Migration and Development: How to make migration work for poverty reduction

This report produced by the UK Parliament illustrates how governments and organisations can make migration work for the poor. It looks at the opportunities for improving the quality of migration, and ways in which policy can shape and respond to migration to make it work better for development and poverty reduction. The report argues that the impact of migration depends upon the nature of the migration, and on the links which migration establishes between home and host societies. It looks at issues including brain drain, trafficking and smuggling, migrants' rights, temporary mobility schemes, and the role of the Diaspora. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmintdev/79/79.pdf

Success of Fair Trade in Europe

A recent survey, carried out in 25 European countries, shows that Fair Trade sales in
Europe have been growing at an average 20% per year since 2000. The annual net retail value of Fair Trade products sold in
Europe now exceeds EUR 660 million. This is more than double the figure five years ago. Fair Trade has thus become one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Fair Trade products can now be found in 55,000 supermarkets all over
Europe and the market share has become significant in some countries. Fair Trade is an efficient tool to overcome poverty and to reach the Millennium Development Goals. It gives producers a fair deal, not only by paying a fair and stable price for their products. Fair Traders also help their partners in the South to get better market access, to protect the environment and to comply with European standards. The research ''Fair Trade in Europe 2005 – Facts and Figures on Fair Trade in 25 European countries'', carried out by Jean Marie Krier, is published by the Fair Trade Advocacy Office in
Brussels.
More information: http://www.ifat.org/downloads/marketing/FairTradeinEurope2005.pdf
See CTA publications on fair trade
http://www.anancy.net/index.php?destination=advanced_plus&sign=yes&tema=selected&file_id=2657&files=yes&language=english&pubyear=2005
DFID support to fair trade
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/news/files/fair-trade-2006/fortnight-summary.asp

European Commission proposes concrete measures to deliver EU aid better and faster

In three communications approved today, the EC proposes concrete measures to improve the effectiveness of EU development aid and external assistance. These proposals follow-up on the EU’s commitments in 2005 to scale-up aid substantially and to improve its impact and its speed of delivery, in order to meet the challenges of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The Commission proposes an action plan including joint programming of assistance with Member States and sees the
Union on track to deliver on its financial commitments.
Related links: http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/256&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Questions and Answers: The “Aid effectiveness Package”
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/06/103&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Development: EUtightens aid, control
http://www.ipsterraviva.net/Europe/article.aspx?id=3054

Economic Report on Africa 2005: Job creation lies at the heart of the poverty battle

The Economic Report on Africa 2005 (ERA 2005 http://www.uneca.org), ECA’s flagship publication, this year is entitled ''Meeting the Challenges of Unemployment and Poverty in
Africa”. It analyses the vicious cycle of inadequate economic performance and high unemployment. Despite showing signs of rapid change, at a record 5.2 percent growth in 2005,
Africa’s economy is dampened by record unemployment and higher rates of poverty than ever before. The implication is that poverty has been unresponsive to economic growth. ''As long as people are kept from participating in the economy as productive agents, people will continue to benefit only sparsely to whatever growth is actually achieved,” said Augustin Fosu, the director of ECA’s Economic and Social Policy Division which prepared the report. And the record growth rate is still not enough. For a significant reduction in poverty, it must climb still further to over 7 percent a year on average. Email: ecainfo@uneca.org

The Poverty Reduction Strategies – A survey of the literature

Forum Syd, a Swedish-based NGO and Eurodad member takes a critical look at PRSPs. The report provides an excellent overview of the PRSP process to date; assessing just how well the process has lived up to its principles of ensuring a country-driven, results-orientated, partnership-focused approach to development. The paper notes that the evaluations published by the international financial institutions typically end up being optimistic noting ''permanent learning and improvement''. But reports from the United Nations, CSOs and universities question whether the PRSPs are in fact the right road to poverty eradication with the weaknesses of the PRSPs appearing to be of a permanent nature, and providing no real break with the dismal experiences of the structural adjustment policies. http://www.eurodad.org/articles/default.aspx?id=643

eContentplus Program

The European Parliament and the Council approved the eContentplus Program, a multiannual Community program to make digital content in
Europe more accessible, usable and exploitable. The 4-year program (2005–08), proposed by the European Commission, will have a budget of € 149 million. The Programme addresses specific market areas where development has been slow: geographic content, educational content, cultural, scientific and scholarly content.  A new call for proposals will be launched under the eContentplus programme in 2006. The provisional date for publication is end of June. The provisional deadline for receipt of proposals will be beginning of October 2006. See http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/econtentplus/index_en.htm

Improving transparency of the EU institutions

Improving transparency of the EU institutions

The European Parliament takes action to ensure transparency and democratic scrutiny of the EU institutions. In two reports adopted Tuesday, MEPs call for the Council to meet in public when it is acting as a legislator, and requests the Commission to revise existing rules and to table new legislation by the end of this year on ''the right of access'' to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. http://www.europarl.eu.int/news/