Ethiopia Visit
EUDR
In the week from May 20 - 26, 2024, Prof. Dr. Christian Tietje visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with his doctoral students, Annika Fuchs, Franka Nodewald, Karoline Schneeweiß, Jakob Wetzig and postdoctoral researcher Romy Klimke. The hybrid conference on “New European Rules and Ethiopian Coffee” took place on 22.05.2024.
The conference aimed at addressing the new EU Regulation 2023/1115 combating deforestation in relation to six relevant commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soy, and timber) and products derived from the use of these commodities.
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) prohibits products from being placed on the EU internal market if they are not deforestation-free. Companies are obliged to apply the EUDR from December 30, 2024 (SMEs are granted an additional adjustment period until June 30, 2025). The adoption of the EUDR was celebrated as a milestone for the protection not only of forests, but also of human rights along the supply chains of forestry goods. However, the EUDR has also been criticized by business representatives inside and outside the EU, who point to bureaucratic burdens and high implementation costs.
Since in Ethiopia, coffee is the largest export good with a sales volume of $1.55B and the largest buyer of Ethiopian coffee is Germany with a sales volume of $ 48.9M, a German-Ethiopian exchange was given. The aim of the conference was to provide a neutral basis where different perspectives could be expressed, and own experiences shared. There were 70 participants, 30 of them online. Among the participants were Ethiopian government officials, the Ethiopian Institute of Foreign Affairs, coffee farmers, coffee traders, academics, mediators, GIZ and EU staff. These participants facilitated good discussions and displayed new perspectives for everyone involved.
The conference was jointly organized by Addis Ababa University, in particular Martha B. Hailu and the Jean Monnet Chair of Prof. Dr. Christian Tietje from Martin Luther University. Special thanks also go to Jannis Bertling, Mina Haverkamp, Franka Nodewald and Jakob Wetzig for their technical, promotional, and organizational support before and during the event.