Events

Meeting of the Follow-up Committee ACP-EU

During its mission to Japan, the EU-Japan Follow-up Committee relied on its former work in order to further strengthen its cooperation with its well-established network of organisations.

The symposium was introduced by a presentation of an external speaker and followed by a Q&A-session. In the first session, focus was on the consultation of civil society in the context of policy and legislation development and implementation, including in the context of trade policy, trade agreements and Trade and Sustainable Development chapters. The participants had the possibility to share information on how civil society functions and is consulted in the respective countries. The second session was a networking coffee, and the participants were given the possibility to discuss the involvement of economic and social stakeholders and other actors to contribute to sustainable trade. The aim of the discussions was to share experience and build the ground for future cooperation.

During the meeting, the members of the EU Domestic Advisory Group (EU DAG), composed of representatives of employers' organisations, trade unions and various interest groups, will adopt its rules of procedure and confirm the composition of the EU DAG. Discussions will also take place on the preparation of the participation of the EU DAG in the Joint Dialogue with Civil Society, which will be organised in Tokyo on 31 January in the framework of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

The 16^th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Central America Association Agreement took place on 19 December 2019 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.

During the meeting, the EU DAG will discuss the progress achieved by both Parties to the Agreement concerning the ILO Core Conventions as well as the next steps in their ratification and effective implementation. The EU DAG also will exchange information about the role of civil society in the EU and the Republic of Korea with a representative of the European Commission.

During the meeting, the members of the Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) of the EU composed of representatives of employers' organisations, trade unions and various interest group will discuss the mandate of the EU DAG, working methods, reporting procedures and cooperation with other civil society organisations, as well as will exchange views on its rules of procedure. The chair and vice-chairs will also be elected. Additionally, the members of the EU DAG will exchange views with representatives of the European Commission on matters related to the implementation of the trade and sustainable development title of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

The 8th meeting of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform took place on 3 December 2019 in Brussels. During the meeting, a debate was held assessing the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. And two reports, prepared by both sides, one on the Integration of Ukraine into the European Union's Digital Single Market and the second one on Transport component of the Association Agreement, were discussed.

The fourth meeting of the EU-Chile Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), established by the EU-Chile Association Agreement was held via a video conference on 27 November 2019. At this meeting, the members adopted a Joint Statement.

The JCC is made up of eighteen members, nine from the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and nine from Chilean civil society organisations. It is co-chaired by Josep Puxeu Rocamora, EESC member, and Roberto Zúñiga Belauzarán, Director, National Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (CONAPYME).

The Consultative Committee (CC) is one of the 5 institutions foreseen in the EU-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement. The CC is composed of 40 (25 from the CARIFORUM side and 15 from the EU side) standing representatives of organisations of the civil society representing employers' organisations, trade unions, other economic, social and non-governmental organisations, including development and environmental organisations; and the academic community.