FAO Director-General meets EU high-level representatives in Brussels

14-15 April 2015. Brussels. Food and nutrition security, climate change and soils are among the main topics outlined for the forthcoming months in the common agenda of work between FAO and the European Union (EU). This follows a series of meetings involving FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and EU high-level representatives that were held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels.

Graziano da Silva met EU Commissioner of Agriculture, Phil Hogan, EU Director-General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO), Fernando Frutuoso de Melo, and the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz.

Both parties highlighted the alignment between the EU initiatives and FAO's strategic objectives, and expressed satisfaction on the strategic partnership and high-level political dialogue taking place on common key challenges. FAO and the EU have also stressed the joint role they will be playing within some of the main conferences and events to take place in 2015.

• These include the Conference on the Financing for Development, in Addis Ababa; the United Nations General Assembly, New York - when the Sustainable Development Goals are expected to be endorsed; the Conference of the States Parties of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, the COP 21, in Paris.
• Cooperation between FAO and the EU in the framework of the Expo Milano 2015 and in the 2015 European Year for Development was also underscored, during the talks.