In a day of Q&A in Brussels, candidates for the EU's top foreign policy, economics, budget and development Commissioner posts were quizzed by MEPs on their priorities. Catherine Ashton promised to give credibility to the EU's dealings with the world whilst Mr Rehn said growth and jobs would be a priority. Budget nominee Janusz Lewandowski said EU budget policy could focus on the environment or climate change. Development nominee Andris Piebalgs pledged that fighting poverty would remain key.

The 2988th Council meeting on Environment held in Brussels on 22 December 2009 adopted a decision with a view to put an end to the provisional application of the fisheries partnership agreement (FPA) with the Republic of Guinea (16976/09). By means of this decision, the Council notifies the Republic of Guinea the EU's intention to terminate the provisional application of the FPA, in accordance with article 25(2) of the Vienna convention on the law of treaties, following the violent crackdown on political demonstrators in Conakry on 28 September 2009 and the subsequent human rights violations. A fisheries protocol to the EU/Republic of Guinea agreement has been provisionally applied since 1 January 2009, pending the final conclusion of the agreement.

The Committee on Development of the European Development review the Cotonou Agreement which should be an occasion to adjust it in the light of recent and current crises including climate change, soaring food and oil prices, financial crisis and abject poverty in Africa; believes that the need to address the root causes of these crises is not an option, but a necessity. It deplored the fact that the European Parliament, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the national parliaments of the ACP States as well as civil society organisations and non-state actors were - once again - not involved in the decision-making process that led to the identification of areas and articles of the Cotonou Agreement for revision and to the establishment of the negotiating mandates adopted by the Council of the EU and the ACP Council of Ministers.

The video recordings of the 15th Briefing session (“From Global Food Crisis to Local Food Insecurity”) are now available.

Article 13 on ‘Migration’ is a priority issue for European Union member states in the revision of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA). However, the ongoing revision process scheduled to be finalised at the end of February 2010 does not seem to be even moderately high on anyone’s agenda. This is a shame, as surely it is in the interest of both parties to make the most of this framework for ACP-EU relations that will expire in 2020.

Martinique’s banana growers have cause for concern. The European Union has signed an agreement ending the preferential tariffs they previously enjoyed. The conflict between Latin American and ACP banana producers regarding EU customs tariffs had raged for over ten years. The EU rules allowed ACP producers, and therefore Caribbean countries, to export their produce to Europe at very low tariffs. This incensed «dollar banana» growers who were obliged to pay 176 Euros per tonne of fruit. The World Trade Organisation had ruled against the measure several times.

According to information transmitted to APA in the Mauritian capital Port Louis, the European Union has decided to provide Mauritius with 16 million dollars in financial assistance to mitigate the effects of the world economic crisis. Sources close to the Finance Ministry say the subsidy has been granted under the FLEX Vulnerability Mechanism which set up by the EU to help address the impact of the international economic recession on industrial exports and tourism. Mauritius will receive another EU subsidy in the resource allocation scheduled for next year. The sources indicate that Mauritius is one of the first group of 13 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to benefit from financial help as a result of the European Commission’s decision, and that the EU initially plans to release 239 million Euros.

Success at the Doha trade talks could stimulate economic recovery worldwide, but the European Commission must stick to its negotiating brief on market access for farm and non-farm products and services, said Parliament in a resolution approved in Strasbourg.