| Joint European Parliament; Pan-African Parliament Statement |
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In December 2007, a Joint Statement on the Joint EU-Africa Strategy was made by the European Parliament and the Pan-African Parliament. The Presidents of the Pan-African Parliament, Dr. Gertrude Mongella, and the European Parliament, Dr. Hans-Gert Pöttering, presented the statement when they addressed the EU and African Heads of State and Government on 8-9 December at the 2nd EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon. The EP-PAP Statement confirmed the close cooperation between these two continental parliaments in elaborating, executing and monitoring the Joint-EU Africa Strategy. It states that "the sharing of our experiences in combating poverty, creating prosperity and uniting in a peaceful way our respective continents will bring Europeans and Africans closer to each other, and will contribute to the sustainable development of both continents." The Joint-Strategy must be built on the principles of partnership, ownership and equality, and have a vision "advancing democracy, good governance and human rights as universal values". The Statement urged the EU and AU to include a critical parliamentary dimension in the debate around the Joint-Strategy. This dimension is currently missing, and it is essential to involve parliamentarians in such debates, on both a national and regional level, if the voices of the people are to be heard. The fundamental parliamentary right of budgetary scrutiny must also apply to activities under the Joint Strategy, to ensure that policies are carried out in an "effective, democratic and fiscally responsible manner". This will bring parliamentarians into the process of increasing the accountability and effectiveness of aid in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Significantly, the Statement emphasised the crucial responsibility of the EP and PAP in parliamentary oversight, and insisted that the increased use of budget support is accompanied by "the strengthening of the capacity of parliaments, public audit institutions, local authorities and civil society to scrutinize the process". The Statement ended by establishing a "Joint EP-PAP parliamentary delegation as a forum to debate in a democratic way the issues affecting the relations between our peoples". The Joint Africa-EU Strategy adopted in Lisbon acknowledged the partnership between the PAP and the European Parliament, and supported the strengthening of this dialogue. The Strategy invited the European Parliament and PAP to organise joint hearings and to prepare political reports on progress made. It called the PAP a "promising and legitimate voice for democratic governance in Africa [which] deserves the support of all actors in the Africa-EU partnership". Here you can find the full text of the Joint European Parliament - Pan-African Parliament Statement, the Lisbon Declaration at the EU Africa Summit and the Joint Africa-EU Strategy.
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Joint European Parliament - Pan-African Parliament Statement