MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

16.4.2008

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Cristiana Muscardini, Adam Bielan, Inese Vaidere, Ryszard Czarnecki and Eugenijus Maldeikis
on behalf of the UEN Group
on the Fifth EU-LAC Summit in Lima

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0147/2008

B6‑0172/2008

European Parliament resolution on the Fifth EU-LAC Summit in Lima

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the declarations of the four Summits of Heads of State and Government of Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union, held to date in Rio de Janeiro (28 and 29 June 1999), Madrid (17 and 18 May 2002), Guadalajara (28 and 29 May 2004) and Vienna (12 and 13 May 2006),

–  having regard to the joint communiqué of the 13th Ministerial Meeting of the Rio Group and the EU, held in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) on 20 April 2007,

–  having regard to the joint communiqué of the Ministerial Meeting of the San José Dialogue between the EU troika and the ministers of the countries of Central America, held in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) on 19 April 2007,

–  having regard to the Final Act of the 17th EU-Latin America Interparliamentary Conference, held in Lima from 14 to 16 June 2005,

–  having regard to its resolutions of 15 November 2001, on a global partnership and a common strategy for relations between the European Union and Latin America[1], and of 27 April 2006, on a stronger partnership between the European Union and Latin America,

–  having regard to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly's resolutions of 20 December 2007,

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas it is more important than ever to continue to deepen the Biregional Strategic Partnership proposed at the four earlier summits,

B.  whereas, although major steps forward have been taken, much remains to be done in connection with both the political and security aspects and the social, commercial and budgetary dimensions of the partnership,

C.  whereas the strategic partnership must foster closer relations between the societies concerned, improve their levels of social development and make a decisive contribution to drastically reducing poverty and social inequality, above all in Latin America, something which should be facilitated by the economic growth shown by the region over recent years, as well as by the exchanges and aid of all kinds and the transfer of expertise in social cohesion which the EU can offer,

1.  Reiterates its commitment to supporting the work of the European and Latin American regional integration bodies and to doing all within its power to ensure that the Lima summit marks a genuine advance for the strategic partnership; applauds the resolute efforts made by towards this end by the Peruvian and Slovene Co-Presidency of the summit, the Slovene Presidency of the European Union, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union;

Principles and priorities of the Biregional Strategic Partnership

2.  Reaffirms its commitment to the biregional approach and to prioritising the Biregional Strategic Partnership as the best means of safeguarding the principles, values and interests shared by the partners on both sides of the Atlantic;

3.  Reiterates the continued validity of the declaration on the values and positions shared by both regions that was issued at the Madrid Summit (2002) and the joint commitment to multilateralism, regional integration and social cohesion reaffirmed at the Guadalajara (2004) and Vienna (2006) summits;

4.  Proposes an overall strategic vision for the partnership, which would not be confined to isolated proposals or actions and would have the ultimate goal of establishing a Euro-Latin American global interregional partnership area around the year 2012, to include a fully-fledged strategic partnership in the political, economic, social and cultural fields and the joint pursuit of sustainable development;

5.  Recommends that the political and security strands of the partnership be based on regular, sectoral and effective political dialogue and on a Euro-Latin American Charter for Peace and Security which, along similar lines to the UN Charter, would enable political, strategic and security proposals to be drafted jointly;

6.  Stresses that the following are required for trade and economic relations between the partners to be beneficial to both sides:

• –they must contribute to the diversification and modernisation of the manufacturing base in Latin American countries – which are still highly dependent on a few export products, many of them primary or semi-processed – using technological alternatives which are efficient and have a positive impact in terms of job creation and higher household incomes;
• –they must mark a shift in focus from purely trade-related to economic concerns, given the economic asymmetry between the two regions and the need for emphasis to be placed on social and environmental issues, including plans for clean technology transfer and capacity-building, involving biregional mixed investment and joint production systems;
• –emphasis must be placed on the need to safeguard the principle of legal certainty and to create a favourable environment for investment;
• –they must take due account of the differences in terms of relative development levels, and the Union should therefore introduce special differentiated treatment (SDT) arrangements, particularly for the countries with the lowest level of economic and social development;
• –they must provide incentives for Latin American integration;

7.  Endorses the proposed agenda for the Lima summit and its focus on two main subject areas, the first being poverty, inequality and exclusion and the second, sustainable development and the related issues of environment, climate change and energy;

8.  Points out that the swift setting up, following the Vienna summit, of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) as the strategic partnership's parliamentary institution has considerably enhanced the partnership's democratic legitimacy and consolidated its institutional system, which now embraces the discussion, scrutiny and monitoring of partnership-related matters coming within the assembly's remit;

9.   Recommends that the Lima summit reiterate the EU's and the LAC's attachment to the principles and values of pluralist representative democracy, freedom of expression and of the press, human rights and the rejection of all forms of dictatorship and authoritarianism;

