The European Parliament adopted by 566 votes to 40, with 41 abstentions, following the consultation procedure, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union, including relations between the European Union, on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark, on the other (Overseas Association Decision or OAD).
The European Parliament approved the Commission's proposal subject to the following amendments:
Objectives
Parliament specified that the association between the Union and the OCTs should contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development objectives as defined in Agenda 2030 and in the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Those specific objectives would be as follows:
- to assist the OCTs in addressing the major challenges they face, including the level of education for Greenland;
- to strengthen the resilience of the OCTs, reducing their economic and environmental vulnerability;
- to improve the competitiveness of the OCTs, including as regards social standards;
- to promote cooperation between the OCTs and other partners.
Members proposed that specific treatment be accorded to the least developed OCTs so as to enable them to catch up and address their permanent structural constraints.
The association should:
- promote the principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms on which it is based, through dialogue and cooperation between the Union and the OCTs;
- promote equality and equity between men and women in the OCTs, as well as the empowerment of women and equal political and economic opportunities for women. All initiatives should incorporate a gender dimension.
The Union and the OCTs should cooperate to ensure the active participation of young people in the labour market in order to combat youth unemployment.
With regard to environmental issues, cooperation should also focus on addressing issues linked to land degradation, including rising sea levels and soil contamination, as well as combating illegal logging.
Budget
Parliament has proposed that the financial allocation for the programme for the period 2021-2027 be set at EUR 669 million in current prices instead of the EUR 500 million proposed by the Commission.
The general distribution proposed is as follows:
- 81% for territorial cooperation;
- 12% for regional cooperation, including EUR 30 million for intra-regional operations;
- 3.5% for technical assistance;
- 3.5% for an unallocated fund for all OCTs, which would include Greenland.
The envelopes allocated to each OCT have been specified.
Dialogue with the OCTs
This dialogue should enable the OCTs to play a full part in implementing the association and also in defining and implementing the Union's regional strategies in the areas in which the OCTs are located.
The dialogue with the Caribbean OCTs should in particular serve to strengthen the European strategy in the Caribbean region and to foster cooperation on issues relating to biodiversity, climate change, sustainable resource management, disaster risk prevention and management, the social dimension, as well as on promoting good governance, including in the field of taxation and the fight against organised crime.
Programming
Members proposed including rules on programming directly in the new OAD, taking over the rules proposed for the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI). These would apply to the OCTs, while recalling the principle that the Financial Regulation is applicable, unless otherwise provided for in the OAD.