Meetings and Events
- COLEACP/PIP informs and welcomes new MEPs in collaboration with other organisations in the agri-foodstuffs sector
COLEACP is an active member of the Food Supply Chain Round Table, where it regularly meets its European counterparts representing commerce and the agri-foodstuffs industry. It is an opportunity to debate and define positions on the subject of regulation and more generally on questions relating to food safety. It is also a chance for PIP to defend the interests of ACP producers.
Private standards under scrutiny by the European Commission
At the invitation of DG SANCO, on the 17th of June PIP participated in a round table discussion in Brussels on public-private partnerships in the field of food safety. Mr Michael Scannell noted that the Commission is conscious of the fact that operators are being weighed down by the high number of overlapping private standards, a burden that is particularly heavy to bear for the countries of the South.
Commissioner Vassiliou comments on her visit to Kenya
On 7th April 2009, PIP representatives had the honour of receiving EU Commissioner for Health, Food and Feed Safety and Animal Health and Welfare, Mrs Androulla Vassiliou, during her tour of East Africa. Together with the EU Delegation in Nairobi and the Kenyan Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), PIP arranged for her to visit two horticultural export companies in Nairobi airport district. See www.coleacp.org/pip In Brief, posted 04/15/09.
The PIP supports the “Africonforme” initiative
The second general assembly of AFRICONFORME (The African Network for the Standardisation of African Systems and Products) was held in February in Dakar, at the same time as the training sessions on new topics organised by the PIP. Set up during PIP training activities, Africonforme is based in Dakar. It brings together experts from French-speaking Africa who work in the field of food safety, social responsibility, and environmental protection of agri-food exports.
WTO SPS Committee Examination of Private Sector Standards continues
On 25 and 26 February the WTO SPS Committee resumed their examination of private sector standards in international trade. The issue remains controversial, and several developing countries continue to argue that private standards constitute a barrier to accessing EU markets.