Joint action in pursuit of effective multilateralism

10.  Draws attention to the benefits that the joint commitment to multilateralism can bring the Euro-Latin American partners, which together have an overall population of more than one billion, make up one third of the UN member states and account for more than a quarter of world trade;

11.  Proposes that the strategic partnership be based on realistic aims and common projects shaped by the shared advocacy of multilateralism (the Kyoto Protocol, the International Criminal Court, the fight against the death penalty and against terrorism, the central role of the United Nations system, etc.);

12.  Recommends that joint action be taken in all areas and fora in which there is a clear convergence of principles, values and interests, including collective peace and security under the auspices of the United Nations, the protection of human rights, environmental protection policies, development, the involvement of civil society in the global governance process and reform of the international financial and trade system and its institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation);

13.  Stresses that a multilateral approach is the best means of tackling the shared challenges facing the Euro-Latin American partners, such as terrorism, drug trafficking, organised crime, corruption and money-laundering, trafficking in human beings (including illegal immigration), climate change and energy security;

14.  Reiterates its belief that action to combat terrorism must be carried out with full respect for human rights, civil liberties and the rule of law; demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages in Colombia, with priority being given to those who are sick; considers that their release should be effected by unilateral decision of the FARC or any other organisation by which they are being held or, failing that, under an emergency humanitarian exchange agreement;

15.  Draws attention to the repeated resolutions of the United Nations, the EU-LAC Summit and this Parliament rejecting all coercive measures such as those set out in international laws which, owing to their unilateral nature, are in breach of international law, distort competition between Euro-Latin American partners and undermine their joint commitment to multilateralism;

A strong boost for regional integration and the partnership agreements

16.  Considers the conclusion and effective implementation of comprehensive, ambitious and balanced EU-Latin America partnership agreements fostering respect for the human, economic and social rights of the population and mutual sustainable development as well as a reduction in social inequalities, as a complement to WTO multilateralism, to be a strategic objective in an international context marked by ever-greater interdependence and by economic growth and the emergence of new economic powers and a growing number of challenges at world level;

17.  Proposes, accordingly, that in the economic and commercial field the creation of the Euro-Latin American global interregional partnership area should be based on a model which is compatible with regionalism within an international context, to be applied in two stages:

• (a)a first stage involving the conclusion, at the earliest opportunity, of the negotiations on the EU-Mercosur, EU-Andean Community and EU-Central America Interregional Partnership Agreement and the deepening of the existing agreements between the EU and Mexico and the EU and Chile and, on a gradual basis, the EU and Cuba, as soon as possible;
• (b)a second stage, to be completed in 2012, involving the conclusion of a global interregional partnership agreement ensuring legal and institutional support and full geographical coverage for the various strands of the strategic partnership and providing for the free movement of persons and biregional trade through a deepening of both the integration agreements within Latin America and the Union's partnership process with all countries and regional groupings;

18.  Proposes that the Lima summit commission a feasibility study on the global interregional partnership agreement, with a view to the creation of the proposed global partnership area;

The Lima Agenda for the eradication of poverty, inequality and exclusion

19.  Calls on the Lima Summit for this Agenda to include the adoption of a limited number of clear, firm and verifiable undertakings in all these areas that are liable in themselves to lend fresh impetus to the strategic partnership and substantially to improve the living standards of its citizens on both sides of the Atlantic; recommends that specific attention be paid to reducing social inequalities and to integrating groups that are in a marginal social position and lacking in opportunities, and first and foremost indigenous communities;

20.  Considers it fundamental for the two regions to include the objective of social cohesion in a permanent, cohesive and practical manner in all their joint initiatives and programmes; maintains that the Euro-Latin American partners are engaged in a common project in which a market economy and social cohesion should not be opposing forces but should complement each other;

21.  Recommends that the Lima Agenda for the eradication of poverty, inequality and exclusion include specific measures such as:

• –joint actions towards the common objective of achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015;
• –use of the Financial Instrument for Development Cooperation in a manner tailored to the real needs on the ground, with this mainly concerning those emerging and middle-income countries for which cooperation in the areas of technology, education and innovation, and economic cooperation, is of particular importance;
• –the gradual use of resources under the EU Instrument for the Promotion of Democracy and Human Rights for assistance and programmes aimed at improving governability, democratic institutional structures and the human rights situation, above all in Latin America;
• –opening up the EU's programmes in the areas of training, education, scientific and technical cooperation, culture, heath and migration to the Latin American countries;
• –support for programmes of institutional and fiscal reform;
• –creation of a Biregional Solidarity Fund;
• –an increase in the budgetary resources allocated, so that these match the major ambitions that have been stated;

22.  Calls on the partners to adopt sound and workable policies in the areas of democratic governance, social affairs, public finance and taxation, with the objective of enhancing social cohesion and reducing poverty, inequality and marginalisation;

