Policy | Brussels, 15 March 2019

European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström is today in Ghent, Belgium. She will be welcomed by Mayor Mathias De Clercq and will then discuss with the mayor and city aldermen about Ghent’s fair and ethical trade activities and the role that the ‘Fair and Ethical Trade City Award’ has played in their policymaking. Ghent won the award at a ceremony in Brussels in June 2018.

Launched in December of last year, the award was created to recognise and support local initiatives currently taking place in European cities to encourage fair and ethical trading practices.

After the discussions with the city council, the Commissioner will be led on a Fair and Ethical Trade walk through the centre of Ghent, visiting:

Commissioner Malmström will then visit Volvo Cars Ghent to gain an insight into the industrial potential of the city and the way in which they deal with challenges associated with climate change.

Background

The EU prize for a fair and ethically responsible trading city is an initiative of the European Commission. It is one of the commitments made by the EU Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, in the context of the "Trade for All" strategy published in 2015.

The project is being implemented by the International Trade Center (ITC), a joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in collaboration with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade).

More information

Ghent wins first EU Fair and Ethical Trade City Award Website for the EU prize for Fair and Ethical Trade City