Activites

• 2010/12/15 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T7-0482/2010 summary

    Following a debate that was held during the 24 November 2010 plenary session, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the future of the EU-Africa partnership following the 3rd EU-Africa Summit.The text adopted in plenary had been tabled as a joint resolution by the EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA and ECR groups.Members welcome the adoption of the Strategic Action Plan 2010-2013 and of its partnerships, and stress the importance of the latter supporting developing countries’ sustainable needs in order to fight poverty, guarantee a decent income and livelihood, as well as the fulfilment of basic human rights, including social, economic and environmental rights.In Parliament’s view, the main objectives of these partnerships may be summarised as follows:Peace and security: Members stress the importance of providing predictable and sustainable funding for African peace-support operations, the necessity of building local resilience capacities, and the determination to protect civilians in armed conflicts. They take the view that conflict prevention policy is an essential precondition for lasting peace and that the structural causes of conflicts should be addressed by putting in place a sustainable development policy. They consider that the adoption of the new US ‘Conflict Minerals’ law is a huge step forward in combating illegal exploitation of minerals in Africa, which fuel civil wars and conflicts. In this regard, they are of the view that the Commission and the Council should come out with similar proposals to ensure tractability of imported minerals in the EU market while taking into account the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI);Democratic governance and human rights: Members call on the EU and the African Union (AU) to jointly address key issues of common concern such as responses to political crisis and support for economic governance with a view to formulating shared governance agendas. While welcoming the Africa-EU joint commitment to founding principles which include respect for human rights, democratic principles, rule of law and the condemnation of all forms of terrorism, they regret the fact that Robert Mugabe was invited to and actively participated in the 3rd Africa EU-Summit. They call for all actors to take a stronger political stance in future in order to send a clear message of our firm belief in the rule of law and democracy. They also urge that all actions be pursued without any discrimination on grounds of gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or conviction, disability, age or sexual orientation;Trade, regional integration and infrastructure: Members urge the EU and the AU to cooperate on sustainable exploitation of raw materials, especially by focusing on capacity building, governance, infrastructure development, investments, geological knowledge and skills, and transparency of mining contracts. In particular, they call for the introduction of environmentally sound and socially sustainable policies on raw materials and for the establishment of a legal and fiscal framework which is conducive to stimulating economic growth and attracting FDI; Millennium Development Goals:Members note the renewal of the commitment of the European Union countries to allocate 0.7% of their GDP by 2015.They recall that specific activities on maternal, newborn and child health, gender, education, land policy and sustainable development, access to water and sanitation, and on people with disabilities as well as in the area of food security, are crucial for attaining the MDGs. In this regard, they underline the need to reinforce the agricultural and fisheries sectors in Africa and recall the dominant role that agriculture plays in African national economies. Regretting yet again the current acquisition of farmland in Africa by some government-backed foreign investors, they note that this threatens to undermine local food security. They call on African leaders to put in place a mechanism to circumvent the illicit flight of capital for tax evasion and to stand up to international pressure that might allow tax evasion in Africa;Energy: Members believe that renewable energy is vital for the economic and social development of Africa. They welcome the Africa-EU Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme and the political targets agreed at the Vienna High Level Meeting on Energy in September 2010, to be reached by 2020, including bringing access to modern and sustainable energy services to an additional 100 million Africans, doubling the capacity of cross-border electricity connections within Africa and doubling the use of natural gas in Africa, and increasing the use of renewable energy in Africa and improving energy efficiency in Africa in all sectors;Climate change: Members invite the EU and the AU to unite their efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. They recall the EU commitment of EUR 7.2 billion in 2010-2012 for fast-start climate change projects and initiatives, a significant part of which will be available for Africa. They call on all actors to support developing countries in adapting to the impact of climate change and growing in a low carbon way in order to eradicate poverty. They particularly stress the immense potential for natural resources – sun, wind, rivers and tides – that African countries often possess in abundance;Migration, mobility and employment: Members observe that migration does have positive effects and insists on the need for a common strategy complete with a timetable and targeted projects to reduce the negative effects of illegal migration. However, they consider that brain drain is a major problem for Africa and that professional people who have left the country should be given strong incentives to return and apply the benefit of their training in their countries of origin;Science, information society and space partnership: lastly, Members welcome the launching of a high-level science and technology policy dialogue at senior official and ministerial level in order to strengthen the science and technology cooperation framework in order to leverage faster inclusive economic growth and social development in Africa.General comments: Members note that Sudan is not represented, the authorities of this country not considering themselves bound by the Tripoli Declaration (a declaration in which African and European leaders commit to consolidate their strategic partnership established three years ago between the two continents). They wish to see all elements of the 2005 Peace Agreement implemented, including the referendum in January 2011 which must allow the people of southern Sudan to choose their own destiny. They regret that certain Heads of State or Government from the EU's larger Member States were not able to attend the EU-Africa Summit and that there is no financing plan to accompany the Africa-EU joint strategy. They call, once again, for the EDF to come under the EU budget.  They also want the Pan-African and European Parliaments to be able to exercise their supervisory role in the implementation of the Strategic Action Plan.

• 2010/11/24 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    The House held a debate, following on the Council and Commission statements, on the future of the Africa/EU strategic partnership on the eve of the third Africa-EU summit.A motion for a resolution closing this debate was due to be put to the vote at the December part-session.

• #3048
• 2010/11/22 Council Meeting
  • 3048 summary

    The Council discussed the preparations for the forthcoming EU summits with Africa (29-30 November 2010, Tripoli), Russia (7 December 2010, Brussels) and India (10 December 2010, Brussels) and for the OSCE summit (1-2 December 2010, Astana). The discussion was linked to an exchange of views on the EU's relations with its strategic partners, in particular the US, Russia and China, on the basis of information from the High Representative on the progress report which is being prepared and will be presented in December 2010.

Documents

• Debate in Council: 3048
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T7-0482/2010

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)