European Commission
- 22 January: The Commission presents the 2030 framework for climate and energy
European Parliament:
- 20-23 January: European Parliament Committee Meetings
Council of the EU:
- 20 January: Foreign Affairs Council
ACP Group:
- 21 January: Bureau of the Committee of Ambassadors
- 21 January: S/C on Sustainable Development
- 23 January: Committee of Ambassadors
- 24 January: S/C on Political, Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs
In this week’s CTA Brussels video interview, Ousmane Badiane, Director for Africa at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) tells us more about the agricultural growth recovery and economic transformation in Africa.
European donors have been accused of profiting from their aid budgets, as an increasing amount of their money for the developing countries is being given as loans – which have to be paid back with interest. In a report published last Thursday (16 January), Eurodad informs that loans offered at preferential terms can be reported as official development assistance (ODA), provided they meet certain concessionality conditions. The paper discusses the main developments in this debate over the past ten years and presents recommendations on how to optimise the developmental benefits of this reform.
Since the outbreak of new violence late 2012, the EU has intensified its outreach to partners. It is actively engaged in international and regional efforts to stabilize the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) and to restore a more stable government in the country. On 19-20 December 2013, the European Council confirmed the EU’s willingness to use relevant instruments to contribute towards the efforts under way to stabilise the country, including under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), based on a proposal by High Representative Catherine Ashton.
“Together with the 28 Member States and the European Parliament, we have reformed the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). This reform reflects choices already made – to encourage farmers to produce what consumers want and not what public authorities decide” said Dacian Cioloş European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development during the opening Ceremony of the International Green Week held in Berlin on the 16 January 2014. “At the same time, we wanted to encourage farmers to take into account not only our choices as consumers – healthy, safe, quality and affordable products – but also our choices as citizens, with concerns for the environment and our future” he added.