Brussels, 18/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Brussels and Washington have pledged to involve professional organisations, the trade unions and NGOs in the negotiating process as much as possible.
Over 150 participants representing NGOs, professional associations, trade unions and other bodies took part in a first dialogue on 16 July organised in Brussels by the European Commission's DG Trade. The objective of the meeting was to brief stakeholders on the first round of negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the United States. That first round was held in Washington last week (8-12 July) (see EUROPE 10887).
A wide range of questions pertaining to the first dialogue session were put by the stakeholders on: transparency, animal welfare, environmental aspects, geographical indicators, services, sensitive agricultural sectors, investment protection, cross-border payments, small and medium-sized enterprises, pharmaceuticals and harmonisation of standards.
Last week, the chief negotiators on both sides, Ignacio Bercero for the EU and Dan Mullaney for the United States, both confirmed they wished to involve the stakeholders and civil society in the negotiating process as far as possible. Over 350 US civil society representatives were thus able to attend the talks in Washington on 10 July. (EH/transl.jl)