27 Amendments of Attila ARA-KOVÁCS related to 2021/2178(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that the EU-African trade relations and initiatives, like the one one cocoa, must rely on transparent and reliable monitoring and accountability, civil society particpation securing a bottom-up approach;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Calls for the EU to take into account the conclusions of the Task Force for Rural Africa on the need for investment in African food chains, with the focus on value-added commodities; and calls on the EU and the Member States to actively work together with African partners to create synergies between the EU-Africa strategy and Green Deal policies, in particular the external dimension of the farm to fork strategy;
Amendment 9 #
2. Points out that most African countries, in particular LDCs (least developed countries) and African signatories to EPAs (Economic Partnership Agreements), enjoy duty-free and quota- free access to EU markets; emphasises that Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) need to support the various regional trade communities in Africa and the further development of the AfCFTA and contribute to the building of resilient and sustainable regional value chains, boosting and diversifying intra-African trade, and calls for the consistent inclusion and implementation of chapters ensuring coherence with development needs and policies and the SDGs;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Underlines the importance of research and innovation in encouraging sustainable agricultural practices and productive dryland agro-ecosystems and food systems; calls, in this regard, for a stronger reliance on the contributions of African traditional knowledge in the just transition, especially regarding agricultural practices, fisheries and forest protection, thereby empowering the African people and local communities;
Amendment 37 #
5. Stresses that the EU-Africa relationship must move beyond the donor- recipient relationship; believes that the EU and Africa should cooperate as equals, empowering African nations to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); recalls that resetting the partnership would mean the African Union and the EU could begin to address difficult issues derailed by the COVID pandemic, such as governance and civic space;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Emphasises that the AfCFTA should make for integration that benefits all African populations, including the most marginalised; recalls that there are developmental differences between African countries which must be taken into account in order not to increase inequalities; takes the view that EU support to the AfCFTA should focus on the development of regulatory frameworks to prevent a ‘race to bottom’ of social and environmental norms;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Recalls that hunger and food insecurity are again increasing across the world and that they will continue to increase unless prompt action is taken, and that Africa is significantly off track to achieve the zero hunger target (SDG 2) in 2030; recalls that the end of malnutrition in all its forms and SDG 2 should be considered as priorities in the new partnership, with particular attention to people in the most vulnerable situations;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Calls on the EU and its member states to make a commitment to support African countries to implement ambitious and just climate action; calls on the EU that financing under the new NDICI instrument must champion a human rights-based approach that makes local communities and indigenous peoples central to climate, environmental and development efforts, starting with civil society and community consultation;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls that Africa is home to exceptional biodiversity; expresses its deep concern about the overexploitation of natural resources and itsthe impact onf reduced biodiversity, and in particular the increasing pace of deforestation in Africa. on resilience levels; is particularly concerned at the fact that the pace of deforestation is increasing in Africa; points out that the destruction of the African rainforests leads to an irreversible loss of biodiversity and of carbon sinks, as well as of the homes and ways of life of indigenous communities living in the forests; recalls that forests contribute significantly to reaching climate targets, protecting biodiversity and preventing desertification and extreme soil erosion;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Calls for the link between public health and biodiversity in line with the ‘one health’ approach to be taken into account; welcomes the announcement of the NaturAfrica initiative, which aims to protect wildlife and ecosystems, and the review of the action plan against wildlife trafficking; stresses that the NaturAfrica initiative should be developed in consultation with all stakeholders, with particular attention to the rights of local communities, indigenous peoples, and women; underlines that it should support African governments and local populations in tackling major drivers of biodiversity loss and environmental degradation in a holistic and systematic way, including by offering support for well managed protected area networks; urges the EU and Africa to recognise and protect indigenous people’s rights to customary ownership and control of their lands and natural resources as set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and International Labour Organization Convention 169, and to comply with the principle of free, prior and informed consent;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Welcomes the fact that the new EU-Africa partnership advocates for the development of environmentally friendly agricultural practices; recalls the fact that agroecology’s capacity to reconcile the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability has been recognised in landmark reports from the IPCC and IPBES, as well as the World Bank and FAO-led global agricultural assessment (IAASTD); stresses the importance of promoting agroecology, agroforestry, local production and sustainable food systems which focus on the development of short supply chains in both national policies and international forums, in order to ensure food and nutritional security for all as well as increasing the sustainable productivity of the agricultural sector and its resilience to climate change;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8 c. Considers that conservation efforts centred on, for example, forests, wildlife and marine and coastal ecosystems need to be stepped up by making use of regulatory frameworks, sufficient resources and scientific data and accompanied by ecosystem restoration and management actions; calls on the EU and Africa to play a leading role in the conclusion of an ambitious global agreement at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8 d. Underlines that the use of pesticides in intensive agriculture in Africa can impact the health of workers who have very little access to training on plant protection and healthcare, in addition to causing environmental damage; calls for education and training in sustainable plant protection approaches and alternatives to pesticides and for the minimisation of exposure to hazardous substances; denounces the double standards applied by the EU regarding pesticides by allowing the export of hazardous substances that are banned in the EU to African countries and other third countries; asks, therefore, for the modification of the current EU rules in order to eliminate this legal incoherence, in line with the Rotterdam Convention of 1998 and the Green Deal;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 e (new)
