Chantal MARIJNISSEN

Policy topics Chantal MARIJNISSEN is active on

What Chantal MARIJNISSEN has said (2)

• “Um, in addition, Cameroon is not in any position to be able to tell us what their, what they call in French Domaine Forestier, is. So they don't know the real coverage of forests in the country. And these are being replaced by cocoa plantations. So the UDR becomes the best tool with which we can work with Cameroon, which is why we're investing 26 million in the country to support them on a deforestation free approach to the cocoa production. It is also the reason that for which we have proposed to Cameroon to have a forest partnership, which is much more holistic than the VPA, that only looks at illegality versus legality. Whereas an MoU would actually look at sustainable forest management, would look at forests from a biodiversity and a climate perspective. It's true that it's an MoU. Um, this doesn't mean that we, as the Commission, do not want to come to the Parliament, and we would be very happy to report and to discuss the MoU with. With the Parliament and receive your comments and opinions and positions on the MOU. We don't want to change how we do business in Europe because of the type of agreement that we are proposing to, to Cameroon and and to others, because we also have MoUs with other countries. So, um, there's a very strong will to discuss with the European Parliament and also the stakeholders in Cameroon. And I'll stop here because I'm going over time. Thank you very much.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights) · Trade impact on forests · EU-Cameroon relations
• “Thank you very much. Um, first of all, thank you to all of you and to the rapporteur, Mrs. Karlsbro, we really appreciate the analysis that you have done of the situation on the Vpas. And, um, we we really agree with your analysis. The VPA can be a very powerful tool if there is ownership of our partner countries. And this unfortunately was no longer the situation in Cameroon. Um, it started off extremely well when we first signed the VPA, and there was a lot of ownership and and there was a lot of work that was done on both sides. We have not stopped talking with Cameroon. We have continued to go on mission to discuss with the minister that's in charge. We have tried everything that we could to revive this VPA. However, what we were confronted with, which I mentioned the last time I was in this House, was that the reforms that Cameroon implemented were to empty the legality framework of its content. Um, they also were no longer talking to their civil society. So it wasn't providing a forum for discussion. Also, with the civil society or indigenous peoples. Um, and we just do not think that we can go forward with an agreement that is undermining the other agreements that we are trying to push forward to a conclusion with a licensing system. Cameroon has been indeed going towards China and particularly Vietnam from what we can see. There is both a problem of capacity, lack of electricity, lack of um, IT systems, uh, in, in the country. But there's also a problem of corruption at the highest levels that has led to this situation.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights) · Trade impact on forests · EU-Cameroon relations