Activities of Arne LIETZ related to 2015/2341(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
EU Trust Fund for Africa: implications for development and humanitarian aid (debate) DE
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the EU Trust Fund for Africa: the implications for development and humanitarian aid PDF (321 KB) DOC (130 KB)
Amendments (22)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
– having regard to the Bekou Trust Fund established in 2014
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the Bekou Trust Fund has shown positive results in the Central African Republic;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas Africa continues to experience very high rates of population growth and a slow decline of fertility rates, leading in the near future to a sharp rise of the young working-age populations and great potential social and economic benefits; whereas equipping young people with the education and skills they need to realise their potential and the creation of employment opportunities are essential to foster stability, sustainable economic growth, social cohesion and development in the region;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EUTF is intended to be a development tool that pools resources from different donors in order to enable a quick, flexible, transparent and collective response by the EU to the different dimensions of an emergency situation;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the EUTF has been conceived in order to assist a band of countries across three African regions (the Horn of Africa; the Sahel and Lake Chad basin; North Africa) that contain some of the most fragile African countries, are affected by migration as countries of origin, transit or destination if not all three, and will draw the greatest benefit from this form of EU financial assistance; whereas the eligible countries’ African neighbours may also benefit, on a case-by-case basis, from Trust Fund projects having a regional dimension with a view to addressing regional migration flows and related cross-border challenges;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the EU’s financial allocation for the EUTF for Africa comes mainly from the 11th EDF; stresses that the EUTF was established because the EU budget lacks the resources and the flexibility needed to address crises such as those in question promptly and comprehensively; calls for the EU to agree a more holistic solution in the framework of next year’s revision of the 2014-2020 MFF and the revision of the Financial Instruments in 2016, with a view to increasing the effectiveness and reactivity of humanitarian and development assistance available under the EU budget;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the need for contributions by Member States and other different sources; notes that the contributions from the Member States are still too low and do not match up the contribution from the European Commission;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Strongly underlines that funds from EDF and ODA sources must be devoted exclusively to development ends; recalls that all other expenses related to security, counter-terrorism and border controls, migration management, etc have to be funded from different sources that are pooled in the Trust Fund; stresses the need for contributions by Member States and other different sources, and recalls that leveraging is one of the foremost reasons for the creation of this instrument devoted to such different and heterogeneous ends; condemns any use of ODA sources, even a small percentage, for any purposes different from development;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Insists that national authorities must be consulted and that they must be full partners as long as there is full guarantee of efficiency and good governance in accordance with the principles of aid effectiveness;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers that the EU Trust Fund for Africa should contribute to the strengthening and improving of local services (health, education, nutrition) and of governance, mainly through community-based projects, and that civil society, non- governmental organisations (NGOs) and international NGOs should play a pivotal role in addressing the root causes of migration and improving local services;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Regrets the limited engagement of civil society in the discussions, conceptualisation and programming of the Trust Fund; recalls that the issue of creating ownership and a close partnership with a wide range of civil society actors are essential to the implementation of the EUTF;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that regional and local authorities, civil society and NGOs are natural partners for an effective development policy; stresses the need for a stronger cooperation with local authorities and NGOs in states demonstrating unsufficient guarantees of good governance and transparency; calls for respect for the principle of subsidiarity also in this field of action; stresses that NGOs and civil society should be strongly involved in the implementation phase of the EUTF;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Strongly believes that the Trust Fund should focus not only on macroeconomic issues but also on grassroots projects with the specific aim of improving quality and equity of services, particularly in education and the health sector, which is key to increasing inclusiveness and enhancing the wellbeing of local populations, as it can respond to the needs of vulnerable communities, including minorities, while also being able to provide better and more equitable and sustainable services to the general population;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Considers that development aid should not be used to stem the flows of migrants and asylum seekers, and that the projects covered by the Trust Fund should not serve as a pretext to preventing departure or tightening the borders between the countries, ignoring the causes that drive people from their homes;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Asks the Commission to enhance the transparency of the Fund and underlines that monitoring and evaluation of the projects and programmes financed will be essential, to make sure the Fund serve its purposes helping directly those in need and not financing governments responsible for human rights violations;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recalls that the rules and criteria that govern development aid for projects financed by the Trust Fund must respect Europe’s fundamental values; in this respect, underlines that EU policy regarding cooperation on security, border controls and organised crime with governments that do not respect human rights or the rights of people on the move should include specific provisions aimed at enhancing respect for human rights and the rule of law, with particular attention to women’s rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, children’s rights, and the rights of minorities and other particularly affected groups;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses the need to carefully and systematically check how the funds from the EU Trust Fund for Africa are employed and what the EU is actually financing through the Trust Fund, given the extraordinary lack of clarity in its objectives, the lack of solidarity and consensus among Member States, and the clear desire to achieve security goals by means of an instrument theoretically conceived to pursue development ends; in particular, calls on the Council and the Commission to inform Parliament in detail on the specific actions undertaken by both the EU and the African states when employing these funds;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Recalls the need for a better communication between the Commission, the Member States and the European Parliament in programming and implementing actions of the Trust Fund in general for further planning of potential further Trust Funds
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. underlines that the Trust Fund should function only as a complementary flexible and rapid instrument and should not undermine the long-term development cooperation of the European Union;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Underlines that the lack of involvement of Parliament thus far in the establishment of the Trust Fund should at least give rise to detailed and regular reporting by the Commission on how the African Trust Fund is been implemented, enabling Parliament to play its role of watchdogscrutiny;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Believes that, given the extraordinary flexibility and rapidity proper to a Trust Fund, periodical reporting to Parliament should be undertaken at least once every six months; strongly underlines the need for transparent performance monitoring, evaluation and auditing;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Underlines the need for a thorough monitoring of the implementation of the provisions on the creation of ‘hotspots’, redistribution, replacement in countries of origin, and Member States’ financial commitments, paying particular attention to human rights;