The 18th Session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly will take place in Luanda (Angola) from Monday 30 November to Thursday 3 December 2009.

As is customary, it will be preceded by meetings of the Standing Committees (28 November) and the Bureau (29 November). In addition to the usual sessions of Question Time to the European Commission and ACP/EU Council, there will be debates on Climate Change, the situation in Madagascar and Refugees.

Fourth Regional Meeting of the JPA - West Africa

The JPA will be holding its 4th Regional Meeting (West Africa) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso from 28 to 30 October 2009. The meeting will be chaired jointly by the two JPA Co-Presidents and will bring together 16 JPA parliamentarians from the West African region and 16 MEPs. The main issues to be discussed include the regional integration process, the EU-West Africa Economic Partnership Agreement, climate change, political stability and security, and the impact of the global food and financial crisis on the region.

Preliminary draft agenda and work programme

Bureau and Standing Committees

The next meeting of the Bureau will take place in Brussels on 29 and 30 September at which the Preliminary Draft Agenda for the 18th Session will be adopted. This will be followed by meetings of the three Standing Committees on 30 September and 1 October also in Brussels.

EU delegation to the JPA

Following the European Parliament elections in June, the new EU delegation to the JPA will hold its constituent meeting in Strasbourg during the week of 14 September in order to elect its Co-President and twelve Vice-Presidents.

Third Regional Meeting (Caribbean) in Georgetown, Guyana

The third regional meeting of the JPA was held in Georgetown, Guyana, between 24 and 27 February 2009. The main item on the agenda was the EPA signed in October 2008 with the Cariforum Member States. The members present adopted the Georgetown Communiqué by consensus..

Bureau and Standing Committees

The meetings of the Bureau and the three standing committees took place on 10, 11 and 12 February 2009 in Brussels. The Bureau adopted the draft agenda and work programme for the 17th Session of the JPA to be held in Prague, Czech Republic, from 4 - 9 April 2009.