Informal Meeting of EU Trade Ministers: Media Advisory

An informal meeting of EU Ministers responsible for trade, chaired by the Bulgarian Minister of Economy Mr Emil Karanikolov, will be held on 27 February 2018 in Sofia. The European Commission will be represented by the Commissioner for Trade Ms Cecilia Malmström.

Agenda

27 February 2018 | Tuesday

8:30 - Arrivals and handshake

9:15 - Opening remarks

Welcome address by Emil Karanikolov, Minister of Economy

9:30 - First plenary session

Follow-up to the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference

The first plenary session will focus on the prospects for the multilateral trading system. The Bulgarian Presidency will initiate a discussion on a possible follow-up to the 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held in December 2017.

10:45 - Coffee break

11:15 - Second plenary session

Free Trade Agreements: state of play

Trade and sustainable development (tbc)

The second plenary session will be devoted to the state of play of current EU free trade negotiations, in particular those with Mexico and Mercosur.

13:30 - Family photo

13:45 - Working lunch

Informal discussion on the Multilateral Investment Court and screening of foreign direct investment

The topics for discussion during the working lunch will be related to the establishment of a Multilateral Investment Court and the proposed regulation on the screening of foreign direct investment in the EU.

15:15 - Press conference

Emil Karanikolov, Minister of Economy

Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner for Trade

Accreditation information

Accredited journalists can pick up their badges on the day prior to the event at the Registration Desk at Entrance B-2 of the National Palace of Culture between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Members of the press arriving in Sofia on the day of the event will be able to get their badges at the same entrance upon their arrival at the National Palace of Culture. Only accredited members of the press will have access to the National Palace of Culture.

Photos and videos

All media opportunities during the event (doorstep statements, handshake, roundtable, press conference) will be streamed live on the Website of the Bulgarian Presidency. Throughout the day, photos and videos will be uploaded in the Photo and Video sections of the Website. All official photos from the event are also available for download in high resolution on the Flickr account of the Bulgarian Presidency. Videos can be downloaded from Vimeo.

Press contacts

In Sofia: Veselin Jelev, [email protected], +359 883 990 247

In Brussels: Genoveva Chervenakova, [email protected], +32 473 575 083