European Parliament (Brussels):
- 30 November – 3 December: Committee meetings

EU Presidency (Brussels):
- 30 November: General Affairs and External Relations Council; Working Parties: Foreign Relations Counsellors (RELEX), Development Cooperation (CODEV), Africa (COAFR)
- 1 December: Political and Security Committee (PSC); Working Parties: International Environment Issues (WPIEI) Biodiversity, Foreign Relations Counsellors (RELEX)
- 2 December: Coreper I; Political and Security Committee (PSC); Working parties: Development Cooperation (CODEV), International Environment Issues (WPIEI) Whaling, Working Party of Agricultural Counsellors/Attachés
- 3 December: Coreper II; Working Parties: External Fisheries Policy; Foreign Relations Counsellors (RELEX)
- 4 December: Political and Security Committee (PSC); Working parties: External Fisheries Policy, Africa (COAFR), ACP, Agricultural Counsellors/Attachés

ACP Secretariat (Brussels, Luanda):
- 30 November: Conciliation meetings on Urgent Motions for Resolutions; Formal opening ceremony of the 18th Session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
- 30 November – 3 December: Plenary Session of the ACP-EU JPA
- 1 December: African union

For more information please consult the calendar on our webpage http://brussels.cta.int/

Mr. Hegel Goutier, editor of the magazine "The Courier - The Magazine of Africa-Caribbean-Pacific & European Union Relations" is our guest. Mr. Goutier, who has 22 years experience as a journalist specializing in ACP-EU cooperation, present the purpose, content and objectives of the Courrier (available in French, English, Spanish and Portuguese), real media tool between the EU and ACP countries. Mr. Goutier shares with us the challenges ahead for the Courier and for the ACP-EU communication.

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Experts from Africa, Caribbean and Pacific are meeting since  Wednesday morning in Luanda, to prepare the documents that will be submitted to the 18th  session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, that will open on November 30 in the Angolan capital. The meeting is to tackle matters related to the impact of the world economic financial crisis on ACP countries, the situation in Madagascar, climatic changes, as well as the participation and  integration of youngsters in social and cultural affairs. The event will gather 400 participants from the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific plus Europe, to  discuss the reforms in international institutions and globalisation, including the refugees issue. The meeting will also tackle the impact of the world economic and financial crisis on the  ACP-EU states, the reduction of the effect of natural disasters, the World Trade Organisation  negotiations and the economic partnership accords, as well as the documents on regional and  countries strategies on the 10th Europe Development Fund.

Source:  ANGOP

The European Commission has today signed a multi-million euro agreement that aims to help Nigeria tackle development challenges in the areas of governance, trade and peace. The agreement, signed in Brussels by European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Karel De Gucht, and by Nigeria's Executive Secretary of the National Planning Commission, Professor Sylvester Monye, is an ambitious step forward in cooperation and is a direct result of the Nigeria-EU political dialogue. It reinforces cooperation in three strategic areas: peace and security; governance and human rights; trade and regional integration with €677 million for the period 2009 – 2013 financed through the European Development Fund.

Source: European Commission

The European Commission has today authorised under EC Treaty State aid rules a German scheme worth some €100 million aimed at supporting farmers who encounter difficulties as a result of the current economic crisis. Data provided by German authorities show that the decrease in producer prices has led to an income foregone in the German agriculture sector of some €6 billion. Aid under this new scheme can be granted until 31 December 2010 and will take the form of direct grants, interest rate subsidies, subsidised loans and subsidised guarantees. The German scheme is the first application of the amendment to the Commission's Temporary framework for state aid measures to support access to finance in the current financial and economic crisis, which introduced the possibility of granting limited amounts of aid to primary agricultural producers.

Source: European Commission

Liberalising global agricultural trade without any regulation would threaten global food security as private investment funds would buy huge amounts of land in developing countries and produce for profit rather than to feed the poor, Jacques Carles, founder of Momagri, a French think-tank on agriculture. If you free international trade without any regulation, only international investment funds and speculators will profit, not the poor", said Carles, managing director of Momagri (Mouvement pour une organisation mondiale de l'agriculture). Private investment funds are already rushing to buy agricultural land all over the globe, he warned, adding that "we are heading towards a very dangerous scenario" in which these funds and speculators own huge amounts of land and produce according to world demand in order to make a profit.

