COPENHAGEN, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Climate change, trade relations and food security topped the agenda at an assembly of parliamentarians from the European Union (EU) and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, which closed Wednesday in Horsens, western Denmark.
Some 160 parliamentarians representing both regional groups took the opportunity to pose questions on democracy and development to the Danish EU presidency.
The attendees discussed the EU's humanitarian efforts in the drought prone Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa, its approach to ensure rights of disabled persons in developing countries, and its suggestions for preventing illegal trade in animal products including ivory.
"It is exciting to be part of the democratic dialogue within the ACP-EU partnership," said Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Christian Friis Bach.
"The parliamentarians have an important role in reminding us of our promises, for instance, on the level of development assistance," he added in a statement.
The joint parliamentary assembly is responsible for promoting democracy and human rights, improving relations between ACP and EU countries, and raising awareness of development issues.
It meets twice a year, and provides a platform for ACP parliamentarians to directly put questions to the EU Council presidency.
Denmark, which holds the rotating EU presidency till end June 2012, contributes 0.7 percent of its gross domestic product to capacity-building or aid programs in developing nations, ranking it amongst the world's best aid givers. For its part, the 27-member EU is the world's single-largest giver of overseas aid.
The Horsens meeting, which ran from Monday to Wednesday, attracted some 400 participants in all, including Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Danish Energy Minister Martin Lidegaard, EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard and EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht.
Prior to the meeting, parliamentarians participated in workshops on democratic governance, and undertook field visits to learn about Denmark's approach to cutting carbon dioxide emissions and generating renewable energy.
A number of side events, such as a conference on ecology, and another on sustainable smallholder agriculture, were also organized by non-governmental organizations.
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