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having regard to the draft Council decision (15470/2016),

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having regard to the draft Partnership Agreement on Relations and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and New Zealand, of the other part (1) (09787/2016),

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having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 37 of the Treaty on European Union and Article 207, Article 212(1) , Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a), and Article 218(8), second subparagraph, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C8-0027/2017),

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having regard to the Joint Declaration on Relations and Cooperation between the European Union and New Zealand (2), adopted in Lisbon in 2007,

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having regard to its resolution on New Zealand of 25 February 2016 on the opening of FTA negotiations with Australia and New Zealand (3),

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having regard to the Agreement between the European Union and New Zealand establishing a framework for the participation of New Zealand in European Union crisis management operations, signed in 2012 (4),

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having regard to the Agreement on scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the Government of New Zealand (5), which came into force in 2009,

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having regard to the 22nd EU-New Zealand interparliamentary meeting (IPM), held in Brussels on 23 March 2017,

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having regard to its legislative resolution of 16 November 2017 on the draft decision (6),

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having regard to Rule 99(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A8-0333/2017),

A.

whereas New Zealand enjoys a close and historic partnership with the European Union and its Member States;

B.

whereas the European Union shares common values and principles with New Zealand, including respect for democratic principles, human rights, fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, including international law, and peace and security;

C.

whereas the European Union remains New Zealand’s third largest trading partner and both sides maintain a wide range of economic and commercial interests;

D.

whereas the first resident EU Ambassador to New Zealand took office in September 2016, marking the full transition to an autonomous European Union Delegation in New Zealand;

E.

whereas New Zealand enjoys good relations with a number of the EU’s closest partners, particularly with Australia and the United States; in this regard, notes the 2010 Wellington Declaration establishing a strategic partnership framework between New Zealand and the United States, as well as the Closer Economic Relations (CER) Agreement signed with Australia in 1983;

F.

whereas New Zealand, a member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), is a valued development partner and a key aid provider in terms of official development assistance (ODA) as a percentage of GNI, contributing to sustainable development and poverty reduction in developing countries for a fairer, more secure and more prosperous planet;

G.

whereas New Zealand is a member of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence alliance with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia; whereas other EU Member States (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and Spain) are part of the looser arrangement known as the ‘Fourteen Eyes’;

H.

whereas New Zealand has a special focus on developing relations in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly with China, Southeast Asia and Japan, and contributes to the regional stability of Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific;

I.

whereas an integrated Asia-Pacific region where New Zealand plays a prominent role contributes to a global value- and rule-based system and thus to the Union’s own security;

J.

whereas New Zealand is a founding member of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and has a strategic partnership with ASEAN;

K.

whereas New Zealand has concluded bilateral free trade agreements with Australia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and South Korea, as well as the multilateral trade agreements of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement with Singapore, Chile and Brunei, the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and the New Zealand Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Free Trade Agreement; whereas China and New Zealand are seeking to upgrade their trade agreements;

L.

whereas New Zealand is also a party to, and has ratified, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal and is an active party in the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP);

M.

whereas New Zealand was a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term from 2015 to 2016, during which time, with strong leadership and vision, it held the UNSC presidency on two occasions;

N.

whereas New Zealand is a long-standing member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and is a member of the newly established Shanghai-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB);

O.

whereas New Zealand has contributed to UN peacekeeping operations, including in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan; whereas in Afghanistan it led a reconstruction team in Bamyan Province, as well as training missions to help develop the Afghan National Army, in addition to contributing to the EUPOL Mission until 2012 to assist in the restoration of law and order;

P.

whereas New Zealand has been conducting a non-combat training mission in Iraq since 2015 with the aim of training Iraqi security forces personnel, as part of the fight against IS/Daesh;

Q.

whereas New Zealand was the first country in the world to adopt universal suffrage in 1893;

R.

whereas New Zealand is a proponent of green production, particularly food, and has been promoting comprehensive global climate agreements within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the implementation of the COP21 Paris agreement and effective mitigation action by all developed countries and major emitting developing countries, including through pioneering the establishment of a national emissions trading scheme;

S.

whereas New Zealand and the European Union cooperate in the promotion of sustainable development, resilience and mitigation to address the impact of climate change in the Asia-Pacific region, in particular by fostering the systematic use of renewable energy;

T.

whereas the European Union and New Zealand work together to promote sustainable development and to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the Pacific region, with a particular focus on the role played by renewable energy sources;

U.

whereas New Zealand contributes to the International Fund for Ireland, an organisation which works to promote economic and social advancement and to encourage and facilitate community dialogue and reconciliation;

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17.