Marie-Arlette Carlotti, on behalf of the PSE Group. – (FR) Mr President, the report by my fellow Member, Mr Cornillet, illustrates the quality of the work done by the Joint Parliamentary Assembly in 2005.

The JPA is a permanent forum for political dialogue that tends to become an instrument of prevention, of conflict resolution and of support for the democratic process. The role of the JPA is therefore very precious in the context of the Cotonou Agreements. It is a unique tool for dialogue between the North and the South. In the future, it must work more effectively, particularly in terms of dealing with major crisis situations, such as the one in Darfur, provided that it is given the resources to do so. This aspect is above all the responsibility of the European Union, which must attach political priority to this partnership with the ACP countries, by respecting its commitments in the negotiations under way on the sum of the tenth EDF and by finally refraining from taking back with the one hand what it gives with the other, as illustrated by the sugar reform.

By finally giving the JPA the political respect that it deserves, let us thus definitively enforce what is laid down in the Cotonou Agreement, that is to say that the Assembly shall meet in Europe in the country of the EU Presidency. Let us not welcome our ACP partners in a half-hearted fashion, as that would be a downright poor political signal for us to give. However, it is also the responsibility of the JPA itself. It must make progress with its reform and its working methods, and the next development could result in regional conferences being held. This objective could be set by the beginning of 2007.

Finally, we, as members of the JPA, also have a political responsibility, by abstaining, for example, from voting in separate houses, which is not only the negation of the JPA’s joint character, but also the means used all too often these days for the purposes of thwarting the outcome of a vote. I find all of that in the Cornillet report and I therefore believe that, as far as we are concerned, it constitutes a road map for 2006.