Migration and rule of law on next ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly agenda

From 18 to 20 March 2019, the Assembly will bring together Members of the European Parliament and representatives from 78 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific in Bucharest, Romania. Work programme for the session The 37th plenary of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly(JPA) will be formally opened on Monday 18 March by Louis Michel and Joseph Owana Kono, co-presidents of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), Maria-Magdalena Grigore, State Secretary in the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Călin Popescu Tăriceanu, President of the Romanian Senate. Members will engage in a debate with Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for international cooperation and development, on the post-Cotonou negotiations and on the EU-UN initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls. The Global Compact on migration will be the subject of the keynote debate. The Assembly will also discuss the impact of Brexit on the ACP-EU partnership. On Wednesday 20 March, the joint parliamentary committees on Political Affairs, on Economic Development, Finance and Trade, and on Social Affairs and the Environment will vote on three reports on:

• the strategic dimension of the ACP-EU partnership.
• the possibilities of renewable energies in bringing sustainable economic development to ACP countries, and particularly to the remote areas;
• reducing the global number of out-of-school youths in ACP countries;

The JPA will also adopt two resolutions on the challenges linked to the rule of law in the European Union and the ACP countries, and on environmental crimes. Background information about the JPA The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) brings together Members of the European Parliament and representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states that have signed the Cotonou Agreement, which is the basis for ACP-EU cooperation and development work.