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.
What are the main market access problems for pastoralist products? In the course of the last Brussels Briefing, entitled “New challenges and opportunities for pastoralism in ACP countries”, we spoke with Maryam Abeiderrahmane, CEO at Tiviski Dairy, in Mauritania. She explained to us that the beginning of Tiviski was difficult as a result of several factors, including traditional prejudices against selling milk, as well as consumer preferences for imported goods. Notably, she underlines that Mauritania has faced trade barriers when dealing with the EU.
The next Brussels Development Briefing will focus on “Small island economies: from vulnerabilities to opportunities” and take place on April 4th, 2012. It will be organised in partnership with the European Commission (DG DEVCO), the ACP Secretariat, Concord and various media partners.
The Briefing will discuss policy options to reduce the vulnerability of small islands economies. We will also discuss some best practices to enhance sustainable development, especially in the context of Rio+20.
Among the speakers confirmed we have: Cheick Sidi Diarra, Under Secretary General and High Representative for the LDCs, Land Locked Developing Countries and SIDS; Professor Lino Briguglio, Director, Islands and Small States Institute; Iosefa Maiava, Head of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Sanjesh Naidu from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Ena Harvey from IICA.
You can follow the updates and register online at brusselsbriefings.
In the course of a one-day EU-Namibia Political Dialogue, Raul Fuentes, Head of the EU Delegation in Namibia, brought attention to the fact that the EU is Namibia's second most important commercial partner after South Africa, and is well ahead of countries such as China or the United States of America. He also stressed the role of the EU as a development partner, as it is the leading donor for education, water and sanitation projects.
The Justice and Home Affairs Council adopted a decision which introduces EU refugee resettlement priorities for 2013, as well as new rules on the financial support that the member states receive from EU funds to accommodate refugees from outside the EU in their territories (resettlement). Notably, the amending decision introduces six EU resettlement priorities for 2013, notably including refugees and displaced persons in the Great Lakes Region (Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia), Somali refugees in Ethiopia as well as Eritrean displaced people in Eastern Sudan.