Brussels, 03/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - In Addis Ababa (headquarters of the African Union) on 3 April, the European Commission and the Commission of the African Union launched the BTSF-Africa programme, which aims to help African countries improve their food safety systems through the exchange of technical know-how and strategic advice on food safety and quality.
The Better Training for Safer Food programme is intended to promote “compliance with international Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) measures as key to bilateral trade, both within Africa and with the rest of the world, and to increasing the protection of citizens,” said European Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou in Addis Ababa.
BTSF-Africa has funding of €10 million for 2009-2010. It will finance seven initiatives to build African capacity. The European Commission and the Commission of the African Union will jointly supervise the implementation of the scheme which is part of the EU action programme on food safety. The EU-Africa strategy launched in Lisbon in December 2007 identified eight partnerships including the
partnerships on trade, regional integration and infrastructure, which includes a chapter on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. (A.N./transl.rt)