Statement by Pekka Haavisto, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of , Representing the Council of the At the 38th Session of the Joint ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly 21 November 2019, Kigali

Honourable Co-Presidents, Distinguished members of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Ladies and Gentlemen, th It is with great pleasure that I am present amongst you at this 38 session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly to represent the Council of the European Union at the request of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.

In the first place, allow me to thank our host country Rwanda for organising this meeting in excellent conditions and with such efficiency. A heartfelt thank you - Murakoze!

This is an important year for Rwanda as it remembers the 25th Kwibuka (anniversary) of the 1994 genocide. I wish to pay respect to the victims and survivors, as well as pay tribute to the path made by Rwanda since then in showing the global community an exemplary case of reconciliation based on mutual tolerance and respect.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Joint Assembly is a central institution within the ACP-EU cooperation framework. I wish to convey the Council's sincere appreciation for your work, which is founded in open and constructive dialogue.

Before I outline the mainBahamas priorities the EU sees for its relations with the ACP, allow me first to say that the EU stands in solidarity with all the people of the affected by Hurricane Dorian. The EU1 shared its Copernicus satellite system imagery before the hurricane hit the islands, made available 500 000 euros of emergency aid to address the pressing humanitarian needs, and we also have immediately sent our experts on the ground. We stand with the victims and the people of the Bahamas. common values The ACP countries and the EU share a rich history and a long- standing partnership governed by . Our joint commitment to the promotion and respect of human rights, democracy, justice, peace and sustainable development has guided our unwavering mobilisation in the face of global crises.

Our firm presence and commitment to tackling global challenges, in particular climate change, migration and peace and security, is all the more critical amidst the current challenges to the rule-based world order. As the negotiations on the future conditions of our relations progress, we must try more than ever to refine and develop our cooperation as a robust paradigm and advocate multilateralism.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Climate is one of the defining issues of our time. It requires urgent action.

Since the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, the international communityclimate change has put tremendous energy into building the architecture of an efficient, inclusive and robust international regime to fight collectively. This regime will start next year, and our efforts from now on must be dedicated to ambition and implementation.

The UN Climate Action Summit in September highlighted the high expectations of the civil society towards governments to tackle climate change more effectively. It has also shown that major emitters are not ready to step up with new concrete announcements. The main challenge from now onwards will be to2 generate the best possible conditions which will lead the world into a positive dynamic and allow key players to enhance their level of ambition. The EU is progressively paving the way to do more, and will be on time in 2020 with its enhanced ambition, in consistence with the long-term perspectiveFinland of climate neutrality.

For its part, the Government of wants to set an example and be among the leaders in the fight against climate change. The Government is also committed to reforming the climate policies of the European Union and Finland so that we can do our part to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Most of the ACP countries are already directly facing the impact of climate change, even as a matter of survival for some of you, and we must act jointly to create the conditions for more climate ambition and action in 2020. Together, the EU and the ACP countries count for more than one hundred partners, over half of the UN Member States. We should take advantage of this weight to launch the positiveJoint dynamics Declaration we want so eagerly.

In our in New York in September, we once again recognised the linkages between sustainable development and climate action, and reiterated our strong commitment to implement the Paris Agreement fully and effectively.

To achieve this goal, we should, all of us together, build a common narrative, based on the absolute necessity to commit for more ambition, as well as on the tremendous benefits of mitigation and the immense costs of inaction. This narrative should be used by all of us, in all our meetings, bilateral and regional dialogues.

Ladies and Gentlemen, youth Our joint work should be informed by the demographic composition and dynamics of our continents. The ACP's growing population clearly confirms the need for youth-centred policy that ensures their empowerment and active inclusion. The EU has3 actively endeavoured to elevate youth to the centre of its policies and its partnership.

Youth must remain high on the agenda to unlock the full socio- economic potential of our countries. Our current Cotonou Agreement has a specific article on youth issues, and the ACP Group and the EU are working together to further strengthen the youth dimension in the Post-Cotonou framework.

