Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-11-15-Speech-2-735-000"
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"en.20111115.35.2-735-000"2
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"Madam President, the work of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly can be interpreted in both a positive and a negative way.
Let us start with the negative way, because I always like to end on a high. Overall, the responsibility of both African and European parliamentarians remains very limited, first and foremost, in the way the partnership is funded. Indeed, the European Development Fund does not come under the European Parliament’s budgetary prerogatives and with respect to the allocation of funds from the European Development Fund to African countries, there is every reason to believe that parliamentary supervision and the involvement of African parliaments in their country’s budgetary affairs leave a lot to be desired.
Thus, considering the low level of commitment of many African parliaments in their country’s budgetary affairs, the ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly looks more like a club of people who talk a lot but have nothing to say.
As Vice-President of this Assembly, I have to say that I am not always very proud to be part of a Bureau of an Assembly made up of people who are given budgetary powers, especially in small doses. Every balanced political system has checks and balances. This state of affairs cannot go on. This anomaly cannot be made to last. The second reason for my negative interpretation is the Council’s insufficient – and the term is much too weak to describe what I feel on this matter – involvement in the Assembly debates. Last year, during our meeting in Kinshasa, the Council was absent. It was not represented at ministerial level; the European party should be ashamed of itself. This situation is totally grotesque. Who are they trying to kid? Who stopped the Union’s Presidency from sending someone to represent the Council’s position on the EU-ACP partnership? Let us remember that it is the Council that gives the Commission the mandate to manage the funds of the European Development Fund. It is the Council that has the power to approve the broad outlines of this policy. This situation, too, is unhealthy and cannot continue.
I would like to finish on a slightly more positive interpretation. I believe that this more positive interpretation is materialised by the role of political driving force that our Assembly plays. This Assembly is vested with a power of political impetus, it is fair to say. The work is organised in such a way that information circulates on the main themes of EU-ACP cooperation. That is all very well, but for political impetus to bring to bear in the long term, those who can facilitate this work through their debates need to have a certain amount of power. A guard dog with no teeth will end up not being perceived as a guard dog any more. We have to be aware of this.
Another reason for my slightly more positive interpretation is that the Assembly is an interesting platform for exchanges and I believe Mr Cashman has just referred to that. Even the most sensitive issues can be discussed there. These are issues on social debates that are uncomfortable. All the subjects that relate to minority rights can be uncomfortable, but the EU-ACP Parliamentary Assembly knows no taboo and here, too, I would like to pay tribute to Louis Michel, our Assembly’s Vice-President, who has made sure that no aspect of these issues has been overlooked.
Finally, I am also keen to congratulate Mr Kaczmarek, who found more positive elements than I did in his report. That shows how much research work he has done. I should like to encourage him to persevere along these lines. It could have an even more positive influence on the future speeches that I will be called on to make in this context. Thus, by way of conclusion, let us highlight that things are far from being perfect. Consequently, there is room for improvement. I hope that outside the European Parliament, other institutional players are also aware of what I have just said and we need everyone to be involved if things are to improve."@en1
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