Strasbourg, 16/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the second session of the new ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, to be held in Libreville, in Gabon, next week (see EUROPE of 12/13 March, p.10), the European Parliament adopted its traditional report on the Assembly's work in 2000. Following its rapporteur, Spanish Socialist Miguel Angel Martinez, Parliament suggests an in-depth reform of the Assembly's working methods.
Parliament launched an appeal to the national parliaments of the ACP countries and EU Member States for them to rapidly ratify the Cotonou Agreement. It considers that the new name "Joint Parliamentary Assembly" cannot be simply interpreted as rhetorical wording, but must be the "expression of a willingness to transform the Assembly into a parliamentary body". To give substance to this parliamentary character, it states that all delegates should be members of their national parliaments or the European Parliament. Participation of non-parliamentary representatives should be the exception and require the Assembly's approval. The EP proposes limiting plenary sessions in favour of committee work, which would allow for the political dialogue to be enhanced. EUROPE has reason to believe that it would in fact be a question of creating three large parliamentary committees dealing with: (1) institutional issues, democracy, the management of public affairs and conflict prevention; (2) economic subjects and trade; (3) the environment, health and education. These committees would meet during the sessions and, if need be, during the period between sessions. The organisation, next week, of three experimental workshops (health; agriculture; conflict prevention) prefigures this type of committee work.
Parliament considers that the imbalance that exists between European representatives from different political groups for which the formula "one person, one vote" applies, and the ACP countries represented according to the "one country, one vote" formula needs rectifying. It is also in favour of the abolition of the vote through separate colleges (idea that has run up against great resistance on the ACP side: Ed) and the introduction of a system reflecting the political diversity of the ACP side, like the European party, through the inclusion in ACP delegations of opposition members and, possibly, grouping members of the Assembly according to political persuasions, independent of their nationality, ACP or European. It also urges the leaders of the political groups in the EP to appoint as members of the European delegation people genuinely interested in issues of development. It also proposes that the annual session that the Assembly has in Europe be held in a different EU capital each year, for example the one of the country holding the EU Presidency. This measure would enable the Assembly's work to be given greater prominence among EU citizens while offering ACP representatives the possibility of familiarising themselves more with the Member States. EUROPE recalls that this system has already existed and that it was dropped due to the low level of support granted by the Member States holding the Presidency for organising meetings on their territory.