In April, the biannual European Youth Week focused for the first time on external youth engagement. In this context, the EU organised a panel on youth political involvement outside the EU, including in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The representatives from our key youth partners presented their innovative and youth-driven activities, for example on mobilising young voters for elections in Kenya or encouraging young people to run as candidates in Nigeria.

Young people have and are indeed demonstrating their ability to put topics and issues of their own interest at the top of the agenda via their own youth-led actions such as "Fridays for Future", demanding us, politicians, to act now on climate change. This also shows that our young constituents are dedicated and concerned – but most importantly it shows that they do not sit along waiting for us to react, and that true opportunities exist for us to strengthen our partnership with young people.

Conclusively, youth engagement and inclusion is crucial for the credibility and sustainability of our decisions, policies and activities and our approach should continue to be to work for, with and by the youth.

MigrationLadies and Gentlemen,

is a global phenomenon presenting both challenges and opportunities. No country or region can manage migration on its own; it requires global approaches and solutions and has to be4 managed by all of us in a spirit of solidarity, genuine partnership and shared responsibility. Together, we need to continue to strive towards the protection of people in displacement, the provision of alternatives to irregular migration and the fight of its root causes, based on a variety of instruments and political efforts.

The protection of all migrants and refugees, their dignity and their human rights, is at the heart of EU migration policy. During recent years, the EU has put in place a comprehensive and balanced framework for increased engagement with partner countries on migration and forced displacement. Our approach is based on genuine and tailor-made partnerships.

The ACP-EU Migration Action has supported the Dialogue on Migration and Development between the ACP and the EU. The past year, significant strides have also been made in the follow-up on the Joint Valletta Action Plan, the regional Rabat and Khartoum Processes and the ACP-EU Migration Dialogue. Our common efforts to establish a Continent-to-Continent Migration and Mobility Dialogue between Africa and the EU have also progressed. To this end, the preservation of the principles, structure, goals and the comprehensive approach of the Joint Valletta Action Plan is key.

Moreover, the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa contributed to better migration management with more than 4.5 billion euros. We continue to explore together how to support the African Union Migration Policy Framework for Africa for 2018-2030 within this frame.

Ladies andsecurityGentlemen,

Today's threats know no borders. They are global and therefore require multilateral cooperation. The ACP-EU partnership is therefore an ideal framework to address them.

In the case of Africa and the EU, our security interests have never been so intertwined. Beyond the long-standing security situations,5 various new threats to international and regional peace and security, particularly the growing terrorist threats and trans- boundary criminal activities including cyber-crime, have an impact on the economic development and stability of our two continents.

The EU remains Africa's first partner in the field of peace and security. The African Peace Facility continues to play a critical role in backing African efforts in this regard, and since its creation an overall amount of more than 3.5 billion euros has been committed to its activities. In July this year, the EU has pledged another 800 million euros in financial assistance to the African Peace Facility.

Beyond Africa, peace and security, including human security, will continue to be an area of enhanced EU cooperation and dialogue also with the Caribbean and Pacific countries, including within multilateral fora.

The Pacific countries and the EU could and should together play a security role in the region. Non-traditional security threats, such as illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, climate change, water security, food security and food sustainability, humanitarian action and disaster relief all need joint action. Together we can promote global maritime security and international cooperation at sea. We also need to work together in the International Maritime Organisation to reduce shipping emissions.

Transnational criminal activities and their potential impact on human security and the economy represent a growing concern also in the Caribbean. These activities weaken the social fabric and generate gang violence and money laundering which distorts the economy and undermines sustainable development efforts.

The Caribbean is also a transit region for illicit drugs. The collateral damage of drug trade is significant, and takes an important toll on societies, fuels corruption, and organised crime. For this reason, working together in combating crime through strengthening capacity building in areas such as policing and judicial processes,6 was one of the five core areas for closer cooperation in the Joint Caribbean-EU Partnership Strategy. conflict resolution and peace building Allow me to point out here the role of both women and youth in . Sustainable peace cannot be built on structures that maintain inequality.

