Event on linking SMEs to Fair Trade producers in the European Parliament

On 10 May 2017, the Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO) organized a conference in the European Parliament (EP) titled “Promoting sustainable value chains by linking SMEs to Fair Trade producers in the Global South”. The event was hosted by MEP Bernd Lange (S&D, DE), Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on International Trade (INTA) and by MEP Dita Charanzová (ALDE, CZ), Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO).
The first part of the conference was a workshop during which several perspectives on the sustainable value chains were outlined. Jane Katahwire Mbabazi, a coffee producer from Uganda, explained the initiatives undertaken by her Fairtrade-certified cooperative while Silvia Fontana from GALA Cosmetici represented the SMEs sourcing from sustainable suppliers. Different case studies from Brazil and the Netherlands were examined during this workshop.
The panel debate, moderated by San Bilal from ECDPM, gathered MEP Linda McAvan, Chair of the EP Development Committee and of the EP Fair Trade Working Group, Jolana Mungengová, member of Cabinet of Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström, Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit at Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DEVCO) as well as Claudio Cappellini, Head of EU Affairs at CNA, Member of the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME) and Sergi Corbalán (FTAO).
The debate was followed by a Fair Trade cocktail, during which the attendees had the opportunity to discuss with Dario Soto, CEO of Fairtrade International and Natalia Leal, Chief Executive of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO).
The minutes of the conference are available here.