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Summary
[pdf, 48 KB, en]
Policy
Brief [pdf, 138 KB, en]
Policy
Brief Hungarian Version [pdf, 77 KB, hu]
Raising
civil society’s awareness of and expertise in trade issues
is fundamental to making trade and sustainable development mutually
supportive. A sufficient knowledge base within civil society is
an essential component not only for effective and efficient public
participation, but also for successful policy implementation. Given
the broad, complex agenda of the WTO negotiations and their expected
impacts on a wide range of other policy areas, it is crucial for
civil society to deepen its knowledge in specific areas.
About
35 participants from civil society groups in Central and Eastern
Europe, including environmental and development NGOs, consumer groups
and trade unions, are expected to attend the event, which was financially
supported by the European
Commission DG Trade. Topics to be covered include the general
relationship between multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)
and the WTO, as well as trade measures in specific MEAs, such as
the Biosafety Protocol in the Convention on Biodiversity, the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Kyoto
Protocol.
The
seminar will also address a number of other policy areas affected
by the negotiations on trade related measures pursuant to MEAs and
WTO rules, such as consumer protection, labelling issues and technology
transfer. In addition, the seminar advises on how to effectively
participate in European trade policy making, addressing issues such
as types of the negotiation, institutions involved, possibilities
for participation and transparency.
The
aim of the seminar is to provide civil society groups in Central
and Eastern Europe with a better understanding of the purpose, costs
and benefits of trade measures on the one hand, while indicating
the implications with respect to MEAs on the other. Moreover, it
illustrates to civil society the importance of taking into account
other interests within the relationship between MEAs and WTO, such
as technology transfer, labelling, the precautionary principle and
sustainable development.
Yet
another objective is to raise awareness of how to participate in
and influence trade negotiations at the European level and to contribute
to closer co-operation and networking among civil society groups
in the new Member States.
The
seminar is recognised as a Bellagio
Forum for Sustainable Development (BFSD) project.
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