Finland will continue to support activities related to the Youth, Peace and Security theme, and will prepare a national action plan on the implementation of UN Resolution 2250. In line with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, Finland will promote women’s participation in peace talks and peacebuilding, with an emphasis on safeguarding women’s and girls’ rights in peace processes.

Ladies and Gentlemen, future framework of our relationship We are at a very important transition in our partnership at the time when we negotiate the . This is a key strategic moment to define the basis for further developing our common priorities and for an ever-closer relationship that will address the key challenges of each region.

For Finland, the Paris Climate agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are the foundation for all our international cooperation and we are pleased that the new partnership agreement will seek to advance sustainable and inclusive development, based on the implementation of these commitments as the overarching frameworks guiding the partnership.

The political negotiations launched at the end of September 2018 are progressing. The chief negotiators will meet again in DecemberJutta Urpilainento continue the negotiations. Once the new Commission has taken office, the Commissioner for International partnerships, Ms from Finland, will be representing the EU and will take 7 the negotiations forward. She is an excellent colleague, strongly dedicated to this particular file, as well as her other future tasks.

The negotiations of the regional partnerships attached as protocols to the main agreement are in full swing, providing an opportunity to focus on the specific issues and concerns of each region. We are pleased that the regional organisations from the ACP regions are ready to support their central negotiators in the preparations of the regional protocols.

Moreover, we have agreed with the ACP Group that transitional measures to extend the application of the Cotonou Agreement as of March 2020 will be necessary to ensure the legal and political continuity of our partnership until the entry into force of the new Agreement.

Our strong and enduring partnership with the African continent is, of course, one of the main priorities for in the context of Post-Cotonou. We must ensure coherence with our continental partnership with the African Union and political steering of the AU- EU summits. We therefore believe it is important that the African Union continues to be associated to the negotiations of the Africa Partnership under post-Cotonou. The next EU-AU ministerial meeting right here, in Kigali, in early 2020 will be an important milestone in view of the next AU-EU summit.

Although the Pacific as a region is geographically furthest away from Europe, we have common interests that put it firmly on our political map. The ongoing negotiations for the new framework including the EU-Pacific Partnership Protocol offer an opportunity for the EU and the Pacific countries to conduct a strategic assessment of our joint policy interests.

With regard to the Caribbean, the new Post Cotonou Agreement should further build on and expand the priority areas identified in the Caribbean-EU Joint Partnership Strategy. Those priority areas remain valid and additional areas of cooperation have emerged in8 the past years, such as the concerns about finding meaningful ways of cooperation with middle and high income countries, addressing the fragility of Small Island Developing States, the future of our partnership after Brexit and other issues. We aim for the new post- Cotonou agreement to provide us with a strong and solid framework to further develop our cooperation on common challenges and objectives.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this Joint Parliamentary Assembly Since the Cotonou Agreement entered into force, has been an essential pillar of our common endeavour to promote a stable and democratic political environment. We believe that it is one of the most original components of the current Cotonou Agreement and one of the most able to ensure regular and thorough dialogue between our parliamentarians.

For the future agreement, we would like that this key parliamentary dimension of our partnership be fully taken into account, preserved and even enhanced. To this end, we have proposed to establish three regional parliamentary assemblies within the African, Pacific and Caribbean protocols, and we support the idea of them jointly convening, when necessary, to address and discuss global and multilateral issues of common interest. We are convinced that this will enable us to further develop and strengthen the parliamentary dimension of the new agreement. It will also allow us to better promote the different nature of our respective relations and to better address concerns of the individual regions.

Please allow me to conclude by expressing again my full appreciation of your very fruitful discussions on all the topics of the agenda. I am sure the results of your frank and open deliberations will be, as always, an important contribution to building our future partnership.

Thank you for your attention. 9