For this year as well as for 2016 and 2017, WFTO has decided to launch a new campaign inviting everyone who wants to make a difference and support positive changes to nominate its AGENT FOR CHANGE and participate in the celebration for the WFTDay. Please read here the press release of WFTO.
Taking this into account, WFTO-Europe agreed to launch a strong political message and to call for an action against Unfair Trading Practices, by promoting the following theme/motto during the WFTDay together with the FTAO and other organisations.
“End the imbalances of the power: fight for fair trading practices in the food supply chain”
As WFTO theme “Be an agent for change”, this is a three-year campaign whose main demands are illustrated in the table below. For any further information on the campaign, please click here or watch out the explanatory video. An English version will be also available soon .
Main demands
We want an enforcement system against Unfair Trading Practices in our country that:
1. Equal access to enforcement for everybody (level playing field!)
is accessible for all businesses participating in EU food supply chains regardless of whether they are located in the EU or not.
2. End the climate of fear!
operates in a manner which protects the anonymity and confidentiality especially of suppliers who are concerned that they may lose business if they do.
3. A system with teeth
is able to deter poor practice, either at EU or Member State level via a selection of different enforcement tools (e.g. informal dialogue, financial penalty).
4. Pro-active
is able to independently initiate an investigation if there is sufficient suspicion of a breach of the code, to avoid complainants being sought and targeted.
5. Think European!
shares information and coordinates enforcement with other European and international enforcement authorities.
6. Fair trade principles as normal trading practices
recommends Fair Trade principles as best practices for trading partnerships.
The BOXING GLOVE is our AGENT for change! It symbolises our fight against Unfair Trading Practices and our power to break the egg-timer that symbolises the imbalances of power in the food supply chain.
On 9th of May, in occasion of the WFTDay and Europe Day, WFTO-Europe had the opportunity to have a stand at the Open doors at the European Economic and Social Committee, organised to celebrate the Europe Day as well. This was a great moment to officially launch the ‘Power in Supply Chains’ campaign and ask people to support our cause, by taking pictures with the boxing glove breaking the egg-timer.
Over the day, several people showed interest in the campaign and wanted to know more about our fight and how concretely they could contribute in enabling fair trading practices in the food supply chain.
As a follow-up of this event, on the 16th of June a petition has been launched to EU Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska calling on her to support EU-wide stronger, binding rules that stop unfair trading practices and enable small farmers, workers and EU consumers to get a fair deal. Read more about the petition here.
For any further information about the campaign, please read here or the FTAO page on the Power in Supply Chain. An explanatory video is also now available.
Many other events were organized in Europe and all around the world to celebrate the WFTDay. Here you can find a list of some of them. Thanks again to all of you for making this day more and more special every year!