25 Amendments of Pierre SCHAPIRA related to 2008/2318(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas half the population of Africa still lives in poverty and whereas Africa is the only continent that is not progressing towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly as regards poverty reduction, child mortality, maternal health and the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas there has been minimal involvement of civil society and local authorities, particularly on the African side, in the implementation of the Joint Strategy,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas bringing the European Development Fund within the EU budget, as Parliament has repeatedly called for, would permit greater policy coherence and parliamentary oversight of development spending,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that, one year after the adoption of the Joint Strategy, the main components of the institutional architecture for its implementation are finally in place and have started to function, underpinned by an action plan with deliverables and timetables, and that some progress has been made towards implementation of the Joint Strategy and its thematic partnerships; however, regrets that, by the end of the first year of implementation, some partnerships are still in the process of defining working methods and have not yet established deliverables, timetables and budget allocations.
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commissions and the Member States of the EU and the AU to complete as a matter of priority this institutional architecture by developing the parliamentary and, civil society and local authorities components that should drive and sustain the process by giving it transparency and democratic legitimacy;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses the role of inter- parliamentary bodies between the European Parliament and African parliaments – such as the ACP-EU JPA and the Euromed Parliamentary Assembly – in enhancing peace and security, good governance and democracy, as well as being effective platforms for cooperation and for addressing issues of common concern;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Proposes that the Presidents of the Pan-African and European Parliaments systematically attend and address EU- Africa Summits to present our Parliaments’ conclusions on the implementation of the action plan and suggestions for the future orientations of the joint strategy;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the fact that the European Commission has established a EUR 55 million budget linesupport progamme in the 9th EDF for strengthening the capacities of the AU institutions; insists once again that part of this budget must be made available for strengthening the administrative and operational capacity of the Pan-African Parliament and the regional and national legislatures of the AU regions and member statescalls on the Commissions to draw up the action plans for the use of these budgets in close consultation with the Pan-African Parliament and in cooperation with the European Parliament;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Believes that if the Joint Strategy is to be a genuine "broad-based and wide- ranging people-centred partnership", it must effectively involve civil society and facilitate civil society'slocal authorities and facilitate their effective participation in the work of its implementing bodies;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Regrets that, whereas the Action Plan indicates that each of the Africa-EU Partnerships is open for a wide range of actions, overwhelming reference is placed on state actions; stresses that the inputs and involvement of parliaments and non- state actors, such as civil society organisations, local authorities and other non-state actors in the process need to be deepened and further clarified;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12c. Calls on the Commission to ensure coherence between this strategy and the other European policies which may have an adverse impact on the promotion of a new strategic partnership between the EU and Africa, in particular commercial, environmental, migration and agricultural policies; stresses that the political dialogue between the EU and Africa should cover these issues;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses that, to combat poverty effectively, which must remain at the heart of the joint strategy, the EU-Africa Strategic Partnership must help stimulate economic growthsustainable economic and social development, attract foreign investment, promote equitable international trade, and contribute to creating the conditions whereby African countries can gradually take their place in the global economy;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Points out that the concept of governance goes beyond merely fighting corruption and should be a measure of how well a society functions, through law and order, respect and active promotion of human rights, fight against corruption, wealth creation and transparent and equitable wealth distribution and essential health and social services; stresses that external actors must not assess governance solely on externally- imposed criteria but instead on the basis of mutually agreed and shared values and standards;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Stresses the importance of sustainable democracy including good governance and democratic elections which must include support for parliamentary capacity building, the organisation of civil society and the involvement of local authorities in the political dialogue;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Stresses that governance must be improved on both sides: it is not only a priority in Africa but also on the European side which must improve governance and accountability as regards aid commitments and better donor coordination with a view to taking greater account of the so-called 'aid orphans'; stresses that national and continental parliaments, non-state actors and local authorities have an important role to play in this field;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Calls for increased support to existing African initiatives, such as the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which is the most serious effort yet by African leaders to improve governance on the continent, and the various instruments put in place by the AU, which will increase African ownership of the process;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)
Paragraph 16 d (new)
16d. Expresses serious concern that the "governance profiles" developed by the Commission for each ACP country, which will guide programming for development assistance in relation to the EUR 2,700,000,000 additional funds under the 10th EDF, have been prepared without any participatory element; notes that eligibility for additional funds of beneficiary countries has been judged according to a set of criteria with only one directly linked to the MDGs; expresses dismay that the Commission's "profiles" risk hollowing out the APRM process; calls on the Commission to consult and inform the European Parliament and the Council on the follow-up and the implementation of these funds in order to make sure they are allocated to governance initiatives, to support the AU governance agenda and the APRM process;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Insists that the European Commission and the Member States honour their commitment to provide by 2010 at least EUR 2 billion a year in genuine 'aid for trade', the largest share of which must be for Africa; calls for a timely determination and provision of the share of the Aid for Trade resources; stresses that these funds should be additional resources and not be merely repackaging of EDF funding;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the partnership to address the wider aid-for-trade agenda, including the development of infrastructures, the promotion of business development and better regulation including simpler and user friendly rules of origin;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Calls on the strategy to recognise and support the role of migrants in favour of the development of their home countries, by facilitating their investments in these countries and by reducing the cost of transfers;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the European Commission to take urgent action to carry out its commitments in the field of health as regards the conclusions and recommendations of the European Court of Auditors January 2009 report on "EC Development Assistance to Health Services in Sub-Saharan Africa"; stresses the importance of increasing the European Commission's aid to the health sector in Sub-Saharan Africa during the tenth EDF midterm review to support its commitment to the health MDGs;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Encourages the AU and EU member states to attach greater importance to African food security and food sovereignty and to support actions to increase the productivity and competitiveness of African agriculture, in particular food production for local markets, and promotion of "green belts"around cities;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Calls on the Commission to use the EU-Africa partnership to help African countries apply the flexibilities provided for in the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and public health, in order to facilitate access to affordable essential medicines in Africa;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)
Paragraph 28 b (new)
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Looks forward to a meaningful involvement of the European and Pan- African Parliaments as well as civil society organisations and local authorities in the run-up to the third Africa-EU summit in 2010 and their active participation in the summit itself;