of efforts to resolve, “in the next few days”, the problem still pending and which is preventing adoption of the Council mandate.
In response to questions from MEPs about how the EU intends to “maintain a strong identity for the ACP group” (see EUROPE 12038) and not have the African Union supplant it, Neven Mimica said that they needed to “appreciate the fact that the ACP and EU represented half of all the members of United Nations”. Belgian MEP Louis Michel (ALDE), said that he approved the idea of a framework agreement and regional agreements, whilst warning against the risk of “maintaining relations with Africa in overly narrow constraints”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)