European Parliament resolution on the results of the work of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly in 1999
29. 11. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 339/263 Thursday 17 February 2000 Calls upon the Council to support the adoption of a resolution condemning the gross human rights 20. violations perpetrated by the Russian armed forces in Chechnya; Calls upon the Council to support the adoption of a resolution expressing great concern about 21. human rights violations in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia and Kosovo, in particular as regards the situation of minorities as well as political prisoners; 22. Urges the Council to condemn firmly the systematic discrimination and the constant repression perpetrated against women by the Taliban Afghan regime which undermines their fundamental rights and can rightly be defined as gender apartheid, and further to condemn the systematic discrimination perpetrated against women by the government of Saudi Arabia; Urges the Council to appeal to the Iranian authorities to end the widespread systematic oppression 23. and to ensure that the Islamic Republic of Iran accedes inter alia to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women as a practical and unequivocal means of showing its commit- ment to initiating a process of reform of its policy, in particular towards women; 24. Calls upon the Council to support full investigation of systematic and gross human rights abuses in Sierra Leone, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, especially as regards war crimes and crimes against humanity; asks that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice; Calls upon the Council to support full investigation of human rights violations in East Timor, espe- 25. cially as regards crimes against humanity; asks that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice; 26. Instructs its President to make the necessary arrangements to send a European Parliament delegation to participate in the 56th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, starting on 20 March 2000 in Geneva; Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments 27. of the Member States and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN. 9. ACP-EU Joint Assembly A5-0032/2000 European Parliament resolution on the results of the work of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly in 1999 The European Parliament, ; having regard to the resolutions adopted by the Joint Assembly at its 28th and 29th sessions in Stras- bourg (29 March to 1 April 1999) (1) and Nassau (11 to 14 October 1999), ; having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure, ; having regard to the report of the Committee on Development and Cooperation (A5-0032/2000), A. whereas the view formed by Parliament on the activities and resolutions of the ACP-EU Joint Assem- bly contributes to the consistency of European Union development policy; whereas, likewise, the Joint Assembly has a fundamental role to play in the development and strengthening of relations between the EU and its ACP partners, B. whereas Parliament attaches the utmost importance to development policy and to strengthening ACP-EU relations, and above all to promoting human rights the world over, (1) OJ C 271, 24. 9. 1999. C 339/264 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 29. 11. 2000 Thursday 17 February 2000 C. whereas the democratic legitimacy of the European Parliament and Joint Assembly gives them great authority to raise public awareness as to the importance of development policy and the objectives thereof, D. whereas 1999 has proved to be a crucial stage in ACP-EU cooperation; whereas the Joint Assembly has played a pivotal role in the development of negotiations on renewing the Lomé IV Convention, which expires in February 2000, E. mindful of the failure of the WTO Conference in Seattle, of the absolute requirement for the European Union to achieve a suitable waiver to enable continued trade preferences with at least existing market access for our ACP partners, and of the need to provide the WTO with more transparent structures, F. whereas, furthermore, the costs and benefits of liberalising multilateral trade resulting from the Uru- guay Round have not been spread equitably between the industrialised nations and the developing world, and the poorest countries have suffered most, 1. Welcomes the significant contribution made by the Joint Assembly to the debate on, and negotiating process for, the successor agreement to Lomé IV, and reiterates its absolute commitment to the finalisation and implementation of the successor agreement as a central pillar of the European Union’s development policy; 2. Calls for the new Convention to provide for an enhanced role for the Joint Assembly and improve its working methods to the full so as to adapt them to the newly emerging forms of cooperation, including the possibility of holding regional Assembly meetings; stresses the fact that the Joint Assembly is truly a Parliamentary assembly, representing the peoples of ACP and EU countries, where the elected ACP Repre- sentatives now make up 75-85 % of the ACP total; further calls for preparatory measures to ensure equal participation by ACP partners in Question Time and urgencies considered by the Joint Assembly; 3. Calls on the ACP States to include in their delegations to the ACP-EU Joint Assembly a wide range of political opinion in their respective countries, following the example of the European delegation, so as to ensure a balanced debate; Asserts that the credibility of the European Union’s commitment to its ACP partners will depend 4. largely on the financial allocation for the 9th EDF; Underlines yet again the need to incorporate the EDF into the Community budget in order to allow 5. for efficient parliamentary control of the allocation and implementation of funds; Reaffirms that the fight against poverty remains a key aim of development policy and welcomes the 6. 1999 Joint Assembly general report on the matter; Opposes diverting certain appropriations for the poorest nations in the Community budget to fund 7. the reconstruction of Kosovo; 8. Notes with interest the conclusions and proposals formulated by the Joint Assembly’s Working Groups, which examined on the one hand the impact of climate change and potential adaptation strategies for those small island states most at risk from this global trend, and on the other hand regional cooper- ation in the ACP countries as a means of tackling the problems of globalisation and as a key to growth; Notes further the results of the work of the follow-up group on fisheries and its important contribu- 9. tion to the debates at the Joint Assembly on issues pertaining to fisheries, one of the main sectors in which mutual interest and interdependence are most apparent; therefore urges that the proper level of consis- tency between European Union fisheries policy and development policy be assured, in the spirit of the Council resolution of 7 June 1997, in order to guarantee the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources for the future benefit of all; 29. 11. