According to Freshplaza, in 2011 Germans spent 400 million Euro on fairtrade products. What began with art and coffee has grown into a wide range of products (around 6000), even including face creams, travel companies and hotels. The principle consists of strengthening trade between industrial and developing countries, which should improve the life of small growers and agriculturists.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Council stresses the need to promote a more sustainable fisheries policy on its external like on its internal side. Ministers underline that fighting against illegal, reported and unregulated (IUU) fishing needs to be reinforced by building partnerships with other main fishing nations.  Equally, compliance with management measures at the level of regional fisheries management organisations needs more follow-up, governance within these organisations strengthened, and overcapacity problems need to be addressed at the global scale. In the course of the 3155th Council meeting, which was held on 19th March, ministers adopted these and other conclusions,  following the communication of the Commission on the external dimension of the Common fisheries policy (CFP).

The EU will allocate €250 million (329 million U.S. dollars) to improve food security and disaster preparedness in the Horn of Africa. Known as SHARE (Supporting the Horn of Africa’s Resilience), the aid programme will help communities in the region to recover faster from drought and other natural disasters, through supporting nutrition, sanitation and water programs.

The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has made nothing but stinging statements regarding the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). He says EPAs which are being negotiated with African countries, including Nigeria, on sub-regional basis by the EU will lead to further underdevelopment of the continent despite the “juicy” and supposed promises.

European Parliament
-20-22 March: Committee on Foreign Affairs
Council of Ministers
-21 March: COREPER I
-21 March: COREPER II
-19-20 March: Agriculture and Fisheries Council
ACP Group
-19  March: Committee on Political Affairs
-19 March: Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade
-19 March: Bureau of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly
Research events
-22 March: EU Budget beyond 2013: which expenditure and which resources?

You can also read our newspaper “CTA Brussels Daily” (fed by our Twitter account), follow our new Facebook group CTABrussels and our Twitter account CTABrussels to receive up-to-date information on EU-ACP events.