The European Parliament's Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (DACP) is the EP part of the joint undertaking set up by the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.
The Agreement was signed in 2000 in Cotonou (Benin) by the EU Member States and 78 member countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). Its aim is to promote and expedite the economic, cultural and social development of the ACP States, with a view to contributing to peace and security and to promoting a stable and democratic political environment.
The partnership is centred on the objective of reducing and eventually eradicating poverty, consistent with the objectives of sustainable development and the gradual integration of the ACP countries into the world economy.
The Agreement sets up three joint institutions: the Council of Ministers, the Committee of Ambassadors and the Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
The parliamentary institution, the "ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly" (ACP-EU JPA), is composed of equal numbers of EU and ACP representatives, and comprised of both the 78-member EP DACP Delegation and 78 members of parliament of the ACP countries.
Role
The Delegation participates together with ACP members in the activities of the Assembly (sessions, Bureau and committee meetings, regional meetings, fact-finding missions and election observation missions).
At the EP level, the Delegation also meets regularly in Brussels and Strasbourg to prepare the joint activities and monitor the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement, the situation in the ACP countries and prospects for the future of the partnership.
Composition
With 78 full members, the DACP is the EP's largest delegation.
At its constituent meeting, at the very beginning of the EP's mandate, the Delegation elects its Bureau (its Chair and Vice-Chairs), while the members are nominated by the EP plenary. The political balance of the Delegation mirrors that of the Parliament as a whole.
The Chair of the Delegation is Carlos Zorrinho, a Portuguese member of the S&D Group. He is supported by twelve Vice-Chairs.
As Chair of the DACP delegation, Carlos Zorrinho is also Co-President of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
Focus
At its meetings in Brussels and Strasbourg the Delegation delves into questions of substance regarding the situation in the ACP countries.
The DACP takes a close look at the political, economic and social situation of the various countries and regularly welcomes political authorities and high-level officials and experts (including from the Commission, the European External Action Service and civil society).
The Delegation also follows elections in ACP countries. The ACP-EU JPA organises joint election observation missions and in addition, some members of the DACP participate in EU election observation missions, including as EU Chief Observer or as Chair of the EP mission, providing an opportunity to share their experiences with DACP colleagues.
The meetings of the DACP allow for exchanges with those responsible for key political or administrative structures in ACP countries.
Since 2011, meetings of the EP members of the Bureau have been organised between four and six times a year, in particular to prepare and follow up the meetings of the ACP-EU JPA Bureau and discuss the most sensitive and pressing political issues.
Post-Cotonou
As the replacement of the Lomé Convention, which had structured ACP-EU cooperation since 1975, the Cotonou Agreement should itself be replaced by a new pact when it expires in February 2020.
Both the EU and the ACP negotiating mandates for a new Agreement stress the need for a strengthened and more comprehensive partnership. It should be based on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development and beyond the overall objective of eradicating poverty, it should seek to combat climate change, promote equitable growth, trade and investment, fight terrorism and organised crime, tackle migration challenges and promote Human Rights and gender equality, democracy and the rule of law.
The form of the new agreement shall consist of a common foundation at all ACP level and regional partnerships with each of the three regions in the form of protocols. The official negotiations kicked off in September 2018 and the IV and last Round has just been launched.
DACP, like the ACP-EU JPA as a whole, has been closely following the on-going reflection and negotiation process. The Delegation firmly intends to ensure that the parliamentary dimension of the future agreement is fully taken into account, preserved and even enhanced, since it is one of the most original components of the current Cotonou Agreement and one of the most able to ensure regular and thorough dialogue between all parties.