Source: Euractiv

APRODEV Report which is an evaluation of legal outcome options for a post-2012 climate change agreement from an equity and climate justice perspective was launched on 5 November 2009 at the UN Climate talks in Barcelona. The report analyses different proposals for what type of climate change agreement should be agreed in Copenhagen, based on how well the different options respect the right to development of poor countries, how they provide for ambitious emission reductions from developed countries and recognize developed countries' historical responsibility for climate change.

Source: Aprodev

Over the years, the European Community has developed strong political and economic relationship with countries from ACP regions, known collectively as the ACP Group, notably through the signing of the Cotonou Agreement in 2000. Fisheries is one of the economic sectors that has received continuous support from the EC through the European Development Fund, both at regional and national levels. Considering the economic and social importance of fisheries in many ACP countries, EU-funded projects designed to develop fisheries administrations’ planning and management capacities have been implemented in partnership with concerned ACP States with a view to enhance food security and create employment. ACP FISH II is a Programme financed by the European Commission under the 9th European Development Fund, with an overall amount of 30-million Euros, aiming at strengthening fisheries management in ACP countries. The overall objective of the Programme is to contribute to the sustainable and equitable management of fisheries, thus leading to poverty alleviation and improving food security in ACP states. The Programme started in June 2009 and will be implemented throughout a period of 4.5 years, to terminate in November 2013.

Source: Solomon Star

The European Union should resist the temptation to cut support for its common agricultural policy and instead give farmers the right tools to increase food production in Europe, EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel stated. "I'm looking to be able to maintain production of food in Europe", said Fischer Boel, asked about her priorities for the future CAP. She did not say Europe should be able to feed its own people, but stressed the importance of having a strong agricultural sector amid increasing global competition. A situation in which Europe is dependent on food imports from countries with unstable governments would be "a nightmare", she said. While the EU is the world's biggest exporter of agricultural products, it is also its biggest importer, the commissioner said. But "we and the sector have been very clever to add value to production", she stressed, saying “we are mostly importing raw materials-putting maybe soybeans through the pigs - but then exporting high quality products worldwide”

Source: Euractiv

Lady Ashton, Brussels' new foreign policy chief, was accused of abandoning Europe's commitment to tackle poverty, as African and Caribbean governments reacted angrily to a proposed deal to end the 16-year "banana wars". Ashton, who is currently European trade commissioner, took a leading role in negotiating an agreement with Latin American governments, expected to be signed this week, which would bring to an end one of the world's longest-running trade disputes. But in offering to slash import taxes on bananas from Latin America, from €176 a tonne to €114 over the next seven years, Europe has infuriated countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific–many of them former colonies–which have traditionally had special access to Europe's markets. Ministers from the ACP called an emergency meeting after details of the Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas emerged, and today issued a strongly worded statement, warning that "the coming days could spell the end of the era when Europe considered the fight against poverty a priority". With areas such as the Windward Islands heavily dependent on the banana trade, ACP countries are concerned that exposing Caribbean growers to tough competition from Latin America could devastate the livelihoods of thousands of poor farmers. The statement said the banana deal is evidence that in adopting a "global Europe" strategy in the Lisbon Treaty, the EU is abandoning its commitment to countries with which it has had long historical ties.

Source: The Guardian

Jamaica's Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Karl Samuda says the Government will be embarking on a marketing campaign in Europe on behalf of the small business sector in January. The Jamaica Marketing Company, based in London, England, which he explained had been "lying dormant" for many years, will be driving the campaign. He said the marketing assistance was essential for small businesses to compete overseas. "You need money, you can't individually collect enough money to go out and market your own products by yourself. What we need to do is to trod the pavements of Europe and North America. We need to create a virtual army of Jamaican representatives out there selling Jamaican products", Samuda emphasised. He explained that those individuals would be sent to Europe to be the "eyes and ears" of the sectors, to be their sales representatives and to open doors for them.

Source: Caribbean 360

The European Commission has selected 15 excellent projects in the area of 'Science in Society' which aim at facilitating and improving the relationship between the scientific community, citizens and policy makers. The projects which cover topics such as gender, ethics, classroom innovation and science governance, involve 180 participants from 15 consortia. The project partners come from all twenty-seven Member States, five countries associated to the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union and a significant number of partners coming from outside Europe.

