EU

The minister highlighted the need for the sector to be exposed to these players especially countries under the European Union.

Maru said PNG fisheries sector is one of the core sectors that performs well in exporting – however it has only been exporting to a few countries including the Philippines.

He reiterated that there is a large scale of production, which can be distributed to other global markets with the appropriate approach towards the sector.

The financing agreement was formalised during the Oceans Conference in Malta this week.

Under the agreement, which is financed through the 11th European Development Fund, the EU will provide $US1.65 million dollars to the Cook Islands' budget to help with the implementation of the National Sustainable Development Plan and the Sanitation Policy over the next four years.

Photo: RNZ/Daniela Maoate-Cox The Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna 

The project, which runs from June 2017 to May 2020, is being led by the FAO, with a total budget of US$508,336.

The FAO is also providing in-kind support to the project alongside the government and the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Program (PHAMA), backed by Australia and New Zealand.

Support will help the National Public Health Laboratory to achieve ISO 17025 certification, which is required for fish exports to access the EU market.

The restrictions will not apply to legitimate Libyan businesses such as fishing crews, an EU statement said.

It is not clear how the EU will check that such exports do not end up in the wrong hands in the lawless country.

Meanwhile Luxembourg has warned that EU funds may be helping to drive refugees and migrants into Libyan "concentration camps".

Many of those exploited by people-smuggling gangs in Libya have suffered brutality, including sexual abuse. The country is plagued by violence and lawlessness.

An EU data protection working party has ruled that employers should require "legal grounds" before snooping.

The recommendations are non-binding, but will influence forthcoming changes to data protection laws.

Recruitment company CareerBuilder suggests that 70% of employers use social networks to screen candidates.

Its study also found that the same percentage are also using online search engines to research potential employees.

Guidelines

The European Commission said Facebook had said it could not automatically match user accounts on its own platform and WhatsApp.

But two years later it launched a service that did just that.

Facebook said the errors it had made were not intentional.

'Clear signal'

Peers backed down over the issues of EU residency rights and a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal after their objections were overturned by MPs.

The bill is expected to receive Royal Assent and become law on Tuesday.

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said this would leave Theresa May free to push the button on withdrawal talks.

Clothes and shoes were imported through the UK at fictitiously low values for years to avoid duties, the European Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf) has found.

As a result, investigators say the EU budget has lost millions of pounds in customs duties.

HMRC said it plans to challenge Olaf's claims about lost revenues.

The Olaf investigation found the UK to be a "significant hub" for so-called undervaluation fraud - where importers can profit from evading customs duties and related taxes.

The ministers said they needed to know details of the US president-elect's plans but said they expected good ties.

The talks took place at a dinner in Brussels on Sunday, on the eve of a formal meeting of foreign ministers.

Ministers from Britain, France and Hungary did not attend on Sunday.

"We are looking forward to a very strong partnership with the next [US] administration," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.

"We have decided together to engage with the incoming administration even from this very first week of transition," she added.

Objections by a Belgian region, which opposes the deal, "are for us Europeans to solve", Martin Schulz said.

He was speaking after meetings in Brussels with Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland and the head of Belgium's Wallonia region.

Ms Freeland said: "It's time for Europe to finish doing its job."

After seven years of negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta), talks broke down on Friday.