This was one of the key demands to emerge from a meeting this week between deputies and their African counterparts in Nairobi.
Tackling corruption and investing in family and small-scale agriculture and coordinating aid for Haiti after Hurricane Matthew were among the issues on which MEPs and their counterparts from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries agreed at the 32nd session of the ACP-EU joint parliamentary assembly (JPA), which closed on Wednesday.
The assembly approved a declaration on the future of ACP-EU cooperation and renewed partnership between the two regions after 2020.
MEPs and the ACP national Parliaments also debated the role of trade in attaining the sustainable development goals (SDGs) with United Nations conference on trade and development (UNCTAD) Secretary General Mukhisa Kituyi.
The issue of migration and resettling migrants in their home countries - a particularly topical issue for the EU and member states - and the role of infrastructure development in fostering regional integration were also debated during the three-day session.
A report on the fight against money laundering, tax evasion and avoidance said each "requires strong international cooperation", the simultaneous involvement of all national and international players, and an effort "primarily of a political nature".
The text, approved by a large majority, calls for information on beneficial ownership of companies to be made publicly available for all corporate structures, including trusts, foundations and shell companies.
Penalties should also be considered in the event of financial centres failing to cooperate in the global fight against illicit financial flows.
MEPs said that family and small-scale agriculture “remain essential” in ACP countries to combat poverty, ensure food security and protect biodiversity.
A second resolution reiterates the “many difficulties” facing small-scale family agriculture, and notably access to land, capital and markets.
The need to increase public spending on agriculture, given that it suffers from a lack of investment, is also underlined in the text.
This area will receive aid under financing agreements with Kenya worth €104m, signed by Neven Mimica, the European Commissioner for international cooperation and development.
This aid will help small farms by enabling them to access finance and training or by facilitating their integration into the market.
The assembly also said that the international community and Haiti’s partners should work in coordination with the Haitian government.
MEPs and their ACP counterparts add that donors should “deliver on their pledges,” underlining that only 40 per cent of the US$120m requested by the Haitian government and the UN has so far been provided.
The 33rd ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly will be held from 19 to 21 June 2017 in Valletta, Malta, which will chair the Council of the European Union from 1 January to 31 June 2017.
Speaking at the assembly, Belgian Alde MEP Louis Michel said, “The history of humanity is the history of migrations. Zero migration has never existed, and it never will. We must manage migration flows in a human way, in line with our values. Fortress Europe is not working.”
He added, “With Brexit, the retreat into nationalism, the proliferation of conflicts in Syria, the Yemen and elsewhere, it is vital to reaffirm and reinforce our partnership.”