As the negotiations between the EU and the Organisation of ACP Countries (OACPs) on the post-Cotonou partnership have entered their final phase (see EUROPE 12506/9), the fate of the ACP/EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly could constitute an obstacle to the ratification of the future Agreement.
"The ACP/EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly is non-negotiable", the Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Development and the Co-Presidents of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly highlighted on Friday 26 June, reiterating the position already formally expressed by the European Parliament in November 2019 (see EUROPE 12380/17).
In line with sustainable development goals, the new agreement should be people-centred and this requires a strengthened parliamentary dimension with the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) at its centre, say Committee on Development Chair Tomas Tobé (EPP, Sweden) and the two JPA co-chairs Carlos Zorrinho (S&D, Portugal) and Faumuina Liuga (Samoa), as outlined in a statement issued by the European Parliament Committee on Development.
The possible disappearance of this ACP-EU assembly in favour of regional assemblies, as provided for in the European Commission's negotiating mandate, is not to their liking and could lead the European Parliament not to give its consent to the future agreement resulting from the negotiations. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)