Presidency of the Council of the EU
12-13 January (Marine Etablissement Amsterdam (MEA)): Promote the multidisciplinary approach in addressing migrant smuggling
14-15 January (Marine Etablissement Amsterdam (MEA)): ERAC Plenary meeting
Council of the EU
13-14 January: Coreper II
13 January: Coreper I
14 January: Eurogroup
15 January: Economic and Financial Affairs Council
15 January: Foreign Affairs Council
European Parliament
11 January: European Parliament Committee Meetings
14 January: European Parliament Committee Meetings
European Commission
13 January (Stadsschouwburg, Groningen, the Netherlands): THIS IS EBBA – European Border Breakers Awards Ceremony
16-17 January (Wrocław, Poland): Wrocław: European capital of culture in 2016
European Economic and Social Committee
14-15 January: RRI shaping new horizons: Responsible research and innovation in Europe and across the world
Other events
12 January (Brussels): Innovative agriculture: challenges and solutions for sustainable and competitive food production
The CTA Brussels News Service is providing EU-ACP policy news since 2004, on various key thematic areas. In addition to this news service, we also provide news on ACP intra-regional trade, and south-south cooperation (investments of emerging countries' in agriculture in the ACP regions). The main stories for the week are featured in our newsletter and all stories can be found in our Regional Trade and the South-South cooperation sections.
The European Union has allocated EUR 43 million to programmes aiming to reinforce Maritime Security in the Eastern and Southern Africa-Indian Ocean region (MASE) and Critical Maritime Routes in the Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO). Experts from the maritime security programmes in the Eastern and Southern Africa-Indian Ocean region (MASE) and Critical Maritime Routes in the Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO) participated in this meeting, which was co-chaired by the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and the European Union Delegation represented by Jean-Pierre Bardoul.
The 196 parties to COP21 have specified, in the agreement of 12 December, that climate aid from the countries of the North to the countries of the South, supposed to reach 100 billion dollars annually in 2020, must be regarded as a “lower limit” destined to be increased. For the countries of the North this will involve continuing and surpassing their promise made at the Copenhagen conference in 2009 to repay their “climate debt” by means of public and private financing. The financial commitment of the countries of the North has in fact already been a reality for several years. The European Union, in particular, prides itself on being the biggest contributor of climate-related funding to developing countries.
Proparco, the subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AFD) whose mission is to finance the private sector, has granted a loan of 26 billion CFA francs to the Banque Internationale du Cameroun pour l’Epargne et le Crédit (BICEC). It is understood that these funds will be used mainly to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which find it very difficult to access financing. “Through this financing, the BICEC seeks to support companies in their development projects, by creating more jobs, by improving their productivity, by modernising their facilities, thereby contributing added value to the Cameroonian economy,” explained the bank’s management.