On the EU political strategy on Latin America

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AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Development submits the following to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as the committee responsible :

Amendment 1

Motion for a resolution

Citation 1 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to Articles 3 and 21 of the Treaty on European Union and Article 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Or. en

Amendment 2

Motion for a resolution

Citation 4 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to the joint statement of 30 June 2017 by the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission entitled ‘The New European Consensus on Development – ‘Our world, our dignity, our future’,

Or. en

Amendment 3

Motion for a resolution

Citation 4 b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 25 November 2020 entitled ‘EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III – An ambitious agenda for gender equality and women’s empowerment in EU external action’ (JOIN(2020)0017),

Or. en

Amendment 4

Motion for a resolution

Citation 4 c (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 June 2021 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, amending and repealing Decision No 466/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/20091a,

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1a OJ L 209, 14.6.2021, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/947/oj.

Or. en

Amendment 5

Motion for a resolution

Citation 5 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to its resolution of 14 March 2023 on Policy Coherence for Development1a,

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1a OJ C, C/2023/398, 23.11.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/398/oj.

Or. en

Amendment 6

Motion for a resolution

Citation 7 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in September 2015,

Or. en

Amendment 7

Motion for a resolution

Citation 7 b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, adopted on 20 December 1993,

Or. en

Amendment 8

Motion for a resolution

Citation 7 c (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 September 2007,

Or. en

Amendment 9

Motion for a resolution

Citation 8 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

– having regard to the EU-Latin America and Caribbean Global Gateway Investment Agenda announced during the EU-CELAC summit in Brussels in July 2023,

Or. en

Amendment 10

Motion for a resolution

Recital C a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

C a. whereas, despite economic progress, 172 million people are still living in poverty in LAC and 74 % of LAC countries are highly exposed to extreme weather events, particularly affecting women and the most vulnerable populations;

Or. en

Amendment 11

Motion for a resolution

Recital C b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

C b. whereas high income inequality and public debt, coupled with rising service costs, especially interest payments, remain among the main obstacles to sustainable development in the region;

Or. en

Amendment 12

Motion for a resolution

Recital C c (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

C c. whereas the demographic and epidemiologic trends and the effects of climate change in the EU and LAC countries result in increasing demands for care, including long-term care, and thus impact on equal rights and opportunities for women, who are predominantly assigned paid and unpaid domestic and care work in the absence of sufficient care policies and services that ensure gender co-responsibility between men and women;

Or. en

Amendment 13

Motion for a resolution

Recital C d (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

C d. whereas LAC countries contain almost 35 % of the world’s total forest areas and around 50 % of terrestrial species; whereas forest areas are essential in the fight against climate change and constitute invaluable havens of biodiversity in the world;

Or. en

Amendment 14

Motion for a resolution

Recital G a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

G a. whereas migration and forced displacement are major issues in LAC, as the root causes – violence, insecurity, democratic erosion, poverty, inequality, climate change and human rights violations – persist;

Or. en

Amendment 15

Motion for a resolution

Recital G b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

G b. whereas although both the LAC and EU regions are committed to achieving the Paris Agreement goals, current raw material production levels remain insufficient to ensure the green transformation of our economies;

Or. en

Amendment 16

Motion for a resolution

Subheading 3

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

EU-LAC cooperation against the backdrop of the Global Gateway initiative

EU-LAC development cooperation, humanitarian aid and sustainable investments through the Global Gateway initiative

Or. en

Amendment 17

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11. Highlights the fact that the EU is the leading contributor to development cooperation in LAC, and calls for the EU and its Member States to leverage major initiatives such as the Global Gateway to increase investment in LAC, ensuring that the EU remains a strong and competitive partner for LAC countries given the growing Chinese presence in the region;

11. Highlights the fact that the EU is the leading contributor to development cooperation in LAC; stresses that the SDGs and the Paris Agreement must remain central to cooperation between LAC and the EU; calls for the EU and its Member States to reinforce its financial support for the LAC region in its next long-term budget, including support for the sustainable development objectives in the EU-LAC association agreements, especially in the context of the global decline in official development assistance and humanitarian aid, in particular the suspension of 83 % of United States Agency for International Development programmes and global aid cuts by several EU Member States, which will have long-term implications for the development agenda and the achievement of the SDGs in the LAC region;

