Fair Trade Breakfast with EU Ambassadors

The Chair of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, MEP Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany) hosted a Fair Trade breakfast on 2 September 2015 at the European Parliament in Brussels. Guests were the European Union Ambassadors to 14 countries in the South, including India, Vietnam, Ghana, South-Africa, Ecuador and Peru. The event took place in the context of the annual meeting of the EU Ambassadors with the European Parliament in Brussels. The main objective of this Fair Trade breakfast was to hear from existing best practices in EU Delegations to promote the uptake of Fair Trade, notably in the context of the implementation of the sustainable development chapters of the EU Free Trade and Economic Partnership Agreements. An example of what the EU delegation in Colombia has already done for Fair Trade can be found here.

This meeting also served as an occasion to discuss future opportunities and concrete actions for EU Delegations to partner up with Fair Trade producer platforms in Asia, Africa, Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific. Other than EU Ambassadors, the event also included interventions by the Chair of the European Parliament Development Committee and of the Fair Trade Working Group (MEP Linda McAvan) as well as from the European Commission, International Trade Centre and the Fair Trade Advocacy Office.

In his concluding remarks, Mr Lange thanked all participants for the exciting discussions and restated his commitment to promoting a more pro-active role of EU delegations in supporting Fair Trade.

As a follow-up to this event, the Fair Trade Advocacy Office will follow-up individually with each participating EU Ambassador to create the opportunities for them to meet up with Fair Trade producers platforms and discussion possible ways to cooperate in support of Fair Trade in their respective countries.