Ongoing negotiations for a new Partnership Agreement between the EU and the ACP Group of States

13.11.2019

Question for oral answer  O-000036/2019
to the Commission
Rule 136
Tomas Tobé
on behalf of the Committee on Development

The negotiations for a new Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States are still ongoing and are expected to take longer than originally planned. The European Parliament clearly expressed its position on the future agreement in October 2016 and again in June 2018. However, it is not clear how Parliament’s resolutions have been taken into account in the negotiation process.

• 1.How have the positions expressed by Parliament in its resolutions been taken into account in the negotiations?
• 2.How does the Commission intend to reinforce the parliamentary dimension of the future partnership at ACP level, which is a key demand of the European Parliament?
• 3.How does the Commission intend to enhance the consultative and scrutiny role of the future Joint Parliamentary Assembly?
• 4.How does the Commission intend to make political dialogue more effective, improve monitoring of the human rights situation and make monitoring more inclusive and participatory?
• 5.How does the Commission intend to build a genuine multi-actor partnership that would reinforce the role of civil society, notably in political dialogue?
• 6.How does the Commission plan to reinforce provisions to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and to ensure that ACP partners are fully committed to sexual and reproductive health and rights and to the full implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action?
• 7.How does the Commission intend to reflect on ACP migration priorities and concerns about the Economic Partnership Agreement in the negotiations?
• 8.What legal bases will apply during the transition period between the expiry of the current agreement and the entry into force of the new agreement?
• 9.What measures and mechanisms will be put in place to ensure that the future agreement effectively contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? How does the Commission intend to develop the peer review mechanism for monitoring progress and gaps in the implementation of the SDGs as called for by the European Parliament?

Submitted: 13/11/2019

Lapses: 14/02/2020