On Tuesday 26 March, MEPs called for the EU-Uzbekistan Enhanced Cooperation and Partnership Agreement to be applied on a provisional basis and only after the European Parliament has given its consent.
At the end of November 2018, the EU and Uzbekistan opened negotiations over a new comprehensive bilateral agreement – a Cooperation and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (see EUROPE 12146/32).
In the report by David McAllister (EPP, Germany) that they adopted, MEPs were of the opinion that the EU must negotiate a “modern, comprehensive and ambitious” agreement. According to them, this agreement should strengthen “people-to-people contacts, political cooperation, trade and investment relations”, but also “cooperation in the fields of sustainable development, environmental protection, connectivity, human rights and governance”. The European Parliament also noted that this agreement should contribute to Uzbekistan's sustainable economic and social development.
In addition, for Parliament, the EU must use the agreement negotiations to support “real and lasting progress towards an accountable democratic regime that guarantees and protects the fundamental rights” of Uzbeks, and to ensure that by the end of the negotiations, sufficient progress has been made. The agreement should include provisions on the possible suspension of cooperation in the event of a breach of an essential element of the agreement, in particular respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)