European Parliament
-4 June: Committee on Foreign Affairs
Council of Ministers
-5 June: COREPER I
-5/6 June: COREPER II
-3/5 June: Informal meeting of Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries (AGRI), Horsens (Denmark)
-10 June: Informal Meeting of Ministers and State Secretaries for European Affairs (GAC), Horsens (Denmark)
ACP Group
-4 June: Special meeting of the Committee of Ambassadors
-5 June: UNDP’s Africa Human Development Report 2012
-10/15 June: 95th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers  
-10/15 June: 37th Session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers

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.

The next Brussels Development Briefing will be held on 26 June from 8.30 – 13h00 on Food Losses and Food Waste. Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted! This briefing wants to address the concerns revolving around global hunger, food security, sustainability and waste recovery. A variety of different actors – farmers, retailers, governments and consumers – involved in the food supply chain contribute to large amounts of global food losses and waste. Several strategies are available for the reduction of food losses and waste. However, these strategies are not always known and much action needs to be taken to reduce losses and waste at global, regional and national scale.
Thus, the objectives of the Briefing are to raise awareness of the causes and impact of food losses and waste in low, medium and high-income countries, increase an exchange of information and expertise relating to strategies and successes in preventing and reducing them and to facilitate networking amongst development partners working in these areas.
You can register online at brusselsbriefings.

The EU, along with the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Improved Nutrition and Health, will fund a training course aimed at developing the capacity to assess and measure agricultural biodiversity in the context of food and nutrition security in West African food systems. This training is open to potential candidates from Benin, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. These are welcome to submit an essay and apply for participation in the course.

European Parliament
-29/30 May: Committee on International Trade,
-30/31 May:  Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development meeting
-29/30 May:  Committee on Foreign Affairs  
Council of Ministers
-1 June : COREPER I
-1 June : COREPER II
ACP Group
-28/30 May: 23rd Session of the joint ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly (Horsens, Denmark)
-28/30 May: 28th Session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly

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.

A total of $1.868 billion, allocated to the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) by the European Union along with the Jamaican Government, Caribbean Development Bank, and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will make possible undertake several initiatives, including: Poverty Reduction Programme II and III; Rural Economic Development Initiative; and Tropical Storm Gustav Emergency Recovery Fund, among others. Funds allocated are for the period 2012/13.

While criticism has dominated the EU's foreign policy in recent months, positive notes have appeared to prevail in the media last week. Following long negotiations, the first iEPA has come to pass: Four African countries, namely Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Zimbabwe,  will gradually open their markets to European exports over the course of 15 years. The trade and development agreement concluded by the EU and the aforementioned African countries takes effect. “This is excellent news and I salute the hard work of negotiators and colleagues on all sides. With this trade deal we hope to accompany the development of our partners in Eastern and Southern Africa and open up better and lasting business opportunities", praised EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht.
Good news also came out of the Caribbean region, as weeks after the visit of Jolita Butkeviciene, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Directorate General for DEVCO,  Guyana’s  parliamentarians have unanimously approved a motion ratifying the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The Pacific region did not go unnoticed either, as the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands,  Gordon Darcy Lilo, recalled the EU’s role as a “development driver”, and stressed that the EU would remain a key partner. He also noted that through Cotonou’s provisions  the Solomons receive substantial assistance in crucial areas of development, such as agriculture or climate change.

European Parliament
-21/24 May: Plenary session (Strasbourg)
-21 & 24 May: Committee on Foreign Affairs
-21 May: Committee on Fisheries
Council of Ministers
-23 May: Coreper I
-23 May: Coreper II
ACP Group
-21 May: Consultations on the Pan-African Road Map on Cotton
-21 May: Stakeholders’ Workshop on the UNDP-sponsored on Future Perspectives of the ACP Group
-21 May:  6th meeting on ACP-EU Dialogue on Migration
-22 May: Meeting of Brussels-and Geneva-Based representatives of ACP Cotton-Producing Countries
-22 May: 17th Meeting of the COS-Coton
-23/30 May : Joint ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly (Horsens, Danemark)
Research Events
-21/24 May: Customs 2013 Workshop – The role of Customs in Environmental Protection (Rønne, Denmark)

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.

Despite vocal criticism of the EU, this is tempered by a number of positive notes. The former president of Tanzania, Benjamin William Mkapa, who warns on a weekly basis of the negative effects of the EPAs, emphasised last week that there exists a certain sympathy within the EU for Africa’s concerns, as the European Parliament committees on Development (DEVE) and International Trade (INTA) recently drafted proposals rejecting the proposal for the amendment of Regulation 1528/2007, which provides duty-free and quota-free market access to the EU market. Furthermore, he has noted that the EU will greatly benefit from African development and prosperity. "We trust therefore that the EU will heed ACP countries’ and Africa’s proposals for a mutually-beneficial partnership ahead", he stated.
However, concerns over the inclusion of  the most-favored-nation (MFN) clause in the EPAs did not go unnoticeable. According to The East African, the EU aims to restrain the bloc from making deals with emerging economies, particularly with China and India, as it would require that the EAC extend to the EU the same preferences granted to third parties. EAC stakeholders said the clause could severely weaken South-South trade. James Ndahiro, Rwanda’s representative to the East African Legislative Assembly, stated  accordingly that the MFN clause should be removed or modified to restrict its application to agreements with more developed economies.

European Parliament
-14/15 May: Committee on Foreign Affairs
-14 May: Committee on Development
-14 May: Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (Extraordinary)
Council of Ministers
-14 May: Foreign affairs council
-14/15 May: Agriculture and Fisheries Council
-14/16 May: Coreper I
-16 May: Coreper II
ACP Group
-14 May: Committee of Ambassadors’ W/G on the preparation of the 7th ACP Summit
-15/16 May: Committee of Ambassadors

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.

Despite widespread criticism and negative prospects facing the EPAs in Africa, the Caribbean region appeared to demonstrate a better outlook,  at least when compared to the East African Community (EAC) and latest germane headlines.  However, some concerns were expressed over the 2008 EU Cariforum Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Europe. “Trying to answer questions about the success […]is far from easy”, according to Dominican Today.  Although  it seems clear “that there are very large sums of money”  being made available by the EU and which are intended  to both  support regional integration and meet EPA requirements, “it is hard to find any evidence that use is being made of the trade aspects of the agreement other than in relation to the improved access it offers in the area of commodity exports”.
One of the topics raised last week was the impact of the BRICS on developing countries. Trade experts have once again sounded the alarm regarding growing ties between Africa and China. According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, this reached $126.9 billion in 2010, while trade volume rose by 30 per cent year-on-year during the first three-quarters of 201.  According to an article by Daily Nation, Kenya, as one of China’s top five trading partners, has been the subject of complaints by some EU Member states representatives. They protest in particular their lack of access to President Kibaki. In the words of the author: “The trade volume between Africa and EU countries has significantly dropped, which is one of the reasons why diplomats are unhappy with the Kibaki administration […] In a way, these diplomats are under pressure from their metropolitan states to restore the lost glory of cosy African relations as the Chinese have clearly found favour with the Kibaki administration".
New EU development initiatives were also announced at the beginning of May. Following a high-level meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the EU has granted ClimDev Africa Initiative €8 million to support Africa’s response to climate change challenges.