EU Delegation to New Zealand - Newsletter 6/4/17
// Newsletter //
No 142 - 06 April 2017
Towards a new partnership between the European Union and Pacific countries
Stefano
Manservisi, the Director-General of DEVCO, visited the
Pacific last week, taking in visits to Fiji, New Caledonia,
Vanuatu, Australia and New Zealand. With the EU's current
partnership agreement with the African, Caribbean and
Pacific group of countries expiring in 2020, they are
working towards a new agreement. At a time of uncertainty
about future levels of assistance to the Islands from some
parts of the international community, Mr Manservisi says the
EU has increased its support for Pacific partners in
priority areas. He also underlined the EU's will to
strengthen its co-operation with Australia and New Zealand
in its development efforts around the region. H.E. Bernard
Savage went along to Suva, Fiji, where was held a Regional
Pacific Seminar, gathering officials from the European Union
and EU Member States, Pacific countries (Fiji, Timor-Leste,
Solomon Islands), Australia, New Zealand and the
USA.
Read the full media articles here and here.
#SyriaConf17 agrees holistic approach, pledges €5.6 billion; condemns chemical weapons attack
Wednesday’s Brussels
Conference on “Supporting the Future of Syria and the
Region” agreed a holistic approach to handling the Syrian
crisis, including massive financial assistance to respond to
the humanitarian situation, backing for political work
towards a resolution of the crisis, and a long-term vision
to support a peaceful and stable future for Syria and the
wider region. It also agreed pledges for this year of 5.6
billion euros. HR/VP Federica Mogherini, who hosted the
conference, said in a joint press point with UN Special
Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura: 'All (were) saddened
... by the news of a horrible attack in Idlib – chemical
weapons as the worst of the war crimes - and whoever is
responsible for that must be held accountable.'
Read more on the conference's
outcome.
Foreign Affairs Council discusses Syria, Yemen, Libya
Foreign ministers
addressed situations in Syria, Yemen and Libya in their
April 3rd meeting. Ahead of the Brussels Conference on
Syria, it adopted the EU strategy for Syria. The EU's
strategic objectives in Syria are laid down in six key
areas. As the conflict in Yemen enters its third year, the
Council expressed its readiness to increase its efforts to
support the United Nations in its search for a political
settlement to the crisis, and to increase humanitarian
assistance to the population across the country to meet the
growing needs. The Council further discussed the situation
in Libya. The High Representative debriefed ministers on the
first Quartet meeting on Libya. In the discussion, ministers
underlined the EU's commitment to supporting Libyans in
finding unity and stability for their country within the
framework of the Libyan Political Agreement.
Read HR/VP Mogherini's remarks following the
Foreign Affairs Council.
The European Union condemns the acts of violence in Saint Petersburg metro
Following the explosion in Saint Petersburg metro, the High Representative/Vice-President, Federica Mogherini has sent condolences on behalf of the European Union to Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov. "Our thoughts go out to the people of Russia, and in particular to those who have lost loved ones in today's explosion in the Saint Petersburg metro. We wish a swift recovery to those who have been injured. The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms all acts of violence."
Humanitarian crisis at the Horn of Africa
In a joint press point HR/VP Federica
Mogherini and German Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasised
the Horn of Africa region's need for lifesaving humanitarian
assistance, in particular in Somalia and Sudan. The crisis
has been triggered by man-made conflicts as well as by
climate conditions in the form of severe droughts. Those two
issues pose a serious threat to the overall stability of the
entire region. Ongoing assistance will be scaled up with
the EU providing additional support of €165 million. To
ensure that the situation does not further escalate, the
Union will work closely together with Germany, other EU
Member States as well as with non-Member States.
You can watch the full statement
here.
The European Parliament calls for clampdown on unsustainable palm oil
Palm oil
is extensively used in food, cosmetics and biofuels; however
the unsustainable production of the cheap vegetable oil
leads to deforestation, loss of nature habitats and
greenhouse gas emissions. To counter the impact of the
unsustainable palm oil production, particularly in
South-East Asia, the European Parliament voted on Tuesday a
resolution stating that the EU should introduce a single
certification scheme for palm oil entering the EU market and
phase out the use of vegetable oils that drive deforestation
by 2020.
Read the full press release
here.
Share your European History
What does it mean to be a European? It’s not just the great leaders: all people are a part of this history and they have a valuable role to play in preserving this common heritage and identity of ours. So dig through your photos, your videos or even sound files, find digital content that you want to share with everyone and upload it to My House of European History, our collaborative platform that aims to become a virtual library of testimonials and stories from people across Europe.
Victoria Abroad – Student Exchange Fair
This year we are celebrating 30
years of ERASMUS +! Living in the Wellington area and want
to find out more about your possibilities for studying
abroad and receiving an ERASMUS+ grant? Visit the European
Union Delegation to New Zealand's booth at the Victoria
Abroad Student Exchange Fair at The Hub and McLaurin Foyer
at Kelburn Campus in Wellington on 11 April 2017 from 11 am
until 3 pm.
More information on ERASMUS+ can be found
here.
More information on Victoria Abroad can be
found here.
EU Delegation calls for New Zealand EUVP entries
Apply now for the
European Union Visitors Programme and travel to Brussels in
2018! The EUVP enables young professionals from New Zealand
to obtain first-hand impressions of the Union's policies,
institutions and achievements. It aims at enhancing mutual
understanding between young leaders from non-EU countries
and their EU counterparts. The application period ends on 19
April 2017!
Find out more on the programme and the
application process here.
More on Facebook &
Twitter!
If you would like more information, you
can like the EU Delegation's Facebook page. You can also follow the
EU Ambassador on Twitter!
Europe
House
Stay up to date on EU events organised in
our antenna in Auckland by liking the Europe House's Facebook page!
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more