Paragraph 8 e (new)
8 e. Points out the central importance of the agricultural and food sectors in the economy and in providing decent and sustainable job opportunities in rural areas; underlines that this in most cases concerns smallholdings and family farms; notes the importance of promoting and enhancing measures and tools to support increasing product quality, diversification of products, sustainable modernisation of agricultural practices, safe working conditions and measures to strengthen the resilience of farmers; considers that the development of a sustainable agricultural sector and of rural areas should be at the centre of EU-Africa relations;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 f (new)
Paragraph 8 f (new)
8 f. Emphasises the importance of supporting small farms and pastoralism and other traditional/local food systems in order to strengthen their resilience and boost their contribution to food security, sustainable resource management and biodiversity conservation;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 g (new)
Paragraph 8 g (new)
8 g. Stresses the importance of the inclusion in the EU-Africa partnership of the protection and promotion of the right of local communities to access and control natural resources such as land and water; deplores the fact that land grabbing is rife in Africa; points out that it is a brutal practice that undermines food sovereignty and endangers rural African communities; stresses the importance of launching an inclusive process with the aim of guaranteeing the effective participation of civil society organisations and local communities in the development, implementation and monitoring of policies and actions related to land grabbing; calls for the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) to be observed in all projects that promote the protection of land rights, including in trade, and also for measures to ensure that projects do not endanger the land rights of small-scale farmers;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 h (new)
Paragraph 8 h (new)
8 h. Regrets the lack of recognition of the strategic importance of rangelands, which cover about 43 % of the African land surface and are therefore important carbon sinks; calls on the Commission to develop, together with local communities and local stakeholders, a strategy to optimise this potential through sustainable grazing management such as that practiced by pastoralists;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 i (new)
Paragraph 8 i (new)
8 i. Notes that, for example, grazing rights and community pastures are traditional land use rights based on common law and not on securitised property rights; emphasises, however, the fundamental importance of protecting these common rights for rural populations;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 j (new)
Paragraph 8 j (new)
8 j. Calls for the social tensions between settled agricultural populations and nomadic pastoral communities to be addressed, notably in regions with overlapping ethnoreligious conflicts;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 k (new)
Paragraph 8 k (new)
8 k. Is deeply concerned about the high dependence of African states on food imports, especially from the European Union, particularly when these imports are made up of subsidised products whose low price represents harmful competition for small-scale agriculture in Africa;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 m (new)
Paragraph 8 m (new)
8 m. Stresses that COVID-19 and the ensuing economic crisis and closure of borders, locust infestations and desertification have deteriorated the already difficult food security situation in Africa and shone a spotlight on the vulnerabilities of the global food system; stresses the potential of local and regional markets to address current food system failures;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 n (new)
Paragraph 8 n (new)
8 n. Calls for the EU-Africa partnership to focus its efforts in the area of agriculture on safeguarding African countries’ right to food sovereignty and on increasing their food security as a priority, as well as enhancing their capacity to meet the nutritional requirements of their populations;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 o (new)
Paragraph 8 o (new)
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 p (new)
Paragraph 8 p (new)
8 p. Considers that the EU-African partnership should especially support female and youth entrepreneurship in rural and urban areas, and that to do so it is essential to support equal access to economic and productive resources such as financial services and land rights; calls for the development of exchanges between African and European female entrepreneurs by means of platforms that enable networking, experience-sharing and the production of common projects;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 q (new)
Paragraph 8 q (new)
8 q. Stresses that women who work in subsistence agriculture face additional hurdles in maintaining food sovereignty due to the strong protection of new plant varieties by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in trade agreements;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 r (new)
Paragraph 8 r (new)
8 r. Emphasises the importance of rural transformation and strengthening local, regional and transparent value chains in order to create sustainable jobs, avoid human rights violations and mitigate climate change; stresses the need to support young people and women, in particular through training, access to credit and access to markets; calls for their involvement in formulating agricultural policies and for support for collective action through small producer organisations;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 s (new)
Paragraph 8 s (new)
8 s. Welcomes the proposal of the Task Force for Rural Africa for the establishment of a Europe-Africa twinning programme linking agricultural bodies of EU Member States and partner countries in Africa with the aim of sharing sustainable best practices and fostering relationships between strongly engaged and similar partners;