26 Amendments of Tineke STRIK 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 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the urgent need for a stronger long-term and multi-faceted partnership, which should also translate into stronger political cooperation built on equality, trust, sovereignty 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 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 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that Africa isand the European Union are still undergoing thea process of integration at regional, continental and international level and tshat as yet 54 African countries remain divided and diversified in areas of key strategic importance to the EUre common challenges, such as meeting internationally recognised standards and practices in trade, human rights, sustainable development and positioning in international organisations;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that the new EU - Africa Strategy should pave the way for fair and ethical trade; urges the EU and its Member States to acknowledge the difficulties encountered by African countries related to Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), especially in terms of regional integration, industrialisation and economic diversification and to revise EPAs accordingly; in particular, invites the EU and the African Union to have a frank dialogue on EPAs to evaluate to what extent such agreements contribute to the realisation of the economic goals of the AU’s 2063 Agenda, particularly the goal to increase intra-African trade to 50% by 2050;
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 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Stresses the importance of including legally binding human rights clauses in the EU's international agreements with the African continent; reaffirms that these clauses must also be included in all trade and sectoral agreements, with a clear and precise consultation mechanism modelled on Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement; in this respect, welcomes the inclusion of such a clause in the ‘new-generation’ free trade agreements; notes that the same approach of systematic inclusion should also be applied to the chapters on sustainable development in bilateral agreements;
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.
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Emphasises the crucial role played by civil society and human rights defenders in enhancing democracy, peace, the rule of law and the protection of human rights across both continents; stresses the need to increase the participation of civil society in the Africa- EU partnership, promoting the reinforcement of its capacities and protection; calls on the European Union to support concrete initiatives to reinforce civil society organizations and human rights defenders as well as freedom of expression and of the media across Africa;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Regrets that the Commission’s communication neglects the dimension of foreign cultural policy and the promising potential within a deepened European- African cultural collaboration; therefore, urges the Commission and EEAS to prioritize this area by promoting and funding bi-continental partnerships between institutions and individuals; recalls the tremendous volume of displaced items of Sub-Saharan Africa’s material cultural legacy; thus, urges the Commission to propose an encompassing EU-African initiative to reflect on the entangled colonial histories and to investigate cases of illicit appropriation and to explore measures of repatriation and restitution of cultural artefacts of African origin.
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls on the Commission to take into account African countries’ priorities on migration, more specifically the enhancement of legal migration and mobility, in order to forge a real “partnership of equals” and reiterates that EU funds and external policies should not be used in conditionality to migration policies; notes that African countries host a large part of the total amount of refugees and IDPs worldwide, whose precarious circumstances have been further exacerbated by the COVID- 19 crisis; calls for a more equal responsibility sharing for refugees in line with the Global Compact on Refugees through the increase of financial support and resettlement.
Amendment 102 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. 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 114 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 126 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Reiterates its call on EU and AU member states to constructively participate in the UN intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights in order to work towards the setting-up of a mandatory and enforceable regulatory framework, based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; calls on the EU to adopt a legislative proposal on corporate human rights and due diligence to prevent abuses in the global operations of companies, including in Africa, and to enhance access to judicial remedy for victims of corporate misconduct;
Amendment 131 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Recalls that 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 investing and operating in Africa;
Amendment 142 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Shares the opinion that the matter of the security of Africa should be transferredlies into the hands of the Africans people and that the EU should assist its African partners in the successful accomplishment of this ultimate goal; stresses in this respect that a human security focused approach is the basis for sustainable development on the African continent and globally; underlines the need for coherent strategic action by the EU member states, which, despite all individual (geo)political ambitions, should not undermine joint European efforts; emphasizes the importance of multilateral cooperation within the AU-EU-UN triangle in the field of local, regional and international security - despite current nationalistic regressive tendencies.
Amendment 162 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses the importance of joint EU-Africa efforts in promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights, and preventing and eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, including conflict related sexual and gender-based violence;
Amendment 166 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Stresses the importance of regional cooperation, including the mobility of persons, goods and capital to cease and prevent self-enrichment by (European) multinationals at the cost of African resources, and for African countries to develop independent and self- sustaining regions; calls on the Commission to prioritize the inclusion of the promotion of regional cooperation in its EU-Africa strategy;