The 37th session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the political forum for the partnership between the EU and the 79 ACP countries (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific), will bring together, in equal parts, European MEPs and ACP parliamentarians from 18 to 20 March in Bucharest, under the joint presidency of Joseph Owona Kono and Louis Michel.
The agenda includes two topical and urgent subjects for debate and adoption of a resolution: - the challenges and issues of the rule of law in the European Union and the ACP countries; - environmental crimes.
MEPs will have the opportunity to talk on Monday with the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, and on Wednesday with the President of the ACP Council and the Romanian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Maria Magdalena Grigore, on any issue of common interest, such as the partnership negotiations that will replace the Cotonou Agreement after 2020.
Many debates are planned, without any resolution, on the impact of Brexit on the ACP-EU partnership, the compatibility of our economic model with climate change and the implementation of the Global Compact on orderly, regular and safe migration.
Three reports prepared by the Assembly's committees will be the subject of ongoing resolutions: - the strategic dimension of the ACP-EU partnership; - the opportunities provided by renewable energies for the sustainable economic development of ACP countries; - the reduction of the total number of out-of-school youth in ACP countries. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)