Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States

EQS-News: African Union Commission (AUC):  Africa Urges Customized Climate Services for Building Climate Resilient Continent

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, September 16, 2023
Organization, Tourism, Vulnerable, Agriculture, Fishery, World Meteorological Organization, Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, Climate change, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, GFCS, Sustainable Development Goals, Accreditations and responsibilities of EU delegations, Hellenic National Meteorological Service, Global Framework Agreement, MTG, COP27, WMO, AUC, African Union, Paris, Climate, Weather, Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service, African Union Commission, Transport, Health, OACPS, Information services, Sustainable Development Goal 13, Environment, Water resources, ACP, Meteosat, Renewable energy, African, West Coast of the United States

Delegates will develop solutions to challenges facing climate service providers and users in Africa as they address climate change.

Key Points: 
  • Delegates will develop solutions to challenges facing climate service providers and users in Africa as they address climate change.
  • Organized within the framework of the ClimSA Programme, this multi-stakeholder platform aims to strengthen effective collaboration between producers and users of climate services through stakeholder engagement.
  • At the African Union Commission, the Programme supports the implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) in Africa.
  • On the African continent, climate service providers, such as Regional Climate Centres (RCCs) and National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), deliver climate information services to this diverse user base.

European Banana Market: Afruibana Look to the Future

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 26, 2021
Other Energy, Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, Energy, Food, Beverage, Other Natural Resources, Retail, Countries, Foreign relations, Government, Trade blocs, Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, Tropical agriculture, Carlos Zorrinho, Banana, Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Cotonou Agreement

b'At a webinar with African and European decision-makers, Afruibana, the association of African banana producers, presented the African Banana White Paper entitled: "Bananas at the heart of African rural development \xe2\x80\x93 a common challenge for Africa and Europe".\nThe launch is supported by MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, Vice-Chair of the Committee on International Trade, MEP Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Development, and by Carlos Zorrinho, Co-Chair of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.\nThe White Paper charts five fields of investment as priorities: human capital and territorial development, R&D and modernisation of cultivation practices, change of agricultural model for better productivity, ecological and energy transition, local processing and development of regional markets.\nAll these solutions aim at improving the sector\'s carbon footprint and are part of the "farm to fork" approach to sustainable food production, where the use of synthetic products is systematically limited as much as possible.\nWhile in 2013 Dollar bananas already accounted for 69.1% of the European market, the sharp build up in their production capacities, combined with deregulation and an increase of supermarkets bargaining power have jointly led to a massive growth in their relative market shares, now standing at 75.5%.

Key Points: 
  • b'At a webinar with African and European decision-makers, Afruibana, the association of African banana producers, presented the African Banana White Paper entitled: "Bananas at the heart of African rural development \xe2\x80\x93 a common challenge for Africa and Europe".\nThe launch is supported by MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, Vice-Chair of the Committee on International Trade, MEP Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Development, and by Carlos Zorrinho, Co-Chair of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.\nThe White Paper charts five fields of investment as priorities: human capital and territorial development, R&D and modernisation of cultivation practices, change of agricultural model for better productivity, ecological and energy transition, local processing and development of regional markets.\nAll these solutions aim at improving the sector\'s carbon footprint and are part of the "farm to fork" approach to sustainable food production, where the use of synthetic products is systematically limited as much as possible.\nWhile in 2013 Dollar bananas already accounted for 69.1% of the European market, the sharp build up in their production capacities, combined with deregulation and an increase of supermarkets bargaining power have jointly led to a massive growth in their relative market shares, now standing at 75.5%.
  • Over the same period (2013-2020), despite considerable efforts to improve competitiveness, African producers saw their market share fall from 10.1% to 8.9%, that of Caribbean producers in the ACP area from 9.5% to 6.8% while that of European producers slid from 11.3% to 8.9%.\nWhile exported volumes of bananas to the European Union increased, this glut has led to a significant drop in price.
  • Whereas, in 2015, the average import price was 14.3 euros/carton of bananas, in 2020, it dropped to 11.7 euros, thereby seriously jeopardising all origins, even Latin Americans.\n\xe2\x80\x9cThe integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the post-Cotonou agreement is a good thing, but it must be accompanied by some political coherence on the European side\xe2\x80\x9d explains Joseph Owona Kono, president of Afruibana.
  • \xe2\x80\x9cBetween the stated objectives of the EU\'s development policy and the practices of its trade policy, there must be consistency and harmonisation, in order to preserve the sectors that create wealth and jobs on the African continent\xe2\x80\x9d.\nView source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210426005422/en/\n'

Press release - Consequences of COVID-19 on African Caribbean Pacific and EU countries

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, March 13, 2021
World Health Organization, Biotechnology, Vaccination, COVAX, Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, Articles, Life sciences, Deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, Biology

We therefore expect EU member states and ACP countries to cooperate constructively with each other to combat the pandemic within the framework of multilateral institutions.

Key Points: 
  • We therefore expect EU member states and ACP countries to cooperate constructively with each other to combat the pandemic within the framework of multilateral institutions.
  • We must support ACP countries more with vaccination programmes through the COVAX scheme and by establishing an ACP-EU vaccination agreement.
  • To achieve this, the EU and the African Union would have to raise around 4 billion.
  • It is therefore essential that vaccine-producing countries have the political will to encourage governments to collectively ensure that supply chains remain open.

Press release - EU agreement with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries at risk

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Countries, Foreign relations, Government, Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, Trade blocs, Cotonou, Cotonou Agreement, ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, ACP–EU development cooperation

The two Chairs warned that Parliament would not give its consent to the new Post-Cotonou agreement if greater parliamentary scrutiny and democratic control were not included.

Key Points: 
  • The two Chairs warned that Parliament would not give its consent to the new Post-Cotonou agreement if greater parliamentary scrutiny and democratic control were not included.
  • The consent of Parliament is required under EU law for the international agreement to come into effect.
  • Twenty years after its initial conclusion, the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between the EU and 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries should have expired in February 2020, but has been extended until December 2021 as negotiations on a successor Agreement have taken longer than planned.
  • The ACP-EU framework is the most comprehensive partnership between the EU and third countries and a key foundation of EU development cooperation and external relations.

Press release - Joint Statement of the Co-Presidents of the ACP- EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Countries, Government, Foreign relations, Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Trade blocs, Carlos Zorrinho, Cotonou Agreement, Faumuina Tiatia Liuga

The Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), Mr Carlos Zorrinho, MEP and Mr Faumuina Liuga, MP of Samoa, welcome the progress made so far by the chief negotiators on post-Cotonou negotiations.

Key Points: 
  • The Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), Mr Carlos Zorrinho, MEP and Mr Faumuina Liuga, MP of Samoa, welcome the progress made so far by the chief negotiators on post-Cotonou negotiations.
  • The Co-Presidents of the JPA recall the critical role played by the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in advancing the democratic ideals of the Partnership, improving accountability, consolidating parliamentary diplomacy and facilitating joint action and to build effective coalitions in international fora.
  • In this regard, the Co-Presidents welcome the support given by the German Presidency of the Council of the EU for maintaining the Joint Parliamentary Assembly in the post- Cotonou Agreement.
  • They reiterate the need to ensure that this JPA should be organisationally autonomous, be supported by a strong co-secretariat and meet at regular intervals.