Bucharest, 19 March 2019/ACP:The 37th plenary of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly(JPA) was 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 engaged in a debate on the post-Cotonou negotiations and on the EU-UN initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls with a keynote debate on the Global Compact on migration. The Assembly also discussed 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.
ACP Secretary General, Dr. Patrick I. Gomes, delivered a statement at the opening of the 53rd Session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly on 15 March 2019. He shared recent developments in the post-Cotonou negotiations as well as an update on the activities of the ACP Council of Ministers.
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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.