Brussels, 16/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - Member states are expected, on 18 October, to give their approval to negotiations on an investment agreement with China and to inclusion of provisions on protection of investments in future free-trade agreements with Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
China. In Luxembourg on Friday, EU trade ministers are expected to give the go-ahead to opening talks on an EU-China agreement on investment. Their decision to authorise the launch of negotiations will be complemented by amended negotiation directives. Seeking to secure investments between the EU and China, this agreement will replace the 27 bilateral agreements that currently exist between member states and China (only Ireland does not have such an agreement). The directives proposed by the Commission at the end of May envisage an agreement which improves investment protection and removes obstacles to the respective markets.
At the request of France, the Council will also discuss possible Chinese anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures against European wines. In response to Commission moves to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese exports of solar panels, China has launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into sales of European wines on its market (see EUROPE 10978).
ASEAN. The Council will also adopt amendments to the negotiation directives for a free-trade agreement with the ASEAN countries. Bloc-to-bloc negotiations have been at a standstill since 2008 but the EU is negotiating individual agreements with Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The Commission wants a broader negotiation mandate to include investment protection clauses in these agreements.
Eastern Partnership. Ministers will take stock of trade relations with the countries of the Eastern partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) prior to the Vilnius summit on 28-29 November at which is hoped an EU-Ukraine association agreement, which will include an agreement on a free-trade area, will be signed and agreements for free-trade areas with Georgia and Moldova initialled. In a discussion document, the Commission proposed measures to speed up European Parliament procedures allowing provisional application of the EU-Ukraine association agreement by mid-2014 and amendment of the regulation on EU autonomous trade preferences to Moldova allowing for duty-free, quota-free access of Moldovan wine to the EU market.
United States. Over lunch, ministers will take stock of progress in talks on a transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) that have been held up by the partial shut-down of the US government (see EUROPE 10937). At the request of France, the Council will discuss whether the text of the negotiation mandate adopted on 14 June (see EUROPE 10868) should be declassified. Such a decision would require a joint agreement of the member states for adoption by the Council.
WTO/Doha. The Council will debate the EU's strategy for the 9th WTO ministerial conference in Bali on 3-6 December, at which a partial agreement should be reached on the trade facilitation chapter, special and differentiated treatment for developing countries, including the needs of LDCs, and some points of the agricultural chapter, within the framework of the Doha Round.
Dispute settlement and financial liability. The Council will discuss a draft regulation aimed at establishing a legal and financial framework for investor-state dispute settlement proceedings, as part of a broader framework for foreign direct investment. (EH/transl.fl)