Fair Trade has proved to be one of the most effective ways of promoting sustainable development. It is development-based, building on trading relationships and improved commercial opportunities to:

• bridge the gap between developed and developing countries.
• enable disadvantaged producers in developing countries to take up and benefit from the opportunities offered through global trading.
• facilitate a better integration of developing countries into the world economy.

At the same time, it gives the consumer the opportunity to contribute towards sustainable economic, environmental and social development in developing countries through purchasing preferences and thus to contribute to poverty reduction.

EURO COOP, NEWS! and EFTA are therefore calling on the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and individual Member States to immediately take action to provide more comprehensive support to Fair Trade by:

1. Establishing a platform with all stakeholders that respect and work on Fair Trade, such as Fair Trade organisations and Consumer Co-operatives, for regular dialogue with the EU institutions.



2. Improving co-ordination between the European Commission services dealing with Fair Trade to achieve greater coherence among EU policies.



3. Implementing development education and awareness-raising programmes among consumers.



4. Setting up guidelines for public authorities on how to include Fair Trade criteria in public procurement contracts.



5. Funding projects that aim at linking disadvantaged producers to international trade under Fair Trade conditions.



6. Conducting global research on how to provide further market access to Fair Trade producers, for instance via WTO-compatible mechanisms to support Fair Trade initiatives in a non-discriminatory way.



7. Improving market access and access to information for disadvantaged producers from developing countries.



8. Providing practical producer assistance, including capacity-building and training.



9. Protecting the Fair Trade system from abuse, by publicly recognising Fair Trade and Fair Trade organisations.



10. Setting-up a guarantee system encouraging European organisations and companies importing under Fair Trade conditions to provide pre-financing and investment credits to their partners in the developing countries.



11. Evaluating the need to establish a European body for import-promotion from developing countries.