FoRS and CONCORD engage in dialogue with EU and ACP parliamentarians

Members of the European Parliament and Members of Parliament of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States seized the opportunity of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) to discuss the world food and financial crisis and the social and environmental impact of climate change.

The ACP-EU JPA is an international assembly established by the Cotonou Partnership Agreement with the aim of promoting cooperation and dialogue between North and South. The 17th session of the ACP-EU JPA was held from 4 to 9 April 2009 in Prague during the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The European NGO confederation CONCORD and the Czech NGDO platform FoRS were also present, engaging in dialogue with the parliamentarians, attending the plenary sessions and organising side events, such as an informal lunch meeting and an information stand.

The informal lunch meeting created a space for dialogue between representatives of the civil society and elected officials from EU and ACP countries. More than 100 people attended the meeting during which representatives of both European and African NGOs took the floor to elaborate on the themes of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement and the latest developments in the negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).

Furthermore, FoRS and CONCORD were present at the venue of the ACP-EU JPA with an information stand in order to reach the parliamentarians in between the plenary sessions and to inform them about the work of FoRS and CONCORD. In addition, 8 briefing papers on different aspects of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement were being distributed.

A capacity building seminar for NGO representatives from the New EU Member States preceded the ACP-EU JPA, focusing on the future of the Cotonou Agreement and the consequences of the EPAs for developing countries. The seminar was organised by the Cotonou Working Group of CONCORD in cooperation with FoRS and financed by the Presidency Fund (http://www.presidencyfund.org/).

Find all the official documents of the 17th session of the ACP-EU JPA at www.europarl.europa.eu/intcoop/acp/60_17/default_en.htm.

For further information on the NGO activities related to the ACP-EU JPA, please visit www.fors.cz/en/news or contact Zuzana Sládková at policy@fors.cz.

Information provided by Ineke Adriaens and Zuzana Sládková, FoRS

Photo: Zuzana Sládková