Letter to Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the Commission Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility Johannes Hahn, European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Dear Vice-President, Dear Commissioners, The next EU-Egypt Association Council meeting, scheduled for 20 December, will primarily focus on implementing the 2017-2020 Partnership Priorities adopted on 16 June 2017.

Brussels, 5 October 2017.   Please find below and attached the Programme for the Conference entitled "Trade Union Conference on  Economic Partnership Agreements – Africa/EU" to be held in the city of Lomé,Togo, from 9-10 October 217.       “Trade Union Conference on Economic Partnership Agreements – Africa/EU”   October 9-10, 2017 ITUC Africa Hotel, Lomé, Togo   Sunday, 8 October   Arrival of participants and registration:

Brussels, 06/09/2013 Since the coup d’état in 2006, the people of Fiji have been suffering from a deterioration in their social situation, including the non-respect of basic human rights, in particular, the right to freedom of association, assembly and expression. For this reason, both the ETUC and the ITUC demand to meet Ms Ashton in order to discuss the matter – with a view to pressing for the EU to help reverse the situation - at the earliest possible convenience.

Brussels, 06/05/2013

Brussels, 2013 Trade unions in both regions have been actively involved in those. In order to increase the research and dialogue on green and decent work and enhancing the capacity of the trade union movement on this issue, Sustainlabour in collaboration with COSATU (South African Trade Union Congress) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is currently carrying out the project funded by the European Union.

Brussels, 28/04/2009 ‘The appeal made by the trade unions at the Summit in Lisbon in 2007 has not been taken into account by those negotiating the strategy. Ignoring the message from the union movement would be all the more unacceptable in the current crisis. The promotion and protection of decent work is clearly one of the key responses to this crisis,’ said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder.

Brussels, 20/11/2008

Brussels, 26 September 2008 The EPAs are a new trade arrangement between Europe and the ACP countries which aim at putting their trade relationships in conformity with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. However, there is concern that EPAs could require ACP countries to open their economies unsustainably beyond their world-level commitments.

Brussels, 13/05/2008 Zimbabwe police arrested President Lovemore Motombo and Secretary General Wellington Chibebe on 8 May 2008, after raiding their homes two days earlier. The ETUC understands that they face unsubstantiated charges of allegedly ‘inciting people to rise against the government and reporting falsehoods about people being killed’, following speeches they made on May Day. The ETUC is extremely concerned about their welfare, in view of the brutal treatment meted out to trade unionists in Zimbabwe on several previous occasions.

Brussels, 09/04/2008 ETUC General Secretary John Monks said: “The people of Zimbabwe have spoken, and their voice must be heard. Delays in publishing the results of the election and apparent pressures being brought to bear by the authorities on members of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and other acts of intimidation give rise to fears that the Presidential election is being stolen. We express once more our solidarity with the trade union Movement in Zimbabwe”. The joint ZCTU-COSATU Statement

Bruxelles, 07/12/2007 ETUC Deputy General Secretary Maria-Helena André will address the Africa-EU Summit, and will present the declaration adopted at the Africa-EU Trade Union Summit. The ETUC will be focusing on the following priorities:

Bruxelles, 16/11/2007 En outre, elles demandent d'étendre les préférences commerciales de l'Accord de Cotonou jusqu'au moment où les pays d'Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP) seront en mesure de conclure des APE – si, et uniquement si, ils décident de le faire.

Brussels, 26/10/2007 The ETUC hopes that the EU-Africa Summit in December will pursue this structured strategic partnership. The main concern of trade union organisations is to ensure that trade, development, social and foreign policies go hand in hand and do not contradict each other. “This the reason why we have been particularly attentive to the inclusion of sustainable development chapters in every EU trade agreement. And sustainable development naturally includes social as well as environmental factors”, declared Maria Helena André”.

Brussels, 26/10/2007 Many trade union leaders from both Africa and Europe are concerned by the minimal attention that the Joint Strategy devotes to labour issues and decent work. This lack of interest from EU and AU leaders is hard to understand as the creation of more and better jobs is a common aspiration of peoples from both Europe and Africa.

Lisbon, 26-27/10/2007 To be checked against delivery I would like, first, to thank the Portuguese Presidency for having initiated this conference, and also the Commission and our affiliates in Portugal, UGTP and CGTP-IN, for their help and support. We hope that this meeting sets a precedent and that if, as we hope, the EU-Africa Summit in December decides to pursue an ambitious and well-structured Strategic Partnership, then such trade union meetings will become a regular part of it.

Brussels, 27/09/2007 “The reality of many ACP countries today is that they are being required to negotiate simultaneously a regional custom union, a bilateral deal with the EU and a multilateral negotiations process through the World Trade Organisation (WTO),” said John Monks, ETUC General Secretary. “Very few countries in the world would be able to successfully take up such a challenge in five years, and the poorest countries are certainly not in a position to do so.”

Brussels, 16/05/2007 The ETUC would like to highlight in particular: the importance of regional integration in the six ACP regions concerned, a pre-requisite for fair trade with Europe; - confirmation of the EU's commitment to partnership agreements that support sustainable development and reduce poverty; - support for the integration of social and environmental provisions in the partnership agreements, with a view to reducing poverty, improving living conditions and promoting sustainable development.

Brussels, 17/04/2007 On 4 April, the Commission announced that the "EU offers full market access to Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions as part of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations". Indeed, the negotiations that will lead to the conclusion of EPAs entered into their final phase in 2007. The Cotonou Agreement, the framework for negotiation of the EPAs, calls on the trade union organisations from the ACP and European countries alike to participate actively in their development (principle of active participation).

Brussels, 23/01/2007 Joël Decaillon, Confederal Secretary of the ETUC, representing the European trade union movement in Nairobi, reaffirmed its solidarity with the Guinean unions and people, and added that this terrible example reinforces the need to assert respect for fundamental rights and the principle of democracy across the African continent. The European Union (EU) and the German Presidency of the EU must act as swiftly as possible to put a stop to this escalation and to ensure respect for the law in Guinea and across the continent.

Brussels, 20/12/2006 The measures come up for review early in 2007. “At a time when trade unionists in Zimbabwe have been so savagely attacked and as the Zimbabwean economy descends into disaster, it would send completely the wrong signal if the EU backed down on sanctions now,” said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder and ETUC General Secretary John Monks in their joint letter to Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Louis Michel.

Brussels, 22/09/2006 On 13 September, the Zimbabwean Police arrested and assaulted hundreds of trades unionists, following peaceful protests by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions (ZCTU) over the state of the economy and food shortages.