Editing Fair trade (section)

=== European Union ===
[[File:Faitrade display.jpg|thumb|Display of Fairtrade products at the [[Derbyshire County Council]] head office]]
In 1994, the [[European Commission]] prepared the "Memo on alternative trade" in which it declared its support for strengthening fair trade and its intention to establish an EC Working Group on Fair Trade. The same year, the [[European Parliament]] adopted the "Resolution on promoting fairness and solidarity in North South trade",<ref>OJ C 44, 14 February 1994</ref> voicing its support for fair trade. In 1996, the [[Economic and Social Committee]] (EESC) adopted an "Opinion on the European 'Fair Trade' marking movement". A year later, a resolution adopted by the European Parliament called on the [[European Commission]] to support fair trade banana operators, and the European Commission published a survey on "Attitudes of EU consumers to Fair Trade bananas", concluding that Fair Trade bananas would be commercially viable in several EU Member States.<ref name="FINE2006">FINE (2006). ''Business Unusual''. Brussels: Fair Trade Advocacy Office</ref>

In 1998, the European Parliament adopted the "Resolution on Fair Trade",<ref>OJ C 226/73, 20 July 1998</ref> which was followed by a Commission in 1999 that adopted the "Communication from the Commission to the Council on 'Fair Trade'".<ref>COM(1999) 619 final, 29 November 1999</ref> In 2000, public institutions in Europe started purchasing Fairtrade Certified coffee and tea, and the [[Cotonou Agreement]] made specific reference to the promotion of Fair Trade in article 23(g) and in the Compendium. The [[European Parliament and Council Directive 2000/36/EC]] also suggested promoting Fair Trade.<ref name="FINE2006" /> In 2001 and 2002, several other EU papers explicitly mentioned fair trade, most notably the 2001 Green Paper on [[Corporate Social Responsibility]] and the 2002 Communication on Trade and Development.

In 2004, the [[European Union]] adopted "Agricultural Commodity Chains, Dependence and Poverty–A proposal for an EU Action Plan", with a specific reference to the fair trade movement, which has "been setting the trend for a more socio-economically responsible trade."<ref>(COM(2004)0089)</ref> In 2005, in the European Commission communication "Policy Coherence for Development–Accelerating progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals",<ref>(COM(2005) 134 final, 12 April 2005)</ref> fair trade is mentioned as "a tool for poverty reduction and sustainable development".<ref name="FINE2006" />

On July 6, 2006, the European Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution on fair trade, recognizing the benefits achieved by the fair trade movement, suggesting the development of an EU-wide policy on fair trade, defining criteria that need to be fulfilled under fair trade to protect it from abuse, and calling for greater support for fair trade.<ref>EP resolution "Fair Trade and development", 6 July 2006</ref> "This resolution responds to the impressive growth of Fair Trade, showing the increasing interest of European consumers in responsible purchasing," said [[European Green Party|Green]] MEP [[Frithjof Schmidt]] during the plenary debate. [[Peter Mandelson]], EU Commissioner for External Trade, responded that the resolution would be well received by the Commission: "Fair Trade makes the consumers think and therefore it is even more valuable. We need to develop a coherent policy framework and this resolution will help us."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fairtrade-advocacy.org/ftao-publications/press-releases/press-release-2006/157-european-parliament-supports-fair-trade|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806220127/http://fairtrade-advocacy.org/ftao-publications/press-releases/press-release-2006/157-european-parliament-supports-fair-trade|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-08-06|title=European Parliament supports Fair Trade|website=www.fairtrade-advocacy.org|language=en-gb|access-date=2018-05-22}}</ref> In 2010 the EESC confirmed that "the dynamic and market-responsive nature of ... consumer labels is encouraged by their voluntary nature" whilst also recommending that "resource and regulatory support is given to the development of the improved transparency, impact and credibility of such schemes and the capacity of producers to influence them and participate through certification".<ref>European Economic and Social Committee, [https://www.eesc.europa.eu/uk/our-work/opinions-information-reports/opinions/fair-trade Fair Trade] REX/288-EESC-2010-108, adopted on 20 January 2010, accessed 27 October 2023</ref>