The S&D Group in the European Parliament deplores the decision of the Polish government to veto the approval of the long-awaited Post-Cotonou Agreement and calls on all member states to ratify this important new legal framework, which is crucial for the future development of the EU partnership with African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP).

We, as the S&D Group, call on the EU Council and the Swedish Presidency for an urgent end to the obstruction of the Post-Cotonou Agreement and its imminent ratification without any further delay. The EU’s credibility is at stake here. We cannot risk putting the partnership with ACP countries in danger by pushing these regions further into the hands of China and Russia.

The Co-Chair of the ACP-EU JPA and S&D MEP, Carlos Zorrinho, commented:

“After two years of obstruction from Hungary, another far-right government is keeping the Post-Cotonou Agreement hostage and blocking the ratification for merely internal reasons. The Polish government is in fact using a multilateral agreement - with the strategic importance and practical implications of the Post-Cotonou Agreement - as a bargaining chip for an internal dispute over Ukrainian grain with the EU Commission. This shameful attitude demonstrates an unacceptable lack of commitment by Poland to the partnership of equals that unites the European Union with the 79 members of the ACP.”