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EU - Morocco Summit

(06/03/2010 to 07/03/2010) Granada, España

Granada will host the first EU–Morocco summit on 6 and 7 March (in "troika" format: current president, European Council and European Commission), during Spain’s presidency at the head of the 27 EU countries.

Spain is currently the second largest investor in Morocco, where over 500 Spanish companies operate, and is first in terms of cooperation, providing 130 million Euros’ worth of aid during 2008, and running some 60 NGOs in the country.

Immigration is one of the main issues to be discussed by the various governments. The European Union wants illegal immigration from Morocco to continue to decline, even though the agreed number of workers may fall.

Over a year ago the EU introduced a series of measures designed to strengthen the partnership with Morocco, including an advanced statute. These measures concern cooperation in political and security matters; the preparation of an ambitious global free trade agreement; progressive integration of Morocco into a number of sectoral EU policies and a greater level of trade between EU countries and Morocco.

The aim of these measures is to support the process of modernisation and democratic transition undertaken by Morocco several years ago, for which the north African country is calling for greater European support. There are also plans to strengthen commercial relations through a comprehensive free trade agreement, which will cover new sectors.

Iraq - General Elections

(07/03/2010 to 07/03/2010)

A legislative election is planned in Iraq for 7 March 2010. The election will decide the 325 members of the Council of Representatives of Iraq who will then elect the Prime Minister of Iraq and the President of Iraq. Also, a referendum on the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the United States and Iraq is due to be held together with the parliamentary elections.

Chief of state: President Jalal Talabani (since 6 April 2005); Vice Presidents Adil Abd Al-Mahdi and Tariq al-Hashimi (since 22 April 2006). Note: The president and vice presidents comprise the Presidency Council.

Head of government: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (since 20 May 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers: Barham Salih (since 20 May 2006) and Rafi al-Issawi (since 19 July 2008).

Cabinet: 36 ministers appointed by the Presidency Council, plus Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Deputy Prime Ministers Barham Salih and Rafi al-Issawi.

The last parliamentary vote in Iraq, on December 15, 2005, was largely boycotted by Sunni Arabs, resulting in an easy victory for Shiite parties which formed a ruling coalition under the United Iraqi Alliance.

unicameral Council of Representatives (consisting of 275 members elected by a closed-list, proportional representation system)

Election results 2005: Council of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Unified Iraqi Alliance 41%, Kurdistan Alliance 22%, Tawafuq Coalition 15%, Iraqi National List 8%, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue 4%, other 10%; number of seats by party (as of November 2007) - Unified Iraqi Alliance (including the Sadrist bloc with 30 and Fadilah with 15) 130, Kurdistan Alliance 53, Tawafuq Front 44, Iraqi National List 25, Fadilah 15, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue 11, other 12.

Spain - AECID: The European Union's Triangular Cooperation in the context of aid effectiveness

(08/03/2010 to 08/03/2010) AECID, Madrid

Over the past few years South-South Cooperation (SSC) has undergone a notable revival since it began some decades ago. This process has coincided with changes in traditional aid donors, including new approaches in support to middle income countries. One result of both phenomena is that a number of Southern partner countries are increasing their collaboration with donors to support other developing countries through schemes which include triangular cooperation.

A few donors such as Japan have engaged in triangular cooperation for many years, and several European countries have developed some experience recently. However, this modality has yet to become fully consolidated in the European Union.

One of the reasons for this situation is that it remains a conceptually unclear concept. In addition, triangular cooperation has significant –not always positive— implications for efforts to advance in the aid effectiveness agenda.

Objectives and focus of the workshop

In this context, this one-day workshop on 8 March 2010 aims to provide a venue for an initial exchange of information and viewpoints on experiences of Member states and the Commission in triangular cooperation and implications for aid effectiveness efforts.

The workshop is organized by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) in the framework of the Practitioners’ Network for European Development Cooperation, a network which seeks to promote exchange on issues of practical interest between its members and other organizations from across Europe.

http://www.dev-practitioners.eu/

See program

EU - Victims of Terrorism Day

(11/03/2010 to 11/03/2010)

The battle against terrorism requires the mobilisation of all citizens to guarantee freedom and security for all. Each year on 11 March, the European Union dedicates a Memorial Day expressing its solidarity to all victims of Terrorism.

The European Parliament decided to designate this day as a consequence of the terrorist attacks in Spain (2004) and the UK (2005).

156th (Ordinary) Meeting OPEC Conference

(17/03/2010 to 17/03/2010) Vienna, Austria

OPEC's mission is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital to those investing in the petroleum industry.

IDB - Annual Meeting

(19/03/2010 to 23/03/2010) Cancun, Mexico

The Bank provides more financing to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other government-owned regional financial institution.

The IDB, established in 1959 to support the process of economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean, is the main source of multilateral financing in the region. The IDB Group provides solutions to development challenges by partnering with governments, companies and civil society organizations, thus reaching its clients ranging from central governments to city authorities and businesses

The IDB lends money and provides grants. With a triple-A rating, the Bank borrows in international markets at competitive rates. Hence, it can structure loans at competitive conditions for its clients in its 26 borrowing member countries.

In addition, it also offers research, advice and technical assistance to support key areas like education, poverty reduction and agriculture. The Bank is also active on cross-border issues like trade, infrastructure and energy.

OECD - High-Level Event on South-South cooperation and Capacity Development

(24/03/2010 to 26/03/2010) Bogota, Colombia

As a stopover between the Accra High-Level Forum (2008) and the Seoul High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, the High-Level Event on South-South cooperation and Capacity Development will gather 400 policy makers from partner countries, multilateral organisations and donors. They will discuss how developing countries can take a stronger stake in global development policies and especially in the evolving aid effectiveness agenda by exploring the advantages and challenges of South-South cooperation and Capacity Development.

EU - European Council Summit

(25/03/2010 to 26/03/2010) Brussels, Belgium

At the first regular summit of the year, the European Council is planning to present the ‘EU Strategy for 2020’, which will provide a point of reference in the attempt to recover the competitive edge and growth potential of the 27.

Italy - Regional Elections

(28/03/2010 to 29/03/2010)

A big round of regional elections in Italy will take place on 28–29 March in 13 regions out of 20, including nine of the ten largest ones: Lombardy, Campania, Veneto, Lazio, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Apulia, Tuscany and Calabria.

The elections will turn out as a big competition between two rival coalitions built around the two major parties: The People of Freedom (PdL) of Silvio Berlusconi and the Democratic Party (PD) led by Pier Luigi Bersani. The third largest party in Italy, Lega Nord (whose main regional sections, Liga Veneta, Lega Lombarda and Lega Piemont play a big role in Veneto, Lombardy and Piedmont, respectively) will support joint candidates with the PdL in Northern and Central Italy, while the PD will run in coalition with Italy of Values in most regions. The Union of the Centre may form an alliance either with the PdL and the PD, depending on the regions. Minor parties of the left and the right will took part to the coalitions accordingly to their political position.

UN - Donor conference on the reconstruction of Haiti

(31/03/2010 to 31/03/2010) New York, United States

An international conference for donors in favour of the reconstruction of Haiti, devastated by an earthquake in January, will take place on 31 March at UN headquarters.
 
The members of the Security Council have expressed their support for the reconstruction efforts and have reaffirmed the leadership of René Préval's government.
 
According to the UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, there are currently around half a million people in need of permanent refuge. Of the 1.441 million dollars  requested from the international community for immediate assistance and the rebuilding of the country, approximately 600 million have been obtained.

 

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