23.  Considers education and investment in human capital to be the basis of social cohesion, economic and social development and social mobility; reiterates its strong support for the creation of a ‘common EU-LAC higher education area’; emphasises that, both in Latin America and in Europe, the state must guarantee access to education, as well as to other public goods (health, water, security);

24.  Considers it essential to give fresh impetus to the Union’s development cooperation policy towards Latin America which, in maintaining the combating of poverty and social inequalities as a key element, should follow a targeted approach that takes into account the differing economic and social circumstances and level of development of the countries of Latin America;

25.  Believes it essential, for the same reason, to move beyond a purely aid-oriented approach to development cooperation with Latin America, by centring attention on cooperation in the areas of technology, higher education and innovation and on harnessing the resources generated in this area under the Seventh Framework Programme;

Developing means of cooperation in the field of migration policies

26.  Suggests that the Summit launch a regular biregional dialogue on migration which ensures that the rights of migrant workers and emigrants are respected whatever their circumstances, and which develops and deepens cooperation with the Latin American countries of origin and transit in the field of the free movement of persons, using the same global and balanced approach already being applied to African and Mediterranean countries and the Union’s eastern and south-eastern neighbours;

27.  Requests that priority be awarded, within that dialogue, and especially as concerns the countries of origin and/or of transit of illegal immigrants, to issues relating to illegal immigration and opportunities for legal migration;

28.  Proposes that common rules and regulations of a general scope be considered to facilitate the free movement not only of goods, services and capital but also of people, thus gradually creating a partnership that is of the most wide-ranging nature possible, to the benefit of both sides and of the global approach advocated by the United Nations on migration issues;

29.  Reiterates the need to reduce the current excessive costs incurred by migrant workers in transferring remittances, and to support the return of those who wish to do so through programmes that safeguard all their rights and their human dignity and worth;

30.  Calls on the European Commission to bring forward a communication extending to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean the priorities, instruments and forecasts of the Global Approach to Migration laid down by the European Council of December 2005 and further developed by that of December 2006;

The Lima Agenda in relation to sustainable development, and in particular the environment, climate change and energy

31.  Recommends that the political agenda between the EU and the countries of Latin America grant priority to cooperation on climate change and policies for preventing global warming; points out that the very poor, and especially indigenous populations, are the first to suffer from climate change and a deteriorating environment;

32.  Points out that the alliance between the European Union and Latin America in this sense is of crucial importance given both parties’ interest in promoting sustainable development and environmental balance, and therefore advocates mutual support for their respective environmental initiatives at international level;

33.  Calls on the Latin American partners, in cases in which opinions differ on the details of measures to combat climate change (e.g. as regards air traffic), to adopt a constructive approach and under no circumstances to completely block initiatives;

34.  Recommends that the EU-Latin American partners work with the heavily emitting countries, and that they strengthen and coordinate positions in negotiating the international instruments on global warming, while also strongly promoting emissions trading between the two regions;

35.  Considers it essential to combine economic development with sustainable development; in this respect supports the least-favoured countries in their two-fold effort to reduce polluting emissions and to further their progress and social well-being;

36.  Advocates the creation of joint mechanisms and cooperation within Latin American and Caribbean international bodies (such as the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation) for decision-making and financing purposes in respect of the protection and sustainable development of major world nature reserves, such as the Amazon region, that are located in Latin American countries;

37.  Calls on the European Commission to help encourage the development of environmental policies in Latin American countries; considers that cooperation and the level of best practices should be strengthened and should also be reflected in EU funding and in development aid policy;

38.  Calls on the Lima Summit to develop joint initiatives in areas such as climate change, desertification, energy (particularly renewable energy and biofuels), water, biodiversity, forestry and the management of chemical products;

Strengthening institutional promotion and forecast mechanisms

39.  Also recommends:

• (a)establishing a Euro-Latin American Foundation, of a public-private nature, for the promotion of dialogue between the partners on similar lines to those already existing for other geographical areas such as Asia or the Mediterranean; calls on the Commission to draw up a detailed proposal in this sense;
• (b)establishing a Centre for Conflict Prevention, dedicated to the early detection of the causes of potential violent and armed conflicts and to seeking how best to prevent them and stop them from escalating;
• (c)repeats its suggestion to create a Migration Observatory responsible for permanently and closely monitoring all issues in connection with migratory flows in Latin America;

40.  Considers it essential to strengthen the parliamentary dimension of the strategic partnership and ensure suitable inclusion of the recently constituted Mercosur Parliament in the Euro-Latin American Assembly;

41.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Presidency of the Fifth EU-LAC Summit, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Parliaments of all the EU Member States and all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly, the Latin American Parliament, the Central American Parliament, the Andean Parliament and the Mercosur Parliament.

• [1]  OJ C 140E, 13.6.2002, p. 569.