ITUC Development Cooperation Network

‘Training and Advocacy Seminar for EU Trade Union Organizations’ Officials on External Assistance Instruments of the EU and on Policy Making structures’

(With the support of the European Union)

Brussels, 25-26 February 2010

European Transport Workers' Federation
Galerie Agora
Rue du Marché aux Herbes, 105
B - 1000 Bruxelles

Programme

SEMINAR LANGUAGE: English/French/Spanish

The Trade Union Development Cooperation Network has included in its work plan 2010 an opportunity to bring together trade union officers from the EU-country unions, as well as ITUC regional organizations, for an update training and advocacy seminar. That should allow to facilitate the understanding of the opportunities offered by EU instruments for trade union cooperation but also in order to assess the interaction between the different levels (national, EU, global and in the south) of development policy setting and our ability as trade unions to influence these processes.

Objectives of the Training Seminar:

-  Making EU Trade Union Organizations acquainted with and Financial Programs for external assistance, such as the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI), the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), …;

-  Strengthening the knowledge of EU Trade Union Organizations on the EU policy making in the external assistance field of the EU, and updating on ITUC policy initiatives;

-  Discussion and scoping exercise for ITUC policy positions in the EU consultations and in the Quadrilogue process in particular.

Programme of the seminar

The seminar has two complementary programme elements. The first day will be entirely dedicated to the upgrading of the knowledge about EU (con-financing) programmes, their content and procedures. The second day will concentrate on the policy discussions related to the EU policies and in particular the recently started Quadrilogue process.

Thursday February 25: EU programmes, instruments and procedures

09.30h
10.00h:
10.30h:
11.30:
11.45h
12.30h
14.00h
15.00h
15.30h:
16.30h: / Welcome speech, Jaap Wienen , ITUC Deputy Secretary General
Introduction on the themes and seminar objectives, Paola Simonetti TUDCN
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION INSTRUMENT
Ø  Introduction on DCI and
Ø  ‘Non State Actors’ thematic program
o  Carine Villemagne-Cros, DG Development
Q&A
Coffee Break
Ø  ‘Investing in People’ thematic program
Ø  Ondrej Simek, DG Development
Q&A
Lunch
HUMAN RIGHTS POLICIES of the European Union
Ø  Davide Zaru, DG External Relations
Q&A
Coffee Break
European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights - EIDHR
Ø  Sandrine Loeckx, EuropeAid
Q&A
End of the 1st day.

Friday February 26: scoping ITUC advocacy work on EU policies and instruments

9.30h
10.00h
10.30h
11.00h
12.00h / Political dialogue with EU Institutions on Development cooperation
-  Introduction on EU and civil society dialogues
o  History of EU consultations & General picture (Andreas Vogt, CONCORD)
o  Stakeholder Advisory Group and other consultations (Pieter Bangma DEV- EU Commission tbc)
o  Quadrilogue (Angelo Baglio AIDCO tbc)
-  ITUC and the engagement with the EU
o  Stakeholders Advisory Group (Jan Dereymaeker, TUDCN)
o  Quadrilogue (Jan Dereymaeker, TUDCN)
o  EU ACP (Isabelle Hoferlin, ITUC)
o  Human Rights (Paola Simonetti, TUDCN)
-  Pause
Challenges for Development Cooperation
-  Internationalization of national civil society policies
o  Governmental (donor) group for civil society (Katrien Degrauwe B, - name to be confirmed)
-  The Aid Effectiveness debate
o  About the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action/AAA
-  Decentralization and the engagement with civil society in the South
-  Lunch
13.15h
14.45h
15.00h
15.30h
16.00h / Updating on the ITUC strategy (working groups and plenary discussions)
-  SWOT of our engagement (Jan Dereymaeker, TUDCN)
-  Content of our approach (Jan Dereymaeker, TUDCN)
o  Decent work and democratic ownership
o  Right of Initiative and actor based approach
-  Discussion on different levels of our policy engagement
§  National, European and International (in the South)
-  Enabling conditions for trade union engagement: capacity development and advocacy training
Pause
The TUDCN objectives and work plan 2010
Seminar Conclusions and Evaluation
End of the seminar