Romania took over the presidency of the Trade Policy Committee - Full Members

The first meeting of the Trade Policy Committee - Full Members, under the mandate of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, was held on Friday, February 1, in Brussels.

Trade Policy Committee - Full Members is the main working group at Council level in the field of common trade policy, and the meetings are held once a month. Trade policy is one of the main foreign policy instruments, under the exclusive competence of the EU.

The main objectives pursued by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU within the Trade Policy Committee - Full Members are:

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  to maintain and promote the EU’s role in the modernization process of the multilateral rule-based trade system under the World Trade Organization,
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  to promote the implementation of the EU-US Joint Declaration of July 2018,
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  to further bilateral trade negotiations with a view to conclude and implement comprehensive and balanced trade agreements with strategic trading partners
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  to contribute to the strengthening of bilateral trade between the EU and Eastern Partnership members.

The meeting was chaired by Ms. Diana Codău, director of Trade Policies and European Affairs Department, within MMACA.

The meeting agenda included the topics to be discussed during the informal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council - Trade which will be organised in Bucharest on February 21-22. The informal meeting will bring together trade ministers from the EU member states, the EU Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström, European Parliament’s INTA President, Bernd Lange, and WTO’s Director General, Roberto Azevêdo.

During its mandate, the Romanian Presidency schedules five TPC - Full Members meetings and one informal meeting which will take place in Bucharest on March 4-5.