Duurzame groei en werkgelegenheid op agenda Raad van Ministers (en)

Pia Olsen Dyhr : "I expect a broad support for our proposal to prepare a study on how we can further the liberalisation of trade in green goods and services."

Photo: European Parliament

Minister for Trade and Investment, Pia Olsen Dyhr, will be chairing the Foreign Affairs Council’s discussion among trade ministers Friday. On the agenda are initiatives to give new impetus to growth and jobs in Europe, liberalise green trade and improve developing countries’ access to the EU’s market.

Ministers will take stock of several key trade negotiations with a huge potential for growth and jobs in Europe. One of the key points is the preparations for free trade negotiations with Japan. A fully fledged free trade agreement between the EU and Japan is estimated to have the potential to boost the EU’s export to Japan with up to 29 billion Euros.

Pia Olsen Dyhr explains:

“It is crucial that we push the EU’s free trade negotiations forward. A free trade agreement with Japan has an enormous potential for growth and jobs. I look forward to the report from trade commissioner de Gucht on the state of play of the preparations for free trade negotiations with Japan. It is my ambition to launch free trade negotiations during Danish EU Presidency, but there are still some outstanding issues we need to solve.”

Ministers will also discuss a proposal by the Danish Presidency to task the Commission to come up with specific suggestions as to how the EU can advance the liberalisation of trade in green goods and services.

Pia Olsen Dyhr states:

“I expect a broad support for our proposal to prepare a study on how we can further the liberalisation of trade in green goods and services. On the background of such a study from the Commission, I am going to raise the issue again at our next meeting 31 May in order to pave the way for concrete steps to be taken.”

Finally, ministers will discuss a proposal for an improved access for the poorest countries and those most in need to the EU’s market.

Pia Olsen Dyhr elaborates:

“We must keep the EU’s focus on trade for development. The high priority of this area is underlined by the fact that this issue is subject to the first Foreign Affairs Council conclusions on trade policy since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. The Danish Presidency will make a strong effort to achieve progress in the negotiations of the new regulation on market access preferences for the poorest countries and those in most need in order for the new rules to take effect at the latest by 2014.”

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