European Economic and Social Committee

PRESS RELEASE No 16/2008 / 25 February 2008

European Economic and Social Committee

ACP-EU: A better partnership for better development

From 4 to 6 March 2008, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will be organising the 25th meeting of ACP-EU Economic and Social Interest Groups, entitled "A better partnership for better development". This meeting, prepared under the aegis of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, will provide civil society representatives with an opportunity to discuss the ACP-EU partnership in the presence of Mr Dimitriadis, EESC President, Mr Michel, European Commissioner responsible for development and humanitarian aid, Mrs Kinnock, co-president of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, and Mr Falkenberg, Deputy Director-General of DG Trade. H.E. Mr Ali Farah Assoweh, President of the ACP Council of Ministers, will also attend, as will a representative of the African Union's ECOSOCC.

The aims of this meeting are to evaluate implementation of the Cotonou Agreement, to follow up the negotiations on the economic partnership agreements (EPAs), and to look at ways of boosting the participation of ACP countries' economic and social interest groups in the EPAs. Other subjects will also be discussed, including the EU-Africa strategy, the consultative function and social dialogue at national and regional level, and the issue of Human resources for development using two reports drawn up by the ACP-EU follow-up committee as a starting point.

This meeting will bring together delegates from the 78 ACP countries, representatives of ACP and European organised civil society, representatives of the European institutions, and others from international organisations.

Background information:

The Cotonou Agreement mandated the EESC to organise consultative meetings and informal meetings between EU and ACP economic and social interest groups (protocol no. 1). The EESC organises general meetings in Brussels, which take place every three years. Aside from these general meetings, regional seminars are organised with ACP regions on average once a year.

For more information, please refer to the programme:

For more details, please contact:
Karel Govaert at the EESC Press Office,
99 rue Belliard, B-1040 Brussels
Tel.: +32 2 546 9396/9586; mobile: +32 475 75 32 02
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The European Economic and Social Committee represents the various economic and social components of organised civil society. It is an institutional consultative body established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Its consultative role enables its members, and hence the organisations they represent, to participate in the Community decision-making process. The Committee has 344 members, who are appointed by the Council of Ministers.