Civil society dialogue on GSP+, Brussels - Main contents
| date | July 12, 2017 |
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| city | Brussels, Belgium |
| location | Brussels, Belgium  |
| organisation | European Commission (EC) i, European External Action Service (EEAS) i |
In view of the next report on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) would like to have an exchange of views with civil society on the application of the scheme, in particular of the GSP Plus (GSP+) arrangement.
Discussions will include the implementation of the conventions of the GSP+ scheme by GSP+ beneficiaries Armenia, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines and Sri Lanka*.
Your views will provide valuable input for the second biennial GSP report**, which is due by the end of this year. In the monitoring and assessment of GSP+ countries, civil society plays a crucial role in providing information. Civil society is also a force for change in the countries themselves through advocating and supporting a continuous and sustained improvement in the implementation of the relevant conventions.
Background
EU's trade policy contributes to the EU’s objective of eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable development and good governance in developing countries. The GSP+ scheme is an important instrument for achieving this as it grants full removal of tariffs on over 66% of EU tariff lines in return for the ratification of 27 core international conventions - including the United Nations (UN) conventions on human rights and the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on labour rights - and cooperation in monitoring of their implementation.
Practical information
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-When: Wednesday 12 July 2017, 9.30 - 18.00 (CET)
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-Where: Albert Borschette Congress Center (CCAB), Room 2A, Rue Froissart 36, 1040 Brussels
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-Register: Is closed.
Documents published after the meeting
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*During (at least part of) the reporting period 2016 - 2017, these countries had GSP+ status
** The first biennial GSP report was published in 2016 together with a joint Commission-EEAS report on GSP+.
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.
The External Action Service (EEAS) of the European Union is officially an autonomous body within the EU. It is in part the successor to the directorate general for external affairs of the European Commission, elements of Council's secretariat and supplemented by personnel from the member states. Its main task it to support the EU in making and implementing foreign and development policies. At the request of member states the EEAS acts as a diplomatic service.
The EEAS also co-ordinates EU activities such as the missions to Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. The European intelligence services is part of the EEAS as well.