Trade ministers discuss TTIP and CETA

The informal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) i in the field of trade policy was held on Friday 23 September 2016 in the premises of Reduta in Bratislava, hosted by the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU i.

The start of the meeting focused on liberalisation of trade with major trading partners, in particular the debate on the formal conclusion, signature and provisional application of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA). CETA was also discussed at the gala dinner at Bratislava Castle on the eve of the informal FAC meeting. The gala dinner was attended by Ms Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian Minister of International Trade. Member States appreciated the preparation undertaken by the Slovak Presidency and agreed that the issue of provisional application needs to be completed as soon as possible, since this issue concerns the EU's trade policy and the EU's credibility as a negotiating partner.

"The agreement contains areas which are perceived as very sensitive by the public. Indeed, we had a demonstration here today with international participation. We therefore agreed that the European Commission will prepare a joint declaration together with Canada in which these debatable topics will be explained,” said Peter Žiga, Minister for the Economy of the Slovak Republic.

Such issue include, for example, public services, investment protection, international courts or labour and environmental standards. Today, the Member States endorsed the proposal that the agreement could be approved by trade ministers most probably at the extraordinary European Council in Luxembourg on 18 October.

"Slovakia as the country holding the Presidency will examine this possibility in a thorough and responsible manner,” said Mr Peter Žiga. In the case of a positive outcome, the agreement should be signed at the EU-Canada Summit on 27 October.

The ministers also addressed the current state of play of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations between the EU and the US.

“The debate showed that a conclusion of the TTIP negotiations by the end of the year is unrealistic. Another important element will be the upcoming presidential elections in the USA. Any agreement, including TTIP, has to be balanced and beneficial for the EU. The quality of the agreement is more important than the speedy adoption thereof,” the Slovak Minister for the Economy explained.

The discussion on trade policy, including the TTIP, will be on the agenda of the European Summit to be held on 20 and 21 October. The FAC will return to this issue at its November meeting.

The ministers also examined the important issue of whether and how the EU's current legislative framework of trade defence instruments against unfair trade could be modernised. The informal meeting was concluded by discussions on certain provisions of China’s WTO Accession Protocol with regard to granting market economy status to China.