Source: European Commission

Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit hard: first by the food crisis, more recently by the financial and economic crises, and at the same time grappling with the challenges of adapting to climate change. In this fast evolving context, African countries continue to negotiate the challenging EPAs with the European Union. However, the presence of negotiating deadlocks or a sense of fatigue as well as the lack of a real appetite for these agreements among many ACP negotiators, raise legitimate questions regarding their structure and content, as well as their ability to constitute instruments to leverage economic growth. In fact, just as the crisis has highlighted the vulnerability of African economies, it also provides an opportunity to reflect on the EPA’s function as a true development partnership. The state of play in the negotiations and the occurrence of the current global economic, financial, climatic and food crises create in fact an imperative to update the EPAs. In order to seize this window of opportunity for reflection, a new beginning for negotiations, based on trust and commitment, is crucial.

Source: The German Marshall Fund

The 2976th Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries held in Brussels on 20 November 2009 adopted a regulation establishing a modernised system for inspection, monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement of the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) throughout the market chain, "from net to plate". The new regulation includes the provisions on Control and monitoring, sanctions, inspection powers, cooperation among member states and coordinating authority. The new regulation will replace the existing legal framework laid down in Council regulation No 2847/93 as from 1.1.2010 for most of its provisions and as from 1.1.2011 for certain provisions requiring implementing measures.

Source: Council of the EU

The Lisbon Treaty, signed by the 27 Member States in 2007, is set to provide the European Union with modern institutions optimizing working methods to tackle today's challenges in a changing global world. It will amend the current EU treaties, providing the Union with new legal framework and tools. Focal points are the creation of a more democratic and transparent Europe, the promotion of efficiency, of rights and values, freedom, solidarity and security, the will to be an actor on the global stage. EU is the world's biggest trader and provider of aid to developing countries (over 50% of all development aid worldwide). With the Lisbon Treaty Europe wants to speak with a louder voice on international issues, changing his external relations. The Lisbon Treaty is going to change the old relationship between EU and ACP countries, rationalizing the EU development architecture. Revisiting the Common Commercial Policy, the Lisbon Treaty changes EU trade policy, which action includes “the integration of all countries into the world economy, including through the progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade”.

Source: Equilibri

'Embedded’ trade analyst helps establish a network of services –the first of its kind in continental Africa. For food producers all over the world, the French gourmet chef is perhaps the most discerning of critics. With one nod of approval deciding the fate of many a high end supplier, it is nonetheless still seen as a prize worth aspiring towards. This is certainly what Uganda is working towards with vanilla. According to research by the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry, there is a niche market in countries such as France and the USA. “Uganda is a one of the world’s few exporters of vanilla,” explains Lisa Cummins, a Trade Policy Analyst working at the ministry. “In examining how best to export this product the ministry studied different markets where there are varying levels of demand and concluded that the organic vanilla produced in Uganda has the ability to succeed at the high-end of several Western countries.” The Commonwealth Secretariat, which acts as the managing agent of the project, works in collaboration with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the European Commission, and with support from the ACP Secretariat.

Source: Commonwealth Secretariat

The governments of Mozambique, Norway and Iceland have pledged to renew their cooperation in fisheries for the period 2009-2013, seeking to improve and make sustainable the exploitation of Mozambican fisheries resources. The programme of fisheries assistance for the next four years will be co-financed by Norway and Iceland to the tune of 27.7 million US dollars in grants, under new bilateral agreements and a tripartite memorandum of understanding. The funds will be used to strengthen the capacity and skills of the fisheries administration in the areas of research, fisheries management, aquaculture, artisanal fishing, quality control and training. It will also finance measures to improve the living conditions of fishing communities, and small and medium sized business activity.

Source: AllAfrica

www.reformthecap.eu is a resource site for all those interested in CAP reform: politicians, civil servants, NGO activists, journalists and citizens. The aim is to provide background information on what is at stake in reforming the CAP. The editor, Valentin Zahrnt, is a Research Associate at ECIPE, and the webpage is closely integrated into ECIPE’s work on agriculture.

Source: ECIPE

In the context of the EPA negotiations the purpose of the (October 2009) study by the GRET and the AFD is to help fuel the French authorities’ reflection on different interpretations of article XXIV by analysing examples of existing FTAs that have not attracted complaints at the WTO. France views EPAs primarily as instruments to foster the development of ACP countries. It is therefore striving for maximum flexibility with respect to the pace of liberalisation and the extent of openness of ACP markets, wishing to make full use of the "asymmetry" permitted by the EC without overstepping the bounds of WTO rules. The aim is therefore to identify precedents and highlight examples of provisions allowing flexibility with regard to all the points at issue between the ACP regions and the EU in EPA negotiations.

Source: ACP-EU Trade