By Louis Michel MEP - 7th December 2011
The debate on the impact of debt on development financing in ACP countries has been a particularly relevant issue given that EU member states are themselves facing a debt crisis, coupled with an economic and financial crisis
Louis Michel MEP
The ACP-EU joint parliamentary assembly provides open, rewarding and concrete examples of democratic practice, writes Louis Michel.
The 22nd meeting of the ACP-EU joint parliamentary assembly was held in Lomé, Togo from 21 to 23 November 2011. This large-scale event in Lomé is a clear and unmistakeable political sign. The former “little Switzerland” of Africa is in the process of resuming its place on the international stage.
This year began with Togo assuming the presidency of the west African economic and monetary union (UEMOA) and will end with the election of the latter to the security council as a non-permanent member for a two-year period.
The assembly discussions focused on various topical issues and culminated in the adoption of resolutions relating to the debt implications on development financing in ACP countries, the food and security crisis in Somalia, the consequences of the Arab spring for sub-Saharan Africa, the impact of the Lisbon treaty on ACP-EU cooperation, and the integration of people with disabilities in developing countries.
Furthermore, discussions without resolutions also centred on access to medication, development of multilateral relations and international justice, as well as democratic governance.
I feel that we have participated in one of the assembly’s finest meetings. The discussions were frank, open, concrete and rewarding with a very convincing democratic practice; the debate on democratic governance being the most transparent.
Togolese prime minister Gilbert Fossoum Houngbo and nine of his ministers were in attendance to answer questions posed by parliamentarians of ACP and EU countries. Demonstrating the initial effects of his balance sheet and responding to critics, Houngbo gave a fine demonstration of the democratic process.
Today, Togo is a country aspiring to create a more fairly divided wealth, a more vibrant democracy and civil rights which free citizens from their fears, uncertainties and from poverty.
The debate on the impact of debt on development financing in ACP countries has been a particularly relevant issue given that EU member states are themselves facing a debt crisis, coupled with an economic and financial crisis.
Parliamentarians will seek to ensure that the budgets allocated to official development assistance do not become the adjustment parameters of the crisis.
At the G20 summit in Cannes, the heads of state and government reiterated “the pivotal role of official development assistance in achieving the millennium development goals”. To translate this commitment into reality, parliamentarians asked the EU to develop mechanisms to reduce debt in ACP countries; this could take the form of debt cancellation, rescheduling, or repayment.
The debate on the impact of Arab revolts on neighbouring ACP countries focused on the persistent violent situations in Egypt and Syria, on the need to manage the humanitarian crisis affecting the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled Libya to Egypt, Niger, Mali, Chad and Europe, and on the fate of Libyan weapons.
In conclusion, all the topics discussed at the joint parliamentary assembly were chosen and dealt with in a way which placed the human factor at the core of our concerns.
Louis Michel is co-president of the ACP-EU joint parliamentary assembly