Or. en

Amendment 18

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 a. Stresses that better access to development aid and finance remain crucial to achieving more inclusive social and economic development in the LAC region; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure appropriate EU development cooperation funding in the LAC region, while continuing to combine efforts to achieve the necessary reform of the international financial architecture and to support debt relief and restructuring, which is particularly crucial for fragile countries, including those more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, as well as for countries transitioning to a higher level of income and the specific issues that brings;

Or. en

Amendment 19

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 b. Calls for the effective implementation of the EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda to support sustainable development, inclusive growth and employment, as well as a just, green and digital transformation; calls on the Commission to ensure, from inception to delivery, that these investments are aligned with the sustainable development priorities identified by LAC partners, including through consultations with local authorities and civil society representatives and through impact assessments and evaluations;

Or. en

Amendment 20

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 c (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 c. Underlines that cooperation between the EU and LAC on both critical raw materials and technology is essential to achieving fair, green and digital transformations and to strengthening strategic autonomy in both regions; calls for the EU and the LAC countries to ensure that related trade and investment partnerships, cooperation and financing programmes take account of the different levels of development in both regions in support of inclusive projects to overcome inequalities experienced by vulnerable communities, such as indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants and other minorities; recalls the importance of promoting sustainable and responsible mining, which protects the rights and livelihoods of local communities and indigenous peoples, helps overcome dependency on commodity exports and plays a greater role in value chains through sustainable reindustrialisation policies that create decent jobs and promote environmental sustainability;

Or. en

Amendment 21

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 d (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 d. Welcomes the Bi-regional Pact for Care initiative, which has the objective of promoting cooperation on comprehensive care systems and public policies among the countries of both regions, including by drawing up cooperation and financing mechanisms, in order to advance towards a fairer and inclusive economy; recalls the importance of the ratification of International Labour Organization Convention No 189 on decent work for domestic workers;

Or. en

Amendment 22

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 e (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 e. Stresses the growing humanitarian needs in the region; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide adequate development and humanitarian assistance to the LAC region, and underlines that policy coherence for development is a substantive requirement that should be applied across all EU policies to avoid negative impacts on poor and vulnerable people in developing countries;

Or. en

Amendment 23

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 f (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 f. Urges the Commission and the LAC countries to increase efforts in addressing the underlying causes of human and natural disasters, through reinforcing prevention, preparedness, resilience and response policies and cooperation; welcomes the bi-regional memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the area of integrated disaster risk management, signed in Barbados on 15 May 2024, and invites partners who have not yet signed it to conclude the procedure as soon as possible;

Or. en

Amendment 24

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 g (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 g. Acknowledges that violence against women and gender discrimination persist and remain widespread in LAC; calls for enhanced cooperation between the EU and LAC countries to combat gender-based violence and to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line with the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III;

Or. en

Amendment 25

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 h (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 h. Stresses the importance of ensuring that EU efforts focus on strengthening democratic institutions, the rule of law and political accountability; calls, in this regard, for increased support for civil society organisations and human rights defenders to ensure that they can carry out their work safely and independently;

Or. en

Amendment 26

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 i (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11 i. Recalls the importance of the EU-Amazon Basin cooperation programme to improve the capacities of the Amazon Basin countries to fight deforestation and forest degradation, and to strengthen indigenous and local communities’ roles in this fight;

Or. en

Amendment 27

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 20 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

20 a. Calls for regular multi-stakeholder consultations, particularly before and after each EU-CELAC summit, between local governments and civil society in the LAC region and the Commission to ensure that Global Gateway projects align with the achievement of the SDGs, as well as local and regional development priorities;

Or. en

Amendment 28

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 22 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

22 a. Calls on the EU and LAC to make progress on tangible commitments towards reducing poverty and inequality, promoting cohesion, institutional capacity and governance, as well as protecting workers’ rights, alongside the need to continue supporting universal access to education and health;

Or. en

Amendment 29

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 22 b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

22 b. Underlines the need to reach a bi-regional commitment to the Bi-regional Pact for Care in order to consolidate and finance comprehensive care systems as a pillar for social welfare, recognising care as a right, a collective responsibility and an essential pre-condition for gender equality, social justice and sustainable development in the EU and LAC;

Or. en

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR FOR OPINION HAS RECEIVED INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur for opinion declares that she received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the draft opinion:

Entity and/or person

Fundación EU-LAC (EU-LAC Foundation)

EU-LAC-WIN (Women International Network)

Fundación Alternativas

EU-LAT Network

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur for the opinion.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur for opinion declares that she has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament’s Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.