12 Amendments of Damian BOESELAGER related to 2020/2041(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls the particularly close historical ties binding the European Union (EU) and Africa, and the EU’s major contribution both in terms of development aid1 and in the smooth functioning of the African Union (AU)2 ; _________________ 1 EUR 19.6 billion, 46% of the overall total (2018)https://ec.europa.eu/commission/pr esscorner/detail/en/qanda_20_375 2USD 327 million, 42% of its budget, E- 003478/2018stresses the urgent need for a stronger long-term and multi- faceted partnership, which should also translate into stronger political cooperation built on equality, trust and shared values; in this regard, stresses the importance of human rights, democracy, gender equality, governance, peace and security, as well as the climate, environment and biodiversity as the necessary foundations for a sustainable, inclusive and mutually beneficial EU- Africa partnership;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. CRecalls for the strengthening of efforts to combat corruption – constituting as it does a major obstacle to effective development, preventing Africa’s peoples from fully benefiting from the effects of joint EU-AU policies – to be taken into account in the comprehensithat illicit financial flows (IFFs) constitute a substantial problem for developing countries and that in Africa illicit financial flows amount to at least USD 50 billion — twice the amount of official development aid; stresses that the Report of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa assessed commercial activities as accounting for 65 per cent of IFFs; calls on the EU to adopt a stringent regulatory framework on corruption, mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence and corporate accountability for European companies inve strategy withing and operating in Africa;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that the issue of migration must be prioritised in a context in which more than half of all asylum applications in the EU are rejected in a final court decision3 ; takes the view, therefore, that we must focus on making returns more effective by signing readmissionalls on the Commission to include African countries’ priorities on migration, in particular the enhancement of legal migration and mobility and the facilitation of remittance flows, into the announced New Pact on Migration and Asylum and in the new EU-Africa Partnership, in order to forge ag reements and issuing consular laissez-passers; _________________ 3 Source: EUROSTATal “partnership of equals”;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Reiterates that, as established in Article 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), development cooperation should have as its primary objective the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty and never be made conditional upon the cooperation of third countries on migration and border management; recognises the crucial role of migrants and diasporas as driving forces of development of countries of origin and destination alike; calls on the EU and Member States to actively refrain from engaging in policies and practices that exacerbate forced displacement and that compromise sustainable development in Africa;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Notes that African countries host a large part of the total amount of refugees and IDPs worldwide, whose vulnerable situation has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis; calls for a global responsibility sharing for refugees in line with the Global Compact on Refugees, including through the increase of financial support, resettlement and the creation of humanitarian corridors and issuance of humanitarian visas;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Calls on the EU and African countries to expand safe and regular migration channels between Europe and Africa as well as regular mobility on the African continent, so as to reduce human rights violations and migrants’ deaths on dangerous migratory paths and to maximise the benefits of migration in line with the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration; in that context, calls on the Commission to ensure and monitor that the cooperation on migration management does not affect intra-Africa mobility;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Calls for sustainable return and reintegration to be accompanied by robust and long-term policies supporting returnees and tackling structural issues in countries of origin, including sustainable and fair economic structures, good governance and rule of law and respect of human rights and gender equality; calls for priority to always be given to voluntary return;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3e. Stresses the importance of including in the new strategy concrete actions aimed at empowering migrant and diaspora groups to contribute to the shaping, implementation and monitoring of the new strategy and for increased involvement of EU and African civil society in shaping the strategy and monitoring its implementation;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3f. Stresses the importance of climate change as a risk multiplier for conflict, drought, famine and migration in Africa and worldwide; underlines the ruling of the UN Human Rights Committee of 20 January 2020 on a complaint by an individual seeking asylum from the effects of climate change, whereby it stated that countries may not deport individuals who face climate change-induced conditions that violate the right to life; calls on the EU-Africa Strategy to explicitly address climate migration and urges the EU to provide additional pathways for people affected by climate change, especially when fleeing slow-onset changes of the environment, by improving the flexibility of legal channels for migrants workers and their families, including resettlement and mobility schemes and preferential access for workers coming from regions affected by climate change;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Supports the digitisation and modernisation of public administration in African countries, in particular with a view to developing reliable civil registration agencies and promoting data exchange so as to combat terrorism and organised crimeNotes the strong focus put on digital economy in the new EU-Africa strategy; highlights that the COVID-19 outbreak demonstrates Africa’s vulnerabilities linked, among other causes, to poor economic diversification, high dependency on export of raw materials, the lack of universal health coverage, and the lack of universal access to energy, water and sanitation; questions, in light of the above, this priority setting as part of the EU-Africa Strategy; reiterates that, especially in a context of financial constraints, developing digital technologies should not prevail over more urgent challenges to be addressed in Africa, including in terms of fulfilling basic human needs such as access to electricity, education and sanitation; supports a digitalisation agenda for the EU-Africa Partnership that ensures equal access, use and creation of digital technology, with a view to bridging the digital gap, including the digital gender gap;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes Africa’s sustained economic growth; calls, therefore, on the AU to do its utmost to guarantee a decent future for its young people, the main driving force behind the continent’s development4 , and thus to contribute to stopping the arrival of unaccompanied minors in Europe and to cooperate in readmitting those eligible for returnRecalls that Africa is home to the largest youth generation in history4; calls, therefore, for strong investments in the human development of young generations through ensuring access to rights, including education, nutritious food, healthcare, including sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights services and the respect for human rights, stresses that these actions are central to lifting people and youth out of poverty; _________________ 4 62% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under 25 years of age https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/ Files/WPP2019_Highlights.pdf
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for the security and interests of the European continent and its citizens to be taken into accountRecognises the close links between resilience, security, peace and governance and stresses the importance of focusing on human security, addressing the root causes of conflict and ensuring that any EU engagement is conflict-sensitive and based on the needs and initiatives of local populations, in particular civil society initiatives for peace and democracy.