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 339/265 Thursday 17 February 2000 10. Supports the recommendation, as expressed by the Joint Assembly, to create regional structures for monitoring and mediation in order to prevent ethnic, economic, social and religious tensions which may arise and which could potentially lead to serious armed conflicts; 11. Also supports the call of the Assembly to all parties involved in the Lomé renegotiation to recog- nise the topic of natural disaster prevention and preparedness as a major element in achieving the priority objective of sustainable development; 12. Warmly welcomes the signing of the Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation with South Africa; expresses, nevertheless, its disappointment with the continuing delays in concluding the wine and spirits agreement; 13. Echoes the Joint Assembly’s request to the international community to recognise the state of East Timor and calls on the Commission to take the necessary steps to ensure the rapid accession of East Timor to the Lomé Convention; Reaffirms its deep dismay at the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia and supports the efforts of 14. the Joint Assembly to avoid a humanitarian tragedy from which no one stands to gain; welcomes the mission by the Assembly Bureau to both countries to act as mediator in resolving the conflict peacefully and offers its full support to the OAU negotiators, Deplores once again the prevailing political situation in Sudan and regrets that the Joint Assembly 15. was unable to pass a resolution on the matter at its sessions in 1999; Declares its support for the work undertaken by the Joint Assembly Vice-Presidents for human 16. rights and calls on all Lomé Convention signatory states to cooperate with that work; 17. Requests that an annual report on the countries which have signed the new Convention be sub- mitted and voted on by the Joint Assembly with a view to emphasising the importance of this subject in the new relations between the European Union and the ACP countries; 18. Points out the current shortcomings in the definition and implementation of the non-execution clause of Article 366a of the present Convention and insists on the need to revise the said clause so as to avoid the adoption of arbitrary measures; believes, in this context, that the application of sanctions ought to be subject to Parliament’s assent in order to guarantee greater objectivity; 19. Welcomes the fact that ACP governments are inviting the Joint Assembly and the European Parlia- ment to send delegations to oversee electoral processes on an increasingly regular basis and considers it essential that such invitations be accepted; Calls for the Joint Assembly to be given a separate budget so that it may successfully undertake its 20. parliamentary activities, including the observation of elections in the ACP countries; 21. Expresses its satisfaction at the holding of the presidential elections in Nigeria and appeals to the new government to attach the highest priority to strengthening the rule of law, respect for human rights and good governance; 22. Stresses that the involvement of civil society in the taking of decisions and the management of cooperation is a key factor in guaranteeing a successful and sustainable development process, and calls for support for increased participation, consultation and parallel discussion with civil society representa- tives, as part of future development of the working of the Joint Assembly; Calls on the European Union and the ACP countries to strengthen their common stance aimed at 23. modifying WTO norms so as to give priority to the eradication of poverty and sustainable development over trade liberalisation; Calls also on the negotiating parties to defend the Lomé trade preferences and protocols within the 24. WTO; C 339/266 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 29. 11. 2000 Thursday 17 February 2000 25. Takes note of the concerns expressed by the Assembly about the threat hanging over certain pro- duction areas such as cocoa, rum, sugar and bananas, whose importance to the economies of some ACP countries is considerable, and undertakes to take these legitimate concerns into consideration and to promote the protection of the systems of preferences from which the ACP countries benefit in their trade relations with the Union; Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council, the ACP-EU Joint Assembly 26. and the Commission. 10. Stabilisation and association agreement with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia A5-0031/2000 European Parliament resolution on the Commission recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the Commission to negotiate a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the for- mer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (SEC(1999) 1279 0 C5-0166/1999 0 1999/2121(COS)) The European Parliament, ; having regard to the Commission recommendation (SEC(1999) 1279 ; C5-0166/1999), ; having regard to the report by the Commission on the feasibility of negotiating a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (COM(1999) 300 ; C5-0118/1999), ; having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure, ; having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy and the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (A5-0031/2000), A. whereas the Commission is proposing to place relations between the EU and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on an entirely new contractual basis and to afford that country the prospect of full integration in the structures of the EU, B. whereas this is the first specific implementation of the concept of a stabilisation and association pro- cess for the countries of South-Eastern Europe through which the EU seeks to make its contribution to the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe, C. whereas in its feasibility report of 16 June 1999 (COM(1999) 235) the Commission concludes that in the light of the political and economic reforms that have already been implemented under the coop- eration agreement, and provided there are transitional periods in certain areas, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia could satisfy the conditions for a stabilisation and association agreement, D. Pointing out the constructive and responsible conduct of Macedonia during the war that ravaged the countries of former Yugoslavia and stressing that its delayed approach march to the EU was due to problems with a Member State rather than to any lack of will to join the Union, E. acknowledging the stabilising role which the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has played in the region during the Yugoslav wars, in particular with regard to integrating the Albanian minority into the political and social life of the country and the willingness to engage in regional cooperation, F. Underlining the important role that the Albanian minority could play in this country and the positive repercussions that this model of coexistence could have in the neighbouring countries, with regard in particular to Albania and Kosovo, G. Whereas the development and consolidation of a strong interethnic civil society is a key factor that could contribute to the internal stabilisation of this country,