EU Working Group on Land Issues

During the EU HARDs meeting of 21 January 2009, following a proposal from the Commission, it was agreed to re-activate the EU Working Group on Land Issues. The previous EU taskforce on land issues which started in 2002 developed inputs for the EU land policy guidelines. This taskforce stopped after the EU guidelines were approved in December 2004. The reinstated EU Working Group should coordinate current efforts of the Commission (EC) and Member States (MS), share relevant experiences, observe, monitor and analyse local, regional, continental and global initiatives on land issues.

The main objectives of the Working Group are (i) to share information, exchange experiences and (ii) develop common EU positions and recommendations on land policy and reform initiatives in developing countries.

The core Working Group is composed of representatives from the EC and MS. However, meetings are open to non EU European countries (e.g. Switzerland, Norway) development agencies, international organizations and financial institutions that are active in land-related interventions in developing countries.

The Working Group meets at least twice a year under the chairmanship of the EC; meetings can be hosted by European development partners.