Commissioner Piebalgs in London

Berlaymontgebouw
date July 15, 2010
city London, Great Britain
location London, UK Show location
attending A. (Andris) Piebalgs i, D.W.D. (David) Cameron i et al.
organisation European Commission (EC) i

Mr. Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Development, will visit London to launch the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) report.

He will then hold meetings with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma and with Mr. Andrew Mitchell, the recently appointed Secretary of State for International Development of the new British government.

Background

Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT)  is the title of an Action Plan developed in 2003 by the Commission and the EU member states in response to public concerns about illegal logging and deforestation and their impacts upon local communities dependent on forests. The Action Plan targets key regions and countries which together include more than 60% of the world's forests.

Though the ultimate goal of the Action Plan is to encourage sustainable management of forests, ensuring legality of forest operations is considered a vital first step. The Plan focuses on governance reforms and capacity building, to ensure timber exported to the EU comes only from legal sources. It includes ideas for action in areas such as public procurement and the private sector.

Mr. Kamalesh Sharma , an Indian diplomat, became Commonwealth Secretary-General on 1 April 2008. He was appointed to the post by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in Kampala, Uganda, in November 2007.

Mr. Andrew Mitchell was appointed as UK Secretary of State for International Development by new Prime Minister David Cameron on 12 May 2010. He was previously Shadow Secretary of State for International Development from 2005 to 2010, and led the Conservative Party’s campaign to tackle global poverty.


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European Commission (EC)

The European Commission is the executive body of the EU and runs its day-to-day business. It is made up of the College of Commissioners, 27 European Commissioners, one for each member state, who are each responsible for one or several policy areas. In addition, the 'Commission' also refers to the entire administrative body that supports the Commissioners, consisting of the Directorates-General and the Services.

The European Commission is the sole EU body capable of proposing new legislation. The Commission also performs an oversight function, monitoring whether European legislation is properly implemented in the member states. In the event of non-compliance, the Commission can coerce a member state to comply by starting a legal procedure at the European Court of Justice.

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