Category Archives: ACTION Blog
The Cornhusker State
As its name suggests, agriculture is a critical component of the economy of the US state of Nebraska. According to a study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, it accounts for nearly 34% of business sales, 22% of the gross state product and nearly a quarter of the state’s jobs. In a recent report the university… Read more
Read moreFood reserves in the Caribbean
We have been studying how to set up a food reserve in the Eastern Caribbean. John spent two weeks in May, at the invitation of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), at its headquarters in St. Lucia. The OECS brings together 10 small island states from the British Virgin Islands in the north to… Read more
Read moreACTION has been making progress on two fronts
We have been hard at work trying to get a resolution through EuroLat, the parliamentary assembly that contains both representatives of the European Parliament and of the various regional parliaments in Latin America (such as PARLACEN, PARLANDINO…..). The resolution will be voted on later this year, but we already have a statement of support from… Read more
Read moreThe love that dares not speak its name
January 26th 2017 in Brussels ACTION was delighted to have Dr Ricardo Lagos Andino, Representative in Europe of the Central American Parliament, to address our global lunch on January 26th in the l’Atelier restaurant in Brussels. Part of the pleasure of this meeting was the chance to hear from Ricardo Lagos about the great strides… Read more
Read moreGlobal lunch, Nov 2016
ACTION recently organised one of its ‘global lunches’ in Kitty O’Shea’s, a lively establishment next to the main EU institutions, named after the famous lady whose affair with the Irish nationalist politician Charles Stewart Parnell scandalised Victorian Britain. About a dozen people attended and the discussion was equally lively – perhaps ACTION manages to create… Read more
Read moreACTION in Lisbon, May 2016
ACTION was very pleased to be invited to participate in a discussion on food reserves in the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, in Lisbon. The occasion was the meeting of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat). This brings together parliamentarians from the European Union and Latin America. It provides a regular opportunity to discuss… Read more
Read moreACTION at the College of Europe
ACTION was delighted to be invited by Luca Bellomo, a student with a background in Veterinary Medicine but currently focusing on agricultural economics, to speak to the College of Europe where he is studying. The origin of this prestigious institute of postgraduate studies and training in European affairs dates back to the Hague Congress of… Read more
ACTION in America
Over the last twelve months ACTION has intensified its campaign within the EU institutions in order to win support for the development of regional food reserves. This has been done through attempts to receive funding for a pilot project, and there will be a third attempt to achieve this in 2016. We believe that campaigning… Read more
Read moreDealing with the Hydra
In any dealings with the EU you have to get used to the fact that there are several power centres. Lobbyists know this very well. No sooner are they out of the Commission, having tried to persuade officials to propose some piece of legislation, than they are scurrying off to the Parliament to persuade MEPs… Read more
Life with Mickey Mouse
There’s a pleasant café inside the European Parliament which owing to the pastel-gone-mad shades of its furnishings is known as the Mickey Mouse Bar. ACTION has spent a lot of time there in recent weeks explaining its position on regional food reserves to the great and the good, i.e. MEPs and their assistants. It needed… Read more