FROM ghanabusinessnews.com: Ghana and the European Union (EU) have held the first monitoring and review meeting to look at the impact of the timber pact, the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) the two signed on timber trade.

The Daily Graphic reports that the agenda for the meeting included Rules of the procedure; Ghana and EU synopsis of progress since initialing; Plan of action for 2010; Aide memoir and to fix a date for the next review meeting.

Ghana signed a voluntary partnership agreement with the European Union on November 20, 2009 in Brussels, making Ghana the first country to sign a voluntary agreement with the EU. Nana Bema Kumi, Ghana’s Head of Mission to the EU signed on behalf of the country while Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas and Swedish Agriculture Minister Eskil Erlandsson signed on behalf of the EU Presidency.