15. Calls on the European Union and its Member States to set up programmes with the Iraqi authorities for judicial cooperation and the exchange of good practices and effective instruments, taking into account EU law in the fight against corruption, in order to combat widespread corruption and thus ensure an equitable distribution of the country`s wealth; stresses the importance of the European Union advising the Iraqi government on security and governance issues in order to ensure the stability of Iraq; The Euro-Mediterranean area has made a number of contacts and sent urgent letters to Members of the European Parliament, including the European Parliament`s Relations Committee and Parliament`s Human Rights Subcommittee, to inform them of the repression of protests in the country and to ask the EU to suspend its partnership agreement with Iraq. “The Committee raised the issue of the continuation of the CPA at the bilateral level of the United Kingdom and Iraq after the UK`s withdrawal from the EU or after the expiry of a transitional/implementation period. DExEU has conducted intergovernmental work to assess international agreements that need to be replaced or amended following the UK`s withdrawal from the EU. The priority is to avoid any unintended changes in our relations with third countries and international organizations. We do not want to reopen or renegotiate the content of the agreements. “The UK is committed to a stronger partnership with the EU on security, defence and foreign policy issues. However, we are leaving the European Union and we will not endeavour to participate in these meetings on the same basis as the EU Member States. However, given our historical ties and common values, it is likely that the UK and the EU will continue to pursue the same objectives and will therefore want to cooperate closely on the challenges of the common foreign policy. This includes close consultation in a number of forums. Participation in the Political and Security Committee and the Foreign Affairs Council, for example, is not the only way to achieve this and it is not the only way for the UK to continue to influence EU foreign policy.
That is why the EU-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which came into force provisionally in August 2012, is a non-preferential trade agreement (an agreement between the EU and a non-WTO member that uses fundamental WTO rules).
